Year: 2007
Author: Gregson, Maggie, Spedding, Trish, Nixon, Lawrence
Type of paper: Abstract refereed
Abstract:
This paper compares models for the identification and dissemination of 'best practice' in the professional learning and development of teachers in England with those operating in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The research was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The methodology included a review of the literature, document analysis and interviews with policy makers and practitioners in each country. The research examined how each country went about identifying and disseminating 'best practice.'
The research brought to light the highly contextualised and complex nature of professional learning and development. It revealed tensions between top-down approaches to the identification and dissemination of 'best practice' with other approaches based upon trust and devolved decision making which enabled successful innovation to take place in a wide variety of contexts at the local level. The paper provides examples of how local approaches can be effectively scaled-up to support wider applications and further developments and improvements in teachers' professional learning.
The research points to the need for agreed pedagogical values in teachers' professional learning and the development of models of 'best practice' which encourage the enactment of such values.
Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning
The research brought to light the highly contextualised and complex nature of professional learning and development. It revealed tensions between top-down approaches to the identification and dissemination of 'best practice' with other approaches based upon trust and devolved decision making which enabled successful innovation to take place in a wide variety of contexts at the local level. The paper provides examples of how local approaches can be effectively scaled-up to support wider applications and further developments and improvements in teachers' professional learning.
The research points to the need for agreed pedagogical values in teachers' professional learning and the development of models of 'best practice' which encourage the enactment of such values.
Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning