School culture and postgraduate professional development: delineating the ‘Enabling School’

Abstract

The culture of the ‘enabling school’ is investigated within the context of the government's policy of continuing professional development and postgraduate professional development for teachers in England. This context is problematised by considering teachers' conceptualisations of their professional autonomy, status and personal expertise. A small purposive sample of schools and colleges provided the case studies for this research. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with teachers and continuing professional development leaders in each of four institutions. Cultures that delineate the enabling school—the leader/led culture, the mentoring/coaching culture, the collegial culture and the practical imperative culture— are identified and discussed. The research was made possible by a grant from ESCalate.