This paper reviews a range of challenges and tensions experienced when using portfolios for learning as well as for summative assessment in the context of continuing professional learning in academic development programmes. While portfolios are becoming increasingly prominent, the details of how they are used are under-examined; they are often…

Skepticism exists regarding the role of continuing medical education (CME) in improving physician performance. The harshest criticism has been reserved for didactic CME. Reviews of the scientific literature on the effectiveness of CME conclude that formal or didactic modes of education have little or no impact on clinical practice. This has led…

Designing quality continuing professional development (CPD) for those teaching mathematics in primary schools is a challenge. If the CPD is to be built on the scaffold of five big ideas in mathematics, what might be these five big ideas? Might it just be a case of, if you tell me your five big ideas, then I'll tell you mine? Here, there is…

If a programme were to be devised for the early-career development of science teachers, what might such a programme look like? This was the focus of a meeting of science educators interested in developing such a structure, from the start of initial teacher training onwards. The contributions, modified and written up here, include a suggested…

This article argues that evaluation of professional development (PD) requires a focus on student learning and an evidential baseline to enable practitioners and school leaders to determine the impact of the PD in which they are engaged. Several models of evaluating PD are briefly considered and it is suggested that most of these enable programme…

The Association for Science Education (ASE) has a proud history of responding positively to changes in the education system. The creation of ASE INSET Services was one such response, resulting in an organisation that in its 16 year lifetime engaged in an impressive range of activities and had an impact on the professional development of tens of…

During Paul Hager's years as a researcher, he has benefited enormously from his association with The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, its members, its annual conference and its journal. He was very honoured to have an issue of "Educational Philosophy and Theory" devoted to a consideration of his work. In this response…

Background: As members of interdisciplinary teams, school nurses provide behavioral health services. Studies indicate that school nurses may lack sufficient continuing education in adolescent behavioral health and in the management of behavioral health emergencies, specifically. We conducted this study to describe the adolescent behavioral health…

Supplementary professional education in Russia has grown rapidly, offering training not provided by the state. Further development will require more coordination with both private and state educational institutions, as well as with national and regional educational policies.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effects of using a personal development plan (PDP) on the undertaking of learning activities and the employee's job competencies. Design/methodology/approach: Data from Dutch pharmacy assistants was collected (n=2,271). Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) as well as regression analyses were conducted on this…

Introduction: Multisource feedback (MSF) ratings provided by patients and colleagues are often poorly correlated with doctors' self-assessments. Doctors' reactions to feedback depend on its agreement with their own perceptions, but factors influencing self-other agreement in doctors' MSF ratings have received little attention. We aimed to identify…

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which the professions across the world ensure that their knowledge and skills remain up to date and relevant to changing needs and environments. CPD significantly contributes to the quality and reputation of the professions and therefore to the quality of national and international social…

This study is about the perceptions of Company Secretaries about effectiveness of their formal and mandatory Continuing Professional Education (CPE) programme run by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. The objectives were to ascertain: (1) to what extent do Company Secretaries perceive their CPE as effective, (2) what are the various…

This article examines the professional identity of nine early years educators currently working in the early years sector of education in England. These educators include teachers, teaching assistants, nursery practitioners and nursery nurses working with children three to five years old in the Early Years Foundation Stage in state-maintained…

The demographics of massive open online course (MOOC) analytics show that the great majority of learners are highly qualified professionals, and not, as originally envisaged, the global community of disadvantaged learners who have no access to good higher education. MOOC pedagogy fits well with the combination of instruction and peer community…