This study aimed to give insights of in-service teachers' experiences of nature of science (NOS) learning and NOS teaching through a co-teaching professional learning context. For this purpose, the co-teachers were encouraged to share and discuss ideas and to improve NOS teaching through reflection and collaborative interaction in the context of a…

This paper outlines a small-scale Case Study, which took place in England, involving six School Direct Primary teacher trainees acting as participants. Important assessment points, evidencing progress against the Teachers' Standards, are 'Units of Learning'. These contain sequences of lessons, planned and evaluated by the trainees, assessing…

Developing argumentation-based inquiry practices requires teachers and students to be explicit about classroom norms that support these practices. In this study, we asked: "How can a teacher scaffold the development of argumentation-based inquiry norms and practices in a mathematics classroom?" A primary classroom (aged 9-10) was…

The building of professional learning communities has been widely recognized as an effective strategy for schools wanting to improve student performance and enhance teachers' professional capacity. This study explored the relationship between leadership practices and professional learning communities, with a particular focus on the mediating role…

In this article, I examine which organisational conditions can promote or limit the professional development of teachers in the Cypriot primary school. The discussion builds on findings from a study I conducted about Cypriot primary school teachers' reflective practices (Loizou 2011). The study was qualitative and used semi-structured interviews…

There is a growing expectation that schools should systematically collect and analyse data as a point of departure for decisions. However, research shows that teachers themselves are less convinced that they need to base their decisions on data, as they mainly rely on their intuition and experience. This article examines the extent to which…

This paper describes a new learning experience, which was introduced following an examination of the literature regarding preservice primary school teachers' (PPST) notions of their past experience in Physical Education (PE) (Elliott 2013). PPSTs were given the opportunity to recognise, reflect, interrogate and reframe a critical incident from…

This article explores teachers' perceptions of the effects of high student turnover in international schools in the UK. The research used a "grounded theory" approach for qualitative data collection and analysis, based on interviews with eight teachers in four international primary schools. The results of the grounded theory suggest that a process…

This article reports a self-study that used a model of core reflection to examine the identity and practices of two teacher educators. Core reflection is a process by which teachers reflect on their practice, incorporating an examination of personal beliefs, mission and identity. During three sessions of core reflection we examined the experiences…

Developing sustainable professional development which facilitates teachers of mathematics to develop effective mathematics pedagogy has been a key aim in recent years. This paper examines how lesson study can be used with networks of teachers as a vehicle to promote and sustain professional development. Drawing on findings from a year-long study…

This article documents the authors' reflections on a teacher professional development programme conducted in 38 Hong Kong primary schools on the teaching of English through Process Drama. The authors draw upon the views of school principals, subject panel head teachers, English teachers, students and parents in focus group interviews to examine…

Concerns about new teachers' capacity to address diversity in their classrooms are growing in many parts of the West, and there is some consensus that one aspect of the problem is the narrow range of cultural and social backgrounds from which teacher candidates are drawn. Yet a minority of socially aware teachers, from all backgrounds, continue to…

Finnish teacher education has been higher academic education since 1979. Thus, all primary school teachers graduate as Masters and they conduct an MA thesis. For this research 23 teachers were interviewed in order to determine their conceptions of reflection, teacher research and their future research intentions. These teacher students worked…

Action research has been recognized as a useful professional development tool for teaching, but for inservice teachers, conducting action research can be challenging. Their learning about action research can be influenced by social situations--whether in an MA (Master of Arts) program or other professional development. The purpose of this…

Human beings ought to use critical reflection to define and decide their courses of action. This paper examines the use of attention-seeker questions in the framework of critical pedagogy purposely to study the way some Ugandan teachers are constrained in their practice by their lack of participation in developing the school curriculum. This…