THE INFLUENCE OF INSERVICE EDUCATION ON CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT BY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS.

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate whether or not there was any change in behavior on the part of teachers who participated in a university graduate level course which used an inservice format. The course in question was on the effective construction of elementary school language arts curriculum. The subjects were those who had taken the course and who volunteered to participate in the study. Ten of the twenty who finished the course volunteered. The data was collected by conducting two interviews and administering two questionnaires. During the interviews, the research technique of stimulated recall was used to help the subjects remember past experiences. The first questionnaire determined to what extent the subjects were likely to distort their self-reporting on the second questionnaire. The second questionnaire was used to collect data in reference to how the subjects saw their roles within the framework of the inservice course. Instrumentation consisted of: Interview quides, Part I and Part II; the Reynolds Social Desirability Scale; and the Role Perception Scale. All but the Reynolds Social Desirability Scale were developed by the researcher. An analysis of the data provided ample evidence to support the following conclusions: (1) A university level graduate course in language arts curriculum development can be regarded as inservice education. (2) A positive change in the way teachers think about the influence of effective curriculum development on student growth can occur within the framework of a graduate level course in elementary school language arts curriculum construction. (3) Teachers actually implement their personal language arts curriculums constructed as a course requirement for a graduate level course in elementary school language arts curriculum construction. (4) The university instructor plays a prominent role in bringing about change in thinking and behavior on the part of teachers taking a university graduate level course in elementary school language arts curriculum construction.