CHAPTER 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development. Adult Education in BC s public schools: A BCTF study

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1 CHAPTER 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Charlie Naylor, Ph.D. Senior Researcher, BCTF Research This report is one of a series documenting the findings of the Worklife of Adult Educators survey. For additional information, see Adult Education in BC s public schools: A BCTF study

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3 Chapter 3 Adult educators and their education Highest level of education completed Adult educators and current enrolments in education programs Planning to pursue an accredited education program Reason(s) for not pursuing further education Gender differences in the reasons for not pursuing further education Professional Development for adult educators The availability of PD The number of PD days Paid PD time Number of Professional Development days that were paid PD time Inadequate access to Professional Development What adult educators had to say about Professional Development Summary BCTF Research 1

4 Adult Education in BC s public schools A BCTF study Adult educators and their education Highest level of education completed Just under half of respondents (43.7%) have completed a Bachelor s degree with teacher training program, and about one-quarter (25.2%) have completed a University certificate or diploma above Bachelor level. In terms of graduate programs, 27.2 % of respondents have a Master s Degree, and 1.9% a Doctorate. 50% 45% 40% 35% 43.7% Highest level of education achieved (n=103) 30% 25% 27.2% 25.2% 20% 15% 10% 5% 1.9% 1.9% 0% Bachelor's degree with teacher training program Master's Degree University certificate or diploma above Bachelor level Doctorate Other Comparing these data to the data from the 2009 Worklife of BC Teachers survey 1, it appears that a slightly greater proportion of adult educators have graduate degrees than did K-12 teachers in the 2009 survey. In 2009, 25% of respondents had completed Masters degrees, compared to 27.2% of adult educators. In this survey, 1.9% of adult educators had completed doctoral degrees compared to 1% of K-12 teachers in the 2009 survey. However, the slight difference could be a factor of time in that more adult educators (and likely more K-12 teachers) may have completed graduate studies in the intervening period BCTF Research

5 Chapter 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Adult educators and current enrolments in education programs Most respondents (83.5%) are not currently enrolled in an education program. Of the remainder, six respondents (5.8%) are enrolled in a university certificate or diploma above Bachelor level. Another six respondents (5.8%) are enrolled in a program leading to a Master s Degree, and one (1%) a doctorate degree. Three respondents (2.9%) are enrolled in an Other type of program and one respondent did not answer. Other types of education programs include an Online Canadian TESL university course and a post-graduate diploma. Are you currently enrolled in an education program? (n=103) 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 83.5% No, not currently enrolled in an education program 5.8% 5.8% Yes, university certificate or diploma above Bachelor level Yes, Master's degree Total = 15.5% 2.9% 1.0% 1.0% Yes, Other Yes, Doctorate No answer These data also show some differences between adult educators and K-12 teachers surveyed in 2009, though there are general similarities. While comparable numbers of both adult educators (83.5%) and K-12 teachers surveyed in 2009 (87.0%) were not enrolled in an education program, a total of 15.5% of adult educator respondents were enrolled in an education program compared to 9.3% of K-12 teachers in the 2009 Worklife survey. This appears to be significantly different and is somewhat surprising, in that the adult educator respondents reflect an older age demographic than is typical of BC teachers in school year. While 33% of adult educator respondents were aged 25 44, 50.8% of BC teachers are currently in the same age bracket. While 48.6% of BC teachers are aged 45 and older, 67% of adult educators who responded to this survey were aged over Thus, although a somewhat older demographic, proportionately more adult educators are enrolled in educational programs. These data do not inform the reasons for this difference. Explanations could include the possibility that adult educators may be taking more education programs to better position themselves for a shift in their teaching in areas other than Adult Education, perhaps anticipating further cutbacks in the provision of adult education services. Or it may be that they are seeking the challenge that additional education may provide, rather than as a career progression or to gain increased salaries. 2 See Chapter 1, p. 5, at BCTF Research 3

6 Adult Education in BC s public schools A BCTF study Planning to pursue an accredited education program The chart below may also indicate adult educators greater interest in accessing education programs in the near future than their K-12 colleagues. In the 2009 survey of K-12 teachers, 84% had no plans to enrol in education programs, while 13% indicated they had such plans. In comparison, almost double the proportion of adult educators (25.2%) indicated intentions to enrol in an accredited program in either 2103 or Do you plan to enrol in an accredited education program in 2013 or 2014? (n=103) No 71.8% Yes 25.2% No answer 2.9% However, some caution must be stated when comparing 2009 Worklife data with the 2013 adult educator survey responses. Data collected in 2013 is four years after the Worklife of BC Teachers research, so while some differences are apparent, it is not clear whether these reflect real differences between two sets of data, or whether there may be a general shift since 2009 towards increased interest in education programs among teachers, whether in Adult Education or K BCTF Research

