Defining and Developing Professionalism in English Secondary Schools

This paper reports some recent research into the way in which secondary school teachers in England construct and develop their notions of 'professionalism' and how this is affected by changes in their working lives and by recent educational reforms. Data from interviews with teachers of Maths, Technology and Humanities suggest that local contexts, and in particular departmental cultures, are influential in shaping teachers' sense of professionalism and that this is an important source of professional learning. The paper suggests that there is a need to develop a broad concept of continuing professional development, which includes, but is not restricted to, continuing teacher education.