Beyond reproduction: the transformative potential of professional learning

There is an often unquestioned assumption that professional learning and development (PLD) is unequivocally a 'good thing' (Stevenson Citation2019). However, this assumption belies a much more complex situation, fraught with challenges. Numerous studies have demonstrated that teachers can experience significant barriers when trying to access PLD (OECD Citation2014), including limited access to appropriate opportunities, having insufficient time to undertake the opportunities that are available and that even when teachers do participate in PLD activities, impact can be limited (McChesney and Aldridge Citation2021). These are important challenges and should not be dismissed. However, they tend to generate policy responses that focus only on identifying 'what works' solutions within a set of parameters that do not question ‘what matters’ (Biesta Citation2007).