PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
LAST UPDATED: 08.29.13
In education, the term professional
development may be used in reference to a wide
variety of specialized training, formal education, or
advanced professional learning intended to help
administrators, teachers, and other educators
improve their professional knowledge, competence,
skill, and effectiveness. When the term is used in
education contexts without qualification, specific
examples, or additional explanation, however, it may
be difficult to determine precisely what “professional
development” is referring to.
In practice, professional development for educators
encompasses an extremely broad range of topics and
formats. For example, professional-development
experiences may be funded by district, school, or
state budgets and programs, or they may be
supported by a foundation grant or other private
funding source. They may range from a one-day
conference to a two-week workshop to a multiyear
advanced-degree program. They may be delivered in
person or online, during the school day or outside of
normal school hours, and through one-on-one
interactions or in group situations. And they may be
led and facilitated by educators within a school or
provided by outside consultants or organizations
hired by a school or district. And, of course, the list
of possible formats could go on.
The following are a representative selection of
common professional-development topics and
objectives for educators:
 Furthering education and knowledge in a
teacher’s subject area—e.g., learning new
scientific theories, expanding knowledge of
different historical periods, or learning how to
teach subject-area content and concepts more
effectively.
 Training or mentoring in specialized teaching
techniques that can be used in many different
subject areas, such as differentiation (varying
teaching techniques based on student learning
needs and interests) or literacy strategies
(techniques for improving reading and writing
skills), for example.
 Earning certification in a particular educational
approach or program, usually from a university
or other credentialing organization, such as
teaching Advanced Placement courses or career
and technical programs that culminate in
students earning an industry-specific
certification.
 Developing technical, quantitative, and
analytical skills that can be used to analyze
student-performance data, and then use the
findings to make modifications to academic
programs and teaching techniques.
 Learning new technological skills, such as how
to use interactive whiteboards or course-
management systems in ways that can improve
teaching effectiveness and student performance.
 Improving fundamental teaching techniques,
such as how to manage a classroom effectively
or frame questions in ways that elicit deeper
thinking and more substantive answers from
students.
 Working with colleagues, such as
in professional learning communities, to
develop teaching skills collaboratively or create
new interdisciplinary courses that are taught by
teams of two or more teachers.
 Developing specialized skills to better teach
and support certain populations of students,
such as students with learning disabilities or
students who are not proficient in English.
 Acquiring leadership skills, such as skills that
can be used to develop and coordinate a school-
improvement initiative or a community-
volunteer program. For related discussions,
see leadership team and shared leadership.
 Pairing new and beginning teachers with more
experienced “mentor teachers” or “instructional
coaches” who model effective teaching
strategies, expose less-experienced teachers to
new ideas and skills, and provide constructive
feedback and professional guidance.
 Conducting action research to gain a better
understanding of what’s working or not working
in a school’s academic program, and then using
the findings to improve educational quality and
results.
 Earning additional formal certifications, such as
the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards certification, which requires
educators to spend a considerable amount of
time recording, analyzing, and reflecting on
their teaching practice (many states provide
incentives for teachers to obtain National Board
Certification).
 Attending graduate school to earn an advanced
degree, such as a master’s degree or doctorate in
education, educational leadership, or a
specialized field of education such as literacy or
technology.
Reform
In recent years, state and national policies have
focused more attention on the issue of “teacher
quality”—i.e., the ability of individual teachers or a
teaching faculty to improve student learning and
meet expected standards for performance. The No
Child Left Behind Act, for example, provides a
formal definition of what constitutes high-quality
professional development and requires schools to
report the percentage of their teaching faculty that
meet the law’s definition of a “highly qualified
teacher.” The law maintains that professional
development should take the form of a
“comprehensive, sustained, and intensive approach
to improving teachers’ and principals’ effectiveness
in raising student achievement.” Similar policies that
describe professional-development expectations or
require teachers to meet certain expectations for
professional development may be in place at the
state, district, and school levels across the country,
although the design and purpose of these policies
may vary widely from place to place.
