Hi, not sure if I can help... However..

P.D. should be an outcome (the teacher has developed their practice), however it is commonly used in terms of some form of training activity that a teacher will undergoing in the hope that it will develop their practice.

I think it would be helpful for you to define P.D. Along the lines of, activities that teachers undertake with the aim of improving their teacher practice, this could be easily linked to whatever teaching and learning framework exists in your country as the measure of efficacy of the P.D. Frameworks often exist as rubrics that describe different competences teachers should be expected to demonstrate at their level of expertise. They would exist in domains such as :

Teachers know what they teach and how to teach it effectively

Teachers know how students learn

Ability to work collaboratively with other teachers to improve teaching and learning

Ability to use assessment data to inform teaching and learning

etc.

You could also combine this with the Dreyfus model of skill development, and ask the question about what type of P.D. actually assists teachers to develop their practice, and how this comes about. From what I know, teacher practice can be difficult to change due to many underlying assumptions about the nature of their work, combined with poor methods of delivering P.D. There is research evidence that ongoing P.D. delivered as close to the classroom as possible (preferably in the classroom) or at minimum at the school by practitioners is far more effective than once off efforts at a conference (shown to be practically useless for a variety of reasons).

There is world-wide difficulty in measuring a teacher professional development in terms of outcomes due to: differences in subject pedagogy, different cultural expectations, differences between every class and so on. There is no common scale across countries, and when there is one (say for instance the AitSL scale in Australia) it is generic enough to be useable in every school - but then lacks the detail unless each school develops it's own interpretation - I.e. There is a big difference in teaching year 1 to year 12 - demonstrating a particular capacity could be miles apart depending on your circumstances.

However you have not really stated your research question, so I am not sure....

I think the "socio-cultural perspective" method is the most proper method.....

It depends on what you intend to achieve from your study. PD can be used variously used/applied. If it is viewed as a mechanism for strengthening teachers' professional knowledge and skills, then it could be seen a process to achieve goals of promoting teachers' development. A combination (hybrid) of socio-cultural and situated theories may be relevant.

You will be working with adults. Research Knowles' Adult Learning Theory as a framework, as well as motivational learning theory, and learning theories in general.  All teachers need to be aware of how students learn. Each student, children or adults learn differently.  You will need to know your students' motivations for the PD. Is it a job requirement, a state mandated training, or for self improvement and self efficacy? PD comes in many forms now from traditional face to face classrooms, blended learning environments, or totally online learning developments.

Where can I get literature on pragmatism as a guiding philosophy for mixed methods research paradigm?

Dear Masota,

Professional Development in education has an assumption that what is taught in PD is a better approach or method in teaching. This is to say the argument PD makes is if you follow our suggestions we can make you a better teacher.  I believe this to be factually incorrect. Therefore, I would use Critical Theory as my theoretical framework. Critical Theory is examining the promised outcome to the factual outcome and PD is an outcome based program.  

I hope this helps,

Douglas

Where can I access literature on paragmatism as a guiding philosophy for mixed methods research approach ?

I would go to NIRN - National Implementation Research Network.

http://nirn.fpg.unc.edu/

I would like to use mised methods of research & also use of reflective approch!

Hi Masota,

I used Activity Theory in my thesis to investigate primary school teachers and it worked very well. I am happy to provide some basic references if you think it will help.

Kevin

An analytical system of indicators is proposed which will enable to monitor the causal chain running from inputs and demand factors to outputs and outcomes. To recapitulate what seem to be the priority indicators in education for basic education

al planning and the analysis of cost - effectiveness, equity and externalities.

http://services.iadb.org/wmsfiles/products/Publications/2218419.pdf

Hi Masota!

School teachers are "adult learners". Malcolm Knowles' adult learning theory is in alignment with your study. Merriam and Bierema's 2014 research on Adult Learning Theory is also another avenue to research and review for your study. 

PD is an ongoing process for teachers who need and want to stay up to date on teaching theories and practice where a variety of learning experiences take place.. PD courses may be required as a part of a teacher's PD Plan goals. The facilitators scaffold the learning activities in the learning experience. The outcomes of the PD are based on the facilitator(s) of the learning experience and the learner's participation the course. Is the PD course or training involve teachers reflecting on past and current teaching experience? If so, you may want to look into the research of Jack Mezirow (1991) and Taylor and Cranton (2012) on Transformative Learning. I would limit your initial theories to three or four, otherwise you might get stuck on your Theory section of the research study. :)

I hope this helps you.  Feel free to contact me with further questions of concern.

Judith Behrens

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