Lessons from Albania : professional development that transforms educators, schools and communities

Abstract

Programs of staff development for in-service teachers often focus on the introduction of specific skills and technologies. Seldom do staff development programs take on more broad goals of professional and personal growth. In this article the authors describe one program, the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking project, a literacy-based project developed and implemented by the International Reading Association. The project began as a training program with rather modest goals of instructional skills development, but resulted in a surprising number of unexpected outcomes. These outcomes clearly distinguished this program as a professional rather than a technical development activity. The project, a three-year training of trainers model, introduced innovative literacy based techniques in Albania (and 29 other countries in Europe and Asia) from 1997-2001. The authors, both members of the International Reading Association, participated in the project’s implementation and dissemination in Albania. In this article, after reviewing the project, the authors summarize their investigation of the project’s impact on individual participants through data collected in survey and case study. In doing so, they differentiate between technical and professional development and offer suggestions, based on this study, regarding how other in service programs might be shaped to lead to opportunities for in-service teachers to truly develop as individuals and professional educators.