There are many accomplished school leaders in Australia, but the profession has yet to develop credible systems for recognising their impact. This article provides a progress report on research initiated by professional associations of school principals, to provide school leaders with authentic and feasible methods for documenting their practice…

This article discusses a national partnership in Irish higher education between the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and the sector. The partnership initiative focussed on the scalable design and development of a suite of open-access professional development (PD) courses in teaching and learning. The empirical work…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional societies (ProS) are uniquely positioned to foster national-level diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) reform. ProS serve broad memberships, define disciplinary norms and culture, and inform accrediting bodies, thus providing "excellent leverage with which to design and…

Working at a distance brings several benefits, often offset by several detriments. One aspect of working at a distance is the difficulty in sharing successes and promoting accolades. These successes may be personal, team, program, or institutional. But, as a distance worker it can seem daunting or even futile when attempting to "toot your own…

Colorado school librarians are in the midst of a crisis. According to a 2009-2010 survey of public schools in Colorado, just 23% of elementary schools have an endorsed librarian, while 37% of middle schools and 32% of high schools report having an endorsed librarian. This report also shows how these percentages have dropped in just a two-year…

This paper provides a review of the practices and tensions informing approaches to professional development for early career academic geographers who are teaching in higher education. We offer examples from Britain, Canada, Nigeria and the USA. The tensions include: institutional and departmental cultures; models that offer generic and…

Over the years, Bridget Somekh has made a substantial contribution to the development of action research. Her concern has been to make real change in the quality of everyday practices in education and to influence policy. In particular, this article explores the significance of her work for methodology, professional practice and for what may be…

Recent changes made by the Council for Professional Recognition to the Child Development Associate (CDA) credentialing program create an opportunity to redesign high school child development programs. On April 1, 2011, the Council for Professional Recognition lifted the age restriction in the CDA credentialing requirements, now allowing students…

Historically, physical education has had a low status in schools. Physical education teachers have struggled to secure the resources and support needed to teach in an appropriate manner. As a result, physical education has been marginalized and has received limited attention in the school community. The purpose of this two-part feature is to…

In the field of education, measuring the quality of teaching has reached a level of critical concern not only in K-12 academic education but also in the field of Career and Technical Education (CTE). Measuring the quality of teaching is integral to maintaining high standards. The state of Mississippi recognized a need for a systematic way to…

This article talks about Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), a professional association of more than 5,000 school business management professionals. Members include noninstructional employees at the local, state, and national levels from specialized areas in school business management, as well as the generalized field of…

This paper focuses on the research-related, in-service professional development of social science academic researchers. It identifies as a gap in provision the paucity of provision of career-long training in the "creative" elements of research practice--specifically the methodological skills that have the potential to enhance individuals' research…

By the time of the July Revolution of 1830, the matter of training elementary school teachers had become important in French politics. But the literature on teacher training does not properly examine the linkage between training institutions and professionalism. The standard narrative of the development of primary education suggests that the July…

This paper presents a model of the epistemic development of organic chemists from student to practitioner. Key features of this model suggest that individuals first learn the language of organic chemistry, followed by the heuristics. Deep conceptual understanding of the concepts and models of organic chemistry does not occur until individuals…

Being a professional stems not only from external regulatory and eligibility guidelines, but also from an individual's willingness to internalise and apply the values and insight gained during their training. Increasingly, professionals are expected to undertake ongoing education and training that is now seen as an integral component of…