Establishing criteria for effective professional development and use in evaluating an action research based programme

Abstract

A dialectical, or mutually informing and influencing, relationship exists between research, programmes for development and improved teaching and learning. Among a raft of other attributes, current perceptions of effective professional development (summarised in the paper) point to deep, collaborative, active and ongoing features as important. Such development, in turn, should result in improvements to teaching and learning, and both these outcomes, and the professional development programme itself, should be able to be evaluated. A review of an action research based leadership programme against the features of effective professional development is used as an example of evaluation. The evaluation indicates a strong and robust approach, but also highlights limitations of independent evaluator depth of knowledge of such a programme and the need to encourage a move towards more rigorous data collection showing evidence of change in evaluation.