Abstract The results of a questionnaire-based investigation carried out across China regarding teachers’ professional development were used to create an extensive database. Chinese teachers’ subjective evaluation of a number of professional development policies was statistically analyzed. From their ratings, it is shown that in schools across China, differences exist in terms of the effectiveness of professional development policies in teaching profession. Striking differences exist between regions as well as between school levels. Multi regression analysis has shown that training and refresher courses are two of the major factors that influence differences in teachers’ evaluation of policy implementation. A key finding is that the provision of many different types of training does not necessarily help bring about effective policy.

Keywords teacher education, teacher professional development, policy effectiveness