The Effects of Development Strategies Used by Teacher Trainers at an In-service Teacher Training Program*

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the development strategy used by the teacher trainers at a teacher training program in a metropolitan area in Korea for six years from 2003 to 2008. The study assumed that an in-service teacher training program could be successful if teacher trainers were actively involved in the in-service training program by using a development strategy from the planning stage to the end of the program. Six hundred and ten elementary and secondary school teachers participated in the in-service teacher training program thirty hours a week, each year, over six years. Data were gathered through a questionnaire survey and personal interviews. For the first two years the in-service teacher training program were administrated with emphasis on a top-down approach with a competency or knowledge-based program. On the other hand, the programs, in the following four years, were administrated with emphasis on a bottom-up approach with a traineecentered or client-centered program by the teacher trainers. The data were assessed to establish whether there was a significant effect stemming from the level of teacher trainers’ participation that accompanied the treatment. The results indicated that the teacher trainer’s development strategy had the positive effects on the in-service teacher training program. The study implied that teacher trainers needed to be more aware of the educational process of the trainees and to get involved with the in-service teacher training program more actively.