The terrain of intermediary organizations' professional development offerings. Issue 2 (15th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Woulfin, Sarah L.; Jones-Lawal, Britney; Gabriel, Rachael
• Is Part Of: Professional development in education. Volume 44:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 302
• Page End: 306
• Publication Date: 2018-03-15
• Subjects: Intermediary organizations -- professional development -- accountability policy -- teacher learning; Teachers -- In-service training -- Periodicals; 370.7155
• DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2017.1299030
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1941-5257

Abstract

Abstract: In the current educational policy context, the call for accountability has intensified efforts to raise the capacity of educators. As professional development (PD) is increasingly leveraged to improve student outcomes, state and district administrators seek ways to provide affordable and effective opportunities for educator growth. Intermediary organizations, such as Regional Centers (RCs), have taken on the task of providing PD. In this qualitative study of three RCs, we discuss the nature of their PD commodities across a northeastern state. Our analysis of RCs' PD offerings revealed patterns in their approaches to PD. In their attempts to serve the needs of districts, each RC focused on teachers as their target audience, yet there was much variability in the format and content of sessions. A relatively small number of sessions reflected best practices asserted by research. These findings have important implications for the role of intermediary organizations as policy actors and for state and district leaders in identifying and selecting PD supportive of adult learning and school improvement.