Informal Professional Development Research Articles

Efforts Implemented for Developing Health Management Workforce in the Asia Pacific: A scoping review

Background and objective: A strong and effective health management workforce (HMW) is essential to underpin the comprehensive health care services provided by health care organizations. The fast-growing nature of healthcare systems suggests the required competencies for HMW continue to evolve. The objective of this scoping review is to identify and confirm the key strategies that have been used in developing the health management workforce in the Asia Pacific region. Materials and Methods: A scoping review of the literature was conducted between May and August 2022 using the following databases: Medline, Ovid Emcare, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science, to retrieve original research articles demonstrating development efforts for HMW in the Asia Pacific regions. The review was guided by the PRISMA-ScR (2018) checklist [23]. Results: The scoping review identified four different development strategies for HMW in Asia Pacific region: i) Organisational informal professional development programs, ii) Competency assessment and identification of gaps in knowledge and skills of HMW, iii) Confirming competencies and developing competency framework and iv) Formal education and training. Among these four development strategies, organisational informal professional development programs and competency assessment and the identification of gaps in knowledge and skills of HMW were the main strategies implemented for HMW in the Asia Pacific region. Conclusion: The review concluded that the existing development strategies and efforts for HMW are not evenly implemented within the Asia Pacific region. Political will and policy direction are important and plays a vital role in the competency development of HMW. It is also critical to provide multilevel commitment from system and organisational level together with identifying and addressing the bottlenecks in the development strategies by considering organisation types, management levels and positions, practical training methods, motivation of participants, and other contextual factors.

Improving Mathematics Education through Teacher Professional Development: A Tanzanian Perspective

This study aimed to explore mathematics teachers’ perceptions of professional development. The study involved two public secondary schools in Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam. This was a qualitative study based on case study design. The study involved fourteen (14) participants that were selected purposefully. Two (2) heads of the schools, two (2) Academic Teachers, two (2) heads of mathematics departments, and eight (8) mathematics teachers were equally involved from both schools. Interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, and document analysis methods were used in data collection. Both interviews and focus group discussion were audio-recorded by using a protected smartphone with password to ensure data security. The documents reviewed includes; school policies, school calendars, and mathematics departmental meetings’ minutes. The data collected were analysed thematically to identify and interpret key themes. The data analysis was based on the following steps: transcription, data reduction, presentation, and discussion of findings. Fictitious names were used for names of people and schools to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. The study revealed that teachers perceived professional development as formal programs to improve teachers’ quality that were time-consuming and costly, while informal professional development programs were overlooked by teachers and other educational stakeholders. The study recommends that, in order to improve teachers’ quality as intended in professional development, there is a need to raise awareness for both formal and informal professional development programs among teachers and a learning community as a whole.

Personalization of Professional Development of Teachers in Formal and Informal Professional Development

Introduction. The article considers the problem of improving the professional development of teaching staff in terms of their involvement in continuing education, including through inclusion in formal and informal professional development. On the basis of the revealed contradictions, the problem of research is determined: how to personalize the professional development of teachers (including young teachers) in formal and informal professional development. The purpose of the study is to empirically test the effectiveness of the personalized professional development program for teachers in formal and informal professional development. Methodology. The experimental search work was carried out on the basis of the Information and Methodological Center in Verkhnyaya Salda, Sverdlovsk region in the period 2021–2023. The target audience of the study is young teaching staff. Results. Approbation of the 2022/23 academic year program (compared with the 2021/22 academic year program), personalized education for young teachers of general education organizations was successful, there is an increase in the competence of young teachers in the field of professional activity in comparison with the results of primary diagnostics. Conclusion. The authors note that the process of personalizing the professional development of teachers in formal and informal professional development is effective with the developed program in the aspect of continuous professional personalized education of teachers of general education institutions based on the integration of a system-activity, personally-oriented and environmental approach.

One size does not fit all - mapping informal and formal professional development activities of vocational teachers

ABSTRACT Vocational teachers continuously tailor their teaching to changes in occupational practice, technologies, and student diversity. Teacher professional development is crucial for dealing with these changes. A longitudinal study was conducted to study the professional development activities of vocational teachers in the Netherlands. It resulted in a typology of formal and informal professional development activities. This typology consolidates preceding typologies, and specifies these for the context of vocational education. During a two-and-a-half year period, 26 experienced teachers detailed their informal and formal professional development activities in learner reports. The 386 activities identified were grouped in six categories of informal professional development activities and in five categories of formal activities. In total, three quarters of the activities could be characterised as informal, embedded in daily practice. Our typology could encourage vocational schools in facilitating professional development more effectively.

