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Subjects Matter
for Scotland
An Evidence Paper
by Laura Thomas
for the Institute of Physics Scotland
October 2021
1
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2
CLPL policy and practice .................................................................................................. 4
CLPL Provision in Scotland ............................................................................................ 11
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 16
About the author
This evidence paper has been prepared by Laura Thomas. Laura is an experienced
professional learning practitioner and has worked with primary and secondary schools
across the UK. She is currently undertaking part-time doctoral studies looking at the impact
of professional learning on secondary teachers.
Alongside this, Laura runs Ondata Research, an impact and evaluation consultancy working
with many different organisations, including education charities, professional bodies,
science centres and universities.
2
Introduction
Teacher professionalism has been identified as a vital driver for achieving the outcomes
intended for the Scottish education system, and a key element of that is access to high-
quality, career-long professional learning (CLPL). This expectation is backed by both teaching
standards and a stipulated minimum of 35 hours’ CLPL annually within teaching contracts.
But is this arrangement delivering what teachers and learners need? If not, what would we
need to change?
The Institute of Physics (IOP) have been working with a range of stakeholders to discuss the
professional learning provision for teachers across the UK and how it can be improved.
Following an initial meeting in London in 2020, the ‘Subjects Matter’ report discussed a
range of recommendations for consideration by policy makers
1
. These included:
1. Improving professional standards through a systematic approach to developing
teachers’ subject knowledge for teaching.
2. Funding, developing, and implementing a national system of subject-specific
professional learning in each subject.
3. Establishing an entitlement for teachers which ensures that at least half of their
professional learning is subject-specific.
Figure 1 below illustrates the impact of the recommendations.
Figure 1. Impact of subject-specific CLPL
1
IOP (2020)
Subjects Matter
. Available: https://www.iop.org/about/publications/subjects-matter
3
This paper summarises the current policy and practice in relation to CLPL in Scotland. It
goes on to discuss the research on what makes high quality and effective CLPL, particularly
in relation to subject-specific professional learning (SSPL) before examining the evidence
available on CLPL provision in Scotland.
4
CLPL policy and practice
Following the Donaldson report and recommendations in 2011, there have been several
shifts in policy and practice in relation to professional learning. The motivation was that by
improving the quality of both teaching and school leadership, there would be raised
education standards and improved education outcomes for learners
2
. An evaluation of the
implementation of ‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’ in 2015 concluded there had been “a
significant shift in the culture of professional learning”
3
.
One of the resulting actions was the establishment of the standard for career-long
professional learning, with a revised set of standards becoming live in August 2021
4
. The
standard describes the “advanced professional knowledge and pedagogical expertise”
expected of teachers. As part of the process of developing the updated standards, examples
from around the world were considered as part of a literature review. This review
5
found that
the common practice is for standards for teachers to be made up of general descriptions
which do not address the level (e.g. early years, primary or secondary) or the subject being
taught. Neither do they specify the types of professional learning that would support the
successful achievement of the standards and instead focus on describing a “commitment to
professional learning”5.
Whilst there now exists a culture of teacher-led professional learning, rather than top-down
provision, the Regional Improvement Collaboratives (RICs) are seen by the Scottish
Government as being “best-placed to co-ordinate hands-on professional learning and
leadership development to teachers in line with a focus on developing methods of
improvement that work for local circumstances”
6
but as noted in the recent OECD review,
“thus far, the experienced support by these RICs seems more limited than hoped for.”
7
In terms of broader oversight, the Scottish Government National Improvement Framework is
in place to support schools in delivering “excellence and equity in education”. It has a set of
key “drivers of improvement” for schools to address
8
:
2
Donaldson, G., 2011.
Teaching Scotland's Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland
.
Available: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/2178/7/0110852_Redacted.pdf
3
Black, C., Bowen, L., Murray, L. & Zubaini, S.S. (2015)
Evaluation of the Impact of the Implementation of
Teaching Scotland's Future
. Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/evaluation-impact-implementation-
teaching-scotlands-future/
4
GTCS (2021)
The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning
. Available:
www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/Professional-Standards-2021/2021-Standard-for-Career-Long-Professional-
Learning.pdf
5
McMahon, M.A. (2018)
Literature Review on Professional Standards for Teaching, GTCS
. Available at
www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/professional-standards-2021-engagement.aspx
6
Kennedy, A. & Beck, A. (2018) ‘Teacher Professional Learning’ in Bryce, T.G.K, Humes, W.M., Gillies, D. &
Kennedy, A. (ed.)
