Professional development: a key to Kentucky's educational reform effort

Despite its essential role in educational reform, professional development typically does not receive adequate support in systemic reform efforts. This article presents an exception—a state that incorporated professional development as a central priority in its reform effort and four schools that used state resources to build their capacity for enacting the reform agenda. We describe central features of Kentucky's approach to professional development, characterize elements of professional development within the four schools, and discuss how these elements promoted three dimensions of school capacity: individual teachers’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions; professional community; and program coherence. Based on this “image of the possible,” we offer recommendations for professional development that supports systemic, standards-based educational reform.     

Professional development across the teaching career: Teachers’ uptake of formal and informal learning opportunities

This study examined teachers’ uptake of formal and informal learning opportunities across the career cycle. Analyses were based on data from 1939 German secondary teachers in 198 schools. Results showed that formal learning opportunities (in-service training) were used most frequently by mid-career teachers, whereas informal learning opportunities showed distinct patterns across the teaching career. Specifically, use of professional literature increased with teacher age, but teacher collaboration decreased. Teachers’ work engagement and professional responsibilities were hypothesised to predict changes over the career. However, although these variables partly predicted uptake of learning opportunities, they did not fully explain the age-related differences observed.     

Professional development,changes in teacher practice and improvements in Indigenous students’ educational performance: A case study from New Zealand

This paper considers the relationship between a professional development programme designed to bring about changes in teacher practice through iterative cycles of implementation and evaluation and associated changes in Indigenous students’ educational performance. The paper does this by documenting the outcomes of the implementation of the Te Kotahitanga research and development project between 2007 and 2009 in schools in the third and fourth phases of the project. Evidence shows that the professional development programme of Te Kotahitanga has been implemented consistently in Phase 3 schools since 2004 and in Phase 4 schools since 2007. Changes in teacher practice and associated improvements in Māori student outcomes were seen in Phase 3 schools between 2004 and 2006. The first question is, therefore, have these changes been maintained during the period 2007–9, that is, during the fourth to seventh years of the project’s implementation in these schools. If so, then what implications does this maintenance of practice have for sustainability? The second question is, have the changes that were seen in the Phase 3 schools in the first three years of the project’s implementation, 2004–2006, been replicated in the Phase 4 schools in their first three years of the project. If so, what implications does this have for determining the strength of the association between improved student performance and the implementation of the professional development programme. In other words does a repeated measure over two different groups of schools at different times indicate that changes in Māori student outcomes are strongly associated with changes in teacher practice, even if we cannot demonstrate a direct cause–effect relationship.     

A review on leadership and leadership development in educational settings

Leadership gained a lot of attention during the past decades because of school principals' growing responsibilities and the accountability-driven context they work in. However, reviews providing a general overview of effective school leadership theories and effective professional development are rare. The present review was conducted to summarise the existing literature and discover lacunae in school leadership research in preschools, primary and secondary schools. 75 studies focusing on leadership theories, characteristics of effective school leadership and school leaders’ professional development were included and analysed. The present article provides an overview of main leadership theories such as instructional leadership, situational leadership, transformational leadership, distributed leadership and Leadership for Learning. Second, the article focuses on the characteristics of effective school leadership and lastly, the review offers features of effective professional development activities for school principals.     

Science Professional Learning Communities: Beyond a singular view of teacher professional development

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are frequently being used as a vehicle to transform science education. This study explored elementary teachers' perceptions about the impact of participating in a science PLC on their own professional development. With the use of The Science Professional Learning Communities Survey and a semi-structured interview protocol, elementary teachers' perceptions of the goals of science PLCs, the constraints and benefits of participation in PLCs, and reported differences in the impact of PLC participation on novice and experienced teachers were examined. Sixty-five elementary teachers who participated in a science PLC were surveyed about their experiences, and a subsample of 16 teachers was interviewed. Results showed that most of the teachers reported their science PLC emphasized sharing ideas with other teachers as well as working to improve students' science standardized test scores. Teachers noted that the PLCs had impacted their science assessment practices as well as their lesson planning. However, a majority of the participants reported a differential impact of PLCs depending on a teacher's level of experience. PLCs were reported as being more beneficial to new teachers than experienced teachers. The interview results demonstrated that there were often competing goals and in some cases a loss of autonomy in planning science lessons. A significant concern was the impact of problematic interpersonal relationships and communication styles on the group functioning. The role of the PLC in addressing issues related to obtaining science resources and enhancing science content knowledge for elementary science teachers is discussed.     

