Conference Agenda

Overview and research question

There is, notes King (2014), ‘an increasing number of [professional development-related] causal impact studies carried out in the United States and elsewhere’. King’s geographical reference is significant, because, whilst there are certainly exceptions, North American research tends to incorporate a strong emphasis on professional development’s generativity: impact that extends beyond teachers’ practice to student achievement. Such perspectives have spawned what is referred to as a ‘consensus’ about what specific features of professional development provision make it effective – whereby ‘effectiveness’ is interpreted as incorporating generativity. Indeed, one American author referred to it as a ‘national consensus’ (Supovitz, 2001).

In contrast, quite a different tradition of research into professional development is evident in Europe. Whilst, again, there are exceptions, the dominant European perspective reflects a wider conceptualisation of (effective) professional development: one that privileges complexity theory over linear causality, and values the development of teachers themselves, irrespective of whether such development leads to student achievement gains. Moreover, European scholarship variously incorporates a distinct focus on conceptualisation, definitional precision, and theoretical understandings of what professional development is and what does or does not constitute it, and how it occurs.

This symposium reflects the European epistemic tradition. Drawing upon the findings of research projects undertaken in four European countries - Portugal, Poland, Spain, and the UK – the symposium will address the question:

• How does the multidimensionality of both professionalism and professional development manifest itself in the lives and practice of European teachers?

Addressing this question will involve consideration of substantive issues such as the relationship between professionalism and professional development, and the ways in which teacher professionalism has changed over the years. It will also involve consideration of methodological issues – in particular, ways of injecting rigour into examining teacher professionalism and professional development, by adopting a conceptual model as an analytical frame.

This overarching focus of this symposium is changes to teachers’ professionalism, since, as Evans (2008, 2014) notes, change to professionalism is essentially what defines professional development.

Theoretical framework

The symposium fundamentally reflects a complexity-theory-informed perspective on professional development; that is, recognition of professional development as a complex system: ‘an assemblage which incorporates multiple elements or “things”’, and which represents ‘an alternative view to the taken-for-granted linear transactional routine of professional development’ (Scanlon et al., 2022). The specific ‘alternative view’ that permeates the three symposium papers is one that reflects Evans’s (2008, 2014) conceptualisation of professional development as multi-dimensional, and effected by micro-level change to one or more of eleven identified elements or dimensions of developees’ professionalism.

In their review of models of professional development, Boylan et al. (2018) scrutinise five models that had been selected ‘for more in-depth review because they have been, or are potentially, powerful in supporting the research, evaluation and design of professional learning’ (p. 121). Described as offering a ‘paradigmatically distinct approach’ (Boylan et al. 2018), it is the most recently published of these five models – Linda Evans’s (2008, 2014) conceptual model of the componential structure of professional development – that, along with several of Evans’s other, related, theoretical perspectives, serves as the symposium’s specific theoretical framework. The first symposium paper will focus entirely on explaining that model; the other two papers will follow up by illustrating its application. In common with others (e.g. Beresford-Dey & Holme 2017; Guerin, 2021; Johnson, 2018; Zeggelaar et al., 2018) who have adopted Evans’s model(s) as an analytical frame, the researchers presenting their findings in the symposium variously illustrate the multi-dimensional nature of professional development and its relationship with professionalism, through portrayals of key elements and features of European teachers’ work and lives that span half a century.

