Professional Development for Instruction and Student Learning? A New State Policy for Administrators

摘要

Can a capacity building policy encourage school leaders to engage in professional development that will increase their focus on student achievement and understanding of instructional leadership? To explore this issue, school administrators were interviewed and a content analysis of plans for professional development generated during the first year of New Jersey's Professional Development Initiative for School Leaders was conducted. This initiative requires administrators to develop and carry out professional development plans. It calls for peer review of those plans but provides few sanctions and little support. Findings revealed that most plans intended to promote student achievement but only about a third focused on instructional issues.