Professional Learning Research Articles

Feminist Identity and Expression among Female Normal School Students in China

Female normal school students are a special group of university students with intersecting identities of "teacher trainee" and "female". Studies have found that women face gender dilemmas in their professional studies, career development, and social life. In the face of such dilemmas, feminist ideas have been widely disseminated, but people's feminist identity is still developing. Currently, there is still a research gap for Chinese female normal school students ' gender dilemma and their feminist identity. Therefore, through the literature review method, this study combs through the gender dilemmas of female teacher educators in their professional learning, career acquisition, and career development, delving deeply into their feminist identities and expressions. This study finds that the gender dilemmas of female normal school students stem from the student's lack of individual subjectivity, unequal opportunities in society, the "masculine policy" in school recruitment, the glass elevator effect in career development, and the social expectations of women's roles. Under the guidance of the teacher training program and the influence of women's self-awareness awakening, the feminist identity of female normal school students gradually manifests itself through teaching practice and social life. They are using their efforts to spread gender equality awareness and change the stereotypical image of female teachers.

Transforming Thai University Demonstration Schools into Learning Communities: A User Experience and Design-Based Research Approach

This study aimed to develop a model for the administration of demonstration schools in public universities based on the concept of "School as a Learning Community" (SLC). The research utilized user experience and design-based research in three phases. Phase 1 involved analyzing the current administrative practices of school administrators under the SLC framework with a sample of 5 administrators. Phase 2 focused on developing a model for promoting SLC-based school administration, targeting 63 participants, including administrators and teachers from Ramkhamhaeng University Demonstration School, Bangna Campus. Phase 3 evaluated the feasibility and suitability of the developed model using a sample of 657 stakeholders, including seven administrators, 52 teachers, and 598 parents of students in grades 1–5. Research tools included interviews and questionnaires, with data analyzed through content analysis, percentages, mean scores (M), and standard deviations (SD). The findings revealed: (1) user experiences highlighted key practices such as inclusive decision-making, shared learning spaces, and stakeholder collaboration, (2) eighteen prototype models for SLC-based administration were developed, integrating stakeholder-driven vision, excellence-focused philosophy, and professional learning community activities, (3) stakeholders most preferred Model 17, selected by 19.33%, emphasizing a shared vision (A2), the philosophy of excellence (B3), and collaborative activity systems (C2), and (4) expert evaluations showed high feasibility (97.40%) and suitability (96.10%) of the proposed model. This study contributes to the literature by providing an actionable framework for transforming demonstration schools into thriving learning communities and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders to enhance educational quality and administration efficiency.

Is Confidence in Mathematics Pedagogy Enough? Exploring Early Childhood Teachers’ Mathematics Beliefs and Confidence

Abstract A multicentre cross-sectional study of early childhood teachers (ECTs) from one large Australian not-for-profit early childhood organisation in preschool (3–5 years) classrooms, was conducted. This study was part of a quasi-experimental online Mathematics Professional Learning Program intervention aimed at developing ECTs’ mathematical pedagogical content knowledge; we report on ECTs’ (n = 325) pre-program survey scores, investigating their beliefs and confidence around mathematical pedagogy and their beliefs of preschoolers’ mathematical abilities. Scores were high, especially for confidence in pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical ability in helping children learn mathematics, and several survey constructs were significantly inter-related. However, more than half of the ECTs did not agree that most children enter preschool with some mathematics abilities, and confidence in their own mathematical abilities in areas of numeracy and spatial awareness varied. Mathematics focussed Environmental Rating Scale, Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale—Extension (ECERS-E) and Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale, item scores were evaluated for a representative subgroup of ECTs (n = 102) and overall showed minimal (3 out of 7) quality learning environments. Mathematical beliefs and confidence had a weak association with mathematics focused ECERS-E scores and no association with SSTEW scores. The results show that while beliefs and confidence were high, they did not predict the quality of the preschool learning environment. ECTs may be unaware of the specific mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge required to effectively teach mathematics to preschool children and develop children’s complex mathematical thinking. Implications for professional learning are discussed.

What facilitates a sense of belonging amongst Australian teachers?

ABSTRACT Objective Enhancing a sense of belonging among teachers could be key to mitigating global teacher shortages. This study aimed to investigate teachers' sense of belonging in the Australian educational context. Method A sample of 3,206 teachers answered a survey with open-ended questions that were analysed using thematic analysis. Results The analysis identified six key themes influencing teachers' sense of belonging: Interpersonal relationships (peer relationships, student and parent relationships); Support and collaboration (providing and receiving support; team dynamics and collaborative efforts); Professional and personal growth (influence and contribution to society, professional learning opportunities, individual professional identity and characteristics); Institutional factors (leadership support, positive school environment, employment stability), Motivators (teaching passion, acknowledgment and appreciation); and External networks (engagement in professional networks). Conclusions The findings provide insights into strategies for enhancing teacher belonging, with potential implications for improving retention and addressing teacher shortages.

