Local learning landscapes: conceptualising place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in decentralised education systems

This article sets out an original conceptual framework for place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in decentralised education systems. High quality Continuing Professional Development and Learning by teachers is associated with improvements in children’s outcomes. Most research in this area focuses on evaluating formal professional development programmes provided by external, non-school organisations. However, in practice, much professional learning is informal and takes place ‘on the job’. Meanwhile, in many systems globally, school leaders have been granted increased autonomy, for example taking on responsibility for the recruitment and professional development of staff. In these contexts, traditional place-based providers of professional development, such as Local Authorities and school districts, have been rolled back, while school leaders have been encouraged to draw on a wider marketplace of provision. These developments might create space for agency and innovation, but also present risks in terms of coherence, quality, and equity. For these reasons, we argue that there is a need to conceptualise the ways in which formal and informal learning occurs across complex local learning landscapes. We describe the iterative process through which the conceptual framework was developed before setting out the framework itself and the bodies of research and theory which underpin it. We draw on our empirical research using the framework in England to illustrate its three main contributions: as a heuristic device, an analytical tool, and an example of methodological innovation. We conclude by highlighting key implications for educational stakeholders, arguing that strengthening coherence, quality and equity across local learning landscapes in decentralised school systems requires attention to system governance and design as well as leadership and locality dynamics.