Scottish Education
Fifth Edition. Edinburgh University Press. Available at
https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/files/72080263/Kennedy_Beck_Scottish_Education_2018_Teacher_professional_l
earning.pdf
7
OECD (2021)
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future
, OECD Publishing,
Paris, doi.org/10.1787/b58fdbce-en.
8
Scottish Government (2016)
National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan for Scottish Education
.
Available at www.gov.scot/publications/2017-national-improvement-framework-improvement-plan/
5
1. School leadership.
2. Teacher professionalism.
3. Parental engagement.
4. Assessment of children’s progress.
5. School improvement.
6. Performance information.
These describe a range of interconnected aspects of education supporting “continuous
improvement”. Information is drawn from a range of sources to monitor activity within the
different drivers including those related to attainment, for example via Insight data for the
senior phase. The evidence being used as a basis for assessments can be reviewed via an
interactive evidence report
9
.
With respect to CLPL, the most relevant key driver of improvement is teacher
professionalism. This was discussed as part of the Donaldson review and is referred to
throughout the GTCS CLPL standard, for example:
“The professional commitment of teachers in Scotland is to lead learning through:
o developing deep knowledge of learning and teaching;
o critically examining how our teaching impacts on learners; and
o using evidence collaboratively to inform teacher judgement and next steps for
learners.”
10
For some time there has been a general acceptance that enhanced teacher professionalism
(through experiences of effective professional learning) will result in improved learner
outcomes. However, there is limited published evidence addressing this link. In one
particular review
11
it was noted that the studies available tended to focus on literacy and
mathematics (often based on schemes in the US) but they did find a consistent
improvement in learner outcomes across the studies following sustained engagement in
professional learning. The lack of available explicit evidence was attributed by this study to
the complexity of the undertaking. Since this review in 2007 there continues to be other
work to make connections with student achievement and in some cases they employ
9
Scottish Government (2021)
National Improvement Framework for Scottish Education Interactive Education
Report.
Available:
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/sg.eas.learninganalysis/viz/NIFInteractiveEvidenceReport/FrontPage
10
GTCS (2021
) The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning
. Available:
www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/Professional-Standards-2021/2021-Standard-for-Career-Long-Professional-
Learning.pdf
11
Yoon, K.S., Duncan, T., Lee, S.W.Y., Scarloss, B. and Shapley, K.L., 2007. Reviewing the evidence on how
teacher professional development affects student achievement. Available:
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498548.pdf
6
models to measure impact but these can also be trying to take into account the wider school
environment and its effects on teachers
12
.
Others examine the different types of professional learning, e.g. coaching, and have found a
positive impact on achievement
13
. A recently published systematic review for the Education
Endowment Foundation has found evidence that effective teacher professional learning
results in “consistent, small, positive effects on student learning” and on average this is
equivalent to “approximately one month of additional pupil progress”
14
. This review
established a conceptual framework describing different elements of professional learning
(e.g. how the content is delivered, for example is the session focussed around instruction of
a technique or modelling practice?) with the goal of identifying particular characteristics
which were more successful. The review concluded that “there is wide variation in
effectiveness, depending on the design of the PD [professional development], ranging from
zero to two months’ additional progress”.
Further to this published research, STEM Learning have released a report investigating the
added value of professional learning
15
. This report estimated that value would come from
“pupil-related benefits”, such as increased wages due to improved attainment. Different
activities were reviewed with the financial impact ranging from £16.4m to £67.4m.
As discussed, teacher professionalism can be augmented through participation in CLPL and
there are many different types of activities which teachers engage with.
Subject-specific professional learning (SSPL) is where there is a particular focus on subject
knowledge and pedagogy but could also relate to curriculum and qualification policies
16
and
wider educational issues set within a subject-specific context.
Teachers regularly participate in SSPL with multiple providers in Scotland offering activities
and support. These include higher and further education institutions, professional bodies
and charities, Scottish Schools Education Research Centre (SSERC), Education Scotland and
others. Activities range from seminars and workshops to conferences and week-long
summer schools. Teachers will often engage with subject associations or groups to
collaborate with peers and participate in CLPL. Teachers also read research and engage in
informal discussions with peers in person or via e-mail. However, despite teachers spending
significant amounts of time participating in SSPL, in Scotland it is an under-researched area
with a small number of recent studies. These include an examination of how participation in
12
Kraft, M.A. & Papay, J.P. (2014) Can professional environments in schools promote teacher development?
