Teacher CPD across borders: Reflections on how a study tour to England helped to change practice and praxis among Jamaican teachers

Abstract

The professional development of teachers and school leaders is an important factor in improving the overall quality and effectiveness of schools. Teachers and Principals who are well trained and who have exposure to different educational systems are in a position to draw on their experiences of other systems to improve outcomes for their classrooms, staffrooms and institutions as a whole. Reflecting on our own experiences of organising and delivering a Study Tour, we also present the experiences of Jamaican public educators on a recent Study Tour to England. From their feedback, it is clear that this experiential approach to capacity building has gone some way in stimulating participants’ thinking as regards their practice and how this can be improved, underpinned by Hargreaves and Fullan’s (2012) notion of reconceptualising professional capital and Mintzberg (2004) view of global mindsets.