Professional learning: Models
Whole school – quality development
Quality development is a strategic approach to whole-school planning.
It is a framework for planned change, which avoids both the temptation
of short-term expediency and the risk of neither satisfying national
requirements, nor enhancing assessment practices in a school.
Quality development is a collaborative, non-threatening analysis
of school operations, procedures, and skills. Participants work
together to improve schools, implement professional development,
and enhance learning.
Constructing a quality development action plan has been found to
be effective and workable. A crucial starting point is a thorough
review and analysis of current school and teacher understanding,
processes, and skills for assessment. For each priority identified,
at whatever level, a cycle of planning and practical work is needed.
This is consistent with ideas formulated by Hargreaves and Hopkins
(1991), and Holly (1990), who describe a model that links school
effectiveness and improvement.
Quality development means:
- promoting a positive and desirable approach to professional
development;
- developing a range of models that link formative assessment
practice and national requirements;
- sharing the experience of others where appropriate;
- using objective self-analysis to link to individual and school-wide
developments;
- planning relevant and realistic development;
- ensuring adequate resources;
- facilitating teacher ownership and responsibility.
This is a practical but strategic approach to school improvement.
It involves reviewing, prioritising needs, cooperatively developing
and resourcing an action plan, and evaluating progress over a given
period.
Process for quality development
(Burridge and Ribbins, 1994)
References
Burridge, E. and Ribbins, P. (1994). Promoting Improvement in Schools:
Aspects of Quality in Birmingham. In P. Ribbins and E. Burridge (Eds) Improving Education, Promoting Quality in Schools.
London: Cassell.
Hargreaves, D. and Hopkins, D. (1991). The Empowered School: The
Management and Practice of Development Planning. London: Cassell.
Holly, P. (1990). School-based Development in Action. London:
IMTEC.
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