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis
, 36(4), pp. 476–500.
13
Kraft, M.A., Blazar, D. and Hogan, D., 2018. The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement: A
meta-analysis of the causal evidence.
Review of educational research
, 88(4), pp.547-588.
14
Sims, S., Fletcher-Wood, H., O’Mara-Eves, A., Cottingham, S., Stansfield, C., Van Hewegen, J. & Anders, J.
(2021)
What are the Characteristics of Effective Teacher Professional Development? A Systematic Review and
Meta-analysis
Available: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/evidence-
reviews/teacher-professional-development-characteristics
15
Lawton, R., Dallas, E., Talwar, R., Santangelo, N. & Atkinson N.M. (2021)
Valuing the Impact of Science CPD
.
Available: https://www.stem.org.uk/impact-and-evaluation/impact
16
Cordingley, P. & Bell, M. (2014)
Understanding What Enables High Quality Professional Learning.
Available:
www.curee.co.uk/files/publication/%5Bsite-timestamp%5D/CUREE-Report.pdf
7
a local network of physics teachers provided them with support
17
and the impact of SSPL on
the retention of physics teachers
18
.
Whilst teachers in Scotland are expected to engage in 35 hours of professional learning
each year (in addition to the professional learning which they participate in during school in-
service days and other collegiate working time) there is currently no advice and guidance on
how to use this time effectively. Meeting the 35 hours target is achieved or exceeded by a
high proportion of teachers: “87 per cent of teachers had already achieved or exceeded the
expected CPD hours, even before the school year finished by the end of June”.
19
In general,
teachers are already spending a significant amount of time participating in SSPL.
Within the updated GTCS standard on professional learning, there is reference to teachers
developing “their professional knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities” which
would be achieved through participation in appropriate SSPL. The standard also makes it
clear that the choice of CLPL lies in the hands of teachers, maintaining the “grass-roots
teacher-led learning” introduced following Donaldson which was a move away from the “top-
down local authority-led” provision
20
. In terms of motivation for participating in CLPL, the
standard discusses the benefits of furthering their knowledge as it will “enhance, progress
and lead the learning experiences of learners”
21
. In their 2020 annual report, the GTCS
noted “Teachers mostly use the Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning as it
provides a broad and varied framework to enhance teacher professionalism”
22
. 87% of
teachers reporting in 2018-2019 indicated that the career-long professional learning
standard was useful “to a large/some extent” compared with 68% for the standard for full
registration and 51% for the standards for leadership and management.
23
Based on an analysis of pupil outcomes as measured by the 2013 TALIS and 2015 PISA
studies, SSPL has been found to have a greater effectiveness than generic CLPL
24
. This
finding was part of a rapid review for the Wellcome Trust, which covered a broad range of
17
Farmer, S. (2018)
Networked professional learning of physics teachers in a remote area in Scotland.
MSc
Teacher Education. University of Oxford.
18
Thomas, L. (2020)
To what extent does subject-specific professional learning play a role in the retention of
physics teachers in Scotland?
MRes Educational Research. University of Stirling.
19
Priestley M, Shapira M & Bu F (2018)
Teacher Workforce Survey in Scotland (2017): Final Report. NASUWT
.
Birmingham/Scotland: University of Stirling. Available:
https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/c5738dce-f321-424c-911e45b25112aaf0.pdf
20
Kennedy, A. & Beck, A. (2018) ‘Teacher Professional Learning’ in Bryce, T.G.K, Humes, W.M., Gillies, D. &
Kennedy, A. (ed.)
Scottish Education
Fifth Edition. Edinburgh University Press. Available at
https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/files/72080263/Kennedy_Beck_Scottish_Education_2018_Teacher_professional_l
earning.pdf
21
GTCS (2021)
The Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning.
Available:
www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/Professional-Standards-2021/2021-Standard-for-Career-Long-Professional-
Learning.pdf
22
GTCS (2020)
Annual Report
. Available: http://gtcsnew.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/about-
gtcs/GTCS_Annual_Report_2020_-_English.pdf
23
Scottish Government (2021)
National Improvement Framework for Scottish Education Interactive Education
Report.
Available:
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/sg.eas.learninganalysis/viz/NIFInteractiveEvidenceReport/FrontPage
24
Cordingley, P., Greany, T., Crisp, B., Seleznyov, S., Bradbury, M., Perry, T. (2018)
Developing Great Subject
Teaching
. Available: https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/developing-great-subject-teaching.pdf
8
published and unpublished sources in addition to engaging with teachers and CLPL
providers. It was found that the benefits for teachers of SSPL include an enhanced subject
knowledge, particularly in relation to how to teach certain topics and how to apply other
general pedagogies to their own subjects and levels.
