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Professional Development
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Research: Overview, Data, and Analysis

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Adult Basic Education and Professional Development: Strangers for Too Long
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B. Wilson and D. Corbett, Focus on Basics, Volume 4, Issue D, 2001
Describes findings from interviews with 60adult education decision makers and practitioners from 10 states about access to and use of professional development. Identifies five common challenges: distances, time constraints, research information gaps, goal mismatches between practitioners and their administrators, and lack of face-to-face time with other practitioners. Presents strategies to address these challenges.
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=297

Building Professional Development Systems in Adult Basic Education: Lessons from the Field
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A. Belzer, C. Drennon, and C. Smith, in J. Comings, B. Garner, and C. Smith (Eds.), Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 2, 2001
Comprehensive review of policy and practice in professional development for adult basic education. Provides some historical background and a discussion of professional development systems in five different states and discusses future implications.
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=559

The Preparation and Stability of the ABE Teaching Workforce: Current Conditions and Future Prospects
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M. C. Smith, 2006
Describes and analyzes the state of the adult basic education workforce and makes recommendations for improvements and future research.
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=860

Professional Development for Adult Education Instructors
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State Policy Update
M. Tolbert, National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), 2001
Examines the status of professional development in adult education, reviews federal and state funding sources for professional development, and describes federally funded professional development initiatives and research projects in the planning stages. Also analyzes data collected from the National Institute for Literacy survey of state professional development systems and profiles professional development activities in four states—Kentucky, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee.
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Professional Development Network for Adult Educators (PRO–NET 2000)
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PRO-NET, a professional development project administered by the American Institutes of Research (AIR) and originally funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), produces research and how-to documents on professional development. Here are examples from its site: