Abstract
Previous literature has demonstrated that networks can be valuable sources of professional learning. In 2005 all Liverpool schools formed into ten Learning Networks with the aim of improving the quality, and entitlement of, continuing professional development (CPD) for staff as part of a whole-scale local authority initiative. The Liverpool Learning Networks Research explored professionals’ CPD experiences following this organizational change and whether it has enhanced their practice. Triangulated data, a large-scale survey and qualitative interviews conducted in 2007, seem to suggest that where professionals benefited from professional learning in a networked context, the quality of the networked CPD as well as a positive school culture and intra-school collaboration were all important contributors to the success of networked-CPD. This finding can usefully apply Turbill’s (Teacher learning for educational change. Open University Press, Buckingham, 94–114, 2002) model of professional learning to the intersection between school-based and networked-CPD, which suggests that it is at this intersection between internal and external domains that teacher learning can take place. Two scenarios, where this interplay between school-based and networked CPD is positive (enhancement) or negative (tension), are reported through five case studies of professionals underpinned by the survey data, where relevant.
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Notes
The perceptions and experiences of headteachers and school professionals in the new Learning Networks have been extensively reported elsewhere (O’Brien et al.2008b); this paper focuses on practising school professionals.
The educational system in England has the following types of schools: infants (4–7), junior (7–11), primary (5–11 years), secondary (11–18) and schools for children with special needs (special), which can also be at different school phase.
The sample did not vary in terms of school size. As it was not possible to survey the number and role of each staff at all the local authority’s schools within the time limits of the research.
The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics were performed on a range of variables. The data were revealed to be non-parametric, so appropriate tests were chosen. For instance, Spearman’s Rho was used to determine correlation (one-tailed). Similarly, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare groups that had two, or two-or-more groups respectively. A probability of <0.05 was taken as indicating a significant difference between means and this forms the basis of the use of the term “significant” in this paper.
There was also an interesting correlation between ratings of school-based and networked-CPD, i.e. those who tended to rate school CPD higher, also had a more positive view of networked-CPD. This implied that attitude of the individual professional to CPD in general played a great role when it came to CPD assessments (Varga-Atkins et al. 2009).
Every Child Matters was a UK government initiative introduced in 2003 in response to the death of Victoria Climbié; it has five strands: be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.
A-level is the Advanced Level General Certificate of Education offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland and Wales comprising two years of study, typically between the age of 16 and 18.
Beacon schools were a previous national initiative in which schools of good practice were identified and resources provided for teachers to share this practice across other schools.
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Acknowledgments
The Liverpool Learning Networks Research project was funded by Liverpool City of Learning. The authors would like to thank all those school professionals who took their time to contribute to the research, the two anonymous reviewers whose valuable comments helped shape and structure the paper to its final form, and to Robin Sellers (design) and Amanda Atkinson (administration) for their support.
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Varga-Atkins, T., O’Brien, M., Burton, D. et al. The importance of interplay between school-based and networked professional development: School professionals’ experiences of inter-school collaborations in learning networks. J Educ Change 11, 241–272 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-009-9127-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-009-9127-9