Conference Agenda

Research into teacher professional learning is a sub-field of education research that has been growing steadily over many decades but has shown an exponential increase in recent years. This is illustrated by the growing number of articles in peer-reviewed academic journals (Halinger and Kulophas, 2020), the growth of professional enquiry to generate research-based practice (Clayton and Kilbane, 2016), and the change in terminology from INSET through to professional development to professional learning, as indicated in recent discussions within Network 1 of EERA (EERA, 2019). This panel discussion will take as its stimulus the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of the journal Professional Development in Education (PDiE). PDiE was established in 1974 in recognition of the fact that the continuing professional learning of qualified teachers needed to be considered more seriously in the academic world. The panel discussion will provide stimulus for discussion about the state of research in the area by tracing back the early development of research in teacher professional learning, considering how professional learning has evolved across a range of European countries and anticipating where research in this area might go next.

Three presentations will be offered as a stimulus for discussion:

1. The first presentation will look back at research in teacher professional learning, policy and practice over the past 50 years, drawing on an overview of the articles published in Professional Development in Education since 1974. It will provide an analysis of the ways in which perspectives and polices have changed and developed at individual, institutional, national and international levels (Jones & O’Brien, 2024), illustrating how the influence of changing educational and societal contexts have impacted on professional learning policy and practice. The presentation will consider the types of studies published, using Lee’s (1997) distinction between policy-focused analyses and empirical research into the impact of professional learning episodes and programmes and events, it will highlight the move to non-linear, complex interpretations of ‘effective’ professional learning (Strom and Viesca, 2021; Asterhan and Lefstein, 2024), and invite participants to identify similarities and differences in the professional learning journeys from their own national, local and personal experiences.
2. The second presentation will look at professional learning research across Europe, drawing on the recently published research across five European countries (Ostinelli and Crescentini, 2021) and the edited volume ‘Innovation in teacher professional learning in Europe’ (Jones, Ostinelli & Crescentini, 2024). Through a comparative analysis of a number of different national contexts, the presentation will highlight new thinking and changing policies across Europe, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (Torrance et al., 2023).
3. The final presentation will look forward, identifying the burning research questions that still remain unanswered, despite 50 years of research on teacher professional learning. It will consider, amongst other things, the implications of increasing globalisation, the mainstreaming of Artificial Intelligence and the potential for genuinely transformative professional learning (Kennedy & Stevenson, 2023). This final presentation will also consider contemporary debates on what approaches might prove most revealing in researching teacher professional learning, taking forward debates about the relative use of randomised control trials versus qualitative approaches, as well as considering previously under-used approaches and methods.

Participants will be invited to discuss the extent to which research on teacher professional learning in and beyond Europe has served us well to-date, and to work together to identify a future research agenda that will offer us greater power to theorise professional learning in ways that can contribute to enhancing practice.