Chapter 4:Professional Development as a Policy Pathway

Want to improve teaching and learning in public education? Mount an improve-ment initiative that centrally features high-quality professional development, reflecting the latest consensus and research evidence concerning “best practice. ” In recent years, the answer is almost taken for granted by many leaders and policymakers, especially those situated in school district central offices and in state education agencies. The lure of professional development is understandable, given how much new learn-ing contemporary reform demands of teachers and administrators and given the drum-beat urging students and school systems to rise to a higher standard of performance (Thompson & Zeuli, 1999). In response, it is natural for those responsible for reform to mount a professional development initiative tied to standards, curricular goals, and even the current assessment system and hope that it will help school staff realize the ambitious goals of the reform in question. It is very likely, however, that the professional development initiative in question will not yield quick or consistent results, at least not where policymakers and stake-holders think to look. The obvious conclusion drawn by many—that efforts to sup-port professional learning were a failure—leaves proponents and bystanders puzzled.