Generally speaking, professional development is
considered to be the primary mechanism that schools
can use to help teachers continuously learn and
improve their skills over time. And in recent decades,
the topic has been extensively researched and many
strategies and initiatives have been developed to
improve the quality and effectiveness of professional
development for educators. While theories about
professional development abound, a degree of
consensus has emerged on some of the major features
of effective professional development. For example,
one-day workshops or conferences that are not
directly connected to a school’s academic program,
or to what teachers are teaching, are generally
considered to be less effective than training and
learning opportunities that are sustained over longer
periods of time and directly connected to what
schools and teachers are actually doing on a daily
basis. Terms and phases such
as sustained, intensive, ongoing, comprehensive, ali
gned, collaborative, continuous, systemic,
or capacity-building, as well as relevant to teacher
work and connected to student learning, are often
used in reference to professional development that is
considered to be of higher quality. That said, there
are a wide variety of theories about what kinds of
professional development are most effective, as well
as divergent research findings.
Debate
While few educators would argue against the need
for and importance of professional development,
specific programs and learning opportunities may be
criticized or debated for any number of reasons,
especially if the professional development is poorly
designed, executed, scheduled, or facilitated, or if
teachers feel that it is irrelevant to their teaching
needs and day-to-day professional responsibilities,
among many other possible causes.
In addition, school leaders may encounter a variety
of challenges when selecting and providing
professional development opportunities. For
example, one common obstacle is finding adequate
time during the school day for teachers to participate
in professional development. Securing sufficient
funding is another common complication,
particularly during times when school budgets are
tight or being cut. The amount of funding allocated
for professional development by states, districts, and
schools may also vary widely—some schools could
have access to more professional-development
funding than they can reasonably use in a given year,
while other schools and teachers may be expected to
fund most or all of their professional development on
their own. Other common challenges include
insufficient support for professional development
from the administrative leadership, a lack of faculty
interest or motivation, or overburdened teacher
workloads.
https://www.edglossary.org/professional-
development/
Professional development is learning to earn or
maintain professional credentials such as academic
degrees to formal coursework, attending
conferences, and informal learning opportunities
situated in practice. It has been described as intensive
and collaborative, ideally incorporating an
evaluative stage. There are a variety of approaches to
professional development, including consultation,
coaching, communities of practice, lesson study,
mentoring, reflective supervision and technical
assistance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_develop
ment
What is Personality?
An individual’s personality is a unique entity
resulting from the interaction between a person and
his environment. It can be understood in terms of a
person’s behavior, actions, postures, words, attitudes
and opinions. Personality can also be described as an
individual's hidden feelings about the external world.
Components of Personality:
 Openness to Experience
 Conscientiousness
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Neuroticism (emotionality)
Most psychologists believe that these traits are
usually stable and result from interaction between a
person's genes and his environment. Let us look at
them in detail:
 Openness to experience- Inventive/Curious
vs. Consistent/Cautious
Openness to experience refers to a person's
accepted level of imagination and includes
multiple experiences like appreciating art,
experiencing various emotions and taking up
adventurous ideas. Someone who is inventive
and curious is likely to have a more active
intellectual thought process and
multiple/different ways of dealing with a
situation or problem.
 Conscientiousness- Efficient/ Organized vs.
Easy-going/ Careless
It represents a planned and organized
approach rather than spontaneity and
randomness. A 'structured' person puts great
value on order and control which reflects a
way of approaching tasks. For example, such
a person plans a project to the last detail, in a
precise manner. In certain extreme cases, it
appears somewhat obsessional or overly
perfectionist. A 'low structured' person has a
more relaxed and casual approach to life. As
long as jobs are completed, they do not worry
about systems or schedules or organization
and can sometimes appear disorganized.
They may miss important details or be late for
appointments. In a managerial sense, they
prefer the over-view or strategic approach,
rather than the detail-oriented approach of a
project.
 Extraversion- Outgoing/Energetic vs.
Solitary/Reserved
Extraversion implies energy, positive
emotions, forcefulness, friendliness, and
chattiness. The extrovert person is sociable,
outgoing and attracted to others. However,
extroverts can be impulsive and sometimes
take risks without weighing the odds.
