Innovative approaches to continuous professional development (CPD) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Europe: Findings from a comparative review

Abstract

AbstractThis article explores innovation as an aspect of in‐service continuous professional development (CPD) in ECEC. Based on a literature review and a cross‐country analysis conducted in ten European countries, we found that innovation in CPD was understood as a way to improving quality in ECEC. CPD no longer solely deals with practitioners’ knowledge and skills. Rather, it encompasses processes such as critical thinking, reflexivity and co‐creation within and across ECEC systems. Two overall approaches to innovation in CPD emerged: one can be characterised as developing in systems that lack a national definition for innovation, where there is nevertheless a growing awareness of the need to finding new solutions for ECEC; and one as highly innovative in systems that have a history, culture and societal tradition of innovation. Also, three additional insights were identified as crucial aspects of CPD in terms of innovation: (a) critical reflection; (b) communities of practice; and (c) a growing focus on politics that address social inequality through ECEC. This analysis contributes to filling the gaps in research on innovative CPD in ECEC at three levels: system (macro), inter‐organisational (meso) and individual, organisational (micro). Further research is needed to explore more in‐depth the identified approaches to innovation related to CPD and their impact on quality development in European ECEC.