How do teachers learn to teach international students? Teachers’ informal professional learning in international vocational education

ABSTRACT The majority of the literature in the field of international education focuses on the experiences of international students, while much less is known about how teachers learn to teach this cohort. Research on teachers’ informal professional learning and critical moments of growth in their endeavour to enhance the learning experiences of international students in the vocational education and training sector is even scarcer. This article responds to the dearth of existing literature. related to teachers’ professional learning in international vocational education It is based on a study that includes semi-structured interviews with 102 staff in Australian vocational education and training. The article uses positioning theory as a conceptual frame to analyse teachers’ narratives of informal professional learning relation to teaching international students. The findings show that teachers position international students as valuable resources contributing to their informal professional development. The study indicates that it is crucial for teachers’ on-the-job learning experiences to be factored into the broader policy frameworks concerning teacher professional development. The article provides the evidence base to inform the development of situated and targeted professional learning for teachers teaching international students.

Formal and informal professional development during different Covid-19 periods: the role of teachers’ career stages

ABSTRACT This mixed-method study is based on interviews with 60 elementary-school teachers who participated in TPD (Teacher professional development) during two periods of the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers were in early, middle and senior career stages. Teacher statements revealed three categories: (1) Informal and formal TPD – without appropriate formal TPD, teachers, especially those in the middle and senior career stages, turned to colleagues and to social media to cope with online instruction. (2) Self-regulated learning, in which teachers listed their motivating factors and expressed their TPD difficulties during the Covid-19 periods. (3) Perceived learning – the cognitive aspect was found to be higher than the emotional and social aspects, especially during the first Covid-19 period. The practical recommendations are intended for policy makers, to adapt the TPD system to teachers’ particular needs according to their ‘career cycle’, in order to cope with technology-integrated learning-teaching challenges, even in routine teaching.

Continuity and churn: understanding and responding to the impact of teacher turnover

Teacher turnover is a long-standing and worsening problem for schools in England. Strategies to reduce turnover have been extensively researched; however, in England, fewer studies have engaged with how turnover affects students and staff, or how this impact can be mitigated. This article synthesises research suggesting that the negative impact of high turnover is linked to its corrosive impact on trust, student-centric and institutional knowledge, and collaboration and collegiality. It proposes that schools need to intentionally nurture relationships, establish routines and culture at an institutional level and create opportunities for informal professional development. It also argues that decisions about teacher allocation or assignment can drive within-school churn, undermining continuity of care. Teacher allocation decisions have a particularly negative impact on socio-economically disadvantaged and minority ethnic students, but ‘looping’ may reduce within-school churn and enhance continuity of care. Looping has been studied in several countries, but further research is needed in the English context, particularly given that teachers report being open to the strategy, if it is supported by evidence. However, as this article highlights, there are potential tensions between reducing teachers’ influence over allocation and the impact this might have on teacher satisfaction and retention, as well as potential tradeoffs between grade-specific and student-specific expertise.

Professional development from the perspective of new-graduate physiotherapists within Australian hospital settings: A qualitative study

Introduction: The transition from physiotherapy student to clinician within hospital settings has been identified as overwhelming, leaving new graduates experiencing significant anxiety and stress. Professional development plays a major role in facilitating the transition from student to clinician. However, the perceived professional development needs of new graduates in hospital settings and the factors that influence graduates’ decision-making regarding professional development remain relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the professional development needs of new-graduate physiotherapists working in hospital settings and to explore graduates’ decision-making relating to engagement in professional development. Methods: A qualitative study utilising a general inductive approach was undertaken to investigate new-graduate physiotherapists’ experiences. Telephone interviews were conducted with 15 new-graduate participants, and data were subject to thematic analysis. Results: Five key themes regarding hospital-based new-graduate physiotherapists’ professional development needs and decision-making were generated following analysis: 1) practical and clinical relevance, 2) influence from external supports, 3) translation to practice, 4) accessing professional development and 5) professional development for the future. This provided insight regarding the challenges faced in accessing professional development during the transition from student to clinician. Conclusions: This study has highlighted the complexity of new-graduate physiotherapists’ decision-making and perceived needs surrounding professional development within the hospital setting. New-graduate physiotherapists perceived that the hospital workplace provided sufficient resources for professional development. However, guidance from supervisors and colleagues within the hospital workplace was highly valued by new graduates when choosing professional development, including informal professional development opportunities. Research is needed to further understand the role of professional development of physiotherapists in hospital settings.

