The Dominican educational system has conventionally adopted fragmented and decontextualized workshops delivered by external entities as its in-service teacher education model. Although teachers are required to participate in those traditional modules annually, international reviews of the Dominican educational system show that traditional teacher professional development (TPD) workshops have not improved teaching and learning in the Dominican context [3][8]. Moreover, research more broadly indicates that traditional TPD is an ineffective vehicle to promote teachers’ learning and professional improvement [14][33]. However, a growing body of TPD research directly links teacher professional growth and continual learning to collaborative activities that occur in the classroom and school context [4][19]. This paper examines how the Dominican Ministry of Education (MINERD) frames TPD, and how this conception reinforces teachers’ professional status quo. It argues that MINERD should restructure the current TPD model to incorporate the teacher Community of Learning framework. This approach promotes teachers’ continual learning by encouraging the performance of professional activities responsive to everyday, culturally situated classroom and school realities.

Published in: London International Conference on Education (LICE-2016)

• Date of Conference: 14-17 November 2016
• DOI: 10.2053/LICE.2016.0049
• ISBN: 978-1-908320-76-6
• Conference Location: Heathrow Windsor Marriott Hotel, UK