Teachers are already engaging with a significant amount of SSPL and it is an important
route to allow them to connect with specific subject areas of interest
25
. When considering
SSPL, another review identified various aspects that combine to make it effective. SSPL
should be
26
:
• Collaborative.
• Supported by specialist expertise.
• Linked to teacher motivations and aspirations.
• Sustained over time (weeks and months) to have a likelihood of benefitting learners.
• Focused on connecting practice to theory.
However, it is not necessarily the case that teachers in Scotland are aware of these criteria
or using them to help drive decision-making.
The organisation of CLPL in Scotland varies between subjects, levels and regions. As noted
by the ‘Subjects Matter’ report: “some excellent subject-specific CPD programmes exist
across the nations of the UK, these are often limited to a few targeted subjects, forming a
patchwork with little linkage between them, and rely on short-term funding cycles.”
CLPL is often accessed through professional learning communities (PLCs) either in the
teachers’ own schools, through the Local Authority, via subject associations or the relevant
Regional Improvement Collaborative (RIC). These can support many of the points raised in
the list above and in particular they can provide
27
:
• Structure for collaborative working by providing the organisation and infrastructure
necessary.
• Access to specialist knowledge from university academics and other stakeholders.
• Opportunities for networking and in particular build teachers’ confidence and develop
their skills around communication and negotiation.
• Support when a new policy or initiative is proposed.
25
Menzies, L., Parameshwaran, M., Trethewey, A., Shaw, B., Baars, S. & Chiong, C. (2015)
Why teach?
London:
Pearson/LKMco. Available: https://whyteach.lkmco.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Embargoed-until-Friday-
23-October-2015-Why-Teach.pdf
26
Cordingley, P. & Bell, M. (2014)
Understanding What Enables High Quality Professional Learning.
Available:
www.curee.co.uk/files/publication/%5Bsite-timestamp%5D/CUREE-Report.pdf
27
Priestley, M., Biesta G., Philippou S. & Robinson S. (2016)
The teacher and the curriculum: exploring teacher
agency.
In: Wyse D, Hayward L & Pandya J (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Curriculum, Pedagogy and
Assessment. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 187-201.
9
Examples of SSPL in Scotland are discussed below and the following section goes on to
review the recent CLPL provision in Scotland. Unfortunately access to this level of good
quality subject-specific CLPL is not necessarily available across all subject areas in Scotland.
Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) programme
Aimed at primary teachers, the RAiSE programme supports the development of STEM
skills and knowledge with the goal of improving the confidence of teachers and
subsequently improve the experience of learners.
A partnership between the Wood Foundation, Education Scotland, the Scottish
Government, over half of Scotland’s local authorities have participated since the pilot
project in 2016. Local authorities receive funding for a Primary Science Development
Officer who will work with primary staff to “to lead and co-ordinate high-quality
professional learning and to support practitioner planning, networking, and collaboration”
and the programme aims are to “raise attainment and achievement in primary science
and STEM, and tackle inequity and inequality in learners' experiences and outcomes”.28
In terms of impact29:
“71% of teachers are more confident in their science pedagogy”.
“76% of teachers are more confident with science content”.
“77% of teachers said pupils’ STEM career aspirations have increased”.
With regards to achieving this impact, the independent evaluation found that “there was
consensus across the interviewed professional stakeholder groups that RAiSE supported
the development of a more effective and coherent professional learning system for
practitioners.”
Institute of Physics Scotland
The Institute of Physics (IOP) has had a long-term mission of supporting physicists and
promoting physics. IOP is a membership organisation, including current and retired
physics teachers. Whilst the IOP has outreach and engagement work directed at learners
and their families, there is a comprehensive programme of support available for teachers
through its Teacher Network. In Scotland this work is led by Education Manager, Stuart
Farmer, supported by a network of coaches across Scotland; all are experienced physics
teachers. Professional learning opportunities are available to all teachers of physics, at no
or reduced cost, and some are delivered in partnership with SSERC.
