Transformative professional development: relationship to teachers’ beliefs, expertise and teaching

Abstract

Although scholarship demonstrates the value and need for teaching grounded in equity, diversity and social justice, little research has explored the relationship between transformative professional development and transformative teaching. This survey research study conducted in 25 US diverse elementary schools investigated statistical relationships between teachers’ reported transformative professional development (TPD)—workshops, conferences and graduate courses—and their reported beliefs about diversity and deficit thinking, expertise in transformative teaching and transformative teaching practices. Findings suggest TPD is associated with a low to moderate differences in transformative teaching but also predicts some unintended consequences. Implications for practice, theory and research follow this discussion.