Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are valuable spaces for collaboration and reflection to promote the transformation of teaching practice and resilience to change. In PLCs that are sustained over time, trust-building is a key element. In Latin America, school systems and educational models are based on mistrust, which in Chile is consistent…

Personal epistemological beliefs play a key role in teacher engagement with professional learning, so consideration of epistemic cognition is integral to the designing of sustainable professional learning. This qualitative study uses Chinn et al's (2014) model of epistemic aims, epistemic ideals and reliable epistemic processes (the AIR model) as…

For investigating a comprehensive PLC framework, instruments are needed that capture the multi-layered PLC characteristics and that take into account the complex influencing educational context. Such instruments are currently lacking. This study aims at describing the development and validation of two qualitative classification instruments usable…

This paper aims to extend our understanding of the influence of school professional cultures and principal leadership effects on early-career teacher leadership aspiration, learning and development in the evolving hybrid of Western and Confucian cultures of Hong Kong. What are early-career teachers' aspirations of leadership development in…

Articulations of effective teacher professional development (PD) consistently foreground a focus on curriculum content and how best to teach it. Consequently, when teachers work together on pedagogy they typically work with colleagues who have similar specialisations, focusing on a specific subject or part of the curriculum. Arguably, however,…

A dominant paradigm for research on teacher professional development has centred teacher learning as created in and through practice. Critical scholars argue for the need to grapple productively with the complexities of teaching in the power-laden contexts of schooling. This involves continual reflection on the ways that teaching reinforces…

Building school capacity for teacher learning is the competitive advantage that leads to schools' sustained improvement. Literature has highlighted the importance of school capacity building. However, scant research has explored how schools in the specific contexts practically build their capacity for teacher learning. Using qualitative data…

Fostering the development of Professional Learning communities (PLCs) should be a priority for education because of their capacity to enhance teachers' professional development. However, in everyday educational (school) contexts studying and supporting the growth of PLCs is a complex endeavour. As a consequence, there is a lack of instruments for…

In this study, the professional learning of two groups of secondary mathematics teachers are compared as they participate in an education research project to explore the uses of iPads within formative assessment processes. Data from lesson observations, meetings and teacher interviews show how collaborative participation in a design research cycle…

The aim of this Norwegian study is to focus on challenges and possibilities concerning professional digital competence (PDC) for teacher education encountering students in transition between the position as private and professionals. Students need to gain a self-understanding of who they are and how to react in a profession where there few correct…

Technology is becoming ubiquitous in daily life and intertwined with professional practice. With the growing prevalence of online and digital technologies comes an expectation of connectivity but this is not yet consistent in rural areas. For professionals working in rural settings digital technology opens opportunities to connect with their wider…

This article shares the journeys of two New Zealand secondary school educators participating in the Virtual Professional Learning and Development programme, who developed sufficient confidence to undertake a Developing Virtual Mentor role in the initiative. Qualitative and quantitative data were developed into stories of change and illustrate the…

We describe the impact of an African American history centred collaborative teacher study group (CTSG) professional development experience on the cultural competence of 20 secondary Social Studies and English Language Arts educators. Using mixed methods, baseline data indicated slight movement from the colourblind to the cultural pre-competence…

Teachers are often encouraged to work in partnerships to support their professional development. In this article we focus on three forms of working partnerships based in English secondary schools. Each has an intended function of developing teaching practices. The cases of mentoring, coaching and an adapted lesson study come from both initial…

This article introduces Project RAISSE: Reading Assistance Initiative for Secondary School Educators and shares the findings of a study into those factors found to motivate study group participants at two rural high schools in the southern USA. The research team collected qualitative data over a two-year period, including interviews, artifacts,…