Teachers' perspectives on continuing professional development

There is a consensus that many continuing professional development programmes have yet to understand professional development from the teacher’s perspectives. This perspective acknowledges what drives teachers to enlist in these programmes and how such programmes can make a difference to them and their classrooms. In this book, I explore the teachers’ opinions of the continuing professional development intervention; its meaning to them and their work; and its impact on their classroom practices and students for the duration of the intervention and beyond. In conclusion, I propose that continuing professional development, however well intentioned and executed, is received differently by each teacher as a result of their personal circumstances and investment in the programme. I argue that the greater the unity between the personal circumstances and motivations of the teachers and those of the continuing professional development intervention, the more likely the outcome will be meaningful for the participating teachers. In turn, the ability to sustain the benefits of the intervention will be enhanced.