Abstract
Purpose. The first purpose of the study was to describe the staff development activities that were provided to first- and second-grade class size reduction teachers by the districts in Orange County, California, to meet the intent of the mandate in Senate bill 1777, the Class Size Reduction Initiative. The second purpose was to identify the degree of change in teaching strategies that occurred in class size reduction classrooms and to identify what degree of change can be related directly to staff development. The researcher limited this study to the training and implementation activities that were provided during the first two years of CSR implementation in Orange County school districts. Methodology. This study surveyed principals within twenty-three elementary school districts in Orange County, California. Data were collected about the first two years of class size reduction implementation, 1997 and 1998. Descriptive statistics and frequency distribution tables were used to report the data. Means and standard deviations were also calculated for descriptive information about CSR size, teacher credentials, and teacher tenure. Findings and conclusions. All surveyed districts implemented CSR staff development to some extent. Experienced teachers implemented CSR strategies to a significantly greater extent in small school districts than in large school districts. Staff development activities which reflected adult learning theory were more effective than those that did not.