Additional research is needed to understand what motivates teachers to invest themselves in this work. But, because we chose schools for their involvement in education reform, these teachers, and the schools in which they work, are not representative of the general population of educators and schools. For policy makers, it is important to understand the incentives and disincentives in the educational system. Our work also points up questions to be addressed in further research on capacity building in the context of systemic reform. As we have noted earlier, capacity building should be thought of in organizational, as well as, individual terms.
Many questions remain about the roles of organizational units in capacity building.
In the schools we visited, connections to organizations and projects outside the teacher's school seemed critical in motivating learning and in providing opportunities for teachers to learn about areas such as subject matter and pedagogy. But attention to outside activities draws energy away from school change, creating a tension that was quite salient in some schools. This model might be used to guide research and manage tensions in this area. Research is needed on the role that school districts do and should play in capacity building. In several of our schools, we found that the district played an important part is encouraging professional development or helping to set its direction.