A Framework for Research on Professional Development Schools

The purpose of the book is to provide Professional Development School (PDS) workers with a framework for conducting research in a PDS. The book examines the history of these schools as a phenomenon, analyzes PDS research since its inception in 1986, outlines the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education's (NCATE) PDS standards, and the American Education Research Association's (AERA) recommended research methods. The book includes hypothetical examples of research in these schools that are approved by the AERA.

Jeanne Tunks, Ph. D., is Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of North Texas. She has worked in PDS programs since 1997 and served as site coordinator in the Denton Independent School District in Denton, Texas since 2000. Jeanne was the president of the PDS Research Special Interest Group of AERA from 2000-2004. Her authorship of this book is a culmination of seven years of research on the PDS.
Jane E. Neapolitan, Ed.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development in the College of Education at Towson University, Maryland, where she serves as Chair of the Institute for Professional Development School Studies, a research and development center. She has experienced PDS work from "the inside out" as a practitioner and researcher in the development of the NCATE PDS Standards and the Maryland Standards for PDS. Her work focuses on the challenges of conducting research in partnerships and their implications for policy and practice.