anne campbell

8/3/2019 Anne Campbell

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Professor Anne Campbell


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This paper will address:Recent and current context and policy for

teachers professional learning and

masters level provisionLack of theorisation in professionallearning

Teachers perceptions of continuingprofessional development and learningPractitioner inquiry and research as a

powerful tool for professional learning


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National Curriculum, Testing andintense Accountability

Standards, Targets and PerformanceManagement

Funding issues

Prescription and Compliance


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Lack of understanding and theoryMcCormick (2010: 407) notes,

First, it is evident that we just need more research intowhat is happening in schools with regard to CPD andthe views of teachers and school leaders about thatactivity. Second, CPD needs to be theorised more, not

just in terms of views of professionalism andprofessional autonomy (the most common form of

theorising), but in relation to what happens withregard to the CPD processes... Third, there is a needfor the details of these learning processes to beinvestigated both at the point at which teachers arecreating practices and also where they are sharingthem.


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This contrasts with the more general literature onwork-based learning, where many types of worksituations are theorised in terms of types ofknowledge and learning (e.g. Anderson (1982)

Billett, 2006), including that in schools (e.g.Hodkinson and Hodkinson, 2004) Much of thetheory about workplace learning comes from thevocational educational and adult learning fields,although research into initial teacher education

and partnership practices can offer valuableinsights into work-based learning in teachereducation, McIntyre et al (1993); Furlong andMaynard (1995); Edwards and Collinson (1997).


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First national strategy 2001 DfES

TTA 2005

TDA 2009

White Paper 2010Funding

1980s Local Education Authorities

1997 TTA

2003 Comprehensive Spending Review put funds intoschools by and large apart from M level funds in TTA

2010 Funds to go to schools, MTL abandoned, PPD?


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Reviewed positively in 2003, Soulsby and SwainThe evidence suggests that the impact on schools ismost productive where:

the headteacher takes a personal interest and takes

account of the training in performance management a significant number of staff are involved in longer-

term CPD projects and outcomes are evaluated anddisseminated

the provision is both intellectually stretching and

focused on practice assignments are flexible enough in form and content to

enable teachers to engage with issues which arerelevant to them and to their schools.Soulsby and Swain (2003:12)


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The PPD programme (2005- ) was shaped by the2003 reviewIn a nutshell, the essence of the PPD was the development of partnerships

with the main stakeholders, higher education, schools and localauthorities, in order to plan, deliver and evaluate provision with a muchstronger focus on providing evidence of impact of the PPD programmeand workplace learning. Partnership was at the heart of the PPD as were:needs analysis; personalised enquiry; improvement of pupil outcomes

and critical evaluation.


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Two major reviews were undertaken

CUREE and University of Wolverhampton (2010)CUREE identified the clear development of partnerships, the power ofaction research and needs analysis as positive outcomes of five years ofPPD, 2005-10. The CUREE report also highlighted that there was quitewidespread lack of support in schools for those undertaking school-basedprojects, a worrying trend that could blight the development and success

of any workplace learning initiatives.

Seaborne (2010) He states that when the personal study programme also sets

objectives for how improvements in teachers capabilities will affectthe learning experiences of pupils, the impact on pupils attitudes,

engagement, behaviour and attainment can be significant.


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Seaborne (2010) found,

... negative features of individualised and bespoke study programmes. Several havereintroduced collective course components or group seminars because: a needsdriven just in time approach to teaching enquiry and research techniques provedinefficient and reduced capacity to discuss research with their peers; participants

based their understanding too narrowly on their experiences and circumstances oftheir own school, leaving them unable to evaluate objectively alternative teachingstrategies and curriculum approaches.

Barriers included: time needed to undertake M level study; access to provision;cost; support in the workplace; plus a range of personal and emotional factors.

... tension between school needs on one hand and individual needs on the other,and providers need to be aware of this tension and seek to minimise it. However

with regards to Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs), PPD providers have also notedapathy and sometimes hostility from schools that see M-level study as distractingNQTs from the real business of getting to grips with teaching, Seaborne (2010: 7) .Such opposition may affect workplace learning initiatives.


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Hustler et al (2003) Some main points from the research: .Most teachers are working with traditional notions of CPD There are tensions between personal needs, school improvement needs and

national priority needs for teachers and schools. There is an association between a high valuation of CPD and the level of teacher

choice and control of CPD activity

Inquiry- based learning such as that provided by the BPRS Programme, allows forbespoke CPD activity and an increase in self determination and control ofprofessional development

One size does not fit all. The role of the CPD Leader is crucial and can have either a positive or negative

effect on the management of CPD. .Whilst planned change in connection with school improvement agendas is

important, serendipity has a place in teacher development Collaboration is important There is some evidence that emerging Professional Learning Communities are

helping to embed collaborative and collegial practices for professionaldevelopment within schools and networks.

