INFORMING PRACTICE THROUGH TEACHER AUTONOMY: REFRAMING ONLINE CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO REFLECT TEACHERS’ IDENTITY, VOICE, AND AGENCY
Department of Languages, Cultural Studies and Applied Linguistics Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Tendayi Dzinoreva
2Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, Faculty of Education University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plays a critical role in enhancing teachers’ pedagogical competence and professional growth; however, traditional CPD models are often criticised for being top-down, generic, and insufficiently responsive to teachers’ identities, voices, and contextual realities. The emergence of online professional communities offers opportunities for more participatory and flexible learning, yet there remains limited understanding of how CPD can be reframed to centre teacher autonomy and identity. This study aimed to explore the changes teachers would like to see in current online CPD approaches to better reflect their professional identity, voice, and agency. A qualitative research approach, grounded in a constructivist paradigm, was employed. Data were collected from 100 teachers through an openended questionnaire, followed by semi-structured interviews with 20 purposively selected participants. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed four key themes: recognition and institutional validation of online CPD, structured follow-up communication and content sharing, teacher inclusion in CPD planning and programming, and the need for localised and contextual engagement. These findings indicate that teachers desire CPD models that are participatory, contextually relevant, and formally recognised, enabling them to act as cocreators of knowledge rather than passive recipients. The study recommends formal accreditation of online CPD, the design of teacher-led and participatory models, structured follow-up mechanisms, contextualised content, and stronger institutional support. It concludes that reframing CPD to centre teacher identity, voice, and agency is essential for fostering meaningful, inclusive, and transformative professional learning.
Keywords
continuous professional development, teacher agency, teacher identity, teacher voice, professional development
