Tag: Professional development

Can the LfL PD program enhance teaching quality in Shenzhen kindergartens?

By Winnie Tam, Centre for University and School Partnership, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professional development (PD) programs in China typically focus on content knowledge transfer from teachers to students, often lacking emphasis on improving teacher-child interaction. A cluster RCT study by Huang and colleagues investigated whether an adapted western PD intervention could improve both domain-specific instruction and teacher-child interaction strategies in Chinese kindergartens.

The Leadership for Learning (LfL) program covers diverse content knowledge, intentional and relational instruction, and the use of responsive teacher–child interactions. The adapted version had three PD phases: a 1-day intensive training on quality teaching, followed by six 3.5-hour sessions on literacy, math, science, self-regulation, diversity, and assessment. The final phase consisted of biweekly onsite mentoring from March to May 2020 to help teachers apply their new skills. All training was conducted face-to-face.

Stratified random sampling was used to select 24 kindergartens in Shenzhen, a developed area in China, dividing them into 12 control and 12 intervention schools, with 202 teachers and 547 children aged 3 to 6 years (K1-K2). Teachers in the intervention group received the adapted LfL training, while those in the control group continued their regular teaching practice. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension (ECERS-E) measured content-related instruction quality and the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Well-being (SSTEW) evaluated the interaction quality of supporting children’s socioemotional well-being and cognitive domain. Classroom observations were conducted before the intervention (fall 2020) and after (summer 2021). The IDELA tool assessed children’s literacy, numeracy, socioemotional skills, and executive functions.

Multilevel analysis revealed that LfL-trained teachers outperformed the control group in delivering knowledge (ECERS-E, ES = +0.81) and interaction with students (SSTEW, ES = +0.72). Compared to the control group, children in intervention classrooms performed better in literacy (ES = +0.16) and executive function (ES = +0.27), but not in numeracy and socioemotional skills.

The authors suggest policymakers provide national PD programs based on an evidence-based approach for more effective resources’ allocation. An effective PD program could be cross-culturally and contextually adapted to strengthen education quality.

The effects of professional development on student and teacher outcomes

By Carmen Pannone, University of Cagliari, Italy

Effective instruction by well-prepared teachers is crucial for enhancing students’ reading comprehension. This process begins with high-quality professional development (PD) that enriches teachers’ knowledge and improves their instructional strategies in reading comprehension.

A recent meta-analysis reviewed 29 experimental or quasi-experimental studies focused on PD for reading comprehension among teachers. It examined outcomes for both teachers and K-12 students to assess which PD components influenced teacher knowledge, instructional practices, and student reading comprehension. Utilizing random-effects robust variance estimation, the analysis identified significant positive effects of PD on teacher outcomes (ES = +0.95) and smaller yet still significant effects on student comprehension (ES = +0.19).

The study found that specific PD characteristics such as coaching, format, content, providers, duration, and number of strategies did not significantly moderate teacher outcomes. Similarly, study quality characteristics (e.g., design, control group condition, outcome measure) did not show significant moderation effects, though distinctions between standardized and researcher-created measures were noted (ES=+0.11 vs +0.44).

A notable conclusion from this study is that future research should prioritize direct testing of effective PD strategies. While the findings of this meta-analysis align with previous research, there are potential limitations in statistical power arising from substantial heterogeneity among studies. There is also a possibility that PD characteristics interact in complex ways. In addition, the notable overall positive effect on teacher outcomes should be approached with care, as a majority of measures relied on teacher observations or self-reports.

Course-based or coaching-based teacher professional development, or both?

By Li Li, Johns Hopkins University

A recent randomized controlled study by Downer et al. explored the effects of course-based and coaching-based professional development on 496 early childhood teachers and their students, with a focus on teacher-student interactions during language and literacy instruction. Teachers were recruited from large community preschools and Head Start programs and were randomized in two phases to conditions: a 14-week course on effective student-teacher interaction (Phase I) and a one-year teacher-coaching approach (Phase II). Overall, there were four conditions across the two phases: (a) no course/no coaching (business-as-usual control group), (b) no course/coaching, (c) course/no coaching, and (d) course/coaching.

The findings of the study indicated that both course-based and coaching-based professional development interventions led to positive changes in teacher-student interaction related outcomes. The combination of the two approaches, however, did not yield additional benefits. Specifically, in relation to the control condition, the course-based professional development intervention found a modest yet enduring positive impact on teachers’ knowledge about and ability to identify effective classroom interactions, and the coaching intervention had a small effect on children’s positive engagement with teachers. Furthermore, both the course-based and coaching-based professional development interventions were beneficial for fostering instructionally supportive teacher-student interactions, with coaching-based intervention exhibiting greater impact as compared to course-based intervention.

The impact of study abroad on promoting teachers’ intercultural competence

By Winnie Tam, Centre for University and School Partnership, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Ensuring that teachers are well-equipped to address diversity and possess intercultural competence through professional development is crucial. A recent meta-analysis by Huang and colleagues examined the impact of study abroad experiences on teachers’ intercultural competence.

The meta-analysis identified 21 effect sizes from 16 studies, encompassing various forms of study abroad programs. These programs could include intercultural practicums, intercultural internships, cultural immersion experiences, or study tour programs; with varying durations, and participants ranging from pre-service teachers to in-service teachers, student teachers, and teacher candidates.

An overall positive effect size of +0.34 was found. No significant difference was observed among the three types of study programs: intercultural learning study programs (k=8, ES = +0.43), intercultural teaching programs (k=5, ES = +0.40), and study tours (k=8, ES=+0.17). Programs with longer durations (k=11, ES=+0.56) yielded higher effect sizes than those with shorter durations (k=10, ES=+0.11). Programs incorporating reflection exercises (k=12, ES = +0.52) exhibited a significantly higher effect size than programs without (k=9, ES= +0.12). No significant difference was found in other moderators, such as cultural distance (adjacent vs. distant), or teacher type (pre-service vs. in-service).

The authors suggest customizing study abroad programs to teachers’ needs, integrating reflective activities, and providing ongoing professional development opportunities to enhance intercultural competence.

Note: k = no. of effect sizes.