An accumulating body of research indicates that well-designed professional development is associated with positive changes in educators’ ways of working and with improvements in students’ learning outcomes. Professional development is also associated with social-emotional benefits for educators, such as higher levels of satisfaction with one’s work and deepened identification with a community of fellow practitioners. This brief, drawn from data collected from almost 1,300 North American Jewish educators as part of the “On the Journey” strand of CASJE’s Career Trajectories study, explores (1) the access practitioners in the various sectors of Jewish education have to professional development; (2) the kinds of professional development in which they engage; and (3) the consequences for those who experience quality professional development.
