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But will it work here? Learning from stories in educational research

Written by: Kathryn Taylor
6 min read
Kathryn Taylor, EdD Candidate, IOE, Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, UK As an experienced secondary practitioner, I have engaged in a lot of professional development (PD) and become fascinated by the dynamics of teacher professional learning (PL). In my doctoral research, I have developed an analytical framework for the exploration of perspectives and perceptions of teacher PD and PL in five UK secondary schools. This article summarises my conclusions and suggests practical steps that school leaders might take to promote PL. I differentiate between PD and PL because the distinction helps us to explore relationships between PD events and initiatives, and changing practices, skills, attitudes and beliefs over time (PL) (McChesney and Aldridge, 2019). Furthermore, I have noticed an interesting distinction between types of PD, and distinguish between PD1, which introduces pedagogical strategies, and PD2, in which strategies are discussed and contextualised and

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