Promoting Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development in Schools

Author(s):

David Pedder

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

1. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Paper

Session Information

01 SES 01 B, Promoting Professional Development

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-28

09:15-10:45

Room:

NIG, HS II

Chair:

Vivienne Collinson

Contribution

The focus of this paper is on large scale research that examines the promotion by schools of teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD). The research examines three main themes: (a) benefits, status and effectiveness of CPD; (b) planning and organisation of CPD; (c) access to CPD. A central aim is to understand teachers’ and leaders’ perceptions of practices and organisational conditions in schools together with their values and beliefs in relation to CPD. A key theoretical premise that shapes the research is that continuous professional learning involves teachers engaging in learning activities that are both individual and collective, reflecting both interpersonal and intrapersonal cognitive processes. These different planes of learning are linked (Vygotsky, 1978) and continuous professional learning involves both kinds. Teachers’ learning is an embedded feature of teachers’ classroom practice and reflection (e.g., Elliott, 1991; Eraut, 1994; McIntyre, 1993; Schön, 1983, 1987; Stenhouse, 1975), extended through consulting different sources of knowledge (Eraut, 1994; Flutter and Ruddock, 2004; Rudduck and McIntyre, 2007) and expanded through collaborative activity (e.g., Cordingley et al., 2003; Little, 1988). In order properly to understand continuing professional development, its impacts, barriers and affordances, we consider teachers not merely as individual learners but as teachers situated within the school as a learning environment. Our proposed methodology for this research was shaped by a concern to understand more about the organisational systems and cultures of support in schools that promote the conditions for high quality teachers’ continuing professional development (Opfer et al., 2008; Pedder, et al., 2005; Pedder, 2006; 2007; Pedder and MacBeath, 2008). Although the research context is schools in England, implications related to the status of university-generated knowledge and preferred modes of university support for teachers' CPD apply to the European and international context. Our data challenges universities to critically examine the basis of their engagements with schools for promoting teachers' CPD.

Method

Qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined with insights from a systematic literature review based on 28 reports and 33 articles/conference papers published since 2004. This combination provides scope for optimising breadth and depth of the validity of our findings about variations in school conditions and CPD practices, values and beliefs of primary and secondary school teachers in England. Two questionnaires were administered: a Teacher Questionnaire and a Leader Questionnaire. Our overall survey response rate was 39%, with 56% of secondary schools responding and 36% of primary schools. Overall, 1126 teachers’ surveys and 251 leaders surveys were returned. More in-depth qualitative data were collected from 12 schools - nine primary and three secondary - across England. Data generated from the 12 school site sources provide snapshots of perceptions and actions, set within specific contexts, and focussed on aspects of the three core themes of the research.

Expected Outcomes

Preliminary analysis of our data shows a lack of effective CPD practices in all school sectors in England in terms of learning processes and impact on teachers’ and students’ learning. Project data also shows that school leaders consider that it is CPD that has a clear basis in schools and classrooms that has most value for money while off site CPD and accredited CPD has less value for money. One set of implications of our findings for European contexts of CPD relate to the balance between school and classroom-based knowledge and expertise on one hand and the usefulness of more generalised theoretical and research knowledge developed by university teams on the other. These questions raise important questions about what kinds of school-university partnerships are optimal for supporting teachers’ CPD.

References

Cordingley, P., Bell, M., Rundell, B. & Evans, D (2003) The impact of collaborative CPD on classroom teaching and learning: how does collaborative continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers of the 5-16 age range affect teaching and learning?, in: Research Evidence in Educational Library, London: EPPI-Centre, Social Research Unit, Institute of Education. Elliot, J. (1991) Action research for educational change, (Milton Keynes, Open University Press). Eraut, M. (1994) Developing professional knowledge and competence (London, Falmer). Flutter, J. & Rudduck, J. (2004) Consulting pupils: what’s in it for schools? (London, RoutledgeFalmer). Little, J.W (1988) Assessing the prospects for teacher leadership, in: A. Lieberman (Ed) Building a professional culture in schools (New York, Teachers College Press) pp78-106. McIntyre, D. (1993) Theory, theorizing and reflection in initial teacher education, in: J. Calderhead and P. Gates (Eds) Conceptualizing reflection in teacher development (London, Falmer), pp39-52. Opfer, V Darleen, Henry, G T and Mashburn, A J. (2008) The District Effect: Systemic Responses to High Stakes Accountability Policies in Six Southern States, American Journal of Education, 114(2), pp299–332 Pedder, D. (2006) Organisational Conditions that Foster Successful Classroom Promotion of Learning How to Learn, Research Papers in Education, 21(2), 2006, pp171–200 Pedder, D. (2007) Profiling Teachers’ Professional Learning Practices and Values: Differences Between and Within Schools, The Curriculum Journal, 18(3), pp231–252 Pedder, D, James, M, and MacBeath, J. (2005) How Teachers Value and Practise Professional Learning, Research Papers in Education, 20(3), pp209–243 Pedder, D and MacBeath, J. (2008) Organisational Learning Approaches to School Leadership and Management: Teachers’ Values and Perceptions of Practice, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19(2), pp207–224 Rudduck, J. & McIntyre, D. (2007) Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils. London: Routledge. Schön, D. (1983) The reflective practitioner (London, Temple Smith). Schön, D. (1987) Educating the reflective practitioner (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass). Stenhouse, L. (1975) An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, London: Heinemann. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Author Information

David Pedder

University of Cambridge

Faculty of Education

Cambridge

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