Professional development can be used as a tool to increase teacher confidence and competence. Consequently, it may improve the quality of education available to students. Previous research suggests that many teachers lack the confidence to teach health despite it being an area that they are expected to teach. This paper locates and considers the…

The concept of professional learning communities (PLCs) has received considerable attention in research as well as in school practice since the late 1990s. PLCs have been positively associated with a variety of outcomes for both teachers and students, but differences in the way the concept is operationalised, and the fact that most of the research…

This study explores whether the relationship between departmental leadership (i.e. group-oriented and development-oriented departmental leadership) and the interpersonal characteristics of professional learning communities (PLC) (i.e. collective responsibility and reflective dialogue) varies between departments, depending on whether teachers…

This paper draws from a review of the global literature on school leadership during the first 30 months of the pandemic (2020-2022), when educational leaders were faced with complexity on an unprecedented scale. COVID-19 challenged school leadership, providing opportunities to reflect on: leadership practice within and beyond school contexts;…

Schools are sites of teachers' professional learning for both new entrants and experienced practitioners. In this paper, schools are conceptualised as complex, multidimensional ecologies that are constituted by the relations that exist between school leaders, teachers, mentors and all members of the school community. As relational environments,…

This paper examines the role of professionalism in teachers' change in practice related to dialogue and argumentation. Data were collected from 14 pre-primary and primary school teachers who participated in a professional development programme with an emphasis on promoting values such as tolerance, empathy, inclusion and social responsibility…

Research on professional development (PD) in higher education settings is still scarce and little is known about how contextual factors influence PD of English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers. Employing a transcendental phenomenological approach, this study seeks to extend research on this topic in order to understand how PD currently…

A starting point for realising connections between leadership and professional learning is to focus specifically on teachers and their conceptions of leadership. Typically, leadership is understood as a designated position with a defined role and responsibilities for individuals. An alternative conception is to view leadership as collective rather…

We propose that the Indigenizing framework of land education in teacher professional development offers an opportunity to engage the epistemological constraints of white settler teachers. Building off the work of teacher education researchers who examine settler epistemic formations in teachers and document the gaps between euroamerican epistemic…

This systematic review of recent research explored the uncharted intersection of literature on educational leadership, professional learning, and educational equity. It investigated leadership approaches to shaping the professional development and ongoing learning of educators which supports more equitable outcomes for students. The underlying…

The article draws on a policy experiment, intended to develop guidelines and recommendations for teacher evaluation. A systematic review, used in the experiment, revealed that teacher evaluation fails to fulfill its formative intention, and is reduced to summative technicalities when systems violate acknowledged principles from evaluation…

Effective teachers and principals, who are viewed as their building's curriculum leader, are of vital importance to the literacy success of elementary-age students. This article will explore the influences of school leadership and professional development which teachers say can positively or negatively impact their ability to effectively teach…

This paper's commentary is guided by Gramsci's distinction between, on one hand, the pessimism of the intellect and, on the other, optimism of the will. Accordingly, we seek initially to convey some of the intractable challenges that tend to be encountered by school leaders in the contemporary education context. In doing so, we argue that these…

The revised professional standards for the teaching profession in Scotland are underpinned by a set of values which includes a detailed articulation of social justice for education covering rights, diversity and sustainability. There is a future orientation in these standards that privileges the contribution of teachers and leaders to realizing a…

Leadership has long been acknowledged as a significant dimension in effective school functioning and, indeed, school leaders can play a substantial role in professional development of staff. Here we have centred on the "practices of leading" as opposed to the qualities or characteristics of leaders, and this is emphasised by our use of…