CURRENT STATUS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AMONG LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE FACULTY IN VIRGINIA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The objectives of this study were 1) to ascertain the methods currently employed by language and literature faculty in Virginia's community colleges for keeping abreast of new developments in their fields; 2) to determine the perceived effectiveness of these methods; and 3) to recommend steps that the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), state universities, and faculty might take to increase professional development participation and to improve the efficacy of current approaches to professional development. A series of personal interviews with community college language and literature faculty confirmed previous findings in the literature suggesting that community college faculty tend to identify themselves as teachers, not researchers, and therefore tend to engage in professional development activities designed to enhance teaching, not scholarship. Faculty interviewed during this study were largely uninvolved in professional development activities that would contribute to increased knowledge in the discipline. Three broad areas are identified as essential for improving current professional development practices: increased time for professional development, increased collegiality, and greater accessibility and flexibility in graduate programs. The VCCS recently implemented a systemwide professional development initiative to address these needs.