This paper argues for the foregrounding of improvisation and education "in the moment" within youth workers' professional development. Devised in collaboration with third-year Youth and Community Work students and lecturers at a university in Birmingham, this participatory action research project drew on work of jazz…

How to best address the professional learning needs of those aspiring to leadership roles in schools is a crucial issue. Robust evaluation practices are needed to determine the quality of current provisions and to identify where improvements can be made. This paper considers the quality of professional learning programmes using a set of 10…

This paper describes an aspect of reflective practice referred to as situated reflective practice. The overarching theory is derived from social theories of structuration and reflexivity. In particular, from Giddens' theory of structuration, which sees social life as an interplay of agency and structure. Discussion of the research reported…

In order to contribute towards the construction of an empirically-grounded theory of effective continuing professional development (CPD), this paper seeks to develop a model of the effects of teachers' CPD or in-service education and training (INSET). It builds on an earlier typology of INSET outcomes and compares it to two previous…

Across the country of Ethiopia, a centrally planned and prescribed professional development programme was implemented in schools, with the intention of enhancing teachers' knowledge, skills and disposition, thereby improving student learning and achievement. This article explores and describes the lived experiences of teachers involved in…

Michael Fielding has written about the dangers of over-emphasis on the functional in schooling and a subordination of the personal. He wrote of, "… the need to situate our work within an historical context that requires judgement about matters of significance and purpose, not mere efficiency and effectiveness …" (Fielding 2007, p. 383).…

This paper explores the complex processes involved in the self-construction of academic identity in a UK School of Education. Building on seminal literature in this field and drawing on the research of four academics, it begins by discussing teacher educators' varying perceptions of the need to re-configure their identity to meet the…

Health disparities related to food choices, nutrition behaviours and smoking habits in urban communities in the United States signal the importance of health education (HE) in schools, yet educators in urban communities face unique cultural challenges often unaddressed in professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to use a…

The increasing cultural diversity of American students makes it imperative for school-based professionals to engage in culturally-competent practice, thereby ensuring high-quality mental health services. Although most cultural competence training occurs in university programs, research shows practicing mental health professionals would benefit…

A narrative literature review was conducted to identify the design features of effective short-term face-to-face professional development (PD) events. The 23 reviewed studies described PD with durations of 30 hours or less and involved participants in education or human service-related professions. Design features associated with positive impacts…

This article argues that evaluation of professional development (PD) requires a focus on student learning and an evidential baseline to enable practitioners and school leaders to determine the impact of the PD in which they are engaged. Several models of evaluating PD are briefly considered and it is suggested that most of these enable programme…

This qualitative study explored how two early-career teacher educators analysed and challenged pedagogical approaches within their curriculum methods courses via the collaborative self-study methodology. Our critical friendship revealed similar problems of enactment and tensions in our pedagogies of teacher education, despite the differences in…

This paper presents a case study of the work of two teacher educators with an in-service science teacher. This case study forms one cycle of a larger action research study that will eventually lead to a model of how the third-space concept for teacher professional development can be realized in natural school settings. The case study took place in…

This article is based on findings from the evaluation of a project established to enhance learning and teaching in higher education. This project took place within the University of Hertfordshire School of Education in England through the Change Academy for Blended Learning Enhancement (CABLE) project, the university version of the UK Higher…

This article is an account of a study that aimed to elicit the perceptions of school principals and middle managers in Lebanon on teachers' professional development (PD) and to promote an understanding of PD that extends beyond workshops. The study was qualitative and exploratory and used online interviewing to collect data. Questions were…