This article presents a review of 70 empirical articles focussing on professional learning communities (PLCs) for teachers in the Global South. The review highlights an upward trend in the quantity of the publications on PLCs from 2010 onwards. The evidence suggests that PLCs could be initiated as a result of a mandate, a project of professional…

This paper explores persistent obstacles undermining in situ teacher professional development as well as possibilities for learning and growth in a professional learning community (PLC). We extend the existing scholarship in this field by examining how teachers' discursive practices can predict the success or failure of a PLC initiative. We used…

The concept of professional learning communities (PLCs) has received considerable attention in research as well as in school practice since the late 1990s. PLCs have been positively associated with a variety of outcomes for both teachers and students, but differences in the way the concept is operationalised, and the fact that most of the research…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become the gold standard of teachers' professional learning. However, their success is far from guaranteed. Little is known regarding the processes that groups of learners undergo to become fully-fledged PLCs. This study followed a teachers' PLC over three years. It shows how the facilitator learned to…

The interplay between teachers engaged in action research (AR) and the educational ecosystem involving the other teachers who did not conduct AR and administrators has been an issue unexplored in the English Language Teaching (ELT) field. In the current study, we explore how teachers' engagement in AR within a Teacher Study Group (TSG) at a state…

Since facilitators are considered to be crucial actors in teacher teams, the aim of this study is therefore to explore, observe and characterise actions of facilitators by means of detailed video-observations of facilitators during teacher-team meetings. Results show that facilitators' actions vary from passive-absent and passive-waiting to…

A networked learning community (NLC) comprises teachers from different schools engaging collaboratively in purposeful and sustained professional learning. Networked learning entails the construction of knowledge that is new to the members of the group by tapping their collective practitioner knowledge and the public knowledge base. Members can use…

This study explored the viability of applying an innovative model of teacher professional development (PD) within the context of the UAE. Predicated upon a conceptual framework incorporating the principles of content focus, active learning, and duration of training, the model aimed to promote the capability of teachers to meet the needs of all…

There is strong evidence that professional learning in schools can positively impact learner experience and outcomes. This conceptual paper draws on key literature focused on understandings of high-quality professional learning and what makes an excellent environment in which to learn. This literature informed and spoke to the sense-making of our…

Curriculum internationalization involves orienting a curriculum from an international perspective, building students' and educators' competence at professional and societal levels, engaging them in multicultural and multilingual experiences and shaping them into global professionals. Educators adopt leadership and professional development…

This article provides an account of how six mentor teachers in Sweden reflect on the professional development opportunities they encounter, in the act of mentoring student teachers. The interview data come from the initial phase of a study titled "Growing through mentoring: An activity-based inquiry into mentor teacher growth in knowledge and…

The pandemic-related educational emergency created the need to re-organise teaching and learning processes, as well as teacher professional development (TPD) opportunities. The forced nature of the transition to remote teaching during the pandemic somewhat shifted the micro or macro-level factors in the re-organisation of teaching and learning,…

This study explores whether the relationship between departmental leadership (i.e. group-oriented and development-oriented departmental leadership) and the interpersonal characteristics of professional learning communities (PLC) (i.e. collective responsibility and reflective dialogue) varies between departments, depending on whether teachers…

Amidst societal, demographic and educational changes, teachers are expected to engage in professional development and learning (PDL) throughout their careers. This study explores school teachers' mental models about their work in the framework of Senge's learning organisation, aiming to support their PDL during curriculum reform and organisational…

Adequate principal preparation and subsequent lifelong learning are of paramount importance in offering the ingredients for coping in multifaceted and highly demanding school environments. This article addresses the following research questions: (1) How do a theoretical and reflective component compare in terms of perceived (a) practical output…