Continuing Professional Development: A Threat to Teacher Professionalism

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Professional Learning in the Classroom Across Time and Levels of Experience (Table 18)

Abstract

This paper asks following burning question: Where is a critical know-why perspective on education, in teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD)? Point of departure is the first result of an ongoing (2020-2023) government funded research project in Sweden. A follow-the-money approach was used to collect data. 1000 invoices, from three Swedish municipalities, were inductively analyzed and categorized. The results exposed how ethical issues, climate crises, and social (in)justice are almost absent in the CPD-content as is critical know-why professional knowledge. Framed by the notion of professionalism, we here further explore one of the municipalities and discuss fast policies imprint on local sites, the lack of cultivating know-why knowledge, and how CPD might be a threat to teachers’ professionalism.

Authors

• Lill Langelotz, University of Borås

• Anita Norlund, University of Borås

• Magnus Levinsson, University of Borås