The move to include students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream education is one of the priorities of educational reform agendas in many countries. Also in Flanders (Belgium) the government's aim is to implement a more inclusive school system, but this faces some resistance from practitioners. This study examines the way in which…

A starting point for realising connections between leadership and professional learning is to focus specifically on teachers and their conceptions of leadership. Typically, leadership is understood as a designated position with a defined role and responsibilities for individuals. An alternative conception is to view leadership as collective rather…

Professional learning is an essential component of the institutional conditions required for a high-quality first-year student experience. Initiatives to improve students' determinative first year in higher education have expanded but one area notably absent in the literature pertains to professional learning tailored to meet the needs of…

This research involves two case studies, one in Melbourne, Australia the other in Gothenburg, Sweden, that focus on how using observation tools to gather classroom evidence of teaching and learning promoted opportunities to discuss and develop professional practice. We found that dialogues between pre-service teachers and more experienced…

Professional learning and development of school leaders are considered keys to educational change. However, a growing body of research has identified how difficult it is to design professional leadership programmes that make a difference in leaders' professional practice. Drawing on the framework of expansive learning and data from the six-year…

In 2004, McLaughlin, Black-Hawkins and McIntyre published a literature review that explored the ways in which individual teachers, whole schools and groups of networked schools were engaging in practitioner research and enquiry. In the light of significant changes to the education landscape, the empirical research in this article provides an…

The study reported in this article investigated the influence of a research-informed, school-based, professional development workshop programme on the quality of classroom dialogue using the interactive whiteboard (IWB). The programme aimed to develop a dialogic approach to teaching and learning mediated through more interactive uses of the IWB,…

Research over the last 15 years has reported that for professional development to be effective, in terms of changing teachers' knowledge and/or instructional strategies, it needs to be conducted taking into consideration the following factors: teachers' existing knowledge, experience and attitudes towards the professional development, school…

Results of research conducted to inform design of a professional development package for teachers involved in a preventative education, 'Keeping Safe', pilot (currently being evaluated via Randomised Control Trial) in Northern Ireland primary schools are presented. SNAP online survey technology was used to gather the views of 318 mainstream and…