Introduction

This chapter sets out the themes and areas of enquiry used by authors in discussing professional learning in their countries. These include a consideration of culture, organisation and policy, professional requirements, provision of professional learning and development (PLD) support, evaluation and impact, accountability and performance, research, links with current PLD models and theories, and the implications for PLD arising from the COVID pandemic. Questions are posed to enable exploration of each of these themes, and the key issues faced by the editors in creating a coherent overview of national perspectives are outlined, including the changing scenarios arising from rapidly evolving policy and practice, interpretations of the term “innovation”, and significantly, the different definitions and terminologies used in each country to describe professional learning.