Semantic analysis of the role of professional development in the social status of teachers (Research sample: teachers working in Tehran province)

The objective of the present study was meaning-based analysis of the role of professional development in teachers’ social status. The research was conducted by qualitative method and based on grounded theory methodology. Its statistical population included the teachers working in education organization in the west of Tehran province, 19 of whom selected as the sample based on the principle of theoretical saturation. According to the opinion of the research’s guiding group and using the Delphi method, the interview questions were reviewed by experts in the fields of sociology, management, and educational sciences and they confirmed its content validity. Moreover, Cohen’s kappa coefficient was employed to measure its reliability (judges’ consensus rate). The concepts extracted from these interviews included 54 initial conceptual propositions in professional development section, 132 conceptual initial propositions in social status section, and 45 conceptual initial propositions in the section of the role of professional development in teachers’ social status. These concepts were reflected at three stages of open, axial, and selective coding and in the form of a grounded theory model (paradigm) centered on a core category, causal conditions, background conditions, intervening conditions, strategies, and consequences. The research data analysis indicates the role of professional development in the teachers’ social status, stating the presence of a synergistic and direct relationship between the research’s two main categories, i. e. professional development and teachers’ social status, in which the teachers play a decisive and effective role. The paradigm or schematic design is presented in the research findings and results section