Chapter 7 District capacity and accountability: professional development as reform tool

Abstract

Scholars and reform activists see district-level leaders as key actors in improving teaching and learning. This study examines the efforts of one district that successfully narrowed achievement gaps by largely focusing on teacher professional development. I employ the concepts of physical capital, human capital, and social capital as key ingredients of the process of instructional reform. I highlight the district's role in creating system-wide changes in instruction through investment in developing teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical skills.

Citation

Bae, S. (2008), "Chapter 7 District capacity and accountability: professional development as reform tool", Fuller, B., Henne, M.K. and Hannum, E. (Ed.) Strong States, Weak Schools: The Benefits and Dilemmas of Centralized Accountability (Research in the Sociology of Education, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 189-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3539(08)16007-4