Professional Learning for Advanced Education: A Systematic Review of Multifaceted, Equity-Focused Training Approaches

For decades, U.S. K–12 schools have faced challenges in providing advanced learning opportunities and services to students. Professional learning (PL) can be one lever to increase educators’ capacity to supply high-quality and equitable advanced learning in classrooms and schools. In this systematic literature review, we identified 32 empirical studies, published between 1978 and 2023, that examined U.S.-based PL related to advanced education and learning. We identified seven themes related to the features identified in the Building Better PL framework and the strategies in the Excellence Gap Intervention Model (EGIM). This analysis revealed a need for advanced education PL studies that focus on practice-supportive materials, teacher–student relationships, and student outcome measurement. Furthermore, there is limited research about how EGIM strategies have been integrated into advanced education PL research, which indicates the need for more research on the effects of PL targeting excellence gaps and advanced education equity issues.