The school environments in the participating districts reflected a wide range of commitment to new ways of teaching and learning. On the other hand, a critical mass of teachers or the administration in some schools may resist a change in the pendulum's swing. Older teachers especially recognize the cyclical nature of reform. District factors Teachers often perceive that district reforms are fragmented and uncoordinated, and this likely also impedes voluntary participation in professional development in any one content area. For example, in summer 1998, one district changed computers and operating systems in its elementary schools.
Teachers follow the district lead.
In the four districts we study, district offerings are now competing with and supplanting summer science workshops. Districts can make their efforts less fragmented by developing a coherent plan that integrates topics within a larger vision of reform. On a related note, high stakes state assessments also may influence teachers' participation decisions. Three of the Partnership districts are in a state that is assessing science for the first time, but also includes language arts and mathematics. Our research suggests that teachers who do not volunteer to participate have substantially different beliefs, interests, and motivations from those of participants, and that their notions of effective professional development are out of synch with emerging views.