Teacher Professional Development, In-School Training and STEM

Professional development has central value at the professional life of teachers, a fact that is sealed by the institutionalization of compulsory in-school training in Elementary schools. Equally important is STEM education, appearing in both new curricula and skills workshops. Teachers therefore find themselves on the receiving end of intense reform initiatives. This work aims to record the factors that enhance the participation of teachers in in-school trainings and to describe the relationship of professional development to in-school training and STEM, as expressed by the teachers themselves. This is a focused case study of 11 teachers of a primary school in Greece. Our findings focus on each participant professional profile, his/her experience of attending in-school education, the characteristics of in-school education, the perceived relation of in-school training and professional development, as well as in-school education and STEM education.