Effectiveness of professional development for teachers in French- and English-medium public elementary schools in Quebec, Canada: A first descriptive survey

Participating in effective professional development (PD) is beneficial in many ways for teachers themselves, but also for improving school systems. “Effective” PD differs from “traditional” PD in that it employs elements known to support changes in teaching practices and in student learning. Characteristics of effective PD include collective participation, sustained duration, active learning and specific content focus, all within a coherent development process. Based on these effectiveness characteristics, the authors of this article conducted a survey to assess the PD provided to Quebec elementary (primary) school teachers ( N = 708) and to identify the content, the learning modes emphasised, the reasons why teachers participated, the perceived benefits, the impacts of participation, as well as the incentives for and potential barriers to participation. Overall, they found that teachers rarely participate in PD unless it has first been specifically offered to them. Although Quebec teachers have access to a relatively wide range of PD activities (e.g., in-school or out-of-school workshops, conferences, teacher networks, professional learning communities, university courses), there is still a need for improvement in terms of the inclusion of effectiveness characteristics in PD activities. The authors conclude their article with avenues for further research and recommendations to increase the effectiveness of teacher PD.