English Teachers and Teacher Educators in Writing-Based Professional Learning Communities

Introduction

There is now a strong consensus in the research literature that educators (both school-based and university-based) should pursue collaborative professional learning throughout their careers. This “lifelong learning,” as it is sometimes referred to, is considered essential if the educators are to successfully respond to changes in knowledge and policy and to continually develop their professional identities. Policymakers have responded to this research by imposing a range of carefully interconnected standards-based reforms – with mixed implications. In Australia, for instance, policy has sought to coerceeducators to engage in professional learning through various standards-based compliance requirements. Moreover, they have constructed standards-based accountability regimes to measure the impact of educators’ professional learning soon after it is experienced. Yet the literature suggests that many benefits of professional learning emerge slowly over time, most professional...