Time to flock: time together strengthens relationships and enhances trust to teach despite challenges

ABSTRACT This study applies an Afrocentric theory (Relationship-Resourced Resilience [RRR]) to analyze teacher resilience in a less-researched context in the Global South. The Isithebe-intervention study in South African schools investigated how time together to strengthen relationships promotes teacher resilience despite structural disparities. Teachers were conveniently sampled, and South African schools were purposively sampled using concurrent mixed-methods triangulation. Based on Ubuntu social-connectedness principles, the intervention gave teachers monthly art-based time to communicate and build relationships. Pre- and post-intervention measurements included teacher-reported surveys (ENTREE and REPSSI SC subscales) and participatory reflection and action conversations (verbatim transcriptions and visual data). Inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and showed that time together increases resilience, social connectedness, and trust. Qualitative results show time spent together promoted a sense of belonging, safety, and trust in supporting one another by sharing ideas for informal professional development or caring for children, families, and friends who depend on such help to withstand ongoing challenges. Few teacher resilience studies exist in Global South and South Africa. Structured time to build relationships capitalizes on dominant but marginalized Afrocentric belief systems favoring interdependent, collective resilience values, beliefs, and practices and encourages instructors to teach countering deficit notions of structurally disparate contexts.

Malaysian Early Childhood Educators’ Use of Web 2.0 for Informal Learning in Professional Development

Abstract Early childhood educators’ professional knowledge and skills are often underappreciated (Moloney, 2015; Moss, 2006) even though they significantly impact children’s outcomes (Ackerman, 2004; Bellm and Whitebrook, 2004; Sylva, et al., 2004). In Malaysia, many early childhood educators lack qualifications and the resources to pursue them (Foong, et al., 2018). This study explored the experiences of seven early childhood educators in Malaysia with web-based informal professional development through interviews and media go-alongs, examining participants’ use of and perception towards Web 2.0, particularly for self-directed and interactive learning. Results showed a burgeoning integration of Web 2.0 platforms in participants’ professional learning. Participants emphasised the significant role of personal attitudes and workplace culture in encouraging learning and technology adoption and expressed interest in the development of Web 2.0 communities of practice that support professional discourse and knowledge creation. These have the potential to strengthen professional identities and foster society-wide recognition of early childhood education as a profession.

Why Informal Professional Development Matters: Six Tips to Developing Professionally in the Physical Education Profession

The focus of this article is to offer tips for physical education teachers to develop and grow professionally. The six tips provided are not listed in order of importance, nor are they meant to be an exhaustive list. Instead, tips for enhancing professional development practices within the physical education profession are categorized based on associations with knowledge, practice, and student achievement.

Anatomy in Practice: How Do Equine and Production Animal Veterinarians Apply Anatomy in Primary Care Settings?

To successfully prepare veterinary undergraduates for the workplace, it is critical that anatomy educators consider the context in which developing knowledge and skills will be applied. This study aimed to establish how farm animal and equine general practitioners use anatomy and related skills within their daily work. Qualitative ethnographic data in the form of observations and semi-structured interviews were collected from 12 veterinarians working in equine or farm animal first-opinion practice. Data underwent thematic analysis using a grounded theory approach. The five themes identified were relevant to both equine and farm animal veterinarians and represented the breadth and complexity of anatomy, its importance for professional and practical competence, as well as the requirement for continuous learning. The centrality and broad and multifaceted nature of anatomy was found to challenge equine and farm animal veterinarians, highlighting that essential anatomy knowledge and related skills are vital for their professional and practical competence. This aligns with the previously described experiences of companion animal clinicians. In equine practice, the complexity of anatomical knowledge required was particularly high, especially in relation to diagnostic imaging and assessing normal variation. This resulted in greater importance being placed on formal and informal professional development opportunities. For farm animal clinicians, anatomy application in the context of necropsy and euthanasia was particularly noted. Our findings allow anatomy educators to design appropriate and effective learning opportunities to ensure that veterinary graduates are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and resources required to succeed in first-opinion veterinary practice.

Physical education podcasts: a thriving community of practice or a one-way mode of communication?

ABSTRACT Background Educational podcasts are a new medium that provides content and profession-specific knowledge. Although educational podcasts are widely distributed and listened to within professional fields, little is known about the communities of learners or communities of practices (CoPs) that surround them. Within the field of physical education, effective CoPs have been documented within social media spaces, such as Twitter and Facebook, whereby physical educators engage to strengthen each other’s teaching practices and knowledge. Although scholars have suggested that CoP exist around these podcasts, no research to date has examined these communities. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine what motivates podcast creators and listeners within the field of physical education and how CoPs are cultivated using podcasts. Methods A purposive sample of 15 participants (7 = podcast creators, 8 = podcast listeners) were interviewed for this study. This investigation was guided by an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach (IPA). Separate interview guides were developed for the PE podcast creators and PE podcast listeners, being developed using the CoP and research questions, with each guide having similar and overlapping questions. In addition, an inductive category development method was used to analyze the data. Results Three themes were constructed: (a) enhancing and replacing professional development experiences, (b) degrees of community around physical education podcasts, and (c) attractive features of podcasts and areas of improvement. Conclusions The findings support that an emerging CoP centered around physical education podcasts is being used as a means of knowledge-sharing. However, issues were raised that can negate the benefits of CoPs. These findings inform how physical education practitioners are engaged in informal professional development and the growing literature around CoPs that exist around educational podcasts in general.

