Teachers’ motivation, workplace conditions and adequate opportunities for professional learning are key elements in fostering their willingness to develop professionally. Existing literature points to a diversity of meanings and purposes with regard to teachers’ professional development (Kennedy, 2005; Boylan et al., 2018). As Day (2017) argues, teacher learning and professional development is a holistic, dynamic and context-dependent concept which is associated with different views of the teacher and of teaching practice (Sachs, 2009). Both formal and informal opportunities for learning that enhance teachers’ professional competence may be identified (Avalos, 2011; Ritcher et al., 2011). Avalos (2023) asserts that the professional development of teachers is a necessity, but what it entails and who decides its content and delivery is disputed. Evans (2008) distinguishes between functional and attitudinal professional development. The former is concerned with improving performance and includes procedural and productive features associated with what people produce or do at work; the latter deals with modifying people’s attitudes to their work, incorporating intellectual and motivational features related to their opinions, thought processes and ideas, as well as their motivation. Thus, discussion around teacher professional development includes consideration of policies at both the macro and meso levels as well as the kinds of providers that exist and the focus/content of activities for ongoing professional learning. Evans (2019) asserts that further research is needed with a focus on the micro-level cognitive process of professional development which she describes as what occurs inside an individual’s head in order for them to experience a professional development ‘episode’. She also argues that “professional development is the process whereby people’s professionalism may be considered to be enhanced. Such professionalism refers to “what practitioners do; how they do it; what they know and understand; where and how they acquire their knowledge and understanding; what kinds of attitudes they hold; what codes of behaviour they adhere to; what purpose(s) they perform; what quality of service they provide; and, the level of consistency incorporated into the above list” (Evans, 2019, p. 7).

This paper draws on work by Day (2017), who identifies the organisational conditions for professional learning: i) structures (availability of time to reflect, supportive leadership, appropriate long-term resource provision, knowledge of individual and organisational learning and development needs); ii) support for teacher agency (competence, self-efficacy, distributed leadership, high expectations of self and others, strong commitment to functional and attitudinal learning and development); iii) cultures (promotion of relational and collective trust, teacher autonomy, shared vision, deprivatization of practices, collegiality, professional capital valued). Teachers’ willingness and capacity for change is dependent on these variables. They learn “in different ways, at different times and in different places, and as a result of different opportunities and experiences” (Day, 2017, p.23).  As such, it is important to know more about how and why teachers engage and invest in their professional learning seen as a key dimension of teacher professionalism. The focus of this paper thus addresses the following research questions: How do teachers look at their professional development? What kinds of factors hinder and facilitate their professional development? 

In total, 1,307 teachers participated in the study, coming from all sectors of education. The vast majority of the participants in the study are female teachers (70.5%) and aged over 45 years old (69.7%). Most of the participants have between 21 to 30 years of teaching experience (44.1%). An online survey was designed based on a questionnaire developed and conducted by the author based on existing literature. The questionnaire consisted of six sections and participants were asked to respond to a series of questions using a Likert scale relating to their understanding of the purposes and use of professional standards; aspects of their work; feelings about being a teacher; opportunities for professional development and motivations to remain in or leave the teaching profession. With regard to their career-long development, participants were asked to describe two of the most significant experiences of professional learning and development in their career over the last five years. Finally, where relevant, participants were also asked to comment on their experience and work as teachers. Demographic questions were also included. A nationwide survey was conducted through an online questionnaire (using the SurveyMonkey device) which was sent to the principal of every elementary and secondary school in mainland Portugal. The questionnaire was then distributed to the teachers in each school. Permission for administering the questionnaire in state schools was previously obtained from the Ministry of Education (XXX). The voluntary nature of participation was emphasised and confidentiality of the data guaranteed. The vast majority of participants wrote extensively on the open-ended questions. In general, teachers were very eloquent about how they experienced their work as teachers and their views of their professional development. Qualitative data analysis was conducted in two phases: an analysis of data gathered in each open-ended question; a second phase was then carried out according to a comparative or horizontal analysis (cross-case analysis) (Miles & Huberman, 1994). In the second phase, common patterns as well as differences were examined. A semantic criterion was used to look for key themes arising from the qualitative data. Key themes and sub-themes were identified. The most frequent trends were then summarised and labelled accordingly. In this paper, teachers’ views of their professional development are examined. Abundant quotes from the participants will be included to illustrate teachers’ voices.

Overall, a negative view emerged which is associated with feelings of pessimism and uncertainty that affect teachers’ investment in their professional development. External factors tend to explain the negative views, namely ongoing changes in the policy context, related to teacher performance assessment and the merging of schools; lack of career prospects; low socio-economic status of the profession and lack of relevant professional development opportunities. The more positive experiences were associated with investment in ongoing professional learning in a variety of contexts and formats, both formal and informal, individual and collective, in and outside school, including, for instance, doing a post-graduate degree at university as well as engaging in action-research projects and leading training activities for peers at school. Teachers who state that they continue to invest in their professional learning spoke of their joy of teaching and the existence of meaningful professional development opportunities. What is also clear from the data is the key importance of supportive school leadership, which is another factor that distinguishes more positive views from more pessimistic experiences. It is crucial to provide organisational conditions for professional learning (Day, 2017) whether in terms of structures (encouraging leadership, time to engage in meaning professional development activities and adequate resources), cultures (collegiality, relational and collective trust, shared practices and contextualised/collaborative professional learning opportunities) as well as support for teacher agency (high expectations, decisions related to one’s own professional learning, and strong commitment to both functional and attitudinal development). Such a view requires moving beyond deficit and instrumental orientations which tend to be aligned with “what works” in practice according to a top-down policy that identifies national priorities for teacher professional development in terms of content, process and providers while overlooking issues of context and teachers’ needs, interests, and career phase.

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