Professional development that has impact – key ingredients

Many education reforms rely on teacher learning and, in turn, for the improved teaching that follows to improve student learning; so understanding what makes professional development programmes effective is critical. However, it is complex: exposure to and participation in professional development activities may or may not bring about change to individuals’ beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours. These changes to individuals may or may not lead either to changes in the classroom or to school practice. And these changes may or may not lead to improvement in pupil outcomes (Bubb and Earley, 2010). Opfer and Pedder (2011) have argued that the problem stems from simplistic conceptualisations of teacher professional development and learning that fail to consider how learning is embedded in professional lives.