International communities of practice: what makes them successful vehicles for teachers’ professional development?

ABSTRACT

This study examines teachers’ perceptions of the specific factors and conditions which shape international communities of practice as successful vehicles for their professional development. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with thirteen teachers in Poland who have extensive experience working in a wide range of international professional development settings. The findings indicate that teachers perceived international communities to be a unique platform for their professional development because they offered multi-layered topographies for professional growth; created space for the collective organisation of development activities in diverse, autonomous teams working on challenging topics; and allowed for sharing teaching stories, reflecting on practice, as well as feeling affirmed/affirming others. Based on the results, recommendations are made for future research and policies which enrich communities within and across schools by providing teachers with the flexibility to discover and build international communities.

KEYWORDS:

• International communities of practice
• teacher professional development
• international networking
• community working processes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a Santander Staff Research Award (2018);

Notes on contributors

Marta Kowalczuk-Walędziak

Marta Kowalczuk-Walędziak (Ph.D.) is Assistant Professor and Vice Dean for International Co-operation at the Faculty of Education, University of Bialystok, Poland. Her research interests include the policy and practice of teacher education and development, practitioner research, and internationalisation of teacher education.

James Underwood (Ph.D.) is Principal Lecturer in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society at the University of Northampton, England. His research interests include: professional communities, non-positional leadership, practitioner research, methodologies for teacher research, and teaching approaches in higher education.