专业发展学校与美国教师教育的发展

20世纪80年代末期以来，美国教师教育发展和改革中出现了一种新的培养模式-专业发展学校，它是通过强化教师教育机构与中小学的合作伙伴关系，共同培养教师，开展合作研究而建立起来的，专业发展学校的建立预示着国际教师教育发展的一个重要趋向，本文就美国专业发展学校设立的原因背景，发展状况，标准，作用加以阐述，并就美国教师教育的发展提出若干思考。     

教师专业发展的新视野:“学校群”策略

"学校群"策略是信息技术环境下教师专业发展的新模式,其关注区域性校际协作,其从组织策略、学习服务支持策略和效能策略三个方面组织和实施教师专业发展活动。通过讨论"学校群"教师专业发展的三个策略和新思路与方法,试图实现延伸校本培训、共享优质资源和推进协作研究,实现教师共同体和学校群体共同发展。     

Blended teacher professional development: A synthesis of three program evaluations

This study synthesized the findings of three program evaluations of teacher blended professional development programs from the perspective of situated design and implementation, development of community, changes in teacher practice, and impact on students. We found that the blended programs were effective in providing teachers with an opportunity for learning on the job and collaborating with other teachers, and they influenced teacher classroom practice moderately and affected student learning to a limited extent. Our study supports the contention that blended learning is a viable model for teacher professional development.     

Teacher agency and identity commitment in curricular reform

This study explores how teachers enact agency to facilitate their professional development during curricular reform at a Chinese university. An analysis of data derived from life history interviews with eight language teachers complemented with field notes reveals differential agentic choices and actions. The teachers' learning, teaching and research endeavours in relation to the new curriculum are directed by various identity commitments and enacted in highly individualised ways, as mediated by their prior experiences. By situating teachers' agency in their individual professional trajectories, this study conceptualises interaction of teacher agency and identity commitment to professional development during curricular reform.     

科学发展观与体育教学改革

论述了在教学中落实科学发展观的现实意义，通过对体育课程目标、内容、实施和评价体系的分析，指出体育教学也要遵循科学的发展规律，使受教育的个体能够在离开体育课堂之后仍能坚持进行体育锻炼，以达到增进健康，发展身心的目的.     

Expanding the traditional role of the adult education teacher – The development of relational competences and actions

The article reports the effect of a competence development programme for adult education teachers. The effect has been assessed using electronic questionnaires completed by the teachers before and after the training programme, and by interviews with the teachers over a period of two years. The study shows that while the teachers' competences and actions develop significantly on some dimensions (e.g. to act upon discovering a student who is not thriving), they remain largely the same on other (e.g. to give appreciative feedback). There is a greater change and development in the teachers' actions than in their competences.     

基于合作的教师专业发展模式——美国专业发展学校(PDS)合作模式探究

美国专业发展学校(PDS)是上个世纪80年代兴起的一种基于合作的、新型的教师教育模式,它以其独特的组织形式和良好的效果引起了人们的关注,现已成为美国教师教育改革的主流趋势．本文旨在对PDS的产生背景、基本合作模式及其存在的问题进行分析与探究,以期能为我国的教师专业发展学校以及教师教育改革提供一些启示和参考。     

Working as partners for classroom reform

This paper discusses a partnership involving teachers and a teacher educator working together to develop teaching and learning practices in Pakistan. The partnership was established in response to the teachers’ need for support in developing their professional practices within the actual contexts and realities of their schools, after they had attended an in-service training course at a university. Providing case studies, the paper analyses the processes and outcomes of this co-learning partnership. The findings suggest that the collaborative process advances the understanding of teachers’ problems, resolves them on the spot, and provides teachers with the confidence and courage to transcend the constraints of their workplaces while developing professionally.     

