Public policy is the result of the political process.
Therefore, state policy toward teacher professional development and state funding to support it is the result of the state political process. To help us understand who gets what, when, and how in terms of teacher professional development policy, we need a model. We would add to this model the societal outcomes of policy, which we would distinguish from outputs. The demand for state policies and funding programs for teacher professional development stem from a recognition that increased teacher quality is a critical component for improved student performance in American schools. These research findings take on greater power because they coincide with and reinforce the experience and common-sense beliefs about schools held by policymakers and the public alike.