SRN LEADS/Stanford University: School Redesign Network — Leadership, Equity & Accountability in Districts & Schools

Professional Development in the United States

Teachers are the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement, and how teachers are prepared and supported throughout their careers is vital to their success. Learning Forward (originally the National Staff Development Council) and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education are involved in a multi-year effort that tracks states' progress in teacher professional development and identifies policies and practices that offer promising lessons. The study is one of the most comprehensive yet conducted. The following reports have been released through this study:

Phase I: February, 2009: Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the U.S. and Abroad

A baseline assessment of what works and what is happening in states and other nations to provide us with useful benchmarks against which we can measure state and district progress Executive Summary Technical Report Press Release

Phase II: August, 2010: Professional Development in the United States: Trends and Challenges

A report analyzing the status of professional learning in the United States by identifying the availability and quality of professional development in the United States based on 11 criteria. Executive Summary Technical Report Press Release

Phase III: December 2010: Teacher Professional Learning in the United States:
Case Studies of State Policies and Strategies

A study looking at the policies and professional development strategies of four professionally active states through case studies.

Executive Summary Technical Report

 

The multiyear research initiative is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MetLife Foundation, NSDC, and the Wallace Foundation.