The Nature and Scope of Professional Development
Updating knowledge and skills continuously in a professional context is essential to improving the performance of an organisation. Professional development (PD) refers to the process of improving and enhancing one's skills, knowledge, expertise and abilities within their chosen profession or field of work[1]. It encompasses various activities, experiences and opportunities aimed at fostering continuous learning, growth, and advancement in a person's career.
Professional development is essential for individuals to remain competitive in the workforce, adapt to changes in their industry and achieve their career aspirations. It contributes to personal growth, job satisfaction and overall professional success. Additionally, many employers recognise the value of investing in their employees' professional development as it can lead to increased productivity, innovation and employee retention. PD that has been 'thoughtfully conceived, well-designed and well-supported' is believed to be the key to every successful school improvement effort.
PD refers to the continuous education a teacher receives after they have undergone teacher education and entered the teaching profession. It includes all the programmes – educational, social and others – in which the teacher plays a vital part, all the extra education that the teacher receives at different institutions by way of refresher and other professional courses, and all the travel and visits which they undertake. All of these expand a professional teacher’s experience and vision.
PD has traditionally been provided to teachers through school in-service workshops. The term 'in-service' is self-explanatory; in the classic conception of that model, the district or school brings in an outside consultant or curriculum expert on a staff development day to give teachers a one-time training, seminar on a variety of pedagogic or subject-area topics. Such an approach has been routinely lamented in professional literature.