The Perception of a Problem: Shifting From Professional Development Obstacles to Opportunities

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: Division K Section 8 Poster Session 1

Abstract

Often characterized as “the most serious unsolved problem for policy and practice in American education today,” the rigidity of institutional structures and demanding professional routines present obstacles to facilitating and participating in PD that is relevant, sustainable, valuable to teachers, and valued by administrators. And while these roadblocks are indeed problematic, the language characterizing PD as “a problem” embodies presuppositions that may narrow the perception of its obstacles in ways that obscure alternative approaches to research and implementation. Rather than presume to offer “a solution” to this “problem,” this article discusses how PD and its related obstacles function systemically within educational institutions.

Authors

• Rebecca Chiyoko Itow, Indiana University

• Daniel T. Hickey, Indiana University