Teachers’ Experiences and Perceptions about Professional Development and their Innovative Practices

• Published in: Hungarian educational research journal Vol. 8; no. 3; pp. 43 - 61
• Main Authors: Kálmán, Orsolya, Rapos, Nóra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hungarian Educational Research Association (HERA) 2018
• Subjects: Education; educational innovation; theory of professional capital; teachers; teacher learning; organizational support; continuous professional development
• ISSN: 2064-2199

This study is part of a research project focusing on Hungarian innovative teachers’ learning and working in their own school. Our aim is to understand the factors and context that influence teachers’ learning and openness to innovation within their organisation and throughout their career. A further goal of the study is to identify the motivational drivers of teachers for learning and innovating. Topics such as the themes, time factor and support of professional development, as well as the themes and spreading of innovative activities were analyzed. Our results show that teachers do not experience systemic and planned support for their individual professional development but they do perceive some support in gaining new knowledge, sharing practical knowledge, imposing expectations, and providing resources for learning. Individual innovations are closely related to professional learning, especially trainings but little interconnectivity between individual and institutional innovative practices have been found. The strongest and most innovative practices are tied to methodological-content innovations of subject or classroom practices and to curriculum development.