Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the ongoing, career-long process through which teachers systematically maintain, develop, and broaden their knowledge, skills, and professional practice beyond initial training. CPD is distinct from pre-service qualifications like CELTA or a PGCE — it begins where initial training ends and continues throughout a teacher's entire career.
The British Council defines CPD as "a planned, continuous and lifelong process whereby teachers try to develop their personal and professional qualities, and to improve their knowledge, skills and practice, leading to their empowerment, the improvement of their agency and the development of their organisation and their pupils" (British Council CPD Framework, 2015).
Why CPD Matters
- Initial qualifications provide a foundation but cannot prepare teachers for every context they will encounter
- Teaching knowledge evolves — methods, materials, technology, and research findings change over time
- Experienced teachers can stagnate without deliberate development — years of experience alone do not guarantee expertise
- CPD bridges the gap between research and classroom practice
- Institutions with strong CPD cultures retain better teachers and produce better learner outcomes
CPD Frameworks
British Council CPD Framework
The British Council's CPD Framework (revised 2025) consists of 12 professional practices covering the full range of knowledge and skills a teacher needs. Each practice is broken down into elements, and teachers self-evaluate across four stages of development.
The framework is designed to be:
- Self-directed — teachers identify their own priorities
- Context-sensitive — applicable across different teaching settings worldwide
- Evidence-based — grounded in research on effective teaching
Cambridge English Teaching Framework
The Cambridge English Teaching Framework describes teacher competency across four stages (Foundation, Developing, Proficient, Expert) and five categories. It provides a complementary lens for CPD planning, with specific descriptors for what teachers can do at each stage.
Key Difference
The British Council framework focuses on what teachers should develop (professional practices). The Cambridge framework focuses on what teachers can do at each stage (competency descriptors). Both are useful for CPD planning.
Types of CPD Activity
| Category | Activities | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| Formal courses | DELTA, MA TESOL, TKT, online certificates | Structured, often assessed |
| Self-directed learning | Professional reading, webinars, podcasts, conferences | Flexible, interest-driven |
| Reflective practice | Teaching journals, video self-review, critical incident analysis | Individual, ongoing |
| Collaborative | Peer Observation, lesson study, team teaching, PLCs | Social, shared expertise |
| Research-based | Action Research, exploratory practice, reading groups | Systematic inquiry |
| Mentoring | Being mentored or mentoring others | Relational, developmental |
| Institutional | Workshops, in-service training, observation feedback | Organised by employer |
| Online communities | Social media groups, forums, blogs, Twitter/X chats | Informal, networked |
Richards and Farrell (2005) distinguish between training (learning specific skills or knowledge, often externally directed) and development (longer-term growth in understanding of teaching, often self-directed). Effective CPD includes both.
Principles of Effective CPD
Research consistently identifies what makes CPD work (Borg, 2015; Kennedy, 2005; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017):
- Sustained over time — one-off workshops have minimal lasting impact; CPD needs continuity
- Classroom-embedded — connected to real teaching practice, not abstract theory
- Teacher-owned — driven by self-identified needs and interests, not imposed
- Collaborative — teachers learning with and from each other
- Evidence-informed — grounded in research and linked to student outcomes
- Supported by the institution — time, resources, and a culture that values development
- Reflective — includes structured reflection on what was learned and how to apply it
CPD Planning
A practical CPD cycle:
- Audit — Where am I now? (self-assessment against a framework)
- Identify — What do I want to develop? (specific, manageable goals)
- Plan — How will I develop it? (select appropriate activities)
- Act — Engage in the CPD activities
- Reflect — What did I learn? How has my practice changed?
- Evidence — Document the learning (portfolio, journal, observation records)
- Repeat — CPD is cyclical, not linear
Challenges
| Challenge | Reality |
|---|---|
| Time | Teachers have full schedules; CPD competes with marking, planning, and personal life |
| Cost | Formal courses and conferences require funding that many teachers lack |
| Isolation | Teachers in small schools or remote areas may lack peers for collaboration |
| Relevance | Top-down CPD imposed by institutions often fails to address individual needs |
| Measurement | Demonstrating the impact of CPD on student outcomes is methodologically difficult |
| Sustainability | Initial enthusiasm fades without ongoing support and accountability |
CPD at English House
As Academic Manager, Q supports CPD at EH through:
- Regular developmental observations with structured feedback
- Weekly pedagogical meetings for collaborative professional learning
- Materials development as an embedded form of professional growth
- Encouraging reflective practice through post-lesson discussion
- Building a culture where development is ongoing, not event-based
Key References
- Borg, S. (2015). Teacher Research for Professional Development. British Council.
- British Council. (2015). Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for Teachers. British Council.
- Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E. & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional Development. Learning Policy Institute.
- Kennedy, A. (2005). Models of continuing professional development. Journal of In-service Education, 31(2), 235–250.
- Richards, J. C. & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional Development for Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.
- Mann, S. (2005). The language teacher's development. Language Teaching, 38(3), 103–118.
See Also
- Teacher Professional Development — the broader TPD landscape
- Cambridge English Teaching Framework — competency framework for development planning
- Action Research — research-based CPD
- Reflective Practice — the engine of ongoing development
- Mentoring — relational CPD
- Peer Observation — collaborative CPD through mutual observation