Beyond induction: the continuing professional development needs of early‐career teachers in Scotland

Abstract

Continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland, as in many other countries worldwide, is receiving increased attention. Within the Scottish context, a gap in the CPD framework had been identified for early‐career teachers who have completed the induction year but are not yet eligible to embark on the Chartered Teacher Programme. Learning and Teaching Scotland, the school curriculum development body for Scotland, therefore commissioned a research project to explore the CPD needs and priorities of these early‐career teachers and the barriers to their participation. The project employed a three‐staged methodology: nominal group technique interviews with teachers in four local authorities; a national online survey; and a stakeholder consultation exercise. Results indicate that the early‐career teachers have a wide range of different needs, in terms of both content and mode of CPD, yet they do not appear to feel strongly about barriers to their participation. The article concludes by outlining policy and practice implications arising from the research.

Keywords:

• early professional development
• CPD
• teachers
• Scotland

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of Learning and Teaching Scotland in commissioning the project and supporting its dissemination. The authors would like to thank: the year two to six teachers who participated in the nominal group technique interview sessions; the local authority staff who organised the sessions in such a tight timescale; the teachers who took the time to share their views with us through the survey; and the participants in the stakeholder consultation. The authors also acknowledge the valuable input to various stages of the research from Jeanette Bonner, Donald Christie, Colleen Clinton, Hugh Gallagher, Eleanor Gavienas, Linda Harris, Summer Kenesson, Elaine Kirkland, Jennifer Logue, Gordana Nesterovic, Lindsay Siebelt Raymond Taylor and Mary Welsh from the University of Strathclyde, Christine Fraser from the University of Aberdeen and Stephen McKinney from the University of Glasgow.