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The Continuing Professional Development of Educators
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The Continuing Professional Development of Educators

emerging European issues

Edited by ALEX ALEXANDROU, KIT FIELD & HELEN MITCHELL

2005 paperback 150 pages, £30.00, ISBN 978-1-873927-25-0
https://doi.org/10.15730/books.6

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About the book

The aim of this book is to take a critical look at continuing professional development policy and practice from a broad European perspective, examining both values and paradigms. In turn, it is hoped this will highlight models and concepts and how these relate to cultural contexts, which will develop lessons to be learned.

This issue is tackled from across professions and from several European countries. Not only has a generic European perspective been put forward, but so have perspectives from both northern and southern Europe with a touch of North America to add a little spice. This is an eclectic mix of views and standpoints which are inextricably linked by the editors’ and authors’ profound belief that only through continuing professional development can progress be achieved at both an individual and an organisational level.

It is hoped this book will provide some answers, be informative and stimulate positive debate among both academics and practitioners.

Contents

Preface

Magnus Persson. Continuing Professional Development and Networking in Europe

Helen Mitchell. Mentor Professional Development in England

Irene Figueiredo. Mentor Professional Development in Portugal

Kit Field. Continuing Professional Development for Leaders and Teachers: the English perspective

Francesca Brotto. Continuing Professional Development for Leaders and Teachers: an Italian response

Fiona Christie & Jim O’Brien. A Continuing Professional Development Framework for Scottish Teachers: steps, stages, continuity or connections?

Alex Alexandrou, John Dwyfor Davies & John LeeLearning at Work: possible lessons from Canada and the United Kingdom?

Yvonne Hill. Continuing Professional Development and the Health Service in England: the nursing perspective

Alex Alexandrou, Kit Field & Helen Mitchell. Emerging Themes

Contributors

Alex Alexandrou is a freelance academic and researcher and chair of the International Professional Development Association. His main areas of activity include advising and writing on developments in continuing professional development in the public sector, acting as a course assessor for United Nations-sponsored educational courses and teaching on various national and international MBA courses. Alex also sits on the editorial board of the Journal of In-service Education.

Francesca Brotto is an experienced teacher, teacher leader, teacher trainer and international projects developer now seconded as advisor and assistant to the director general of the International Relations Department of the Italian Ministry of Education and Research. Her main fields of interest and research are related to the dissemination of good practices and project methodology, to school self-evaluation and new leadership roles, to language teaching and learning and to the European dimension of education.

Fiona Christie is a lecturer in Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages at the Moray House School of Education in the University of Edinburgh and is mainly involved in the professional development of international teachers of English as a foreign language. She was coordinator of a Scottish Higher Education Funding Council-funded project, based in the Moray House School of Education, to develop and run continuing professional development courses for student teacher mentors. She subsequently worked as a researcher in the Centre for Educational Leadership.

John Dwyfor Davies is Professor of Education at the University of the West of England, Bristol, where he was previously a principal lecturer and head of school (Professional and Learning Studies). He has researched and published widely on the themes of inclusive education and professional development.

Kit Field is the head of the Department of Professional Development at Canterbury Christ Church University. He is a committee member of the International Professional Development Association and chair of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (Continuing Professional Development) committee. Kit’s background is modern foreign languages, and in recent years Kit’s research has focused on subject leadership and middle management as well as professional learning.

Irene Figueiredo is vice-president of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto and is also a professor of educational policy administration in the School of Education at the Institute, where she is responsible for educational policy studies, school administration and comparative education in initial, continuous and specialised training of teachers, principals and other educators. Irene is a member of several working groups and committees dealing with educational policy and has authored several reports that have been considered at national level by the Portuguese educational authorities.

Yvonne Hill is head of adult nursing studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. She has been involved in the continuing professional development (CPD) of nurses and midwives for over 12 years and is actively involved in developing and managing a large portfolio of programmes, courses and study days to service the needs of health care providers and practitioners in Kent. Her research interests include exploring the impact of CPD on both the personal and professional lives of individuals and how prior experiential learning can be used and valued within a CPD framework.

John Lee is reader in education in the Faculty of Education, University of the West of England. Recent research includes the education of boys and girls in primary schools, secondary school students and non-attendance at school. He is currently engaged in research into aspects of police training.

Helen Mitchell is coordinator for continuing professional development at the University of East London. She has extensive experience in mentoring and mentor education and in pre-service and in-service teacher education as a former postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) subject leader in the areas of primary science and music. Helen currently leads the mentor training programmes for a primary PGCE course and works in partnership with training schools to develop and deliver mentor training for a range of other courses. She is also a member of the London providers mentor group and has contributed to the development of the London providers mentor training framework. Helen coordinates and teaches on an MA in education practice programme and tutors for an MA by independent study. Helen is also the vice-chair of the International Professional Development Association, and edits the International Professional Development Association newsletter.

Jim O’Brien is vice-dean of the Moray House School of Education in the University of Edinburgh and currently director, Centre for Educational Leadership. He has contributed to several national development projects in Scotland including appraisal and review, the Scottish Qualification for Headship and most recently the development of the Standard for Chartered Teacher and associated pilot programmes. At present he is the president of the International Professional Development Association. He has published in the fields of continuing professional development, teacher induction, leadership and management and school improvement.

Magnus Persson was a head teacher/school manager for 12 years. At present he is working as the international education manager at the Directorate of Education, Karlstads kommun, Sweden, responsible for local and international educational projects. For eight years he has been coordinating several European projects within the Socrates programme, where he has wide management experience from Comenius 1, 2 and 3 projects as well as extensive practice in international networking. Furthermore, he has been course manager of several European in-service training courses, located in different countries. Since 2003 he has been the coordinator of the European Educational Comenius 3 network ‘The Learning Teacher Network’.

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