Professional development for cultural diversity: the challenges of teacher learning in context

Abstract

This article describes context-based professional development (PD) for cultural diversity in a Portuguese school cluster, and discusses how it supports change for justice and equity. Teachers felt the importance of PD and showed willingness and interest to learn. Several teacher learning opportunities were mapped out such as formal workshops, starting small collaborations and teachers' self-directed informal learning activities. Yet, a rather fragmented character of PD seemed to emerge in terms of content on cultural diversity and forms of learning. Conflicting agendas, scattered teacher collaboration and commitment, and little student and community involvement in planned PD were found. Furthermore, there seemed to be tensions between current PD and teachers' needs and circumstances; teachers wished for more specific information and pedagogical solutions, more collaboration and more organisational support in PD. Applying a critical multicultural perspective, it is discussed that although the current constellation of PD is a potential start, it might still contribute to teachers' conceptual confusion and pedagogical insecurities on the field of cultural diversity. It is suggested that criticality towards PD frames is needed to re-centre cultural diversity on the premises of justice, as well as teacher support, and conscious learning with and from students, families and communities.

Teacher Professional Development: Experiences in an International Project on Intercultural Education

“…These categories offer an overview of the richness of the experiences that teachers elaborated on during the project and reveal that teachers were fully involved in the activities since the teachers participated in international project meetings and some of these teachers took an active role in developing project modules. These findings contrasted with previous professional development activities addressed to teachers which were perceived challenging [1,5]. Aspects such as conflicting agendas, dispersed teacher collaboration and commitment, and little student and community involvement were avoided because teachers of the current study were supported constantly.…”

“…Organizing professional development activities for teachers is not an easy task and several issues were highlighted in previous experiences [1], such as conflicting agendas, scattered teacher collaboration and commitment, and little student and community involvement. Moreover, there seemed to be tensions between current professional development and teachers' needs and circumstances because teachers wished for more specific information and pedagogical solutions, more collaboration and more organizational support during the professional development activities.…”

“…Recently, teachers have been driven to look for opportunities for professional development to face several critical events unfolding in today's world [1]. One such phenomenon is the migratory flows that have consequences in many institutional dimensions, including education [2].…”

Satiating Hunger with Water: Perceived Features of Professional Development for Teachers in Rural Pakistan

“…The lack of consistency in the features and the failure to replicate the existing models across contexts make the existing research doubtful (Kooy & Van Veen, 2012a). In this background, context has been identified as a determining factor because there are policies, traditions and school related conditions which vary from context to context and, thus, bring different implications for the learning needs of teachers (Szelei, Tinoca, & Pinho, 2019).…”

Critical Challenges of Cultural Competence Professional Development

“…The process is further enhanced when the interrelated relationships between culture, power and social justice are considered in the design and delivery of professional development (Szelei, Tinoca, & Pinho, 2019). Professional learning communities that have focused discussions promote an ongoing process of learning about oneself and others and highlights that power does in fact and operate on, in and through dominant discourses.…”