Enhancing professionalism? Teachers’ voices on continuing professional development in Scotland

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland in an education system undergoing change. It considers the curricular and political changes which affect the nature of CPD considered appropriate and relevant for teachers. This article reports on one small-scale qualitative study into award-bearing CPD at masters level in a unique scheme known as Chartered Teacher Studies. This is a new, alternative route for Scottish teachers to gain professional recognition and financial reward for continuing to practise, rather than seeking promotion through a management route. This small-scale, preliminary exploration of the views of teachers who have completed the programme to masters level found that teachers perceived that their studies had a positive impact on their learning, increased their understanding, their commitment to linking theory with practice through research and raised their confidence in developing pedagogy. It is recognised that the outcomes cannot be widely generalised, as it considers only one cohort of students in one institution. However, since it is widely recognised that CPD for the teaching profession is an essential facet in improving education practice, the issues explored in this paper may be of interest to an international audience

Enhancing part-time in-service teacher training programmes to facilitate rural teacher development in China

“…The programme had several positive impacts on their professional learning. It increased their understanding, linked theory with practice, and raised their confidence in developing pedagogy, findings similar to those of Grieve and McGinley (2010) on a master's programme provided to a cohort of Scottish teacher participants. Like the teachers in Williams' (2005) study, the teacher participants had a wider community of practice with more networks and professional contacts.…”

Developing “Vision-for-Learning” Competencies among Teachers in Tanzania <br/>—An Innovative Higher Education Initiative

“…Through the combination of necessary face-to-face course units and online sequences that are flexible in time and space, high quality continuing education is possible for educators in Tanzania. Through the close link between theory and practice, teacher students developed their commitment, understanding and skills (Grieve & McGinley, 2010). Although some adjustments were necessary as part of this project, the experiences were similar to those reached through the course in Norway.…”

“…In this paper we focus on selected elements from the core of the project, the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Course Vision for reading and learning. The purpose of the CPD course was to give teachers new skills and develop their critical thinking, professional planning and practice (Grieve & McGinley, 2010). It was organized as a blended-learning course which consists of internet based learning and face-to-face elements at Patandi College.…”

Learning at the nano-level: Accounting for complexity in the internalization of secondary STEM teacher professional development

“…Teacher education research from Scotland (Fenwick & Weir, 2010;Grieve & McGinley, 2010), Canada (Gibson & Brooks, 2012), China (Tang & Choi, 2009), Taiwan (Hung & Yeh, 2013), and Australia, Sweden, Finland, and Norway (Hardy, R€ onnerman, Moksnes Furu, Salo, & Forsman, 2010) attests to the internationalization of teacher PD and its relevancy within the broader discourse on teacher education. Conducting localized studies is, therefore, essential for the expansion of knowledge on the idiosyncratic ways in which teacher PD policy and practice mirrors the milieu in which it operates and how it may influence teacher learning, praxis, satisfaction, retention, and effectiveness.…”