This study investigates the nature and scope of current staff development activities and their relation to better teaching or school improvement in a representative sample of school districts and private schools in Arizona and southern parts of California and Nevada. Findings are based on telephone discussions with 72 administrators in the region. A brief report on the status quo of staff development is followed by a delineation of three general categories: (1) school-based mandatory staff development, whose purpose is to maintain smooth operation of the school (i.e., orientation sessions or previews of instructional materials); (2) district-sponsored staff development workshops for professional development of teachers or administrators; and (3) coursework offered by colleges or universities. Other topics discussed include the use of outside consultants, determination of topics for training sessions, the effects of reduced school funding, and staff development for test interpretation. The final section presents administrators' views of the limitations of the "workshop" format, along with current recommendations from several commissions for sustained activities in collaborative school planning for teachers and administrators. Appendixes provide (1) examples of kinds of staff development, (2) categorized frequency status, and (3) enrollment sizes and locations of the districts participating in the inquiry. (TE)