Quality inservice professional development is strongly linked to teachers’ knowledge (e.g., Epstein, 1999), student learning, and program quality (e.g., Sarcho & Spodek, 2007). The importance of addressing challenges to classroom practices through professional development is highlighted by studies around the world, such as Staub (2007) in Switzerland and Williams et al. (2007) in England. However, few studies explore how professional development can address common challenges to classroom practices, such as teachers’ difficulties implementing research-based practices (e.g., Vesay, 2008), high teacher turnover (e.g., Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000), and lack of teacher agency (e.g., Kuh, 2012).

To address these challenges to early childhood classroom practices, our study explores the feasibility of an onsite teacher-researcher community of practice model for professional development. This model is informed by the community of practice perspective, which views learning as “refining their [the community’s] practice and ensuring new generations of members” (Wenger, 1998, p.7). Mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoires of practice are viewed as the keys to a successful community of practice (Wenger, 1998). Our approach is supported by existing research: (1) research suggests that onsite professional development is more beneficial for teachers than offsite professional development (Joyce & Showers, 2002); and (2) communities of practice that consist of teachers and researchers have been found to improve several aspects of early childhood education, such as providing support services for children with special needs (Greene, 2004) and improving consultation practices and informing policy (Wesley & Buysse, 2006). However, the community of practice model for professional development has not previously been used to help teachers address the challenges to classroom practices. Thus, our study uniquely focuses on whether and how this model can addresses such challenges.

The following research questions emerged through our ongoing dialogues between our fieldwork, data analysis, and literature review:

1. What were the challenges to classroom practices that occurred in our broader study, and how were these related to the challenges identified in our literature review?
2. What were the ways in which we engaged in professional development, and how were these related to the community of practice model?
3. In what ways were the challenges to classroom practices addressed or not addressed through our use of the community of practice model for professional development?

By examining the community of practice model for professional development, our study provides much needed understanding on how to address the pressing challenges in early childhood centers that serve low-SES families.  Given the impact of professional development on student learning and program quality (e.g., Sarcho & Spodek, 2007), our study will have important implications for the field.

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