Professional Learning and Development after the Active Learning Phase: Case Studies of New Zealand Schools
type: CreativeWork
description: Internationally recognised as essential for enhancing education and ensuring sustainability across all levels of an educational organisation, professional learning and development is at the heart of effective teaching practice and the promotion of positive student outcomes. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that schools implement effective processes to evaluate the impact(s) of professional learning and development on teachers, as well as the resultant effects on students’ learning outcomes. However, there remains a notable gap in comprehensive evidence from various studies that provide valid conclusions regarding the effectiveness of professional development, with only a few studies reporting the correlation between professional learning and development and improvements in student outcomes (Baird & Clark, 2018). The evaluation of the effects on professional learning and development is regarded as an ongoing process. During the active adult learning, evaluation should occur at multiple checkpoints to gauge its impact on both teachers and students. Consequently, it is imperative to investigate the space following the completion of the professional learning and development, considering mainly three key areas: firstly, how schools evaluate any sustained impacts of professional learning and development on teachers; secondly, which expectations schools have for reporting the outcomes of professional learning and development; and thirdly, which elements enable or hinder the effectiveness of professional learning and development in the workplace. Utilising a mixed methods research design, this study employs a sequential approach to data collection, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative results from a survey and semiconducted interviews with participants from three schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The key findings reveal that design of professional learning and development partially aligns with frameworks suggested in the existing literature. Furthermore, foll…
abstract: Internationally recognised as essential for enhancing education and ensuring sustainability across all levels of an educational organisation, professional learning and development is at the heart of effective teaching practice and the promotion of positive student outcomes. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that schools implement effective processes to evaluate the impact(s) of professional learning and development on teachers, as well as the resultant effects on students’ learning outcomes. However, there remains a notable gap in comprehensive evidence from various studies that provide valid conclusions regarding the effectiveness of professional development, with only a few studies reporting the correlation between professional learning and development and improvements in student outcomes (Baird & Clark, 2018). The evaluation of the effects on professional learning and development is regarded as an ongoing process. During the active adult learning, evaluation should occur at multiple checkpoints to gauge its impact on both teachers and students. Consequently, it is imperative to investigate the space following the completion of the professional learning and development, considering mainly three key areas: firstly, how schools evaluate any sustained impacts of professional learning and development on teachers; secondly, which expectations schools have for reporting the outcomes of professional learning and development; and thirdly, which elements enable or hinder the effectiveness of professional learning and development in the workplace. Utilising a mixed methods research design, this study employs a sequential approach to data collection, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative results from a survey and semiconducted interviews with participants from three schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The key findings reveal that design of professional learning and development partially aligns with frameworks suggested in the existing literature. Furthermore, foll…
author: Santosuosso, Giordana Antonietta
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-27T18:45:41Z
provider: AUT University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: AUT University