What is professional development, how does it occur in individuals, and how may it be used by educational leaders and managers for the purpose of school improvement?

Abstract

This article considers the nature of professional development, how it occurs in individuals, and how educational leaders and managers can facilitate professional development for the purpose of school improvement. Social theories of learning provide compelling explanations of the conditions through which professional development occurs in and among individuals within a community of practice. Research into professional learning communities suggests ways forward for educational leaders and managers to foster environments in which individual and organisational learning is optimised through collaboration and shared leadership.

Leadership for professional development and learning: enhancing our understanding of how teachers develop

“…Such work (e.g. Edwards & Ellis, 2012;Ellis, 2007;Evans, 2002a;Fraser et al, 2007;Kelchtermans & Ballet, 2002;Mitchell, 2013;Postholm, 2012;van Huizen et al, 2005 Over the last two or three decades a collection of what are presented as models of professional development has accumulated, and whose contribution to the knowledge basein relation both to elucidatory scale and magnitude -is very varied. Models tend to be either conceptual or processual in focus, relating respectively to the conceptualisation of professional development (i.e.…”

The implications of school improvement and school effectiveness research for primary school principals in Ethiopia

“…Improving schools' internal conditions requires the involvement of all levels of the school community (Rudduck et al 1996;Hopkins 2001), demanding leadership of change for organisational and professional learning (Pedder & MacBeath 2008;Bryk et al 2010). Key elements of SI are:Self-evaluation -with inputs from all levels of the school community for the purpose of identifying barriers to learning (MacBeath 2010);  Development planning -with broad participation in decision-making, to foster ownership (Bryk 2010) and ensure impact across all levels of the school (Hopkins 2001);  Continuous professional development (CPD) -which emphasises that schools are 'places of learning' for staff as well as students (Mitchell 2013 (Pillay 2010), and reflects both the SI tradition's focus on learners, self-evaluation and development planning (Hopkins 2001), and the World Bank's push for financial decentralisation (Garcia & Rajkumar 2008). Implicit in SIP is a repositioning of the principal from an administrator to a leader of the school.…”

story of teacher skill development : an interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…Teachers who engage in meaningful and relevant professional development and who change their beliefs to align with new education reform initiatives are more likely to experiment with the teaching methods of their colleagues (Meirink, Meijer, Verloop, & Bergen, 2009). Such changes in classroom practices lead to changes in student learning outcomes, which, in turn, lead to changes in teacher beliefs (Mitchell, 2013).…”

“…Changes in practice can lead to further changes in teachers' beliefs and perspectives (Mitchell, 2013) regarding their students and themselves.…”

“…Teachers who engage in meaningful and relevant professional development and who change their beliefs to align with new education reform initiatives are more likely to experiment with the teaching methods of their colleagues (Meirink, Meijer, Verloop, & Bergen, 2009). Such changes in classroom practices lead to changes in student learning outcomes, which, in turn, lead to changes in teacher beliefs (Mitchell, 2013).The literature shows that as teachers' initial beliefs about the teaching profession are developed, reshaped, and challenged, those who make an effort to become better at what they do tend to do better so long as they are engaged in their own learning and growth. This process can lead to teachers who possess a higher sense of self-efficacy, which, in turn, can lead to teachers 45 providing more support to students and, subsequently, increased levels of student achievement (Guo, Connor, Yang, Roehrig, & Morrison, 2012).…”