Teacher learning in collaborative curriculum design

The Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002) was used to identify processes of teacher learning during the collaborative design of curriculum materials in the context of curriculum innovation. Nine published studies from six different countries about teachers’ collaborative curriculum design were analyzed to identify the learning processes that collaborative curriculum design fosters. It was concluded that the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth, although initially developed to recognize learning processes in individual teachers, can also be used to identify learning processes that are fostered by collaborative curriculum design in teams of teachers.     

Unveiling professional learning: Shifting from the delivery of courses to an understanding of the processes

This exploratory study is an attempt to shed light on the internal dynamics of secondary teachers’ and academics’ professional learning, its context and its occasions, in a course of a university-provided in-service professional development programme in Greece, using the experiences and perceptions of its participants. In investigating the above, the study harnesses a qualitative methodology and a research framework that draws upon a set of ideas that cohere under the rubric programme development, in order to generate a heuristic that guides research techniques and analysis procedures. The investigation reveals professional learning to be characterised by a number of dimensions: professionality, mutuality, emotionality and formality. Professional learning is therefore seen as a complex process rather than linear, a step-by-step event. The article concludes by emphasising a shift from the delivery of the in-service courses to an understanding of the complexity of the processes by which professional learning is developed.     

教师在线专业发展(oTPD):背景、研究、优势及挑战

在倡导学校变革的时代,教师的专业发展被视为提高学生成就、促进学校乃至教育变革的关键。近年来,教师在线专业发展(oTPD)作为一种转变教师专业发展传统模式的新模式,得到了众多研究者的普遍关注。本文对oTPD进行了初步界定,探讨了其产生的背景,分析了它的潜在优势与面临的挑战,最后讨论了该领域需要进一步研究的问题。     

Provision of in-service training of mathematics and science teachers in Botswana: teachers’ perspectives

Teaching is a field that is dynamic, with innovations necessitating upgrading of skills and education of teachers for the successful implementation of reforms. The behaviour and attitudes of teachers towards teaching and learning and their knowledge banks are the result of the impact of in-service training. This study investigated the perceptions of mathematics and science teachers in Botswana towards in-service provision by the Department of Mathematics and Science Education In-service Training unit (DMSE-INSET), whose mandate is to improve the quality of teaching by supporting teachers through training programmes that enable them to take ownership of their professional development. Data were collected from a sample of 42 senior Mathematics and Science secondary school teachers, using structured interviews with open-ended questions, which were analyzed qualitatively. The findings show that teachers’ concerns included the lack of impact of current in-service training programmes on the education system, no regular follow-up activities to support the one-off workshops and insufficient skills acquired to sustain the implementation of the strategies solicited by the workshops.     

Dialogue as a catalyst for teacher change: A conceptual analysis

Teacher–teacher dialogue is a central activity within many professional learning programmes. Understanding how and why dialogue works as an effective tool for teacher change is a question, however, that needs more careful probing in the extant literature. In this paper, I draw upon the philosophical theory of practical reason in order to show why and how teacher–teacher dialogue plays such a crucial role in the evolution of teacher practice. This conceptual analysis also builds our understanding as to the kinds of teacher–teacher dialogues that are more likely to be effective at catalysing teacher learning.     

Micropolitical literacy: reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development

Teachers’ professional learning takes place in an organisational context, in which issues of power, influence, and control can play an important part. In this article, we argue that learning how to deal with these inevitable micropolitical aspects of their work lives, constitutes an important dimension in teachers’ professional development and needs to be included in any appropriate theory on teacher development. We describe this ‘political’ learning process as the development of micropolitical literacy. Although the development of micropolitical literacy may be stimulated and intensified by particular policy measures or reforms, as a learning process it starts at the very beginning of the teacher career. Using the micropolitical perspective as a theoretical framework, we will illustrate this by presenting the results of an interpretative analysis of one primary teacher's story about his first years in teaching.