Core contribution
We rather take for granted nowadays the link that is regularly made between professional development and its contribution to school improvement. Long gone are the days when professional development was experienced as isolated external courses teachers happened to alight upon, which had little lasting effect on them … and next to no impact on the school. Perhaps something of a turning point came at the turn of the century with the then government’s Strategy for Professional Development1. Soon afterwards, with this strategy in mind, Ofsted conducted a review into effective continuing professional development (CPD) and made what was to become a persisting fundamental link with school improvement:
“The best results occurred where CPD was central to the schools’ improvement planning. Schools which integrated performance management, school self-review and development, and CPD into a coherent cycle of planning improved the quality of teaching and raised standards”
(Ofsted, 2006).2
Many studies followed. For instance Bubb and Earley investigated the practical steps school leaders can take to ensure that self-evaluation of school performance led, through the effective staff development, to genuine school improvement. They concluded:
“The role of continuing development of staff was crucial in helping to address most of the priorities identified through self-evaluation to bring about improvement, enhance the quality of the learning experience, and generally make things better for pupils.” 3
Development at the heart of improvement
In more recent times the Education Development Trust has explored amongst headteachers the key factors which contribute to school improvement. Prominent in the resulting Headteachers’ framework for rapid school improvement was: “support the teachers to develop their professional practice with the best possible professional development opportunities”4. Similarly, in a study examining the relationships among coordination, coherence, and improved achievement in New Zealand case study schools, all “mentioned the quality and focus of the schoolwide professional development”5.
This contribution of professional development to school improvement is portrayed as having breadth and depth, being key to effective leadership and selfevaluation, and to contribute to both teaching and learning. Perhaps most important is the direct link with impact on pupil achievement as claimed in a meta-analysis of high quality professional development conducted this year by Fletcher-Wood and Zuccollo:
■■ High-quality CPD for teachers has a significant effect on pupils’ learning outcomes.
■■ Evidence suggests that quality CPD has a greater effect on pupil attainment than other interventions schools may consider, such as implementing performance related pay for teachers or lengthening the school day.6