The Management of Professional Development of Staff in Secondary Schools in Wales

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the findings from some empirical research carried out in 2002 among 200 staff working in 13 secondary schools in South Wales, concerning their views of the management of professional development. The findings indicated many of the significant differences between staff were gender-based. Female staff valued, for example, sharing good practice and having opportunities to work with other colleagues more highly than did male staff. Conversely, male staff appeared to value the opportunity to discuss their career progression with a line manager more highly than did female staff. Other important attitudinal differences emerged between those with managerial responsibilities and classroom teachers and between the least and most experienced staff.