Moral Leadership and Professional Learning Communities: The Mediating Role of Teachers' Trust in Principals and the Moderating Role of Principals' Controlling Behavior

ABSTRACTProfessional learning communities are essential for school success, and principal leadership is crucial for teachers' participation in them. Based on social exchange theory and ambidextrous leadership theory, this study explored the mediating role of teachers' trust in principals between moral leadership and professional learning communities and the moderating role of principals' controlling behavior in this relationship. A total of 577 elementary school teachers in China participated in this study. The study found that moral leadership was positively related to professional learning communities, and this relationship was mediated by teachers' trust in principals. Additionally, principals' controlling behavior positively moderated the relationship between moral leadership and trust in principals, and negatively moderated the relationship between moral leadership and professional learning communities. These results contribute to the delivery of guidance for principals to enhance teacher trust and develop professional learning communities.

Understanding informal learning in virtual professional communities of teachers: the role of knowledge sharing self-efficacy

ABSTRACT Although the existing research demonstrates the growing understanding of the importance of both formal and informal professional learning of teachers, informal learning remains less explored. This article responds to the dearth of existing literature by presenting one part of a larger study that captured the self-reported experiences of 440 teachers from 29 schools in Kazakhstan. The study provides empirical evidence for social media to become an integral part of teachers’ professional practice, suggesting virtual professional communities to be a helpful setting for teachers’ informal learning. The study suggests an empirically validated relationship between the following four factors of teachers’ informal learning in virtual professional communities: the need for professional connectedness, knowledge sharing self-efficacy, knowledge sharing and knowledge receiving. Highlighting the role of knowledge-sharing self-efficacy, the results of structural equation modelling suggest that this factor should be considered for promoting teachers’ informal learning in virtual professional communities.

Lesson Planning: Bridging Conceptual to Practical Engineering Design Classroom Activity

ABSTRACT Understanding the tools that mediate the transfer of learning from professional learning experiences (PLE) to classroom practice is critical for maximizing educational and financial investment in professional teacher learning. This inquiry sought to illuminate the mediating tools facilitating the transfer of teachers’ learning from an engineering design professional learning experience to the secondary science classrooms. Data were collected from two cohorts of secondary science teachers over 2 years engaged in a week-long engineering design camp. A design-based qualitative inquiry approach was used to investigate the engineering design classroom activity associated with the development of engineering design lessons and other tools. Contextual relevance, NGSS pedagogical understanding, experiential learning, and collaborative reflexivity were all perceived by the participants as tools that mediated practice. The engineering design classroom activity for secondary science teachers includes context- and content-specific factors such as motivation, goals, and tools that mediate practice. The identification of these factors may assist professional learning developers in the development and delivery of design-based learning experiences for secondary science teachers, with the intent of increasing the implementation of engineering design in science classrooms.

Everyday Acts of Resistance in Teachers’ Work: Leaders Making Distinctions Between Responsibility and Accountability

International studies mark a shift in the language of teachers from professional autonomy to safety induced by compliance measures. What is not well-documented is how teachers resist the pervasive, negative effects of accountability regimes. This paper contrasts teachers’ most creative classroom practice and professional learning with the effect of externally imposed accountability requirements. School leader research conversations support an argument that leaders who remained future-focused on responsibility initiated a culture in which resistance, to being governed by retrospective practices associated with accountability, was possible. Everyday acts of resistance, however, are vulnerable to institutional capture when regimes of accountability become normalised.

How AI Is Ushering in a New Era in ELT: Teachers’ Perspectives

The full potential and practical applications of an Artificial Intelligence-based language teaching and learning scenario still need to be fully understood. Previous studies have focused on theoretical concepts and specific tools or features, leaving gaps in understanding AI’s overall impact and effectiveness from EFL teachers’ perspective. Therefore, this study explores AI’s potential for teaching, learning, and professional development in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL)/English as a second language (ESL). This quantitative study closely evaluated the opportunities and obstacles of AI in English Language Teaching (ELT) to gauge its transformative potential. This study would substantially contribute to the ongoing debate on the role of AI in teaching English through a comprehensive analysis of such factors along with the primary data collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. The study shows that AI-powered engagement strategies can transform education and training for EFL/ESL students and teachers. Therefore, its implementation is important. The participants believed that even if the application of AI in ELT has many disadvantages, AI benefits teachers' professional development and learners' academic achievement. This study can help teachers and policymakers make informed choices about using AI tools in ELT.

