ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon the important part played by Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in raising standards of teaching, learning and achievement. It suggests that CPD which aims to raise standards of teaching and learning must be informed by an understanding of the ways in which teachers learn best, the organisational cultures most conducive to learning, a recognition of current conditions of teachers' work and an understanding of the ways in which teachers' professional and personal lives relate. There are three reasons why reflective practice is increasingly being recognised as essential to good teaching and having 'a central role in the learning life' of the effective teacher. The first concerns the nature of teaching. The second is that engaging in reflective practice is a means of helping individuals towards greater self-knowledge and self-challenge. Finally, reflective practice is considered to be central to the growth of teachers as inquirers, who engage in collaborative research with others from inside and outside the school.
