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Professional learning and development in Denmark: From formal competence development and professional learning communities to an emergence approach
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DOI:
Affiliations
- [1] Aarhus University [NORA names: AU Aarhus University; University; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD]
Abstract
In this chapter, we focus on approaches to professional learning and development (PLD) in Denmark since the 2014 national school reform. We describe how a formal competence development approach dominated in the initial phase and how this was gradually supplemented by a top-down-oriented teacher collaboration approach within the framework of professional learning communities (PLCs). A central assumption behind this emphasis on collaboration was that collaboration would lead to increased on-the-job learning through feedback and reflection. Neither of the recent PLD approaches, however, seems to have had a significant positive impact on students’ performance. In this chapter, we analyze the examples of teacher collaboration as part of the PLD initiatives in Denmark. By including a complexity-oriented theoretical perspective, this chapter advocates an approach according to which teacher collaboration and PLD should be observed as a result of emerging processes of organization and complexity management, rather than being the result of top-down management decisions.