The performativity culture in schools and the increasing accountability related to teachers’ day-to-day duties increases workload and creates barriers to teachers who are seeking to teach with passion and purpose. When purpose associate with one’s role is clouded, personal efficacy and effectiveness are threatened. Similarly, when professional judgement is de-valued, job satisfaction can be diminished. This outcome is evident in the current context where concerns about supporting students’ needs (Longmuir et al., 2022), lack of autonomy and trust, along with stifled creativity (Appel, 2020), are attributed to the declining intake of preservice teachers into initial teacher education programs and the increasing numbers of who choose to leave teaching prior to retirement age (Sims, 2020).

The current study builds on a larger mixed methods project that investigated teacher professional learning using the online platform inclusionED (Harper-Hill et al., 2022). InclusionED is a professional learning platform that fosters a reflective cycle of planning, implementing, and evaluating. It empowers teachers to exercise agency by choosing their focus practices and supports flexible, asynchronous learning with goal settings and progress reflection. While conducting interviews and analysis during a project that investigated teachers’ engagement and professional learning using the inclusionED (Harper-Hill et al., 2022), participants frequently included the word hope in their responses. Further investigation illustrated how the participants viewed factors that supported positive outcomes related to inclusive education as accidental or not directly within their control. Hope, in these instances, was the antithesis of agency, a desired outcome of professional learning and central to the realisation of inclusive education (Pantic, 2015; Harper-Hill et al., 2022). Teachers’ sense of satisfaction and efficacy within their role as inclusive educators may diminish if this mindset is not challenged.

Within this presentation, we foreground hope as strategically planned for and maintained through a cycle of professional learning using the inclusionED platform. Drawing on the Shifting Hope framework (Park et al., 2024), which extends Snyders’ Hope Theory (1991, 2002) by incorporating Pantic’s teacher agency for social justice (2015), we explore the dynamic and evolving nature of hope in teachers’ professional learning journeys. This framework identifies four stages—hope “full,” hope “loss,” “wavering” hope, and “flourishing” hope—that reflect shifts in teachers’ optimism, motivation, self-efficacy, and agency as they navigate challenges in inclusive education. In this study, we map professional learning across a refined version of the Shifting Hope (Park et al., 2024) by using case studies of three early career teachers taken from the larger project. We explore the interplay between personal factors such as self-efficacy and pathways thinking alongside the critical role of contextual influences in shaping teachers’ professional learning to make changes.

Professional learning is most effective when it meets teachers’ immediate needs (Louws et al., 2017), involves them in planning (Dadds, 2014), and includes goal setting and collaboration with supportive colleagues (Buczynskil & Hansen, 2010). While these factors enhance learning outcomes, transferring learning into practice cannot always be guaranteed. Intrinsic factors such as personal knowledge, beliefs, and experiences (Harper-Hill et al., 2022), as does the context in which professional learning occurs (Opfer & Pedder, 2011) play a role. Ultimately, effective professional learning fosters teacher ownership, enabling them to refine practices, meet learner needs, and build confidence. It also requires space for critical reflection (King et al., 2023) to identify and address barriers and enablers that influence ongoing learning and application. This study, thereby, answers the following research question: How does hope, generated through professional learning enable the enactment of teacher agency that leads early career teachers towards inclusive classroom practice?  

Building on findings from a larger qualitative-dominant mixed methods study, we employed a case study approach (Stake, 1995) to explore how hope facilitates teacher agency and promotes inclusive classroom practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate teachers’ professional learning experiences via inclusionED, focusing on how the concept of Shifting Hope influenced their ability to envision successful outcomes and navigate challenges. Ethical approval was obtained, and participants were recruited via Autism CRC-affiliated schools and social media. The study focused on early career teachers from two of the four school sites in the larger project. Both non-governmental schools served diverse student populations, including culturally and linguistically diverse students, students with disabilities, and Indigenous students. School 1, located in a metropolitan area (Prep to Year 12), implemented a collegial partner approach, while School 2, a rural school (Prep to Year 12), used a community of practice model to foster collaboration. Data were collected over two school terms in 2022. After attending an orientation workshop, participants engaged with inclusionED at their own pace in a professional learning cycle. Each completed two semi-structured interviews via Microsoft Teams, conducted 10 weeks after the learning phase and at the end of data collection. The interviews addressed goals and strategies, progress and reflections, and challenges, and future platform applications, with all responses transcribed verbatim. From 18 participants in the larger study, three early career teachers (2 – 3 years’ experience) were selected from analysis, representing each quadrant of the shifting hope model. Using the Shifting Hope framework, deductive analysis (Bingham & Witkowsky, 2021) examined how teacher agency supported professional learning and inclusive practices. Our data analysis included a five-step iterative process, which is outlined as follows: (a) preparing verbatim transcripts and allocating pseudonyms, (b) developing and refining a codebook by drawing on the theoretical framework, (c) revisiting and re-examining the data while consistently comparing it with codebook, (d) coding data based on the codes, and member checking by the first and second author took place consistently during the data analysis process (Oliveira, 2023), and (e) results reported drawing on semi-structured interview data from three teacher-participants.

In this study we explored how professional learning that positions hope as a strategic construct fosters teacher agency in inclusive practices. Through three case studies, we go beyond identifying individual and contextual influences, proposing the refined Model of Shifting Hope (Park et al., 2024) as a framework to guide teachers and leaders to foster agency in their practice. This approach offers a professional learning map to support early career teachers’ transition and retention by addressing the interplay of personal and contextual factors. Pre-training survey data (Park et al., 2024) showed that preservice teachers in the current study were hope “full” initially, expressing confidence in their inclusive education knowledge and skills. However, their learning journey revealed fragility in sustaining these perceptions. Hope and agency were maintained through professional learning focused on manageable goals, personal investment, action, and reflection. While “wavering” hope and hope “loss” indicated reduced efficacy and agency, these were not static states. Participants with strong personal capabilities and supportive contextual conditions achieved “flourishing” hope. Through critical thinking, self-efficacy, and collaborative learning, teachers shifted their practices and created meaningful social change in their classrooms. We illustrate how hope, generated through professional learning, fosters teacher agency and supports early career teachers' inclusive practices. Viewing social justice as a dynamic, achievable goal reframes it as professional growth. Challenges such as diminished efficacy and agency, along with discomfort, can be addressed through critical reflection. This process informs goal setting, exposes barriers to inclusive education, and encourages navigating obstacles by leveraging positive personal and contextual factors. As Korthagen and Nuijten (2018) highlight, overcoming discomfort during learning enhances teachers’ transformative capacity. This approach frames hope as a guide for professional learning, empowering teachers to enact social change and uphold the values that draw them into the profession.

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