Tackling uncertainty with genuine hope for the future relies, in part, on quality education. Indeed, hope and education are inextricably linked, with both rooted in ideas of the future, of formation, of becoming. However, delivering on education’s potential requires more than stating goals or hoping for a better future. Beyond rhetoric, we need to find paths of action teachers and leaders in education can take that make a positive difference and create genuine hope (Gore, 2022).

Efforts to develop, test and scale meaningful approaches to educational improvement are all the more urgent in the context of the PISA 2022 results (OECD, 2023) which showed an overall downward trend in student achievement and highlighted enduring gross inequities – students from disadvantaged backgrounds fared worse than their advantaged counterparts across all countries and economies represented. A nation’s overall prosperity and collective welfare is critically reliant on the quality of the schooling it offers, yet most education systems struggle to significantly and measurably increase quality. This situation is highlighted in the United Nations’ declaration that the world is falling drastically behind in achieving SDG4 Quality Education and the estimate that by 2030, 300 million students will lack basic literacy and numeracy skills worldwide (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.). 

In attempts to improve the quality of education globally, billions of dollars are spent each year on teacher professional development (PD). These learning opportunities for teachers promise much, but often fail to deliver lasting change. Arguably, sustainable, genuine improvement to education requires robust evidence and the alignment of research, policy, and practice. Borko (2004) describes three phases of PD research: 1) research of a single PD program offered at one site; 2) scaling up a single PD program and examining how it plays out in different contexts; and 3) comparisons of different PD programs. Most research on teacher PD falls into the first category, although there are signs of more phase 2 studies (Sztajn et al., 2017). Still, relatively little is known about how contextual factors influence the scaling up of PD, particularly when examining the same PD program in different countries. There are of course exceptions (see for example Maas & Engeln, 2018).

In this symposium, we explore the challenge of scaling teacher PD in three different countries – Albania, Australia, and Sweden – all of which engaged with the PD program known as Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR). Developed in Australia, with compelling evidence of statistically significant positive effects on mathematics and reading outcomes, including slightly stronger effects for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, (Gore et al., 2021, 2023), we consider the viability of scaling QTR as a way to address pressing global issues of quality education (Ritchie et al., 2023). The papers explore the application of QTR across these diverse national contexts as a specific case of scaling PD. In so doing, we demonstrate how genuine hope for positive educational change in uncertain times might be generated.

Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15. Gore, J. (2022). The William Walker Oration 2022: Inspiring hope through evidence-based pedagogy. ACEL National conference, Sydney. Gore, J. M., Miller, A., Fray, L., Harris, J., & Prieto, E. (2021). Improving student achievement through professional development: Results from a randomised controlled trial of Quality Teaching Rounds. Teaching and Teacher Education, 101, 103297. Gore, J., Miller, A., Fray, L., & Patfield, S. (2023). Building capacity for quality teaching in Australian schools 2018-2023. University of Newcastle. Maass, K., & Engeln, K. (2018). Impact of professional development involving modelling on teachers and their teaching. ZDM, 50(1-2), 273-285. OECD. (2023). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education. OECD. Ritchie, H., Samborska, V., Ahuja, N., Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Roser, M. (2023, November 4). Global Education. Our World in Data. Sztajn, P., Borko, H., & Smith, T. M. (2017). Research on mathematics professional development. In J. Cai. (Ed.), Compendium for Research in Mathematics Education (pp. 793-823). National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.