Editorial: Introduction

Citation

Cosenza, M. (2023), "Editorial: Introduction", PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 75-76. https://doi.org/10.1108/PDSP-08-2023-028

This special issue of PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice is devoted to a set of key principles, referred to as the Nine Essentials, that support the creation, implementation and long-term sustainability of Professional Development Schools (PDSs).

Though the PDS movement began in the 1980s, there were many interpretations of the model and its key characteristics in subsequent decades. In 2008, the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) published What it Means to be a Professional Development School: The Nine Essentials. This policy statement became the underlying guide used by school–university partnerships nationwide to implement and manage PDSs. These principles also established a framework for scholarly research about PDSs, giving rise to a great deal of literature for the field of education. Further, the Nine Essentials have become the basis for the recognition of individuals and partnerships through a variety of honors awarded annually by the NAPDS.

Through a series of focus groups, workshops and symposia, which began in 2017, the NAPDS revisited the Nine Essentials to determine their relevancy, clarity and utility. In March 2021, this work resulted in the publication and release of a revised policy statement, What it Means to be a Professional Development School: The Nine Essentials (Second Edition). The revised and updated version, featured in this special issue, provides deeper explanations of each essential grounded in scholarly literature and key concepts.

After the release of the second edition, the NAPDS commissioned a series of articles to delve more deeply into each essential. In nine articles, one devoted to each essential, both the original and revised text appear with a focus on what is new. Each article provides a rationale by describing the key concepts rooted in each essential. Additionally, the impact and implications of each essential are explained, which provides guidance for those who are implementing these principles into their partnership work.

The NAPDS believes reprinting this series in one special issue devoted to the Nine Essentials can facilitate a deeper understanding of the innovative features of PDSs and the model’s potential for highly successful teacher preparation. This special edition can also serve as a resource for P-12 school–university partnerships that are seeking to begin PDS work or improve current PDS work.

The policy statement and articles featured in this special issue of PDSP are verbatim reprints of works published as part of the Nine Essentials series. Permission to republish within PDSP is provided by the copyright owner, the NAPDS.