ABSTRACT
In this unit, we consider how continuing professional development (CPD) is currently provided, reflect on what it could and should be and highlight a teacher’s role in their own development. Since the closure of the Teacher Development Agency for Schools (TDA) in 2012, no national body has held responsibility for guiding CPD within the teaching profession. This is despite conclusions reached by the ‘Schools and CPD in England – State of the Nation’ review of a ‘lost promise’ to teachers due to a lack of: (a) strategic planning, (b) clear links between CPD and performance management; (c) appropriate opportunities (especially for early career teachers); and (d) the most effective forms of collaborative and evidence-informed CPD approaches (Pedder, Storey and Opfer, 2008; Pedder et al, 2010). Grass-root providers, such as the Teacher Development Trust, note that little has improved recently:
There is a huge amount of teacher PD that is concerned with imparting ‘effective techniques’ for teachers … The sad part is that there is very little evidence that, by itself, simply demonstrating or even practising a technique outside of the classroom will actually improve student outcomes.
(Weston, 2015)