ASE Futures – Supporting teacher development

It is in the DNA of teachers and educators to continue a life-long learning journey throughout their careers. We all know that professional development is important. However, in reality, as wearers of several hats, teachers can have periods of feeling time- and energy-poor. What is sometimes offered in terms of professional development is not always what is useful. There can be a real sense of ‘being done to’ rather than teachers being given agency, empowered to seek out what they need. Fairman (2023) comments that ‘teachers often engage in professional learning passively without opportunities to engage with colleagues or instructional coaches over the long term, or to observe expert teachers, and they lack professional autonomy or choice in directing the focus, timing and method of their professional learning’.