ABSTRACT
This chapter explores four aspects of staff development. The first is its linkage role in terms of blending school-focussed INSET opportunities with school development. We will argue that this has not always been the case, but that, with ‘TRIST’ and then ‘GRIST’ and now ‘LFM’, a quiet revolution has been occurring. As one observer commented recently, ‘the world (of INSET) has moved on’. The second aspect is a set of characteristics which, when acting in combination, make for effective and impactful staff development. Here we are indebted to the research findings arising from the TRIST initiative and to the DELTA project in particular. The third aspect, which builds on the second, is the question of the integration of staff development endeavours within school development. Here we are indebted to the seminal work of John Goodlad and Ann Lieberman. The fourth aspect of staff development is its reliance on the quality of the organizational context or ‘setting’ in which it occurs. School receptivity is a crucial concept and may prove the vital factor in transforming staff development exercises from school-focussed activities into genuine school developments. The pioneering work of Bruce Joyce and his associates is given rightful prominence in this section.
