CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTIONOverviewThe influence of effective teachers on student academic achievement has long been recognized as a positive factor (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Joyce , Hersh and McKibbin, 1983; Hargreaves & Fullan (eds.), 1992; Over time, the continuity of certain teaching practices and changes in teaching evolved (Cuban, 1984; Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick, & DuPuis, 1996) as teaching approaches reflected the philosophies and needs of the dominant culture. The impact of high-quality teaching on student outcomes is continually monitored closely, as all education stakeholders remain focused on school improvement, with concerns surrounding school assessment. student learning, standardized testing, and yearly progress for all students in grades K-12. The most recent research continues to show that teacher quality affects student achievement (Hord, 2009; Quick, Holtzman, & Chaney, 2009; Scribner, Sawyer, Watson, & Myers, 2007; Wei, Darling-Hammond, Andree, Richardson and Orphanos, 2009). ).Professional development is a factor that helps maintain high-quality teachers in active, productive teaching careers, and it is these high-quality teachers who have the most positive impact on student academic achievement ( Darling-Hammond and Sykes, (Eds.), 1995; Darling-Hammond and Bransford, 2005; Marzano, 2007; professional learning on a national scale and presented detailed information on teachers' continuing education practices and their participation in professional development In this first overview of a multi-year study on the profession...... middle of article......o the Child Left Behind (NCLB) (2001) regulations (Sipp, 2008), educators are concerned about issues related to understanding developmentally and culturally appropriate practices ( Hyun, Morales, Duarte, DiPento, Smrekar, Matthews, & Ardley, 2001), using differentiated instructional practices (Fullan, Hill, & Crevola, 2006) in addition to teaching English language learners (Trent, Kea, & Oh , 2008). Given the impact of these challenges on teaching practices, it is important to understand why teachers participate in mandatory professional development during their active career phases, long after receiving initial certification and teaching credentials. Additionally, many teachers are motivated to participate in discretionary professional development (Scribner, 1999). It is therefore also important to examine teachers' participation in professional learning outside the school district..