Thirty Years of Professional Development of Teachers in the Czech Republic: A review study

Abstract

The paper deals with the topic of the development of the professional development of teachers in the Czech Republic during the last thirty years in order to gain a better understanding of the context of this phenomenon. The first part presents an outline of research, projects, and legislative changes implemented from the 1990s until nowadays. Changes in the terminology used and benefits of the projects that have not yet been reflected on through educational policy are recorded. The second part presents a narrative review study, which analyses 21 selected studies on the basis of established criteria to answer research questions focused on the methodology they used and the main findings of the individual studies. The outputs are presented by using several main topics to which the findings relate. Themes such as trust, cooperation among teachers, and reflection are essential for the effective development of teachers and are the subject of projects implemented in recent years. New methods and tools are introduced, such as reflective video recordings, which can be used for the effective implementation of teachers’ professional development. Over the past thirty years, pedagogical research has brought major findings in the field of the professional development of teachers and continues to further explore phenomena associated with it. Therefore, the question is how educational policy, or pedagogical practice, will work with these outputs.