Themes and Policy Questions From the Study
Reflecting on the results of the survey of the policy context and state-level funding for teacher professional development produces some themes that need further exploration and discussion and some policy questions that need to be addressed in designing and funding teacher professional development programs.
- Who is responsible for teacher professional development? A case can be made that the teacher should be responsible for his or her own professional development as a form of personal human capital development that enhances the teacher's own job skills and economic value in the teacher labor market. A case can also be made that the school district as the primary educational service delivery agent should determine what teacher professional development is needed and design and fund their own programs. Since education constitutionally is a state function, the case could also be made that it is the state that has ultimate responsibility for determining the need for teacher professional development and funding such programs. The question of who determines teacher professional development programs and who funds them can be separated. These kinds of questions need to be addressed in teacher professional development policy design by state-level policymakers.
- What is teacher professional development? Is the primary purpose of teacher professional development to enhance the knowledge, skill, and disposition of the individual teacher or to enhance the overall quality of the educational system? These imply two very different approaches to teacher professional development. Is teacher professional development directed toward improving the technical knowledge and skills of teachers, or is teacher professional development designed to improve the knowledge of subject matter of the teacher, or should it serve both purposes? These questions all focus on what composes teacher quality. Some have argued that teachers need to be better technicians in the delivery of instruction; others suggest that student performance can best be improved if we view, treat, and develop teachers as intellectuals.
- What is the relationship between teacher professional development and certification and licensure issues? There would seem to be an obvious connection between the initial preparation of teachers and their continuing professional development while in service, but an analysis of the state data suggests that this is an area where additional attention can be directed. Possibly one answer is that teacher professional development has become isolated from teacher preparation, and that different goals, approaches, and policy assumptions drive each of these two efforts. Consideration might be given to a continuous and seamless set of state policies and programs that begins with the initial selection and preparation of teacher candidates and continues through the entire teaching career.
- Should programs of teacher professional development be fostered and funded as mandates or as incentives? One approach to teacher professional development would be to mandate by law some program of continuing education for teachers and provide strong sanctions for those who do not comply. Another approach would be to provide financial incentives for school districts, schools, and teachers to develop and implement programs of teacher professional development. As has been observed about mandatory teacher inservice training programs in local school districts, “You can lead a teacher to inservice, but you can't make them think.”
- What kinds of funding mechanisms should be used to support teacher professional development? Various mechanisms now in use include block grants, formula grants, and competitive grants. A study is needed to determine which mechanisms achieve the desired purposes. Issues of how to integrate and coordinate state and federal funds for professional development need to be addressed. However, it may not be possible to answer funding questions until the other questions posed above are answered. Regardless of the answers to these questions, we must find ways to develop programs for teacher professional development that are comprehensive, sustained, and result in improved student performance. The Education Commission of the States, among others, has observed that there is a significant knowledge gap between what we may know to be effective in the improvement of teacher quality and what is practiced in public schools. Part of that is a chasm between what research tells us defines teacher quality and how teachers and others perceive quality.
Individual case studies of selected states may assist us in understanding how those states answered these questions and have approached the issue of teacher professional development. Further study and discussion can help us explore these questions and issues and move toward some understanding of what might compose a recommended program of teacher professional development as an instrument of state policy.
