Aileen Kennedy

Teachers’ continuing professional development: contested concepts, understandings and models

Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) is being given increasing importance in countries throughout the world. In Scotland, the changing professional and political context has resulted in unprecedented investment in CPD. However, analysis and evaluation of CPD policies, practice and impact is complex. In seeking to understand some of the complexities, this article proposes a triple‐lens framework, drawing on three different accounts of teacher learning. The framework is then used to analyse three specific examples of CPD initiatives. Conclusions point to the need to consider a much wider conception of teacher learning in which socio‐cultural aspects are given due attention.

Understanding Continuing Professional Development: The Need for Theory to Impact on Policy and Practice.

This article reflects on my 2005 article in this journal, entitled ‘Models of Continuing Professional Development: a framework for analysis’. Having been invited to reflect on the original article as part of Professional Development in Education’s 40th anniversary celebrations, I have taken the opportunity not only to reflect on the structure and content of the original framework, but also to position it within the current state of literature in the area of teacher professional learning. In so doing, this article proposes an updated framework for analysis, focusing more explicitly on the purpose of particular models than the categorisations of the models themselves. It then goes on to expand on this by considering how various aspects of continuing professional development policies might be analysed according to what they reveal about underlying perspectives on professionalism. The article concludes with some thoughts on how theory about teacher professional learning might better help us to understand policy and impact positively on practice.

Continuing professional development (CPD) policy and the discourse of teacher professionalism in Scotland

The dynamic nature and multiple interpretations of professionalism make any analysis of it as a static, homogenous concept somewhat difficult. Much of the existing body of literature, which explores professionalism from a traditional sociological perspective, is now being challenged by developing concepts of professionalism that support particular political agendas. Contemporary writers prominent in the field of teacher professionalism appear to be highlighting two contrasting models. While these are defined slightly differently and attributed different names according to particular writers, broadly speaking they equate to a managerial perspective and a democratic perspective. In this paper an analysis of contemporary conceptions of professionalism from literature is presented, and then used in interpreting the discourse evident through a range of public documents on CPD for teachers in Scotland. The paper suggests that the democratic, transformative view of professionalism promoted in much of the recent literature, while reflected in some of the rhetoric surrounding Scottish CPD policy, is not as apparent in real terms. In conclusion it is suggested that there is a need for all stakeholders to interrogate CPD policy more rigorously in order that the underlying conceptions of professionalism can be made explicit.

What do professional learning policies say about purposes of teacher education

Enhancing teacher learning is acknowledged globally as a key route to improving student outcomes, thereby contributing to nation states’ economic competitiveness. This globally accepted policy “hypernarrative” is driving reform of teacher education policy internationally. This article seeks to analyse some key features of contemporary teacher professional learning policies in terms of the underpinning purposes of education, in an attempt to make more explicit the purposes and potential implications of particular policy choices. The analysis draws on literature related to the fundamental purposes of school education, highlighting three broad, but distinct categories of “purpose”: the socialisation function; the development of human capital; and “subjectification” which focuses on individual creativity. While principally conceptual in nature, the article draws on the Scottish policy context in exemplifying the analysis, concluding that there is a tendency towards socialisation and human capital functions, at the expense of subjectification purposes.

Professionalism and partnership: panaceas for teacher education in Scotland?

A critical reading of the Donaldson Report on teacher education in Scotland reveals what might be termed a ‘panacea approach’ to addressing perceived current problems in relation to the quality of teacher education. In particular, the essence of the Donaldson Report is that teachers need to embrace ‘twenty-first century professionalism’ through a partnership approach to teacher education. However, neither ‘professionalism’, nor ‘partnership’ are defined or justified explicitly. Through critical discourse analysis, we offer possible interpretations of professionalism and partnership within the context of the Donaldson Report. These interpretations include accepting the use of such terms as simple unconscious and uncritical adherence to a dominant discourse, and the idea that the wholesale embracing of partnership is a much more insidious attempt by the state to promote network governance, thereby limiting potential dominance of any one particular stakeholder group. Through systematic consideration of the immediate textual context of phrases relating to professionalism and partnership, and through a more holistic analysis of the wider policy agenda, we offer a critical reading of the Report. We conclude with a plea that as the rush to attend to the more tangible, operational aspects of the proposed reform gather momentum, such a panacea approach to solving perceived problems needs to be critiqued openly.

Beyond induction: the continuing professional development needs of early‐career teachers in Scotland

Continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland, as in many other countries worldwide, is receiving increased attention. Within the Scottish context, a gap in the CPD framework had been identified for early‐career teachers who have completed the induction year but are not yet eligible to embark on the Chartered Teacher Programme. Learning and Teaching Scotland, the school curriculum development body for Scotland, therefore commissioned a research project to explore the CPD needs and priorities of these early‐career teachers and the barriers to their participation. The project employed a three‐staged methodology: nominal group technique interviews with teachers in four local authorities; a national online survey; and a stakeholder consultation exercise. Results indicate that the early‐career teachers have a wide range of different needs, in terms of both content and mode of CPD, yet they do not appear to feel strongly about barriers to their participation. The article concludes by outlining policy and practice implications arising from the research.

Identifying the professional development needs of early career teachers in Scotland using nominal group technique

This paper reports on phase 1 of a project commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland to explore the continuing professional development (CPD) needs of teachers in Scotland in years 2–6 of their careers. Nominal group technique (NGT) was employed to identify the CPD needs of year 2–6 teachers and to identify the relative priority of these needs. The NGT data were subsequently used, together with findings from a review of literature, to inform a national survey. The paper outlines key issues arising from the NGT phase. Conclusions consider some of the potential drawbacks of NGT as a method but focus on the added value which the NGT process contributed to the overall project design.

Teacher education in times of change

Why are policies regarding teacher education politically, sociologically, and educationally significant? While teacher education as a practice has long been recognized, the importance of teacher education policy has only recently begun to be appreciated. Teacher Education in Times of Change offers a critical examination of teacher education policy in the United Kingdom and Ireland over the past three decades, since the first intervention of government in the curriculum in 1984. Written by a research group from five countries, it makes international comparisons and covers broader developments in professional learning, placing these key issues and lessons in a wider context.

How is cultural diversity positioned in teacher professional standards? an international analysis

ABSTRACT Unprecedented levels of global mobility mean that culturally homogenous classrooms are now increasingly rare. This brings with it challenges for teachers and raises issues about what constitutes quality teaching and teachers. Professional standards are commonly seen as a key policy instrument through which teacher quality can be enhanced. This article presents an analysis of teacher professional standards from five of the most culturally diverse nations in the English-speaking world. Using critical discourse analysis, we examine how culturally and linguistically diverse learners and culturally responsive pedagogy are positioned, and what the standards stipulate teachers should know, and be able to do, in fulfilling their professional obligations. We conclude by raising concerns about how the official representations of teaching in particular national contexts fail to position culturally diverse learners and culturally responsive teaching as a priority.

KEY INFORMANTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHER LEARNING IN SCOTLAND

ABSTRACT: This article outlines the policy context for teachers’ learning and continuing professional development in Scotland and considers this in relation to the perspectives of key informants gained through interview. The analysis draws on a triple-lens conceptual framework and points to some interesting contradictions between the policy text and the expressed aspirations of the interviewees. Current policy and the associated structural arrangements are viewed as broadly positive, but interviewees express concerns that an unintended emphasis on contractual arrangements might inhibit the more transformative elements of professional learning.