A review of research traces the history and development of staff development and inservice teacher education during the 20th century. Current research suggests that if teachers were to consider staff development as one of their most important responsibilities, they would have a profound influence on the direction their school would take in preparing for the challenges of the 21st century. This study of 36 Chicago (Illinois) public school teachers was undertaken, therefore, to determine their assessment of the agenda and organization of staff development programs as suggested in the current research. The survey addressed: topics, preplanning, planning, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance. Data showed that teachers felt that topics should include student discipline, parental participation, at-risk students, and classroom behavior management. In regard to preplanning/establishing a committee, 40 percent felt that their major concerns were not recognized. In regards to planning staff development, 63 percent felt that they had no input in planning staff development meetings. About half felt that goals and objectives had been written clearly and appropriate leaders selected, but that a system for evaluating the training had not been established. The majority felt that ample opportunities were provided for active involvement and practice of techniques, new techniques or skills were introduced, and participants had an opportunity to ask questions. Less than half reported that follow-up sessions within the school were held to discuss implementation of the techniques and that incentives were provided for employing new techniques. The paper concludes that teachers want to take a more active role in preplanning, planning, and implementing their own staff development programs, and that programming needs to be restructured to reflect this. (Contains 15 references.) (JDD)