Ongoing Professional Development for Licensure Renewal: Has That Much Really Changed? 323professional development is a requirement of licensure renewal, professional development in
New Jersey is linked to district certification (New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 62,
Chapter 30, 2005), with no specific state review of plans and “little oversight,” (Firestone,
Hayes, Shalaby & Robinson, 2007, p. 35). The researchers suggested that “more pointed
guidance to administrators” may be in order if ongoing professional development focused on
instructional improvement is a state priority (p. 36).
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This study was guided by a two-part conceptual framework: recommended best practices
in professional development and an emergent framework for policy implementation.
Recommended Best Practices in Professional Development
The National Staff Development Council delineated three types of professional
development standards: context standards, process standards, and content standards (National
Staff Development Council, 2001). Together, these standards are focused on professional
development that is on-going, context-specific, embedded within the goals of the school and
district, and data-driven. St. John, Manset-Williamson, Chung, and Michael, in their 2005
study of state policy claims about professional development, noted that school-based,
collaborative professional development, embedded in the day-to-day work of educators,
positively impacted student learning, an outcome substantiated by other researchers
(Education Commission of the States, 1997 as cited in St. John et al., 2005; Guskey & Sparks,
1997 as cited in St. John et al., 2005). In their study of state administrator licensure, Adams
and Copeland suggested a framework of licensure, advanced certification, professional
training, and research that is ongoing, connected to school and community goals, and related
to school performance.
The degree to which a state policy on ongoing professional development of school
administrators is implemented is based, in part, on the degree to which the policy reflects
known best practices in professional development. Policy success also depends on
implementation.
Framework for Policy Implementation
Desimone, Smith, and Phillips (2007) suggested a policy implementation paradigm that
recognized the professional capacity of local educators. In their study of the Schools and
Staffing Survey (SASS) data, the researchers described attributes of the policy environment
that increase policy implementation as follows:
- Authority—“the extent to which a policy is accepted and persuasive” (p. 1089);
- Power—the rewards and sanctions attached to a policy;
- Consistency—alignment with other elements of the policy system; and
- Stability—of both actors and ideas in the policy environment.
They found that teachers tended to participate in research-based professional development
given the authority of the policy, more so than the sanctions attached to the policy. This is
consistent with earlier research related to the implementation of policy mandates versus
incentives; mandates tend to be implemented through minimal compliance (Firestone, 1989).