As the key leader at the school level, the principal plays a central role in the implementation of professional development programs and measurement of the outcomes of these activities (Elmore, 2000). This investigation explored high school principals' roles in and principals' perceptions of teacher professional development as a mechanism for improving teacher instructional practices. The 15 high school principals interviewed for this study were from one region in a southeastern state. Using the professional development standards developed by the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) (2001) to frame this study, a non-experimental descriptive research design was employed. Specifically, data collection methods included focus group interviews and document analysis. Three focus group interviews were conducted, each lasting approximately 90 minutes. Data sources were the transcripts from the focus group interviews with principals and information from each principal's school improvement plan. Data from both the transcripts and document review were sorted and categorized using the long-table approach (Krueger & Casey, 2000). Data were organized into the NSDC domains of context, process, and content. The findings indicated that principals assumed the responsibility for providing professional development at their school and reported that as part of that responsibility they performed the following eight roles: (a) connected the professional development to school and/or division goals, (b) allowed teachers to play a part in their professional development, (c) provided the resources of funding and time for professional development, (d) provided support and encouragement for implementation of the professional development, (e) held a variety of professional development activities at their school, (f) collected student achievement data to determine the professional development needs, (g) determined the effectiveness of the professional development in classrooms, and (h) allowed teachers to choose the professional development activity to attend. The two roles, supported in the literature, which only a few principals discussed were: implementing PLCs and providing on-going, continuous professional development with follow-up. One area of concern reported by the principals was the reality that all teachers do not implement the professional development in their classrooms. Five major conclusions were drawn from the findings in this study. Principals value teacher professional development as a mechanism to change teachers' instructional practices and accept the responsibility for implementing professional development at their schools. The majority of the professional development activities reported by the principals were generic type professional development activities that related to all teachers. However, principals do not expect that all teachers will implement the innovations in their classrooms. PLCs, in which teachers are working collaboratively to improve student achievement, are not being implemented in all reporting participants' high schools. Time is an important factor in determining the implementation of the professional development in the classroom. / Ed. D.

Professional development is used by teachers to improve their teaching to enhance student learning, and research indicates that the National Board Certification (NBC) process contains high-quality professional development characteristics. Engagement in the NBC process can lead to professional growth by changing teachers’ knowledge, instructional practices, and students’ learning. This quantitative study investigated the extent to which characteristics of the NBC process influenced National Board Certified Teachers’ (NBCTs) professional growth. Using an online survey, the study collected responses from 119 NBCTs who participated in a specific NBC support program. Key findings included that all 20 high-quality professional development characteristics investigated had a perceived positive influence on professional growth, with some notable differences. The characteristics involving individual analysis of student work and teaching videos along with reflection were perceived to be most important, while those centering on collaboration with other candidates were perceived as less important. Second, characteristics that had the greatest perceived impact were those that focused on changing pedagogy rather than increasing content knowledge. Furthermore, a significant relationship was found between the perceived importance of duration in the experience and the length of time the candidate was in the process: NBCTs who achieved in one year, as compared to NBCTs who achieved in two or three years, had statistically significant lower ratings on the influence that the duration had on their professional growth. Additionally, those who engaged in the process for financial reasons, as compared to professional growth, had a lower rating of perceived importance when all characteristics were combined.

La littérature scientifique internationale montre la réalité des apprentissages informels des enseignants sur leur lieu de travail, au sein des établissements scolaires. Toutefois ces apprentissages présentent plusieurs limites et sont qualitativement de moins bonne qualité que les apprentissages réalisés en environnement organisé. La présente recherche a précisément pour objet le développement professionnel des enseignants expérimentés à travers un dispositif de formation continue prenant en compte leurs apprentissages informels. Cette étude s’inscrit dans un programme de recherche anthropoculturel (Bertone, 2011 ; Chaliès, 2012) dont les principaux présupposés théoriques sont empruntés à la philosophie du langage ordinaire (Wittgenstein, 2004). Elle a été menée dans le cadre de deux dispositifs innovants de formation permettant à un enseignant expérimenté (le pair formateur) d’enseigner ostensivement l’une de ses pratiques spécifiques jugées efficaces à un pair enseignant expérimenté (le pair formé). Les principaux résultats de la recherche montrent la modélisation de l’activité professionnelle des pairs formateurs et contribuent ainsi à documenter la recherche internationale sur les apprentissages informels des enseignants du primaire. Ils montrent également l’apprentissage de nouvelles pratiques professionnelles de la part des pairs formés entendu comme l’acquisition de nouveaux systèmes de règles. Les résultats montrent enfin le développement professionnel des pairs formés entendu comme l’interprétation des règles apprises dans des circonstances nouvelles ainsi que le développement réflexif de l’activité professionnelle des pairs formateurs. / The international scientific literature shows the reality of teachers' informal learning in the workplace, within schools. However, these learnings have several limitations and are of lower quality than those that are carried out in an organized environment. The purpose of this research is precisely the professional development of experienced teachers through a professional development program that considers their informal learning.This study is part of an anthropocultural research program (Bertone, 2011; Chaliès, 2012) whose main theoretical assumptions are borrowed from the philosophy of ordinary language (Wittgenstein, 2004). It was conducted within the framework of two innovative training devices allowing an experienced teacher (the peer trainer) to ostensibly teach one of his specific practices considered effective to an experienced peer teacher (the trained peer). The main research results show the modelling of the professional activity of peer trainers and thus contribute to documenting international research on informal learning by primary school teachers. They also show the learning of new professional practices from trained peers understood as the acquisition of new rule systems. Finally, the results show the professional development of the trained peers understood as the interpretation of the rules learned in new circumstances as well as the reflexive development of the professional activity of the trained peers.

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