Contrarily, an introvert is less concerned with
others and is more inward-looking.
Generally, they have a moderate outlook and
a cautious approach to work, but lack
excitement. Introverts do not want to be 'in
charge' nor do they seek limelight. More
often, their attitude is one of a personal
 challenge (the inner game), rather than
competition with others.
 Agreeableness- Friendly/Compassionate vs.
Cold/Unkind
The ability to show compassion and co-
operation. It is a personality trait that can help
you be an amicable person in the workplace.
Giving a cold shoulder to people you
encounter on a regular basis may not go down
well and may hamper your work and progress
in the long and short run.
 Neuroticism- Sensitive/Nervous vs.
Secure/Confident
It refers to emotional stability, control over
emotions and impulses, a tendency for anger,
nervousness, despair, or susceptibility. Those
with self-confidence are relaxed, optimistic,
enjoy responsibility and like to be tested.
Under pressure, they react calmly and in an
organized way, and have faith in their coping
ability. At work, they can deal with
unexpected events easily, and present their
views confidently. Those with low
confidence or emotional instability, have
difficulty coping with stress. While they can
assume responsibility, they may find it to be
a strain. They also question their abilities, and
show pessimism. At workplace, they like
predictability and avoid complex, open-
ended situations. It suggests that routine jobs
in large, supportive organizations are more
likely to suit them.
All about Interpersonal Skills and Interpersonal
Communication
Personality Development depends on:
 Self-awareness
 Clarity of personal and professional goals.
 Sincere efforts to learn necessary skills and
remove weaknesses.
 Character and conduct
 Self-Confidence, will-power and self-
discipline
 Positive thinking & good moral values
 Duty, responsibility and accountability
 Acceptance of others' feedback, especially
criticism
Emotional Intelligence
An additional facet in personality assessment is that
of Emotional Intelligence (EI). It looks at the traits
that are thought to differentiate between average and
high performers at a workplace. EI questionnaires
measure things like:
 Self-awareness: Our understanding of our
feelings and how we control them
 Emotional resilience: Our ability to work
under pressure and to adjust to new situations
 Motivation: The energy and drive to achieve
results and work towards goals
 Interpersonal sensitivity: The respect we
have for others' needs
 Influence and persuasion: Our ability to bring
other people around to our point of view
 Intuitiveness: The process of being able to
come to a clear decision when we have only
incomplete or ambiguous information
 Conscientiousness and integrity: Our ability
to display commitment and match our words
with action
Five Important Traits of a favorable Personality are:
 Appearance
 Intelligence
 Smartness
 Trustworthiness, High integrity &
Responsible
 Being Beneficial/ Advantageous
Negative aspects of a weak personality are:
 Unhygienic
 Hurting attitude
 Useless approach
 Non-beneficial communication
 Untrustworthiness, Irresponsible, Lack of
integrity
https://gdpi.hitbullseye.com/What-is-
Personality.php
Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality
According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory,
personality develops through a series of stages, each
characterized by a certain internal psychological
conflict.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
 Sigmund Freud ‘s psychoanalytic theory of
personality argues that human behavior is the
result of the interactions among three
component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and
superego.
 This “structural theory” of personality places
great importance on how conflicts among the
parts of the mind shape behavior and
personality. These conflicts are mostly
unconscious.
 According to Freud, personality develops
during childhood and is critically shaped
through a series of five psychosexual stages,
which he called his psychosexual theory of
development.
 During each stage, a child is presented with a
conflict between biological drives and social
expectations; successful navigation of these
internal conflicts will lead to mastery of each
developmental stage, and ultimately to a fully
mature personality.
 Freud’s ideas have since been met with
criticism, in part because of his singular focus
on sexuality as the main driver of human
personality development.
