Dr. Virgil Horne

The purposes of this study were: (1) to compare randomly selected elementary and secondary teachers who are identified as being in one of the career stages of initial, developing, or exper- ienced teachers to determine their perceptions of opportunities to participate in the development of staff development activities; the time, place, and structure of staff development activities; and the curriculum presented in staff development activities; (2) to formu- late a staff development program plan that addresses career stages' needs; and (3) to recommend administrative actions to implement a staff development program that addresses career stages' needs. Participants in this study consisted of 750 randomly selected teachers employed by the Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, Nebraska, during the 1985-86 school year. The research tool was a survey instrument made up of Likert-type items. A review of the literature was undertaken to establish a back- ground of information relating to the impact of adult development and learning styles on staff development and designing staff development for adult learning styles. The findings indicated that there was significant difference between initial, developing, and experienced stage teachers as to their participation in the development of staff development activities. Developing and experienced teachers concern for place, time, and structure of staff development activities significantly differed from initial teachers. All respondents indicated a high level of preference for participating in staff development activities that address knowledge about a specific curriculum area(s). Recommendations were made for a staff development program plan that included three types of planning, consideration for location of staff development, and curriculum of staff development programs. Recommendations were also made for administrative actions to implement identification of career stage needs, assessment of teachers' staff development needs at various career stages, and activities that provide opportunities for staff to increase their knowledge about a specific curriculum area(s).