Section archive - Professional Development

In this study a teacher educator worked with two elementary teachers to facilitate a self-study of their learning during a professional development programme. The programme extended for 6 months and was underpinned by four learning processes - reflection, sharing, action and feedback. The two teachers documented their learning experiences and were interviewed several times during and after the study.

How teachers cope with recent policy changes in Portugal and England is the research topic covered by this article. Findings from data collected through questionnaires and focus group interviews suggest strengths their in terms of professionalism, collaborative culture, and project-oriented work at school. However, teachers also cited feelings of ambivalence and conflict, due to increased bureaucracy, school leadership, a culture of loneliness and the lack of understanding of the process of change.

The graduate teaching program (GTP) is a significant contributor to teacher training. The article describes a study to gain insights into the nature and implementation of professional values of GTP trainees. The findings identify that GTP trainees do have well-established values, and high expectations about implementing them, with varying degrees of coherence between these values and their implementation in teaching, learning and classroom management. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the highly individualised nature of the GTP does potentially lend itself to a coherent relationship between professional values and practice.