This report describes a collaborative research effort to examine the nature, role, and impact of staff development in an unspecified desegregated, urban school district. The report outlines the study which was conducted as a short term focused ethnography in three elementary and three secondary schools employing both interview and observation as research techniques. Part one provides a description of the studied site and the study's goals. Part two presents an analysis and summary of the findings; data from all six schools are employed to develop arguments about the nature of the work setting as a context for staff development, and about the shape of influential staff development programs. Tentative hypotheses are formulated to reflect the major tenets of these arguments. Appendices contain case study descriptions for the six participating schools, a description of the research methods, and a selective review of literature relevant to the study. (Author/APM)