ABSTRACT
The nature of professional development as a teacher within any subject discipline is a complex and contested process. The importance of subject-specific professional knowledge was first highlighted in 1986 by Lee Shulman, who referred to the relationship between subject knowledge and pedagogic knowledge as the ‘missing paradigm’ within research into teacher effectiveness. Shulman’s specific contribution in addressing that neglect was the concept of pedagogical content knowledge, which he suggested represented a blend of content and pedagogy: an understanding of how particular topics, problems or issues could best be organised, represented and adapted in response to the needs of diverse learners and presented for instruction. Although Shulman’s rather simplistic assumptions about the processes by which subject matter is transformed from the knowledge of the teacher into the content of instruction have since been challenged, the questions to which he drew attention by asking about the knowledge bases on which teachers draw, and how they can be developed, remain extremely important. However, conceptions of professional learning as the development of specific knowledge or skills have also been called into question, both for their neglect of teachers’ attitudes and beliefs and for failing to pay attention to the wider contexts and cultures within which teachers work. While career-long continuing professional development is recognised as a responsibility of each individual teacher and a vital component of school improvement, questions also arise about how history teachers can draw on the wider resources of the professional subject community, and work together with subject colleagues in school to create expansive learning environments within their departments.
