In-service education among public school teachers in Kansas.

Abstract

In-service education, which is often referred to as "learning-on-the-job or learning-while-earning," elicits a variety of responses for a variety of reasons from different Unified School Districts. It should be observed that there is no one type of in-service training which is a panacea to all school settings. In-service education programs should be tailored to meet specific district goals and objectives. In addition, the basic concept of in-service education on the part of public school teachers, is in one sense a method to achieve the greatest degree of instructional competency and organization of curriculum contents around a variety of human knowledge.The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth knowledge of in-service education needs and attitudes of pUblic school teachers toward in-service education in a Kansas Unified School District. A 20-item attitudinal questionnaire was designed and distributed to 250 randomly selected public school teachers. A total of 187, or 74.8 percent, was realized. Only the data that were returned by March 20th were used in the statistical part of the analysis. The responses were analyzed by utilization of the chi-square test. A contingency coefficient was used to discover if there was a significant relationship between the variables. Findings indicated: There was no significant difference between the perceived attitudes of teachers who favor in-service education focusing on curriculum development and methodology and teachers favoring a focus on the development of behavioral objectives. The most popular opinions were: 1. Teachers should have the major input in determining what their in-service education should be. 2. In-service education provides the opportunity to share ideas and information. 3. The central administration should be committed to the planning of the in-service program but should not play a dominant role.