A meta-analysis of the correlation between professional learning communities and teachers’ efficacy beliefs

A meta-analysis of the correlation between professional learning communities and teachers’ efficacy beliefs

726 Utilizing a book club to deepen professional learning on trauma informed care

726 Utilizing a book club to deepen professional learning on trauma informed care

Effects of professional learning communities on job satisfaction of female teachers in Vietnam

Effects of professional learning communities on job satisfaction of female teachers in Vietnam

I may be doing this but i’m not aware of it: teachers’ familiarity with evidence-based practices supporting autistic children in Ireland

ABSTRACT Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are recognised as essential elements of learning and teaching programmes for autistic students in Irish primary school classrooms. Through these practices, teachers can feel confident that they are supporting autistic students using recognised and validated research. This paper reports on Irish teachers’ familiarity with eight identified EBPs, highlighted as effective for use in early years’ classrooms and schools, to support autistic students with social communication competence (SCC). Through a research survey, the perspectives of 382 teachers are captured and analysed using a mixed methods approach. The findings are discussed and theorised reflecting Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, and the importance of teacher professional learning and conceptual understanding of the practices is highlighted. The paper focuses in on the theme of teacher familiarity with EBPs and discusses this exclusively.

Kepemimpinan Berpusat Pada Pembelajar Di Era Digital Dan Efikasi Guru: Peran Mediasi Pembelajaran Profesional Guru

The research was conducted on teachers at SMP 18 Pekanbaru, SMP 12 Pekanbaru, SMPN 3 Pekanbaru, and SMPN 6 Pekanbaru with the aim of examining the role of professional learning in mediating the effect of learner-centered leadership on teacher self-efficacy. The study population consisted of 178 individuals. Based on this population size, according to the Krejcie and Morgan table (1970), the sample size for this study was 123 individuals. The sampling method employed in this research was Systematic Random Sampling. All respondents were used to obtain primary data related to the variables, which were collected through a questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale. All data obtained were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the Smart PLS 3.0 analysis tool. The study found that learner-centered leadership had a significant positive effect on teacher self-efficacy; learner-centered leadership had a significant positive effect on professional learning; professional learning had a significant positive effect on teacher self-efficacy; and professional learning mediated the effect of learner-centered leadership on teacher self-efficacy.

교육공동체와 함께 하는 유아교육과정평가 탐구

This study aims to explore curriculum assessment in early childhood education within the educational community. For this study, six early childhood teachers working in an innovative kindergarten in the P region where a professional learning community is activated, were purposefully selected. Group interviews were conducted twice per institution, totaling four sessions, between January and February 2023. The data analysis revealed that the teachers' practices in curriculum assessment were categorized into three themes: ‘curriculum assessment conducted through co-creation and mutual care,’ ‘expansive implementation of curriculum assessment and creation of diverse assessment methods,’ and ‘curriculum assessment as a space for life and a trajectory.’ The findings are as follows: First, the teachers shared the understanding that curriculum is not created by an individual alone but is a process of collective creation, emphasizing that assessment is also a co-creation process driven not by individual teachers but through mutual care. Second, in the educational community, mutual care facilitated the co-creation of curriculum assessment, where teachers experienced curriculum practices that expand children's growth and learning, along with diverse assessment methods. Third, reflecting on the teachers' experiences with the educational community, it was confirmed that curriculum assessment, following the trajectory of children's learning, ultimately unfolds into the realm of life. This study, by examining the practice of curriculum assessment within the educational community alongside early childhood teachers in an innovative kindergarten, explores the teachers' perceptions and discussions about children, play, curriculum, learning, and teaching, seeks the relationship between curriculum assessment and the world, and aims to discover the ‘beyond learning’ co-created by the educational community.

Intention to use eLearning-based continuing professional development and its predictors among healthcare professionals in Amhara region referral hospitals, Ethiopia, 2023: using modified UTAUT-2 model

