Chapter 7: When a Professional Development School Program Becomes Unsustainable: Trying to Keep the Best of Both Worlds

Although teacher educators hope that they can maintain many types of university/ school partnerships, not all professional development school (PDS) programs have been sustainable—for a variety of reasons. By comparing pre- and post-PDS implementation in a teacher education program, researchers found elements that could allow for informed decision making or modifications when it becomes impossible for a teacher education program to preserve its full-fledged PDS model. This investigation could, in turn, allow the basic premises of many crucial elements of PDS work to continue, even if the entire model cannot be supported. It may also aid in smoothing the transition period between models. This study investigates a program that was forced to change from an established PDS program to a modified version and focuses upon perceptions of the differences before and after.