ABSTRACT
Around the world, teachers and school leaders are expected to professionally learn, and to be constantly committed to their professional development. This chapter defines transformational professional learning and sets up the notion of transformation—via the shaping of professional beliefs and practices—as a useful frame for considering professional learning. It connects professional learning with identity and explores research literature around professional learning, including the trends, gaps, and cautions in this broad and contested field. In this way it provides a theoretical lens through which to view the professional learning approaches explored in Chapters 2 to 6.