It was on board an aeroplane headed for Australia, where she was to present a keynote in 2008, that Linda Evans describes developing her nascent ideas on professionalism, and fine-tuning those ideas to formulate a conceptual model: "So it was there – 35,000 feet high ... that, building on my writing and thinking over the preceding few years, I sketched out on a small notepad the first draft of what was to evolve into the current version of what I call my model of the componential structure of professionalism: my interpretation of what professionalism is and what it looks like." (Evans, 2015) The model was to undergo several iterations, and was developed in tandem with Evans’s parallel conceptual model of professional development, before both were published over a period of ten years in several academic outlets (e.g. Evans 2008, 2011), and adapted for application specifically to researcher professionalism and professional development (e.g. Evans 2012, 2014) and academic professionalism and professional development (Evans, 2018; Evans and Cosnefroy, 2013). Recent years have seen increasing awareness of the potential of either or both of Evans’s models as analytical frameworks, with increasing numbers of researchers applying the models to their research (e.g. Behroozi and Osam, 2021; Pineda et al. 2022). The other two papers in this symposium serve as examples of such application. This paper will explain the focus of each of the 11 dimensions of professionalism and of professional development that, to Evans, make up these two concepts’ componential structure, and, Illustrated with examples from research undertaken in UK primary schools and universities, the paper will shed light on what Evans refers to as the chain-reaction-type process of individuals’ micro-level professional development, whereby change to one dimension potentially leads to change in another, and then another, and so on, exposing the multi-dimensionality of professional development. Aimed at increasing awareness of the models’ potential for injecting rigour into researching professionalism and professional development, this paper addresses the questions: • What do Evans’s linked models of professionalism and professional development look like? • What do they tell us about conceptualising professionalism and professional development – and how these concepts have evolved? • What do the models suggest is the link between professionalism and professional development? • What contribution do the models make to researching professionalism and professional development • How may researchers best make use of them?

Behroozi, A., Osam, U. V. Micro-level episodes tell a tale: A look into English language teachers’ online professional development. Revista Argentina de Clínica Psicológica, 30(1). Evans, L. (2008) Professionalism, professionality and the development of education professionals, British Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1). Evans, L. (2011) The ‘shape’ of teacher professionalism in England: professional standards, performance management, professional development, and the changes proposed in the 2010 White Paper, British Educational Research Journal, 37(5). Evans, L. (2012) Leadership for researcher development: What research leaders need to know and understand, Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 40(4). Evans, L. (2014) What is effective research leadership? A research-informed perspective, Higher Education Research and Development, 33(1). Evans, L. (2015) Professionalism and professional development: what these research fields look like today – and what tomorrow should bring, Hillary Place Papers, https://hpp.education.leeds.ac.uk/issues/two/ Evans, L. (2018) Professors as academic leaders. London, Bloomsbury. Evans, L. & Cosnefroy, L. (2013) The dawn of a new academic professionalism in the French academy? Academics facing the challenges of imposed reform, Studies in Higher Education, 38(8). Pineda, H. et al. (2022) development and evaluation of a professional development program on designing participatory action research projects for basic education teachers. Advanced Education, 9(21).

There is a powerful – and growing – body of evidence demonstrating that teachers who root their practices in research are able to make better teaching and learning decisions; use more innovative programmes or creative approaches; and develop outside-the-box thinking for solving educational problems (e.g., Leuverink & Aarts, 2022). Despite such promising benefits, bringing research into classrooms remains challenging. Although these benefits and challenges have been widely studied (e.g., Vanderlinde & Braak, 2010; Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al., 2020; Ion et al., 2021), collectively, they do not amount to a systematic, intentional, or detailed investigation into teachers’ own research engagement trajectories. Indeed, what is crucially missing from these studies are the voices of teachers who are research-engaged as part of their professional development (PD) beyond graduation: the best-placed people to direct teaching communities towards becoming more research-engaged (Leat et al., 2015). Drawing on Evans’s (2014) theoretical framework for PD – encompassing three primary components of change, i.e., behavioural, attitudinal, and intellectual, as well as a further eleven subcomponents – this paper shares the results of an interview-based study carried out 2022-2023 on 36 teachers in Poland and Spain whom we had identified as research-engaged teachers in their communities. In this study we aim to listen to their voices in order to: (1) explore the main research practices they perform as part of their PD; (2) understand how research engagement impacts their PD, and (3) identify the conditions that facilitate their ongoing research engagement. The preliminary results show that (1) the interviewed teachers were research-engaged in diverse ways, including conducting research-based innovations, action research projects, intervention studies – and reading research papers. All teachers viewed their research activities as (2) enhancing their professionalism via: extending knowledge bases; questioning and deepening their own perspectives on education issues; increasing their professional effectiveness and confidence; re-vitalising their teaching work; and experimenting with new educational ideas and practices. These findings correspond with multiple dimensions of Evans’s (2008, 2014) PD model, such as: epistemological (‘the basis of people’s knowledge’), processual (‘processes that people apply to their work’), and evaluative change (‘people’s values’). Lastly, we found that (3) their ongoing research engagement was significantly sustained and enhanced by a number of factors, ranging from their own personality traits, to the support they received from their schools and beyond. These findings will be discussed through the lens of national and international research and policies regarding connecting research to teachers’ PD.

