A proposal to change the name of the Network was discussed and accepted at the Network meeting and will be presented to the EERA office for approval in 2019. New conveners were elected in the network meeting in ECER2018 (see below).
Since 2016, there has been discussion about a change of the name and scope of the network. The name of the network 1. "Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations" has been felt to be too complicated. We have also explicitly discussed about the position of our NW in the whole set of networks, and one argument for the change of the name is to avoid overlapping with other NWs, especially NW 10, NW 26 and NW 32.This has been discussed both within the convener team for three years, and was raised in 2017 in the network meeting in Copenhagen. In particular, we discussed problems with the NW’s name and scope concerning its length and redundancy.
In 2018, the network finally decided to change the network’s name into “Professional Learning and Development”.
Central arguments for changing the NW’s name were for example: "It is because professional situations are not static that we can't rely on 'professional development' alone. ...
'Training' is not sufficient; adaptability is essential; lateral and divergent thinking are central; criticality rather than compliance is needed. … Professional learning' involves active learning; it is a continuing process; it focuses on enquiry, analysis, reflection, evaluation, further action; .... in its best forms it is collaborative; and it enables an approach which is not confined to a linear interpretation of future events and ways of working.” (Ken Jones, 2015.)