Session Information
01 SES 09 A, Teacher Professional Learning and Development in Europe (Part 1)
Symposium to be continued in 01 SES 11 A
Contribution
This paper analyses policy and practice related to teachers’ professional learning (PL) in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). Like other European contexts, Ireland developed a national framework (called Cosán = pathway) for teachers’ PL. The Teaching Council of Ireland (2016) developed Cosán in consultation with teachers and other key stakeholders. While the framework acknowledges the importance of teachers as learners (Evans, 2014) and highlights the centrality of PL in teacher professionalism (Kennedy, 2014), it was also initially linked to teacher registration with the Teaching Council as is the case with the professional update in Scotland (General Teaching Council Scotland, 2014). Only teachers registered with the Teaching Council can teach in state-recognised schools. However, the idea of mandatory engagement with PL for registration was met with resistance. While the Teaching Council argues teachers have a responsibility to engage in PL , they are questioning the value of making PL mandatory. As highlighted by the OECD (2009) there is a fine line between professional responsibility and accountability with the latter being perceived as managerialism. This paper will explore the policy context and rationale for the development of Cosán before tracing its journey through the consultative process with teachers which was a unique approach in the context of the Irish policy landscape. Challenges to enactment (Bell and Stevenson, 2015) will also be explored including the socio-political environment of teacher PL, governance and strategic direction, mandatory PL , and developing a strategic approach to teachers’ PL across all education stakeholders. Finally, this chapter will propose a way forward for the enactment of Cosán emphasising the importance of a common understanding of PL, contexts and considerations for PL, and leadership for PL at the macro, meso and micro levels of the system.
References
Evans, L. (2014). Leadership for professional development and learning: enhancing our understanding of how teachers develop. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(2),179-198 General Teaching Council for Scotland (2014). Professional update. Available at: https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-update/professional-update.aspx# Last accessed (4, May 2021). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2009). Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: First Results from TALIS. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/berlin/43541636.pdf. Last accessed (4, May 2021). Kennedy, A. (2014). Models of Continuing Professional Development: a framework for analysis. Professional Development in Education, 40(3), 336-351 King, F., and Holland, E. (2022) A transformative professional learning meta-model to support leadership learning and growth of early career teachers. International Journal of Leadership in Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2022.2037021 Teaching Council (2016b). Cosán: Framework for Teachers’ Learning. Maynooth, Ireland: Teaching Council. Teaching Council (2018). Common Ground in a Crowded Space. Maynooth, Ireland: Teaching Council.
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