High school teacher motivation to engage in continuing professional development (CPD) : a mixed method research study : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Abstract

Numerous studies have confirmed that continuing professional development (CPD) is a significant contributor for improving teacher effectiveness. A number of studies also emphasise that teacher motivation to engage in CPD is critical in order to achieve the desired goals of CPD. However, investigations of teacher motivation to engage in CPD is scarce in the literature, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study attempts to address that gap by exploring the motivation of high school teachers in Saudi Arabia to engage in CPD. In addition, the study aims to investigate what influences teacher motivation to engage in CPD. The study adopted a mixed methods research (MMR) approach for collecting and analysing the data. Specifically, it used a sequential explanatory design that starts with a quantitative phase followed by a qualitative phase. To collect the quantitative data, an online questionnaire designed in Google Forms was used. The total sample of online questionnaire participants comprised 425 high school teachers from throughout the country. For the qualitative phase, 29 high school teachers who lived in Jeddah made up six focus groups comprising up to 5 teachers per group. The findings showed that high school teachers were motivated to engage in CPD. Moreover, they highly valued CPD for their professional development. The findings also identified 48 influential factors that highly enhanced teacher motivation to participate in CPD. These factors were organised into four categories: government and policy, school, CPD and personal factors. Based on the findings from the study, a conceptual framework was developed that has the potential to contribute to the knowledge base on teacher motivation to engage in CPD. In conclusion, the study made recommendations that can assist stakeholders to ensure that teachers are motivated to engage in CPD, as well as providing some suggestions for future research.