Initiative Qingdao City First Grade Primary School Teachers' Professional Development

The professional development initiative of elementary school novice teachers not only concerns the teachers’own development but also affects the students’healthy growth. In this study, we took elementary school novice teachers in Qingdao city as research objects, conducted semi-structured interview to6teachers’ professional development initiative and investigated219teachers using teacher professional development initiative questionnaire. The results show as follows:1) The elementary school novice teachers’ professional development initiative in Qingdao city is in general at medium level. The scores of the two dimensions, which are personal initiative and environment initiative, are also at middle level. The score of personal initiative is higher than environment initiative in professional development. Additionally, for novice teachers’ professional development initiative, significant differences were found in teaching grade, teaching age and monthly income. However, there is no significant difference in age, school location, type of school and teaching subject. The internal motivation is found the determinant of keeping novice teachers’ professional development initiative.2) The novice teachers’ professional development initiative experience four periods, namely conflictive period, balancing period, strategic period and pursuing excellence period, showing a spiral development tendency. Novice teachers in their first and second career years tend to seek for strategy to deal with conflict. Although they face all sorts of pressure and struggle, their professional development initiative is still higher than other periods. While in their third and fourth career years, novice teachers tend to seek balance, which is a turning point of maintaining professional development initiative. The fifth year is named pursuing excellence period also called plateau period which needs theories to improve practical development. Furthermore, three development models are found among the novice teachers’ professional development initiative, namely Individual-Guide Type, Observation/Assessment Type and Study-Group Type.Based on analysis of the findings, both novice teachers themselves and the environment should contribute in enhancing the professional development initiative. For themselves, novice teachers should strengthen their consciousness, establish specific goal of professional development and form reflection habits. For environment, education administrations need create organizational climate of teacher-oriented, establish developmental evaluation and strengthen novice teachers’ sense of mission.Furthermore, public and private school should learn from each other in facilitating novice teachers’ professional development.