Collaborative CPD as a means to improve teacher expertise and retention

You can listen to an audio version of this article above. CAROLINE BARLOW, BECKA LYNCH AND EMMA SMITH, HEATHFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, UK Research from the Teacher Development Trust and NFER (Worth and Van den Brande, 2020) found that teachers in England typically have lower levels of autonomy compared to other professionals, and suggests that there is evidence that increasing autonomy over decisions in the classroom would lead to higher job satisfaction and therefore higher retention rates (Worth and Van den Brande, 2020). This is supported by the work of Kelly (2006), who argues that attempting to impose a form of practice on teachers simply drives them out of the classroom. In the immediate educational climate, where teacher recruitment and retention rates continue to be a persistent problem post-COVID-19 (McLean et al., 2023), it is therefore increasingly important that CPD (continuing professional development) is utilised as a tool with which to create a collaborative culture tha