Chapter 1: Examining how School-Based Partners Bring PDS to Life: NCATE Standards in Their Own Words

A standards-based evaluation was conducted with school-based participants in 28 schools using the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE) Professional Development School (PDS) functions: (1) teacher education, (2) professional development, (3) inquiry, and (4) student achievement. This study examines these PDS partners’ conceptualization of the functions; how they understand, evidence, and make meaning of PDS. Themes that emerged from document analysis of each school’s PDS report and ensuing discourse analysis were used to develop a schema that illustrates the developmental progression of the PDS in the school-based partners' own terms as well as the progression of participants' understanding and ownership of the PDS as it matures.