Effects of a Professional Development Workshop on Career and Technical Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Two-Stroke Engine Repair Skills: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Teaching is an ever-changing profession that involves the need for continuing education
throughout ones’ career that can often be met through professional development (Niven, 1993).
Teachers have identified two-stroke small gas engines as an area that they have a lack of
confidence teaching, indicating a need for professional development (Niven, 1993; Shultz,
Anderson, Paulsen, & Shultz, 2014). The conceptual framework that guided this study was
based upon Roberts and Ball’s (2009) conceptual model for agricultural subject matter as a
content and context for teaching students. The purpose for this study was to create and validate
a new instrument related to understanding the teaching of two-stroke engines content within
secondary career and technical education coursework, as well as describe the effects of a twoday
professional development workshop on these perceptions. The population consisted of 20
(N = 20) career and technical education teachers who completed a pre- and post-workshop
instrument. We found statistically significant changes within the competence to perform,
curriculum available to teach, and ability to teach two-stroke engine repair skills categories. We
recommend that industry provide opportunities for teachers to improve their two-stroke engines
repair skills content and for teachers to take advantage of such opportunities.