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Continuing professional development (CPD) is increasingly seen as an essential driver in raising the standards of teaching and learning in post-16 education and training. Requirements and processes have been set in place by Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) and the Institute for Learning (IfL) to ensure that every teacher engages in CPD - but is it getting the strategic attention it deserves in every organisation? This paper aims to provoke discussion on the issues, question some current shibboleths, identify potential approaches and explore how to make the most out of the new CPD entitlement. It also aims to encourage professional educators to begin to apply their expertise about good teaching and learning to their own thinking on CPD.

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Responding to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Early Years Workforce Strategy 2012-2016 and significant early childhood education and care sector reforms in the last decade, TAFE SA created a new model of long-term support and engagement with the early childhood and schooling sectors across the state. Existing vocational education and training (VET) expertise was utilized to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones. One example of a long-term professional learning engagement with an early childhood service became the focus of an action research project, enabling systematic analysis of evaluative data to determine the impact of professional learning activities on educator practice. The endeavour with this particular service has delivered positive results, such as boosting educator confidence in service delivery reflecting current research and national standards, supported by creation of learning environments with increased stimulation and child focus. Greater emphasis on relationship skills has enabled service provider staff to build more positive relationships with each other, the children and families, facilitating positive behaviour guidance and resulting in a significant increase in job satisfaction and staff stability. The action research project and its outcomes are presented in this paper.

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This book brings together papers from more than 10 countries, using a variety of approaches including narrative/life history, self-study and empirical research to demonstrate the complexity of the transformative search by individuals to establish their professional identity as teacher educators. The book offers critiques of current policy, practice and examples of established structures specifically supporting the professional development of teacher educators that may have a wider applicability. The book considers: (1) novice teacher educators, issues of transition; (2) identity development including research identity; (3) the facilitation and mentoring of teacher educators; (4) self-study research including collaborative writing, use of stories; and (5) professional development within the context of curriculum and structural reform.

Excerpts from published abstract.

The contents are as follows: Teacher educators - a professional development perspective / Tony Bates, Anja Swennen and Ken Jones; Becoming a university lecturer in teacher education: expert school teachers reconstructing their pedagogy and identity / Pete Boyd and Kim Harris; Developing pedagogical identities of beginning teacher educators / Frankie McKeon and Jenifer Harrison; Professional development of novice teacher educators: professional self, interpersonal relations and teaching skills / Leah Shagrir; The induction of teacher educators; the needs of beginning teacher educators / Corinne van Velzen, Marcel van der Klink, Anja Swennen and Elka Yaffe; Constructing new professional identities through self-study: from teacher to teacher educator / Judy Williams and Jason K. Ritter; Discussing pedagogical dilemmas with teacher educators: facilitating their professional development / Elka Yaffe and Ditza Maskit; Educators of educators: their goals, perceptions and practices / Miriam Ben-Peretz, Sara Kleeman, Rivka Richenberg and Sarah Shimoni; Teacher educators: their identities, sub-identities and implications for professional development / Anja Swennen, Ken Jones and Monique Volman; I can only learn in dialogue!: exploring professional identities in teacher education / Kara Vloet and Jacqueline van Swet; Scaffolding for a socially constructivist experience … / D. McGregor, B. Hooker, D. Wise and L. Devlin; Integrating research and practice in teacher educators’ professional learning / Jean Murray; Lost and found in transition: the professional journey of teacher educators / Allie Clemans, Amanda Berry and John Loughran; ‘It’s about paying attention’! … but to what?: the ‘6Ms’ of mentoring the professional learning of teacher educators / Ronnie Davey and Vince Ham; Developing a research profile: mentoring and support for teacher educators / Vivienne Griffiths, Simon Thompson and Liz Hryniewicz; Transformative learning-based mentoring for professional development of teacher educators in ICT: an approach for an emerging country / Isil Kabakci, H. Ferhan Odabasi and Kerem Kilicer; Without stones there is no arch: a study of professional development of teacher educators as a team / Judith Barak, Ariela Gidron, Bobbie Turniansky with the collaboration of Adiba Arafat, Dina Friling, Ruth Mansur, Marga Simca, Smadar Tuval and Talia Weinberger; Collaborative writing and dis-continuing professional development: challenging the rituals and rules of the education game? / Alexandra Kendall, Vanessa Dye, Julie Hughes, Cathie Lacey and Rob Smith; The professional learning journey: a meta-analysis of five research projects / Anne M. Jasman; Reflective teaching as self-directed professional development / Mark Minott; Writing as a journey of [professional] development for teacher educators / Yehudit Shteiman, Ariela Gidron, Batia Eilon and Pnina Katz; Re-conceptualizing professional development of teacher educators in post-Soviet Latvia / Iveta Silova, Amy Moyer, Colin Webster and Suzanne McAllister; Curricula reform and professional development: a case study on Chinese teacher educators / Hong Zhu. Show less

An initial study of the Australian and international literature regarding early childhood education and care (ECEC) raises several key issues for its workforce. Much of the policy interest focuses on the role of the workforce in delivering quality education and care. The critical question is how staff can deliver early childhood programs that are of high enough quality to support positive learning and developmental outcomes for children, especially among those facing risks to their healthy development. There is evidence that ECEC with the most favourable cognitive and social outcomes for children are indirectly related to well-trained and qualified professionals and lower staff-to-child ratios (OECD Publishing, 2012). The National Quality Standard (NQS) in Australia has addressed these factors by setting minimum staff-to-child ratios and qualification requirements. However, improving these standards has now contributed to a shortage of qualified ECEC staff across Australia, particularly in [New South Wales] NSW (Productivity Commission, 2014).

