Horses for courses or courses for Horses: what is effective teacher development?

In this article we attempt to move forward the debate on what constitutes effective development for teachers by examining some of the current models of teacher development. We argue that each of the models is from a particular perspective and that this needs to be taken into account. We further argue that the purposes of these models and conceptualisations need to be considered as they can be categorised according to whether they are descriptive, explanatory or prescriptive. Yet it is not clear how descriptive and explanatory models become prescriptive to guide action. In addition, we highlight the role of the individual as an important locus of control in teacher development. Further literature is then used to support our argument that the choice of developmental model intended to have an impact on teachers' practice needs to be flexible, informed and deliberate if it is to be effective