Presentation of the Professional Development Model of Elementary Teachers in Kurdistan Province

Document Type : Mixed Method Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Urmia, Urmia, Iran

2 Corresponding author, Professor, Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Urmia, Urmia, Iran

10.22034/jsa.2026.144134.2596

Abstract

This study aims to present a comprehensive professional development model for elementary school teachers in Kurdistan Province, Iran, using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, content analysis of expert interviews yielded 104 open codes grouped through theoretical saturation into six main categories: causal conditions comprising "curriculum," "mission orientation," "job factors," and "response to needs"; core components consisting of "knowledge development," "personal development," and "effective training"; contextual factors including "job-person fit," "comprehensive utilization of individual capabilities," "knowledge enhancement," and "educational facilities"; strategic factors encompassing "organizational learning" and "school autonomy"; intervening factors featuring "validation and evaluation," "knowledge management," and "teachers' personality traits"; and consequences categorized into "organizational outcomes" and "individual outcomes." In the quantitative phase, a researcher-developed questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 150 elementary teachers selected via simple random sampling from the target population. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated robust model fit indices. Structural equation modeling via SmartPLS confirmed significant positive path coefficients from causal factors to professional development (β=0.548,p<0.01), contextual factors to strategies (β=0.353,p<0.01), and intervening factors to strategies (β=0.531,p<0.01). Strategies also significantly predicted outcomes (β=0.294,p<0.05). However, the path from professional development to strategies was non-significant (β=-0.031,p>0.05). Finally, these findings offer targeted recommendations for educational policymakers in Kurdistan.

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