The primary issue currently facing the early childhood workforce in Australia appears to be attracting and retaining appropriately qualified ECEC professionals. Factors include comparatively poor pay and conditions, few progression opportunities and a lack of professional recognition and support despite the complexity of the work. Some Australian governments have attempted to address these issues through ECEC workforce strategies. Internationally, the ECEC sector faces similar problems including low wages, fragmented ECEC sectors, a lack of information sharing and the need for professional recognition and a more diverse workforce.

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Beginning graduate students who are working in higher education can benefit from establishing a professional development plan designed to enhance leadership capacity. The challenge is to align personal goals with those of the graduate program, yet ensure that collegial socialization and professional competency development occurs. Professional socialization refers to the acquisition of values, attitudes, skills, and competencies pertaining to a professional subculture. In this paper, [the author] describe[s] an activity [the author] designed and the process [the author] used that address equity, diversity, and inclusion as one professional competency area in [the author's] socialization process as a strategy to become a more effective leader.

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This chapter frames the transition to adulthood in the context of the moving from formal educational settings to the often less-structured learning that occurs in workplace settings. Although schooling may end, learning continues. In the workplace new graduates encounter new modes of learning, new ways of being, and new settings for working - referred to as 'a blurry space' - and they often feel unprepared. Key aspects of the transition from school to work are highlighted and the author suggests ways that adult educators can help young adults develop the skills they need as they leave the formal classroom and enter a rapidly changing workplace.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This study explores the experiences of educators using the [Virtual Learning Network] VLN Groups network to determine how far this user-generated mode of professional learning might extend professional practices in school. The study considers the ways and the extent to which the affordances of the VLN Groups social network site combine to affect educators' abilities to engage in effective professional learning. Findings highlight how the typical usage patterns of participants within the social network site reflect a growing familiarity with online ways of working, as well as opportunities to exploit this mode of professional learning more effectively.

This study suggests that the VLN Groups can provide a thriving participatory system that enables educators to engage in an informal kind of professional learning focused on immediate concerns and contexts in their own teaching and leadership situations. It also raises questions related to what 'counts' as professional learning and how self-driven learning can be integrated into a cycle of active inquiry into practice. The study concludes by outlining recommendations for teachers, schools and policy makers related to connecting and coordinating professional learning in ways that maximise opportunities in the digital age.

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Clinical educators in nursing perform a crucial role in facilitating effective learning for students of nursing. They have the potential to act as a catalysing agent for learning - motivating students to make links between theory and practice, moving students safely from the known to the unknown, developing clinical skills and reflective practice. Whilst their role is extremely important, clinical educators in Australia are undervalued and under-supported. They are isolated and fragmented, and lack a unifying professional body and infrastructure to assist them in education, research and practice development. This paper reports on a study to explore what educational solutions could help to resolve the problem. The authors conclude that there is strong support for a curriculum focused on clinical education and centred on the concept of a learning community in order to provide community and build capacity in the specialty group so that they become self-reliant and their achievements and contributions are sustainable.

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The project focuses on leadership roles in the conduct of transnational education (TNE) and in the internationalisation of curriculum. For purposes of the project, TNE is defined as an arrangement for provision of higher education where students acquire an award in one country issued by a higher education institution based in another country. The project focused on developing recognition, reward and support of leaders in TNE and in internationalisation of curriculum. The project involved an investigation of staff experiences, expectations and preferences in TNE and in the internationalisation of curriculum. It included matters such as influences of involvement in TNE on career paths and on learning and teaching, views on good practice in TNE and internationalisation of curriculum. Through the project, online professional development modules aimed at supporting leaders and academics engaged in TNE were produced. The modules have been designed so that they may be customised by other Australian universities. The project produced recommendations on recognition, reward and support of leadership in TNE and internationalisation of curriculum and guides in the form of a handbook and checklists.

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This document sets out the Scottish Government's responses to the recommendations set out in 'An independent review of the Scottish early learning and childcare (ELC) workforce and out of school care (OSC) workforce' by Iram Siraj and Denise Kingston. The 31 recommendations are described and the response of the Government to each recommendation is detailed. Scotland needs a workforce that is highly skilled and trained to work with young children, so that the foundations are laid for their future social and emotional wellbeing and their future attainment. The benefits of high quality early learning interactions with skilled practitioners have been shown to be particularly marked for those children who face particular barriers or challenges in terms of their socio-economic background.

Edited excerpt from publication with additions. Show less