General description, objectives and theoretical framework (500 max)

The purpose of this study is to examine the role/impact of different models of school leadership in the context of a changing CPD culture on teacher access to and opportunity for CPD, and the implications of this for promotion in career pathways. The paper is framed within a comparative study of post-primary teachers’ and principals’ experiences and perceptions of the relationship between continuing professional development (CPD) and promotion in the teaching career pathway in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The three main objectives in the current study are:

• To trace how post-primary teachers are encouraged/empowered or disempowered in their pursuit of continuing professional development
• To establish what factors in the local school context exert most influence/power over how post-primary teachers gain access to and opportunity for CPD
• To examine the role - if any – that particular forms of CPD play in the promotion prospects of teachers

An increased emphasis on the necessity for teacher CPD has been taking place in the three educational jurisdictions mentioned at the outset in recent years. Coolahan (2003) suggests increased provision of CPD is required to enable teachers to cope with the increasing number of new demands being placed on teachers and schools. International research stresses that the retention of a highly qualified, motivated and committed teaching profession requires high quality continuing professional development (Day, 2004; OECD 2005). It is argued that the majority of teachers engage in professional development “because it presents a pathway to increased competence and greater professional satisfaction... [and]they want to become better teachers” (Guskey, 1986:6). The McCrone Report in Scotland stressed that “the profession must also be able to count on better support, on the provision of high-quality training and development, and on a career and salary structure which recognises and rewards excellence” (SEED, 2001). However, the degree of success achieved by the much publicised CPD and teaching career reforms in Scotland, particularly in relation to the Standard for Chartered Teacher is contested since it is argued that the decision to award people Chartered Teacher Status is “based on whether a teacher completes a university course successfully; it is not based on direct evidence of how a teacher’s practice meets the standard” (Ingvarson, 2009: 460). Other critics have pointed to Scottish CPD policy being introduced “via processes largely devoid of worthwhile dialogue with teacher education institutions” (Patrick, Forde et al, 2003: 241).

Central to the current issues involved in teacher CPD is school leadership since it is local school leaders/principals who are “among the most essential actors who determine the relationship between policy intent and policy outcomes at local level” (Rorrer and Skrla, 2005: 54). The expectations by education policy makers that teachers be lifelong learners and engage in high quality CPD may conflict with the reality of school leadership experienced on the ground. While some school leaders have a clear vision of staff professional development, in other school contexts it is apparent that “little concern is given to either how teachers learn or when” (Wilson and Berne, 1999: 197). 505 words

References Apple, M. (1996) Cultural politics and education, New York: Teachers’ College Press Coolahan, J. (2001) Teacher Education in Ireland and Western Europe: a Comparative Analysis, Irish Educational Studies, 20, 335-368. Coolahan, J. ( 2003) Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers: Country Background Report for Ireland: OECD & Department of Education and Science:Dublin. Day, C. (2004) A Passion for Teaching. London: Routledge and Falmer Denizen, N. and Lincoln, Y. (Eds) (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, California, Sage Guskey, T.R. (1986) Staff Development and the Process of Teacher Change. Educational Researcher, 15 (5), 5-12 Healy, P. (2006) Performance Assessment of Teachers by Principals? Retrieved November 25, 2007, from the Teachers’’ Union of Ireland web site: www.tui.ie Hirsh, S. (2005) Professional Development and Closing the Achievement Gap, Theory Into Practice, 44 (1), 38-44. Ingvarson, L. (2009) Developing and rewarding excellent teachers: the Scottish Chartered Teacher Scheme, Professional Development in Education, 35, no.3, 451-468. Krueger, R.A. and Casey, M.A. (2000) Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research (3rd ed.), California: Sage Books. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2005) Teachers Matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers (Paris, OECD). Rorrer, A. and Skrla, L. (2005) Leaders as Policy Mediators: The Reconecptualization of Accountability. Theory into Practice, 44 (1), pp. 53-62 Scottish Executive Education Department (2001) A teaching profession for the 21st century: the agreement following the recommendations of the McCrone Report (Edinburgh, Scottish Executive) Wilson, S. and Berne, J. (1999) Teacher Learning and the Acquisition of Professional Knowledge, Review of Research in Education, 24, 173-209.