The landscape of professional development has undergone considerable change lately. World-wide practice shows that professional development that advances teaching and learning takes place over a sustained period of time, includes updating knowledge, skills,  and provides intensive support for implementation within the classroom. Among the most effective forms there is coaching, peer observation and feedback, principal leadership in  creating conditions for initiatives, and time for collaboration and reflection to assess the effectiveness of the new learning on teaching practices and student learning. In terms of this updated image, there has been a shift of emphasis at a national level from centrally-run programmes to targeted groups of teachers. As such, top-down approach is being replaced by encouraging teachers’ initiatives to grow professionally.

Traditionally the system of teacher professional development in Ukraine consists of vocational education, in-service training, attestation, programmes for Master and Doctorial students, self-development.

The commitment to raise the quality of teaching and learning has been reflected  in modernization of all components of this system so that teachers become active facilitator of their own development. To achieve this goal, educators’ position should be analyzed, teachers’ voice should be heard, their demands must form the basis for training programmes, their needs should make the contents of professional discussions.

Special concerns touch upon urban teachers who are at the centre of a vast web of interconnected problems including diverse students, overloading, students at risk, professional burn-out etc. These issues are taken into consideration by providers of professional development initiatives.

Attestation process which teachers undergo every 5 years to confirm the level of their professionalism is another way of enhancing professional development. Today’s initiatives are focused on the idea to improve not only the practice of individual teachers but to create professional communities which are sure to benefit school image in general and increase students’ achievements.  

The world wide practice of professional development modernization has proved the benefits of school-based partnership initiatives and team work as the only way capable of significant changes. Among the advantages of such collaboration are: shared values and responsibility for the quality of educational service, professional assessment, flexible structure and fast reaction to needs and demands, providing relations among all educational stakeholders, lobbying professional interests. In terms of collaborative activities, urban teachers play a key role in building and maintaining the partnerships and linkages with outside professional providers.

The purpose of the research is to reveal the peculiarities of urban teachers development , point out the ways of dealing with difficulties caused by the situation, to provide teachers with corresponding  strategies.

The practical value of the research lies in working out the procedure which helps to reveal the way of teacher professional development, forming the training program, aimed at optimization of personal experiences. These materials can be used by teachers and educators while providing professional courses.

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