How do teachers learn in the workplace? findings from an empirical study carried out in portugal[1]

This article reports on research aimed at investigating teachers' views on their professional learning and its influencing factors. Data were gathered by means of a questionnaire (n = 627) and semi-structured interviews with teachers and head teachers in 18 schools located in northern Portugal. Findings suggest that the more formal contexts of professional learning (such as Initial Training, teaching practice and Inservice Education) are undervalued, that a context-specific and ‘on-the-job’ nature of learning, which was associated with the organisational and structural constraints of the workplace, prevailed, and that the processes of learning were mainly idiosyncratic and classroom-centred. Issues of personal motivation and learning as a practical and trial-and-error process emerged as the most distinctive features between new and more experienced teachers. Implications for the role of schools in the continuing professional development of teachers are discussed.