28
Education Scotland (2021) RAiSE - Raising Aspirations in Science Education Available:
https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/raise/#
29
Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change, University of Glasgow (2019)
RAiSE External evaluation
Available: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/nih027-RAiSE-Programme-evaluation-
summary.pdf
10
Institute of Physics Scotland (cont’d)
Annual events such as the Stirling Meeting (a one-day conference, which held its 46th
event online in 2021) and the IOP/SSERC Summer School are supplemented by a
programme of twilight and evening sessions targeting a range of topics. In addition to this,
an e-mail-based discussion group (called SPUTNIK) provides a place for teachers to share
resources and ask for advice and guidance. During the academic session 2020-2021,
despite the pandemic, the IOP Scotland Teacher Network organised 69 online events
which provided over 800 teacher hours of CLPL, and over 1000 individual engagements
with teachers from all 32 local authorities. In evaluations teachers consistently rated
these events as better than 4.5 out of 5 for both quality and usefulness.
11
CLPL Provision in Scotland
There is a lack of available data in Scotland to assess the impact of current practice in
detail. A summary of recent data and relevant reporting is discussed below but the overall
effectiveness of CLPL cannot be evaluated as CLPL providers tend not to share evaluation
reports externally. The evidence in this section therefore focusses mainly on the experiences
of teachers in general and the impact on a sub-group of local authorities which have
received additional education funding through the Scottish Attainment Challenge fund.
• As part of the implementation of the STEM Education and Training Strategy, Education
Scotland have introduced a survey of teachers (ASN, early years, primary and secondary)
to gather information on the type of CLPL they undertake, the barriers to participation
and their own priorities in relation to STEM
30
.
o Priorities identified by teachers in relation to CLPL would be directly addressed as
part of SSPL and these include: “Pedagogies/teaching approaches to deliver STEM
learning effectively (50.6%)”, “Skills progression in STEM subjects (41.7%)”,
“Awareness about the resources and support available for STEM (32.9%)”.
o This survey also provided information on the types of CLPL undertaken and the top
three were: “Professional reading/engaging independently with research (78.5%)”,
“Collegiate working with centre/school (74.5%)” and “Collegiate working across
cluster (53.9%)”.
o With regards to barriers, these were reported as: “Difficulty finding cover (54.3%)”,
“Difficulty attending professional learning due to other commitments (40.5%)” and
“Lack of funding to pay for professional learning (38.0%)”.
• Information is available about how teachers view the Standard for Career-Long
Professional Learning (it is seen as being more useful than the standards for full
registration and leadership and management
31
) and who is impacted by their
participation in CLPL:
Group
“To a large” or
“Some extent”
“None at all”
Colleagues
80%
Pupils
95%
2%
Your school
84%
Yourself
96%
1%
30
Education Scotland (2021)
Professional Learning in STEM.
Available: education.gov.scot/media/g50hiodf/stem-
professional-learning-survey-2018-19-findings-elc-primary-asn-and-secondary.pdf
31
Scottish Government (2021)
National Improvement Framework Interactive Evidence Report
. Available:
public.tableau.com/app/profile/sg.eas.learninganalysis/viz/NIFInteractiveEvidenceReport/FrontPage
12
• In a review of whether outcomes were improving for young people in Scotland, Audit
Scotland found variations across local authority areas and between schools
32
. In
general, there was improved performance (measures included exam performance) but
that the “rate of improvement has been inconsistent”. In this review it was noted that
there was no link between spending per learner and levels of attainment and that there
was a “wide variation in councils’ spending” (around 25% of councils’ budgets are spent
on education). Audit Scotland have encouraged the Scottish Government to work with
stakeholders to collect suitable national data to allow an assessment of impact and this
could extend to assessing the effectiveness of CLPL. The report also encouraged
councils to share best practice and apply it across “schools and councils”. Several of the
findings related to the Attainment Scotland Fund, established by the Scottish
Government to “close the poverty-related attainment gap”. However, there were
concerns highlighted by Education Scotland around the usage of the fund by the nine
Attainment Challenge councils in relation to sustainability. It was felt that there could be
longer term impact if the fund was used to “used to improve teaching expertise and
practice” and embed this within the school and council area.
• When reviewing the outcomes of the work being done by the Attainment Challenge
councils, Education Scotland identified a range of factors which supported improved
learning and attainment
33
:
o “Shared and embedded vision and values leading to a culture of relentless drive
for improvement.
o “Shared responsibility and leadership at all levels.
o “High levels of expertise in data analysis to drive clear and outcome-focused self-
evaluation.
o “High-quality professional learning informed by self-evaluation, leading to
improved learning and teaching.
o “Very effective partnership working.”
