Leadership decisions for professional development

Abstract

This narrative study, examined the experiences of six school district leaders related to decision-making about professional development for a research-based instructional strategy in their school districts. The study incorporated James G. March's, Organizational Decision-making as a framework. A central research question guided this study: How do school district leaders make decisions about professional development for research-based instructional strategies? The findings revealed that the experiences of the six school district leader participants related to decisions about professional development for research-based instructional strategies were highly complex and involved numerous decisions. The findings indicated that the six participants made decisions about professional development consistent with their beliefs, for specific purposes including; moving forward the mission, vision, and strategic plan of their districts providing high quality learning outcomes for students meeting specific goals and achieving specific desired outcomes and to improve teacher practice. Furthermore, the six school district leaders also considered demographics, resources, and the contextual attributes of their organizations and communities when they made decisions professional development-related decisions for research-based instructional strategies in their school districts. The findings of this study also indicated that the six school district leaders' decision-making process for professional development involved a balance of optimizing and satisficing. Their decisions were more consistent with the concept of exploitation and constraints and context were both considered when they made such decisions. Keywords: decision-making, professional development, district leaders, research-based instructional strategies