Role of virtual communities of practice (VCoP) in continuous professional development of librarians: a case of Yahoo mailing group from Pakistan

PurposeVirtual communities of practice (VCoP) are becoming increasingly popular as professional networking. These communities support and shape professional development, especially in countries with limited opportunities and constrain like time and distance. This study throws light on the role of VCoP and its impact on the continuous professional development (CPD) of librarians in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThis study is carried out with qualitative research methods to understand effects of VCoP on CPD. With a thematic content analysis on the email conversations of a library and information science (LIS) Yahoo mailing group “plagpk”, the impact of virtual communities (VCs) on librarians' professional development in Pakistan over the past 20 years was analyzed.FindingsThis study demonstrates that VCs contribute to professional learning, problem-solving, knowledge creation, professional awareness and identity creation in the LIS field. Further, this study contributes a model to explain the formal and informal professional development for individuals and groups through VCoP engagement.Social implicationsIt is hoped that this study will help the librarian community create, get involved in the VCoP for personal, professional development consciously and create an impact in the profession. The finding of this study is generalizable to any social sciences or humanities professionals VCoPs.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies in the LIS field to analysis the impact of VCs on the professional development of the librarians.

Professional development to improve interactions with culturally and linguistically diverse children: Reflections on practice

ABSTRACT This paper presents reflections on 12 years of school-wide professional development at a university-based preschool. The professional development focused on the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) Standards, Vygotskian strategies that emphasize assisted performance, joint activity, and verbal interactions. Both formal and informal professional development were used. A study investigated whether educators’ use of CREDE practices were sustained 12 years after initial professional development and the influences of the professional development on the school’s institutional identity. The educators were observed interacting with children and interviewed about their practice. Documents from the preschool were also analyzed to determine the extent to which CREDE was integrated into its institutional identity. Results indicated that all of the teachers used the CREDE practices, although some of the newer teachers were not familiar with CREDE terminology. Informal professional development and administrators’ support appeared to sustain the practices. The Center’s institutional identity changed over time to incorporate CREDE and this coincided with the professional development and educators taking more ownership of the CREDE practices and how they could be applied in their settings.

Equipping Teachers to Adapt: A Look into Teachers’ Professional Development Programs in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic

This study was conducted to determine public school teachers' experiences and perspectives on different professional development programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aimed at determining teachers’ motivation and barriers in attending TPDs. A multi-faceted survey questionnaire was given to 84 teacher-respondents representing 10 public schools in Tandubas District, Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost province of the Philippines. Prior to this, the questionnaire had undergone validation and reliability testing. Afterward, follow-up interviews were also made with ten selected teacher-respondents for an in-depth appreciation of the context of the data gathered. The result shows that teachers shifted to online courses and webinars during the pandemic. There is also a high frequency of utilization of informal professional development programs such as peer tutoring, coaching, and school-based Learning Action Cell (LAC) sessions. Other professional development programs such as formal degrees, reading of professional papers, professional networking, school and classroom observations, conducting education research, and attending conferences were least attended. In terms of topics, most teachers have attended training on students' assessment, module development, school readiness, and safety. The study also found a Significant difference in the professional development experiences of teachers of different educational backgrounds and schools. This means that teachers with higher education tend to avail themselves more and school culture is one factor that encourages teachers to attend professional development programs. The result also shows that most of the teachers joined various TPDs because of the desire to improve their teaching, encouragement from school heads and peers, and usefulness for a job promotion. As to the barriers, most of the teachers mentioned financial constraints, time constraints, and poor internet connectivity as the top three reasons for not attending professional development programs in the past 12 months.