One of the key findings relates to the impact of “high-quality professional learning” and
that this has brought about “system-wide” improvement: “Professional enquiry, research
and research methodology have supported staff in working collaboratively to select,
implement and review interventions within and across establishments. Partnership
working with academia has enhanced staff understanding of pedagogy and improved
leadership of learning.” All of the identified aspects link with the description of what
makes effective SSPL (as described on page 8 of this report).
32
Audit Scotland (2021)
Improving outcomes for young people through school education.
Available : www.audit-
scotland.gov.uk/report/improving-outcomes-for-young-people-through-school-education
33
Education Scotland (2019)
How well are the Scottish Attainment Challenge authorities improving learning,
raising attainment and closing the poverty-related attainment gap?
Available:
https://education.gov.scot/Documents/SACSummaryReport.pdf
13
• With regards to the provision across subject areas, a brief review of available SSPL
opportunities for secondary school teachers in 2021 has been carried out in order to
understand the split between subject provision. There was a clear disparity between the
opportunities available for STEM and non-STEM teachers. For example, in one RIC
12.5% of the courses were for teachers of STEM subjects and only 7.6% for non-STEM
subjects. The majority (62.5%) were for courses on literacy, wellbeing, SEN and digital
skills.
• The importance of knowledge and the need for this to be reinforced as part of the
Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) was discussed in the recent OECD report on the
implementation of CfE
34
. This would also be directly addressed by teachers engaging in
effective SSPL. The report made several recommendations in relation to education
policy and the roles of organisations such as the SQA. The OECD also noted the lack of
data available for evaluation and monitoring.
• Funding to support participation in CLPL continues to be an issue, in a recent survey
47% of teachers indicated that they felt the funding available was insufficient and this
has consequences for teachers being able to access the activities they want
35
(Figure 2
below provides an indication of the types of activities the survey respondents – primary
and secondary – engage with and Figure 3 summarises the topics of the activities).
However, this same survey found that teachers were satisfied with the quality of
professional learning and the support provided by their schools with major barriers
ultimately being related to “lack of time and cover”35. In the past when local authorities
have had to reduced education spending, there is evidence of budgets being cut for
professional learning programmes, meaning schools are providing more “in-house”
professional learning for teachers rather than accessing external programmes and
providers
36
, going against the recommended practice of seeking out specialist expertise
and with the knock-on effective of limiting collaboration with peers to those within your
school. This may be particularly isolating if you are the only teacher of a subject in a
school.
34
OECD (2021)
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Into the Future
, OECD Publishing,
Paris, doi.org/10.1787/b58fdbce-en.
35
Priestley, M., Shapira, M., & Bu, F. (2018)
Teacher workforce survey in Scotland
. Available:
https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/c5738dce-f321-424c-911e45b25112aaf0.pdf
36
Audit Scotland (2014)
School Education
. Available: https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/report/school-education
14
Figure 2. Different types of CLPL activities engaged in by teachers35
Figure 3. CLPL topics engaged in by teachers
37
37
Priestley, M., Shapira, M., & Bu, F. (2018)
Teacher workforce survey in Scotland
. Available:
https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/c5738dce-f321-424c-911e45b25112aaf0.pdf
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
CPD courses / workshops
Professional reading / research
Self-evaluation / reflection
Peer observation
National standard activities
Other activities
Mentoring / coaching
Conferences / seminars
Management / leadership
Receiving mentoring / coaching
Qualification programme
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Curriculum
Subject knowledge / methods
General teaching methods
Student evaluation / assessment
Use of technology
Leadership
Equality
Other
Parents communication
Student guidance / communication
15
Based on the evidence available it is clear that teachers are engaging in a range of different
CLPL activities on a variety of different topics. However, it is not clear as to whether the
activities themselves are effective and of high quality. There is also limited evidence as to
the availability of CLPL across early years, primary and secondary and across subjects. Best
practice has been identified in some local authority areas but there is more work to be done
in order to share practice and embed it within schools. The recommendations from the IOP
would provide a starting point from which to further enhance the experience of teachers and
consequently impact on learners.
16
Conclusion
This paper has reviewed how participation in high-quality, effective CLPL can contribute to
key educational priorities, including closing the attainment gap, and potentially retaining
more teachers in the profession. In particular, high-quality subject-specific professional
learning has been found to be more effective in improving learner outcomes than generic
professional learning.
Steps can be taken to provide advice and guidance to teachers on how to make the best use
of the limited time available. This approach will maximise the value of the time spent on
professional learning and help to drive down disparities in access to high-quality teaching.