Impact of CONTESSA Project on the Development of Blended Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) of Teacher Educators: The Case of Sri Lanka

Professional Learning Community is a communal model of professional development in educational settings. Professional Learning Communities is a concept that is hardly discussed in Sri Lanka, neither in teacher development nor in teacher educator professional development. Academic staff recruited to faculties and departments of education in Sri Lanka are required to perform as teacher educators without any formal induction or any continuing professional training within their career until retirement. Teacher educators in Sri Lanka need to develop their own professional competencies, knowledge, and pedagogy ‘on the job’ while performing their role as teacher educators. The project CONTESSA aimed at the capacity building of teachers and teacher trainees by developing the professional capacities of teacher educators. This paper analyses the impact of CONTESSA in developing a culture of PLC to enhance their professional capacities.