CPD evaluation and accountability require attention and approaches must bebalanced and flexible to cater for local and national needs.


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The need for a balanced diet of professionallearning as there are different agendas fordifferent teachers

The challenges of meeting a variety of learningstyles

Autonomy and responsibility go hand in hand

Beware of recipes- while we all need props be

careful to contextualise and customise ideas The power of collaboration between

enthusiastic beginners and experiencedpractitioners


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Opfer and Pedder (2010) reported on the State of theNation(SoN) research project and identified a less than positivepicture. In the summary of the research presented at the2010 BERA conference, the Times Educational Supplementnoted that teachers professional development is

haphazard, poorly planned and poorly assessed (TES, 10September, 2010).Earley, (2010: 475) in his discussion of four TDA funded

projects looking at professional development concludes that, many teachers think of staff development as activities to beengaged in rather than as the actual development of theirknowledge and expertise, which may (or may not) resultfrom their participation in such activities. They conceive ofprofessional development in terms of inputs and not as thechanges effected in their thinking and practice.


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Stenhouse (1975 ; 1981) autonomous professional development as selfstudy and classroom as laboratoryLittle (1982) the power of the workplace for professional learning anddevelopmentShe emphasised teachers engaging in frequent, continuous and

increasingly concrete and precise talk about teaching, building up ashared language with which to talk about their practice. Sheadvocated teachers planning, designing, researching, evaluating andpreparing teaching materials.Grundy (1982:358) argued for the acceptance of practitioner researchas a means of addressing teacher professional learning and schoolimprovement, making the crucial link between inquiry, research and

professional learning which Groundwater-Smith and Campbell(2009:205) argue would counter overly simple solutions packaged inshort courses. They believe that authentic inquiry will require risksand mistake-making and looking backwards as well as forwards.This, they assert, requires courage, resilience and healthy dissent.


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The workplace as a learning environmentfacilitates:

Experiential learning

Theory practice interaction Opportunities for collegiality and collaboration

Direct links to impact on pupils and studentsand their learning

Taking a risk in a safe environment

A community of practice


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Ken Zeichner (2003: 319) identified severalconditions under which school-based teacherresearch becomes a transformative professionaldevelopment activity for teachers- and I would

argue also for those academic partners whosupport them- as the following: creating a culture of enquiry and respect for

teacher knowledge encouraging learner-centred instruction teachers developing and controlling their own foci

for enquiries engaging in collaborative work and study groups

for intellectual challenge and stimulation


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Adequate funding for inquiry and research in schools mustnot be forgotten and the old adage quality costs, applieshere. With regards to quality we must remind ourselves thatquality is a culture not just a set of tick boxes and thatcriticality is part of that culture that enables change and

development to happen. Collaboration with colleagues andpartners was mentioned earlier and it is a lynchpin of highquality professional learning. There are inherent tensions inschool improvement between individual, collective andnational priorities which need careful consideration andnegotiation. Setting the agenda for collaborative inquiry and

research requires negotiation and regard for the processes ofmutuality and reciprocity. Care must be taken to avoidturning genuine inquiry into a simplified implementation ofschool or government policy.


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Recently, Opfer and Pedder in a major project , State oftheNation Project, researching professionaldevelopment (2010a:428) concluded,

First, teachers need to be supported at school indeveloping more collaborative and research informedapproaches to their CPD. CPD provision needs toinvolve teachers in more active forms of learning witha clear link to classroom teaching and learning. It alsoneeds to emphasise continuous, long-term, sustainedprofessional learning. Teachers need to be supported indeveloping practices for collaborative, classroom-basedand research informed approaches to their professionaldevelopment.


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Less prescription and more acceptance ofdifferences of opinion and of provision to suitschools perceived needs; a search for balance in

a repertoire of professional learning activities;time to embed, review and refine initiatives;reconceptualise roles of academic partners tofacilitate workplace change and professional

learning and high quality support for teachersand schools in their endeavours to inquire,research and improve their practice.


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Dont throw the baby out with the bath water!

Avoid a ring binder called How to dopractitioner research in your classroom.

Dont make a list of what areas should beresearched in classrooms.

anne campbell

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