Abstract:
Although professional development in Australian schools is often part of the mandatory requirement for teachers to remain current with policies, practices and pedagogy, some teachers question the relevance of such programs. As Lieberman and McLaughlin (1992) note, many teachers are critical of conventional staff development ventures with workplace driven in-services traditionally being met with 'aversion'. The perception that such professional development is of limited worth is exacerbated by the very universality of an experience that often sees an entire staff 'complete' many hours of passive learning with little apparent relevance to the core business of teaching.