Exploring the potential of digital teaching portfolios to support in/non-formal professional development for those who teach in Higher Education

It is broadly recognised that professional development (PD) to enhance academic practice amongst those who teach in Higher Education (HE) encompasses a range of approaches; while there is an established culture of accredited PD provision – particularly for early-career academics – literature points to a preference among more established faculty for non-accredited or informal PD activities such as workshops, projects, conferences, professional dialogue, experimental approaches or activities related to the scholarship of teaching and learning (Ashgar and Pilkington 2018; Kálmán et al. 2019; Spowart et al. 2017). The provision of accredited PD is now commonplace in the Irish context and many Irish HE Institutions offer programmes in academic practice at Graduate Certificate, Diploma or Masters Level (Maguire et al. 2017; Maguire et al. 2015). However, evidence also points to a long-standing culture of engagement in in- and non-formal PD activities among Irish HE teachers (Kenny et al. 2015). This has been recognised in the Irish National Professional Development Framework which is underpinned by an ‘acknowledgement of the spectrum of activities that could be considered under the umbrella of PD’ (National Forum 2016a; National Forum 2016b). Thus, a considerable amount of the professional learning that is undertaken to enhance academic practice takes place through experiential or work-based practices including communities of practice, conversations with colleagues and practice-based innovations (Knight et al. 2006; Nerantzi 2015; Warhurst 2008).
 Furthermore, there is a growing body of literature highlighting the use of portfolios to support academic professional learning activities and reflective practice in Higher Education (Costelloe et al. 2019; Hamilton 2018; Hoekstra and Crocker 2015; O'Farrell 2007; Pelger and Larsson 2018). Described as ‘a purposeful collection of evidence, consisting of descriptions, documents and examples of what is good teaching for the teacher’ (de Rijdt et al. 2006, p.1086), portfolios are being used in multiple ways to support PD: to provide evidence of a quality approach to professional development, to document teaching practices for the purposes of promotion, to showcase and reflect on academic practice and to provide evidence of engagement with PD activities. An eportfolio adds an extra dimension to the affordances of a more traditional portfolio through the potential inclusion of multimedia artefacts such as audio, video and text to capture, share and reflect on academic practice. 
 Bearing in mind the Irish HE context and the recent introduction of the National Professional Development Framework, this paper will explore the potential of eportfolios – and specifically digital teaching or professional practice portfolios – to support, document and evidence the wealth of non-accredited and in/non-formal professional learning undertaken by HE teachers to enhance academic practice. Drawing on semi-structured interviews carried out with Irish HE teachers in three institutions in the Mid-West region, this paper will consider how digital teaching portfolios offer a space to capture, evidence, reflect on and share the wealth of practice-based and in/non-formal PD in which HE teachers engage.

Swedish elite athletics coaches’ professional development in practices of organized coaches’ meetings

ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate how elite coaches reflect on their practice and interact with each other, as part of their informal professional development. We use observations of 14 coach meetings, over a period of two years, where coaches came together to share their experiences of coaching elite athletics, and to discuss ways for continuous professional development. Through an action research approach, data collected included notes and audio-recorded conversations. The theory of practice architectures was employed as a theoretical tool to frame the analysis of the data in order to understand the meeting practices and how these practices were enabled and constrained. The research revealed how conversations led to awareness, which became turning points for new practices. Specifically, the coaches became aware of the importance of belonging to a community, their lack of knowledge and understanding of inequality, and the complexity of coaching. The meetings, as forums for dialogic practice, were enabled by open-minded collaboration, a willingness to share experiences, and a mutual understanding of the coaching context, but they were also constrained by the structures of coaches’ athletics clubs and federations, that do not fully support coaches’ meetings as an informal educational practice for professional development.

‘You never stop learning on the job’: Informal professional development among school business leaders in England

Drawing on empirical data from case study research exploring the working lives and practices of school business leaders in the English school system, this article explores the notion of professional development among this relatively under acknowledged cohort of the school workforce. I adopt the position that professional development must be understood as a multi-dimensional concept constituting both formal and informal processes. It is the latter of these two with which the article is concerned, to illuminate aspects of professional development among school business leaders in England that are often concealed within the everyday interactions and routines of working life and therefore potentially unrecognised and unappreciated as developmental. This article contributes to a burgeoning knowledge base surrounding what seems to be an under-acknowledged constituency of the school workforce, by highlighting the informal ways in which school business leaders enhance their professional development.

Facebook for Professional Development: Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Centre of Teachers’ Online Communities

ABSTRACT As teachers’ informal professional development is visible in social media, this study probes teachers’ participation in self-organized Facebook groups in mathematics or Swedish-language education. In total, 553 posts from six Facebook groups were categorized using Shulman’s knowledge-base framework, and analysed using systemic functional grammar. Teachers use “questions” and “offers” most frequently (88%). Within these speech functions, pedagogical content knowledge dominates (63%), indicating that these groups constitute professional learning communities that teachers use as a professional development resource, focusing the interaction on pedagogical content knowledge. This study finds a largely similar practice in Facebook groups across the two subjects.