Promoting powerful professional learning for school staff

Professional learning for teachers, school leaders and other staff is essential to prepare students for success in a rapidly changing world. The chapter first addresses initial teacher preparation, from initial education to induction. Next, it embeds teacher learning, often defined narrowly as professional development, as part of larger continuing adult learning processes in schools. The chapter highlights the particular potential of evaluation to serve as a formative tool for most teachers and leaders. Recognising the centrality of school leadership for quality teaching and learning, the chapter devotes a separate section to leadership capacity development, from principals and middle leaders to teachers. The chapter documents the importance of moving beyond simplified models for improvement to consider professional learning as an evolutionary process. It concludes with a series of policy options that school systems may consider valuable.