Evans, L. (2008). Professionalism, professionality and the development of education professionals. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1), 20–38. Evans, L. (2014). Leadership for professional development and learning: enhancing our understanding of how teachers develop. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(2), 179–198. Ion, G., Suárez, C. I., & Vicario, A. D. (2021). Evidence-informed educational practice in Catalan education: from public agenda to teachers’ practice. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 11(2), 37–57. Kowalczuk-Walędziak, M., Lopes, A., Underwood, J., Daniela, L., & Clipa, O. (2020). Meaningful time for professional growth or a waste of time? A study in five countries on teachers’ experiences within master’s dissertation/thesis work. Teaching Education, 31(4), 459–479. Leat, D., Reid, A., & Lofthouse, R. (2015). Teachers’ experiences of engagement with and in educational research: What can be learned from teachers’ views? Oxford Review of Education, 41(2), 270–286. Leuverink, K., & Aarts, R. (2022). Changes in teachers’ professional behavior through conducting teacher research. Journal of Educational Change, 23, 61–84. Vanderlinde, R., & van Braak, J. (2010). The gap between educational research and practice: Views of teachers, school leaders, intermediaries and researchers. British Educational Research Journal, 36, 299–316.

Interest in the study of teachers' professional development has increased in recent decades, reflecting recognition of the need to delve deeper into what counts as professional development in order to inform policies, leadership and professional learning processes. Emphasising the importance of teachers' views in identifying what counts as professional development, Linda Evans states that "it is one thing to identify the characteristics of teachers who may be categorised as being at any one of several points of professional growth; it is quite another thing to identify what creates those characteristics and how they may be effected” (2002: 133). Professional development may occur through formal or informal initiatives, and is multi-dimensional, involving behavioural, attitudinal and intellectual components (Evans, 2014) and yet government reforms tend to privilege behavioural development (Evans, 2011). Concerned with "micro-level professional development" (Evans, 2014: 192), Evans argues that strengthening teachers' professionalism - which, like professional development, is multidimensional - is the purpose of professional development. Reporting some of the emerging findings of a funded project, carried out 2022-24, this ECER paper will analyse what counted as professional development for Portuguese teachers who developed their professional careers over the last 40-50 years and are now approaching retirement. This is a very relevant population for the objectives of the study, because the 1974 democratic revolution was followed by years of great development of the Portuguese education system and much investment in teachers’ professional development. The study focuses on teachers known for being "committed", i.e. with strong involvement in the profession. Data were collected through semi-directive interviews aimed at producing narratives of the interviewed teachers’ professional lives. The overarching aim is to trace the development of the teaching profession in Portugal over the years, from teachers' perspectives, and illustrated through teachers' lives. This paper will present analysis of 25 life histories, namely of: 7 preschool teachers; 7 primary teachers; 5 middle school teachers and 5 secondary teachers. Two types of analysis were conducted: paradigmatic and narrative (Polkinghorne, 1995). In the first case contextual and personal factors underlying the moments of change narrated are identified; in the second, an "exemplar" narrative is elaborated, in the sense that a new story is created seeking to model the type of professional development pathway in one of the teaching stages considered. The results will be interpreted in the light of Evans's conceptual models of the multidimensionality of professionalism and of professional development.

Evans, L. (2002) What is teacher development? Oxford Review of Education, 28(1), 123-137. Evans, L. (2008). Professionalism, professionality and the development of education professionals. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56 (1), 20-38. Evans, L. (2011) The ‘shape’ of teacher professionalism in England: professional standards, performance management, professional development, and the changes proposed in the 2010 White Paper, British Educational Research Journal, 37(5), 851-870. Evans, L. (2014). Leadership for professional development and learning: enhancing our understanding of how teachers develop. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(2), 179–198, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2013.860083 Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103