Key Terms
 neurosis: A mental disorder marked by
anxiety or fear; less severe than psychosis
because it does not involve detachment from
reality (e.g., hallucination).
 psychosexual: Of or relating to both
psychological and sexual aspects.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of
personality argues that human behavior is the result
of the interactions among three component parts of
the mind: the id, ego, and superego. This theory,
known as Freud’s structural theory of personality,
places great emphasis on the role of unconscious
psychological conflicts in shaping behavior and
personality. Dynamic interactions among these
fundamental parts of the mind are thought to progress
through five distinct psychosexual stages of
development. Over the last century, however,
Freud’s ideas have since been met with criticism, in
part because of his singular focus on sexuality as the
main driver of human personality development.
Freud’s Structure of the Human Mind
According to Freud, our personality develops from
the interactions among what he proposed as the three
fundamental structures of the human mind: the id,
ego, and superego. Conflicts among these three
structures, and our efforts to find balance among
what each of them “desires,” determines how we
behave and approach the world. What balance we
strike in any given situation determines how we will
resolve the conflict between two overarching
behavioral tendencies: our biological aggressive and
pleasure-seeking drives vs. our socialized internal
control over those drives.
Conflict within the mind: According to Freud, the
job of the ego is to balance the aggressive/pleasure-
seeking drives of the id with the moral control of the
superego.
The Id
The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is
concerned with instant gratification of basic physical
needs and urges. It operates entirely unconsciously
(outside of conscious thought). For example, if your
id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would
most likely take the ice cream for itself. It doesn’t
know, or care, that it is rude to take something
belonging to someone else; it would care only that
you wanted the ice cream.
The Superego
The superego is concerned with social rules and
morals—similar to what many people call their ”
conscience ” or their “moral compass.” It develops
as a child learns what their culture considers right
and wrong. If your superego walked past the same
stranger, it would not take their ice cream because it
would know that that would be rude. However, if
both your id and your superego were involved,
and your id was strong enough to override your
superego’s concern, you would still take the ice
cream, but afterward you would most likely feel guilt
and shame over your actions.
The Ego
In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral
superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of
our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is
partly conscious and partly unconscious. It’s what
Freud considered to be the “self,” and its job is to
balance the demands of the id and superego in the
practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the
stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego
would mediate the conflict between your id (“I want
that ice cream right now”) and superego (“It’s wrong
to take someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to go
buy your own ice cream. While this may mean you
have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate
your id, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as
part of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice
cream while also avoiding an unpleasant social
situation and potential feelings of shame.
Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in
constant conflict and that adult personality and
behavior are rooted in the results of these internal
struggles throughout childhood. He believed that a
person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality
and that imbalances in this system can lead to
neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety and
depression) and unhealthy behaviors.
Psychosexual Stages of Development
Freud believed that the nature of the conflicts among
the id, ego, and superego change over time as a
person grows from child to adult. Specifically, he
maintained that these conflicts progress through a
series of five basic stages, each with a different
focus: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. He
called his idea the psychosexual theory of
development, with each psychosexual stage directly
related to a different physical center of pleasure.
Across these five stages, the child is presented with
different conflicts between their biological drives
(id) and their social and moral conscience (supereg0)
because their biological pleasure-seeking urges focus
on different areas of the body (what Freud called
“erogenous zones”). The child’s ability to resolve
these internal conflicts determines their future ability
to cope and function as an adult. Failure to resolve a
stage can lead one to become fixated in that stage,
leading to unhealthy personality traits; successful
resolution of the stages leads to a healthy adult.
Criticism of Freud’s Theories
Although Freud’s theories have many advantages
that helped to expand our psychological
understanding of personality, they are not without
limits.
Narrow Focus
In his singular emphasis on the structure of the
human mind, Freud paid little to no attention to the
impact of environment, sociology, or culture. His
theories were highly focused on pathology and
largely ignored “normal,” healthy functioning. He
has also been criticized for his myopic view of
human sexuality to the exclusion of other important
factors.
No Scientific Basis
Many critics point out that Freud’s theories are not
supported by any empirical (experimental) data. In
fact, as researchers began to take a more scientific
look at his ideas, they found that several
were unable to be supported: in order for a theory to
be scientifically valid, it must be possible to disprove
(“falsify”) it with experimental evidence, and many
of Freud’s notions are not falsifiable.
