Teacher professional growth plans: A case study of the Chilliwack school district

Recently there has been renewed interest in the field for developing school leaders with the knowledge, skills and abilities for the supervision of instruction and teacher evaluation. Supervision and evaluation are two distinct aspects of educational administration, requiring different skills, knowledge, and actions from school leaders as well as the development of different relationships between administrators and teachers. The focus of this research is teacher professional growth plans, a non-evaluative program involving administrators and teachers. The question that is posed in the research asks educators to give their perceptions on the leadership factors that promote the development of teacher growth plans. This was a qualitative study, using a case-study approach. The case involved teachers and administrators in one school district who were involved in the development of teacher professional growth plans between 2002 and 2004. All teachers who had developed a growth plan during that time period and all administrators were surveyed. Interviews were conducted involving twenty educators. The teacher professional growth plan guide was reviewed and individual teacher growth plan documents were analysed for coherence. Hodgkinson's dimensions of leadership were used to construct the statements for the survey and to formulate the questions for the interviews. The dimensions of leadership included: consideration, situation, production and value. The study found that teachers and administrators perceive leadership consideration for supporting the development of teacher growth plans as an important leadership factor, along with situational factors such as school culture. The study also found that educators reported dissatisfaction with the outcomes of growth plans, or production, and with the value ascribed to both the outcomes of individual growth plans and the growth plan process. The study concludes with recommendations for review and deliberation on the current teacher growth plan program, both at the school district and provincial level, as well as suggestions for policy development and further qualitative, comparative research.