Examination of teacher professional development from a continuity perspective

This study aimed to present a model that explains how teachers who are in the process of pedagogical change can sustain these changes in the context of professional development. The participants of the study are five teachers who participated in the same professional development program and are in the process of pedagogical change. After the program, professional development studies in a learning community were continued with the participants for four years and the pedagogical facts they could maintain were examined. Constructivist grounded theory methodology was adopted in the research. Data were collected through repeated and focus group interviews and researcher notes. According to the results of the research, the Continuity of Professional Development model, which explains the continuity of teachers' professional development, has been put forward. According to this model, the continuity of teachers' professional development can be explained by the teacher identity, which consists of phenomena such as the beliefs and needs they have developed in their profession, the environment in which they continue their professional development, pedagogical skills and continuity mechanisms.