7 Chapter 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Reason(s) for not pursuing further education The survey asked the 74 respondents who answered No, about the reasons influencing their decision not to enrol in an education program in 2013 or Of these 74 respondents, 41.9% indicated Have already reached desired level of education, one-third (32.4%) indicated Financial restraints, and about one-quarter indicated Family obligations (27%). One in five (21.6%) of these respondents indicated Not interested right now. None of the respondents indicated Lack of Access to programs as a reason. Fifteen respondents (20.3%) indicated Other reasons for not enrolling in an education program in 2013 or Reasons include near retirement, not enough time or energy outside of work, health issues, no financial benefit, low job security, and in process of completing a program. Reasons for not pursuing further education (Based on 74 respondents who are not planning to enrol in an educational program in ) 45% 41.9% 40% 35% 32.4% 30% 27.0% 25% 20% 21.6% 20.3% 15% 10% 5% 0% Have already reached desired level of education Financial restraints Family obligations Not interested right now Other reason 0.0% Lack of access to programs Financial restraints were more often mentioned by adult educators (32.4%) than were mentioned by K-12 teachers in the 2009 Worklife survey, where 26.8% of teachers indicated financial restraints were an obstacle to furthering their education. Only 21.6% of adult educators stated that they were not interested right now in enrolling in education programs, compared to 31.5% of K-12 respondents in Gender differences in the reasons for not pursuing further education In terms of gender, there are some differences in the reasons for not enrolling in further education, but they are very different to the 2009 Worklife data in two specific areas: not pursuing further education because of family considerations and because of financial constraints. In the 2009 survey, proportionately more women than men stated they were not pursuing further education options because of family or financial constraints. In 2009, 84% of respondents who identified family obligations as a factor were women and 16% were men. However, in this survey of adult educators, 60% of respondents who identified this as a factor were women and 40% were men. Thus, fewer female adult educators are stating family obligations as a factor for not pursuing further education than might be expected from their proportion of the total sample BCTF Research 5

8 Adult Education in BC s public schools A BCTF study who submitted responses (74.8% female and 25.2% male), and when compared to the 2009 Worklife data. Conversely, more adult educator males are stating they are not pursuing further education because of family obligations than was the case for male K-12 teachers in the 2009 survey. A very similar pattern emerges in terms of financial restraints, with 62.5% of adult educator respondents who identified this as a factor being women and 37.5% being men. In 2009, Worklife data showed that 81% of respondents who identified financial factors as a factor were women, and 19% men. In terms of family obligations, this can partly be explained by the somewhat older demographic of the adult educator respondents, with 67% aged over 45, compared to the sample of teachers in the Worklife, study where 58.6% of respondents were aged over 45. But the shift to fewer women and more men stating family obligations or financial issues as factors in not accessing further education cannot be further explained from the limited data in this study. 6 BCTF Research

9 Chapter 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Professional Development for adult educators Quantitative and qualitative data concerning adult educators perceptions of the availability, utility, and relevance of professional development (PD) for BC s adult educators tell very different stories. The quantitative data clearly show that PD was available to almost all adult educators in the school year, and that for most, the PD that they accessed was during time they were paid. However, the total amount of PD accessed by adult educators appears somewhat lower than might be expected, with 54.2% stating they had three days or less of PD in This is approximately half of the time available for PD for K-12 teachers, and was the first indication from the data that accessing PD may be very different for adult educators than it is for their K-12 colleagues. When the qualitative data are considered, they reflect considerable dissatisfaction with the provision, access, and relevance of available PD. Thus, while some access to PD was identified in the quantitative data, the qualitative data showed glaring inequities between K-12 and adult educators, and significant concerns among those teachers who worked as adult educators. Almost all (93.2%) of respondents indicated there were PD options available to them in Of the 96 respondents who had PD opportunities available to them in , most (91.7%) indicated they engaged in professional development. The availability of PD Were Professional Development options available to you in ? (n=103) Yes 93.2% No 6.8% BCTF Research 7

10 Adult Education in BC s public schools A BCTF study The number of PD days Of the 88 respondents who engaged in professional development, 85 indicated the number of PD days taken. About one-half (54.2%) of these respondents engaged in PD for Up to 3 days, 40% for 3 to 5 days, and 5.9% for More than 5 days. 60% 50% 40% Number of PD days, by percentage of respondents (Based on the 85 respondents who provided a figure for PD days) 54.2% 40.0% 30% 20% 10% 0% 5.9% Up to 3 days 3 to 5 days More than 5 days Paid PD time Of the 88 respondents who engaged in PD, 85.2% (75 respondents) answered Yes when asked if any of this professional development was paid time. If you engaged in PD, was any of this paid PD? By percentage of respondents (based on 88 respondents who engaged in PD) Yes 85.2% No 10.2% No answer 4.5% 8 BCTF Research