Misogyny
Feminists and modern critics have been particularly
critical of many of Freud’s theories, pointing out that
the assumptions and approaches of psychoanalytic
theory are profoundly patriarchal (male-dominated),
anti-feminist, and misogynistic (anti-woman). Karen
Horney, a psychologist who followed Freud, saw the
mainstream Freudian approach as having a
foundation of “masculine narcissism.” Feminist
Betty Friedan referred to Freud’s concept of “penis
envy” as a purely social bias typical of the Victorian
era and showed how the concept played a key role in
discrediting alternative notions of femininity in the First we will examine the first year of life. Freud
early to mid-twentieth century. called this the oral stage of development because he
believed that oral stimulation was the primary means
Erik Erikson of development at this time. Erikson called this stage
Erik Erikson is influential for having proposed the of development trust vs. mistrust. Both believe that
psychosocial theory of development, which suggests a child develops their sense of trust at this stage of
that an individual’s personality develops throughout development.
the lifespan based on a series of social Next, let's discuss the first through third years of life.
relationships—a departure from Freud’s more Freud called this the anal stage of development, and
biology-oriented view. In his psychosocial theory, Erikson called this autonomy vs. shame and doubt.
Erikson emphasized the social relationships that are Both believe that a sense of independence is learned
important at each stage of personality development, at this stage of development, and that toilet training
in contrast to Freud’s emphasis on sex. Erikson is an important focus of this independence. Parental
identified eight stages, each of which represents a attitudes at this time can also have a lasting effect.
conflict or developmental task. The development of Ages three through six is referred to as the phallic
a healthy personality and a sense of competence stage by Freud and the initiative vs. guilt stage by
depend on the successful completion of each task. Erikson. Freud believed this stage was where a child
identifies with the same-sex parent and develops
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless- self-esteem. Erikson felt that this was the stage where
psychology/chapter/psychodynamic-perspectives- a child begins to exert power and control over their
on-personality/ environment. This is the point where you will start to
see more differences in the two theories.
Differentiate between Freud's and Erikson's The next developmental stage occurs at ages seven
approaches to psychoanalytic theory in this lesson. through 11. Freud calls this stage of
You will examine and compare developmental development latency and believes that this is an
stages side by side and have the opportunity to test intermediary stage of development where the child
your knowledge with a quiz at the end. forms interactions with their environment. Erikson
Example for Comparison refers to it as industry vs. inferiority. He believes
Mary has a 3-month-old daughter. Mary bottle feeds that children begin to demonstrate their ability to
her child and follows a strict schedule for feeding succeed.
times. The child is not allowed to have a pacifier.
Mary is an affectionate parent, and all of her child's https://study.com/academy/lesson/differences-
needs are met. How could the actions that occur in between-freud-and-eriksons-approaches-to-
the child's life now affect her later development? psychoanalytic-theory-differences-analysis.html
Similarities of Freud and Erikson
Sigmund Freud's psychosexual theory and Erik
Erikson's psychosocial theory are two important
psychoanalytic theories on human development that
could be used to explain the developmental effects of
this scenario. In this lesson, we will examine what
these two theories have in common and how they
differ.
Erikson's theory followed Freud's and was based on
many of Freud's ideas. Because of this, the two
theories have similarities. Both theorists recognize
the importance of the unconscious on development.
They also both separate development into stages of a
person's life and utilize similar age divisions for
these developmental stages.
Differences of Freud and Erikson
However, there are several differences that exist
between the names of the stages and the
developmental issues that are encountered during
each stage. Part of the reason for this is that each
psychologist has his own unique view of what drives
a person's development. Freud's psychosexual theory
emphasizes the importance of basic needs and
biological forces, while Erikson's psychosocial
theory is based upon social and environmental
factors. Erikson also expands his theory into
adulthood, while Freud's theory ends at an earlier
period.
Psychosexual vs. Psychosocial Stages
Now, let's briefly look at Freud's psychosexual stages
and Erikson's psychosocial stages alongside each
other.