Redefining the impact of professional development in education with ProDES (Professional Development Evaluation Scale)

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 4, 733 - 757, 15.11.2024

Mustafa Özgenel , Martin Brown , Joe O Hara , Metin Özkan

https://doi.org/10.21449/ijate.1327238

Abstract

This study introduces the Professional Development Evaluation Scale (ProDES), a tool that has been developed to evaluate the impact of professional development as it relates to participants' Learning and Use of New Knowledge and Skills, Organisational Support, Student Learning Outcomes, and reactions. Grounded in Guskey’s (2000) framework for evaluating Professional Development, ProDES was developed with data from five study groups in Turkey and underwent refinement across four factors. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses confirmed the scale's structure, accounting for 62.72% of the total variance, with robust fit indices. Within this, ProDES demonstrated high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, with significant correlations validating its effectiveness. The scale's high internal consistency and test-retest reliability ensure that it can be used to make evidence-informed decisions that can foster more effective and supportive professional development activities. As a result, by identifying which professional development initiatives lead to improvements, those associated with professional development can use resources more efficiently, leading to enhanced school and system-wide improvements. Moreover, the use of ProDES can also help schools and education systems track progress over time, making ProDES an invaluable tool for continuous improvement and strategic planning.

Keywords

Professional development, Assessment of professional development, Scale development, Professional learning

Ethical Statement

İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim Üniversitesi, 30.05.2023-E.54478.

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK

Project Number

1059B192000757

Thanks

Akif Avcu, Ersin Yağan, Fazilet Taşdemir, Musa Bardak, Gamze Kasalak, Hikmet Şevgin, Hilmi Koç, İsa Bahat, Metin Işık, Pınar Özkan, Polat Erdoğan, Sedat Gümüş, Seçil Sümbül, Şebnem Yazıcı and Yusuf Cerit who expressed their opinions as experts in the scale development process and and to all our colleagues who supported the data collection process we thank you.

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