11 Chapter 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Number of Professional Development days that were paid PD time Of the 75 respondents who provided a figure for number of paid PD days, almost two-thirds (62.2%) reported having Up to 3 days, one-third (36.7%) reported having 3 to 5 days, and 1.4% 5 or more days of paid PD time. Number of paid PD days (By percentage of respondents, based on the 74 respondents who provided a figure for paid PD days) % % % Up to 3 days 3 to 5 days 5 or more days Total percentage of responses is slightly over 100%, due to rounding. Inadequate access to Professional Development In terms of work-related stress factors, PD issues were not rated as highly as some issues, so that while 47.6% of respondents reported the lack of access to PD as a source of stress, this was significantly lower than any of the top ten stress factors reported in Chapter 5 3. While the top stressor reported was the attitude of the provincial government (80.6%), and class size being reported as a stress factor by 68.9%, PD access (or the lack of it) appeared more as a frustration than a stressor. What adult educators had to say about Professional Development In the qualitative data, four key themes were identified. There was inadequate provision of PD, it was not always relevant, and it was often difficult to access, as many adult educators were teaching when PD was available. The irregular work times of many adult educators was one of several factors that made it difficult for them to access PD. As a small minority of teachers work with adults within the K-12 system (with the vast majority teaching children and youth), the relevance of much of the PD that was accessible was considered limited in its utility. Our contract included 1 paid PD day for adult educators; however, not all adult educators can access this paid PD given it must be scheduled during your hours 3 See Chapter 5, p. 8, BCTF Research 9

12 Adult Education in BC s public schools A BCTF study of work. Those of us who have evening work in our schedule cannot access paid PD for evening schedules. Every time there s a province wide Pro-D day, we have to teach. A lot of our students are absent on those days because they have to stay home with their children. The answer for most respondents was more explicitly-focused PD for adult educators. We would like: More paid PD for adult educators please and PD which is useful for adult educators. Pro D focused on adult education which is not so costly that we can t afford to book anyone to do it. However, this may need some consideration, as it reflects something of a consumer approach to PD that teachers consider what s available and choose an option. An alternative approach might be to generate more self-directed PD which will meet the needs of adult educators, as it s unlikely much of the existing PD would adapt to include adult educators priorities and areas of focus. Might there be an option of more PD opportunities being generated by adult educators for themselves and their peers? Time was frequently mentioned limited time for PD, wrong times when PD was offered, or adult educators using their own (unpaid) time to access PD: As most district Pro-D is on Fridays and I work a Monday-Thursday schedule I participated in several Pro-Ds on my own time. It took quite an effort by several CE teachers to receive one paid Pro-D which we are entitled to in our contract. Adult educators were not always paid when attending professional development activities. Adult educators were asked if they had any PD which was in paid time. Most said that they did. However, qualitative data analysis showed that if PD was available, some adult educators were not paid for some of the PD they attended: We have one pro-d day ; however, if teachers don t normally work on this day (usually a Friday), they don t get paid. This is totally unfair. I would like to see more choice in Pro-D and certainly, some pay for attendance. We are often excluded from district PD because there are no funds for us, or we are teaching after 3 pm and again there are no funds to pay for a TTOC. I think that we deserve some paid professional development, especially when our employers have decided to change the delivery of courses in the Learning Centre where I work, and yet the new delivery is a model I am unfamiliar with, so between unpaid prep and marking and an added Foundations class to teach, I do not know where I can find the time to adapt my existing Learning Centre courses. Of those 10.2% of respondents who could not access PD during paid time, there was a sense of frustration and injustice about this issue. The actual incidence of adult educators accessing PD in unpaid time is likely greater than the 10.2% of respondents reported above, as the question asked if any PD was in paid time. Some adult educators may have access to some PD in paid time but may have to attend in unpaid time on other occasions. 10 BCTF Research

