AN EXAMINATION OF THE TRAINING NEEDS OF FIRST-YEAR BASIC SKILLS INSTRUCTORS IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM

Abstract

In North Carolina Basic Skills Programs are administered by the community college system and provide adults educational opportunities in not only the traditional four areas of adult education, ABE, GED, AHS, and ESL, but a fifth component, Compensatory Education which serves adults with developmental disabilities. Currently, North Carolina Community College System Basic Skills Programs lack degree, subject area, or licensure requirements to teach in adult education programs. Without mandated education and experience, instructors' first-year professional development increases in significance. This study sought to understand the professional development of first-year Basic Skills Program instructors in a community college setting. This study had two specific purposes: (a) to examine the training needs of first-year instructors as perceived by program personnel and (b) to investigate the differences in those perceived training needs among program directors, coordinators, and full-time faculty. Utilizing Zinn's (1997) conceptual framework of supports and barriers to professional development, this study examines whether or not differences in perceptions among program personnel constitute an institutional barrier to training for a first-year instructor. This quantitative research employed an Internet-based survey of full-time personnel employed in 56 North Carolina community colleges. The survey consisted of training topics in five categories: (a) planning and delivering instruction, (b) integrating technology into the classroom, (c) managing the educational environment, (d) providing instruction to special-needs students, and (e) conducting student evaluation. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of each training topic for a first-year instructor along a 7-point bipolar scale. The study posed both research questions and hypotheses. Research questions concerning the perceptions of program personnel were answered by computing descriptive statistics for each training category. Null hypotheses regarding the perceptions among program personnel were tested with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) conducted on training categories. Results indicated consensus in the perceptions of program personnel as personnel ranked conducting student evaluation as the most important training need for a first-year instructor. Of the five training categories a statistically significant difference existed in only one training area: planning and delivering instruction. Results indicated conflicting training perceptions are not an institutional barrier to professional development of new faculty.