BackgroundContinuing Professional Development (CPD) is provided through in-service programs organized based on competency development and lifelong learning for healthcare professionals to stay fit with the required knowledge and skills. However, healthcare professionals’ financial constraints and tight schedules sending them away from the workplace for CPD training is a challenge. eLearning is becoming the best solution to overcome those barriers and create accessible, efficient, flexible, and convenient professional development. However, evidence is limited on health professionals’ intention to use eLearning-based CPD and its predictors. Hence this study aimed to assess healthcare professionals’ intention to use eLearning-based CPD and its predictors in Amhara region referral hospitals, in Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from March 28 to April 28, 2023. A total of 976 healthcare professionals participated in this study. Proportional allocation and simple random sampling were used to select participants for the study. UTAUT2 model was applied to develop a theoretical framework. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used and a 5% pretest was performed. Data were entered into Epi data 4.6 and exported to SPSS 26 for descriptive analysis. AMOS 23 SEM was also used to describe and assess the degree and significance of relationships between variables.ResultsAbout 51.8% (506/976) (95% CI: 48.7–55.0) of participants have the intention to use eLearning for CPD. Performance expectancy (β = 0.233, p-value < 0.01), effort expectancy (β = 0.082, p-value < 0.05), facilitating condition (β = 0.102, p-value < 0.05), hedonic motivation (β = 0.199, P-value < 0.001), habit (β = 0.473, P-value < 0.001), and computer literacy (β = 0.116, p-value < 0.001) had a positive relationship with intention to use eLearning based CPD. Age and gender were also a moderator of the habit of using eLearning based on CPD.Conclusionand recommendation.Overall, healthcare professionals' intention to use eLearning-based CPD was found low. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating condition, hedonic motivation, habit, and computer literacy had a significantly positive influence on the intention to use eLearning-based CPD. The development of a user-friendly eLearning-based CPD development that meets user expectations can enhance the intention to use.

Utilising strategies for active participation in international conferences: a study on doctoral students’ professional development

ABSTRACT Doctoral students face a myriad of challenges as they navigate their entry into the academic community. A key aspect of this professional development process is active participation in international conferences. However, there is limited understanding of the strategies doctoral students employ to maximise such active participation and how it shapes their identities and professional development. This qualitative study addresses this gap by exploring the experiences of 32 doctoral students over a seven-year period through conference letters documenting their participation. Using thematic analysis, four main strategies were identified: professional development transformation, supportive research network building, conference feedback utilisation, and presentation anxiety management. These strategies indicate the ways that doctoral students actively participate in conferences to overcome challenges and foster professional learning and growth. The findings suggest that effectively utilising strategies for international conference participation is crucial for doctoral students to engage in guided participation to master complex academic tasks within the ‘zone of proximal professional development’. Nonetheless, a core prerequisite for this is receiving adequate support and encouragement early in their doctoral journey. The implications for doctoral students, supervisors, conference organisers, higher education institutions, and future research are discussed.

Using the Lenses of Organizational Culture and Climate for Research on Science Teacher Professional Learning

Using the Lenses of Organizational Culture and Climate for Research on Science Teacher Professional Learning

Examining the mediating role of motivation in the relationships between teacher-created motivational climates and quality of engagement in secondary school physical education.

Grounded in Duda's integrated model of the motivational climate, the current study examined the hypothesized mediating role of motivation quality in the relationships between empowering and disempowering teacher-created motivational climates and indicators of quality engagement in secondary school physical education (PE). The hypothesised model was tested cross-sectionally and longitudinally in two separate samples of students. Data were collected via questionnaires measuring the motivational climate, autonomous and controlled motivation and indicators of engagement (enjoyment, concentration and boredom). Cross sectional data collected from 832 students (439 males and 386 females) while longitudinal data stemmed 299 students (166 males and 163 females). All students were from schools in Wales aged between 12 and 15 years. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised model and the mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation. The hypothesised model was supported cross-sectionally and longitudinally, indicating that empowering climates positively predicted students' autonomous motivation for PE, whereas disempowering motivational climates positively predicted controlled motivation. In turn, autonomous and controlled motivation positively and negatively predicted indictors of students' engagement in PE in the hypothesised directions. Analyses revealed relationships between empowering and disempowering climates with enjoyment, concentration and boredom were indirect via autonomous and controlled motivation. In summary, results support the role of autonomous and controlled motivation in the differential relationships between empowering and disempowering motivational climates and indicators of the quality of student engagement. The findings suggest that targeted professional learning opportunities for PE teachers are needed which facilitate more empowering climates and reducing disempowering strategies.

How can and should secondary school teachers be involved in building students’ career knowledge and skills? A Delphi study of the expert community

ABSTRACT Learning about careers and the world of work supports the increased engagement and achievement of young people in secondary school, enabling them to make better choices about future pathways and work. While trained guidance counsellors have an important role to play in supporting this learning, most students have limited access to such counsellors, and some have none at all. Secondary school teachers are central to students’ lives and have the capacity to play an important role in building their career knowledge, but there is little research on their current role in career guidance or what it might ideally look like. We conducted a Delphi study with 64 international career guidance experts on what an enhanced role in careers provision for secondary teachers might look like, and what would need to be in place to make such a role successful. There was strong support for an enhanced role, noting that such a role would require increased attention to careers in initial teacher education, appropriate professional learning and curriculum materials, a whole-school approach to careers led by a career leader/guidance counsellor with careers expertise, and changes to systemic priorities and accountabilities. We discuss implications for policy, practice and research.