Living Libraries: An Examination of Literacy Teacher Professional Development in Peru

This mixed-method study explored teachers' perceptions of the Living Libraries (LL) professional development program. The study investigated the program's perceived effectiveness and impact on students' reading skills. Additionally, the researchers sought to understand how LL trained teachers perceived the program as aiding their reading instruction. The study also examined the influence the professional development had on teachers' overall self-efficacy, particularly in relation to three components of classroom teaching: student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. The researchers aimed to identify differences in teachers' self-efficacy levels based on the duration of their participation in the professional development program. The researchers used a questionnaire to collect teachers' opinions regarding the professional development offered by LL and their self-efficacy. They also used the adapted version of the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale to understand the influence of LL's services on teachers' self-efficacy. The data showed that teachers had a positive perception of the program's effectiveness, and they noticed improvements in students' reading comprehension, motivation to read, and interest in reading. The researchers found no significant difference in self-efficacy scores based on the number of years of training in the LL program. Teachers who had received one year of training had the highest overall self-efficacy scores and the highest scores in other self-efficacy components. The study found no predictive relationship between teachers' perceptions of professional development and overall self-efficacy or its subscales. Finally, the researchers made recommendations for LL and future studies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]