This report lays forth a conceptual and structural framework for adult education staff development in Virginia. It recommends to Virginia adult educators and policymakers a set of structures to support staff development activities and then offers a philosophy to consistently guide activities within those structures. An Implementation Guide accompanies this report to assist administrators and staff development facilitators in carrying out the proposed plan for staff development. More than establishing policy, the report offers a vision for adult educators which, if brought to fruition, may enormously enhance Virginia's effectiveness in serving adult learners.

This report traces two years of staff development study conducted in Virginia; it begins in July 1991 with the statewide evaluation of staff development and carries through May 1993 to the conclusion of the formal design work by the Staff Development Planning Team. Readers will be introduced to the various support mechanisms proposed and to the guiding philosophy of inquiry-based staff development. Additionally, the report poses challenges to each stakeholder in the adult education system, from adult students to policymakers, which if met allow for a successful and fundamental shift to occur in the way we approach staff development. The accompanying Implementation Guide includes tools and resources for effectively integrating inquiry and action into the culture of the adult education workplace.

We use the term "practitioner" throughout this report. It refers not only to ABE and ESL teachers, but to classroom aides, volunteer tutors, GED examiners, program administrators, specialists, and planners. The proposed staff development system has been designed to effectively meet the needs for knowledge and skill development of all adult education personnel, regardless of role.

The plan for staff development presented in this report has been firmly grounded in both academic theory and practitioner experience. Implementation of the staff development system proposed herein, however, goes far beyond the simple revamping of structures, policies, or procedures. Successful system-wide implementation requires that individuals commit to values, beliefs, and behaviors which consistently honor the vitality of practitioners and adult students as knowledge makers within the system.

Inquiry-based staff development invites practitioners to critically examine adult education issues through systematic inquiry into daily practice. The approach is lauded for the potential it carries to generate important new knowledge for the larger adult education field. In keeping with the philosophy and methods of inquiry, we now turn to practitioners themselves to generate new knowledge about its ultimate viability as an approach to staff development.