ABSTRACT
These three exemplars of professional development practice in schools have been evolved following research by questionnaire and interview. They offer some hard evidence about the way in which context affects the approach taken to professional development; the way in which philosophy conditions practice; and the way in which professional development has an impact on stakeholders within the school. Besides giving factual detail, these studies also demonstrate the progression of professional development:
from ad hoc and random opportunities to planned and evaluated ones;
from incoherent episodes to coherent planning;
from a training culture to a professional development culture; and
from isolated and individualized development to integrated and holistic development.
