Staff development and the process of teacher change

ABSTRACT: This article-presents a model that describes the process of teacher change, particularly through staff development programs. The model suggests a temporal sequence of events that is hypothesized to typify the process from staff development to enduring change in teachers ' perceptions and attitudes. Research evidence supporting the model is summarized and the conditions under which change might be facilitated are described. Several principles for enhancing the change process to improve staff development efforts are also outlined,.High quality staff development is a central component in nearly every proposal for improving education. Because teachers today remain in their positions for longer periods of time, and fewer new teachers enter the field, improvements in our schools will clearly require enhance-ment of the professional skills of present staff members. The proposed staff development programs vary widely in context and format, yet they generally share a common purpose. Specific-ally, staff development programs are designed to "alter the profes-sional pract ices, beliefs, and understanding of school persons toward an articulated end " (Griffin, 1983, p. 2). In most cases, that end is the improvement of student learning. In other words, staff development programs are a sys-tematic attempt to bring about change—change in the classroom practices of teachers, change in their beliefs and attitudes, and change in the learning outcomes of students. This article presents a perspec-tive on the nature of these thre