ABSTRACT
To consider teacher professional learning in Europe in general terms may be counterproductive, since the disparities among different countries and different subsystems within these countries are significant. The chapters in this book provide an indication of the multidimensional approaches to PLD, influenced by the cultural interpretations of the nature of teaching as a profession and often driven by the political and ideological forces that reduce professional judgements to instrumental actions. This concluding chapter reflects on the different approaches to professional learning and development highlighted in 14 European countries. It postulates that education systems move through a series of steps in refining their approaches to teacher professional learning and identifies some similarities between countries along a continuum from the early stages of transactional in-service education to more nuanced policy approaches to support the professional learning of educators.