13 Chapter 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Contract provisions for PD were perceived to be less for adult educators than they were for K-12 teachers, and respondents felt they were treated less fairly in terms of accessing PD than were their colleagues in K-12. Considering the numbers of hours we work it seems strange that our contract allows for so much less PD than the contracts for regular school. At the same time, because our schedules are flexible and we have long unpaid breaks between terms, many teachers would have the time and energy to engage in PD that was self directed or not outside of regular scheduled teaching time. It was clear from many of the survey returns that many adult educators felt like second-class citizens when they compared their PD contractual provisions to those of regular K-12 teachers, with less time in contract for PD, and less access and lower levels of funding. The province-wide PD days were not accessible to some respondents, as they were required to teach on the PD day. Generally, we did not share the same PD opportunities as K-12. If we attended PD, it was on our own time. Having one Professional Development day offered a year is insulting and devalues adult educators. I would like to see the same number of PD days offered to the teachers of adult students as the teachers of K-12 students. For those adult educators who have worked in the regular K-12 system, the inequities appeared particularly striking and objectionable. The general sense from the data was that if a person teaches in the K-12 school system, then a teacher can access multiple PD days and opportunities, with time paid; but once in Adult Education, the access, funding, and paid time for attendance are significantly less, depending on the provisions in the local agreement 4. There were mixed views on whether BCTF PD workshops were sufficiently suited to meet the needs of adult educators. In some cases, respondents suggested that while they generally had positive views of BCTF workshops, they were not always well-received by peers. Some thought the K-12 focus of most BCTF workshops did not cater to adult educators needs, and that they would prefer to see some workshops targeted more explicitly at adult educators. BCTF does provide excellent workshop leaders; having been on the Pro-d committee many times, I have consistently been very satisfied as have my colleagues. However, the most popular Pro-Ds are ones where we get out of the school or focus on increasing our general knowledge (e.g. popular neuroscience, visit to the art gallery, aquarium). I guess what I am saying is if I am going to continue to get the committee s support for BCTF workshops you re going to have to up the fun factor and appeal to curiosity (had to cancel the last BCTF workshop because not enough people signed up; other workshops were overbooked). We have tried to increase our use of BCTF workshops for pro-d but find it frustrating that everything is geared to K-12. We ve had some great general 4 The qualitative findings reflect the views of the adult educators who responded to the question as to their perceptions of the differences in contract provisions for paid PD between adult educators and teachers of schoolaged students. A comprehensive review of local agreements is needed to assess the varying provisions for paid PD for adult educators, and how these differ from provisions for elementary and secondary teachers. BCTF Research 11

14 Adult Education in BC s public schools A BCTF study workshops, but none that met our specific needs/didn t include irrelevant content about kids etc. While it may be difficult for the BCTF to target or adapt its workshops and presentations for an adult education audience, such targeting or adaptation might at least be considered. But, as mentioned above, it might also be worth considering if and how adult educators might explore other professional learning options where they might be encouraged to design and implement Professional Development appropriate to their needs. Perhaps some adult educators might consider options such as Inquiry 5, and get support from BCTF programs 6 like the Program for Quality Teaching (PQT) 7, or consider whether SURTs (School Union Representative Training workshops) might be developed to focus on the needs and interests of adult educators. Summary A slightly greater proportion of adult educators have graduate degrees than did K-12 teachers in the 2009 survey. In 2009, 25% of respondents had completed Masters degrees, compared to 27.2% of adult educators. In this survey, 1.9% of adult educators had completed doctoral degrees compared to 1% of K-12 teachers in the 2009 survey. However, the slight difference could be a factor of time in that more adult educators (and likely more K-12 teachers) may have completed graduate studies in the intervening period. 83.5% are not currently enrolled in an education program. The survey asked the 74 respondents who answered No, about the reasons influencing their decision not to enrol in an education program in 2013 or Of these 74 respondents, 41.9% indicated Have already reached desired level of education, one-third (32.4%) indicated Financial restraints, and about one-quarter indicated Family obligations (27%). One in five (21.6%) of these respondents indicated Not interested right now. None of the respondents indicated Lack of Access to programs as a reason. More adult educator males are stating they are not pursuing further education because of family obligations than was the case for male K-12 teachers in the 2009 survey. The shift to fewer women and more men stating family obligations or financial issues as factors in not accessing further education cannot be further explained from the limited data in this study. The quantitative data clearly show that PD was available to almost all adult educators in the school year, and that for most, the PD that they accessed was during time they were paid. However, the total amount of PD accessed by adult educators appears somewhat lower than might be expected, with 54.2% stating they had three days or less of PD in This is approximately half of the time available for PD for K-12 teachers, and was the first indication from the data that accessing PD may be very different for adult educators than it is for their K-12 colleagues. The main themes identified from the qualitative data were: There was inadequate provision of PD, it was not always relevant, and it was often difficult to access, as many adult educators were teaching when PD was available. Adult educators were not always paid when attending professional development activities BCTF Research

15 Chapter 3: Adult educators education and Professional Development Contract provisions for PD were perceived to be less for adult educators than they were for K-12 teachers, and many respondents felt they were treated less fairly in terms of accessing PD than were their colleagues in K There were mixed views on whether BCTF PD workshops were sufficiently suited to meet the needs of adult educators MW:CN:af:tfeu 8 The qualitative findings reflect the views of the adult educators who responded to the question as to their perceptions of the differences in contract provisions for paid PD between adult educators and teachers of schoolaged students. A comprehensive review of local agreements is needed to assess the varying provisions for paid PD for adult educators, and how these differ from provisions for elementary and secondary teachers. BCTF Research 13