In this study that draws from the fields of social psychology and multicultural education, 45 Arab and Jewish pre-service and 108 Arab and Jewish in-service teachers were presented with a program designed to foster intergroup empathy and inclusive views. The two groups went through a similar process: choosing their outgroup, finding media that…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of teachers in different professional development periods regarding their experience of traditional activities for continuing professional development (CPD). The participants were 45 teachers from three professional life periods on the basis of teaching experience. Teachers'…

Education is considered a path for escaping poverty. However, poverty and lack of success in school are closely linked. Understanding structural factors within society that cause poverty and their influence on learning and educational outcomes requires reshaping teacher education programmes. There is a need for programmes that adopt the social…

There is broad international recognition of the importance of ongoing professional learning opportunities for educators. Despite this seemingly global consensus, there is disagreement regarding the best ways to conceptualise teacher learning, and what kinds of learning should be promoted or counted. This article reports on a narrative inquiry…

Humans have a basic need to be constantly engaged in learning. The learning process, however, has undergone interesting changes as a result of the technological revolution, such as the advent of online learning. Technological changes in learning have also affected professional development courses. The purpose of this study is to compare attitudes…

Although there has been increased interest in what constitutes effective professional development (PD) for in-service teachers in recent decades, the literature indicates that the issue continues to promote ongoing debate. Based upon the findings of previous research, this qualitative study set out to determine the extent to which, how, and why a…

Evolution is a difficult topic to teach; teachers admit not having enough knowledge of evolution and they face student opposition to learning evolution, especially based on religious grounds. Teachers are therefore motivated to gain knowledge in the field of evolution. We conducted a 30-hour evolution teacher training course, which included…

The current study aimed to examine the perceptions of primary school teachers in different periods of their professional life regarding what constitutes professional development and their experiences with reformed professional development courses. Teachers (N = 45) were enrolled in the study from three professional life periods (entry-level,…

One of the most controversial problems regarding educational inclusion is the inherent contradiction between high demands and special needs. Faced with this challenge, many general education teachers turn to training programmes to compensate for special education knowledge they lack and to acquire special education teaching techniques. In this…

Following educational reform in Israel, teacher-leaders create and lead professional development communities (PDCs), which are professional learning communities with a focus on in-service professional development and/or improving pedagogical effectiveness. Interviews with 30 teacher-leaders and all four district-level program coordinators revealed…

Acknowledging the diverse perceptions about science-religion relationships among learners who come from various religious environments may increase learners' willingness to learn about evolution. This study is based on a zoology course designed for in-service teachers, which aimed to provide basic scientific knowledge about evolution using the…

Despite the growing body of research into writing for the professional development of teachers, studies exploring writing for the learning of teacher educators are scarce. This paper offers insight into the rich professional learning which can be experienced by teacher educators when they write and facilitate writing in dialogic learning…

This study explored Israeli elementary school mathematics teachers' perceptions of their professional needs, with the purpose of developing in-service training courses which cater to these needs. Eighty-four teachers responded to the questionnaire and were interviewed. The results indicate that the respondents' main needs are associated with…

This paper presents the major findings and recommendations from a formative evaluation of the first of a 2-year in-service training program. This program was designed for the professional development of math teachers. It was developed following an educational reform, which was meant to enhance the teachers' ability to generate changes in their…

English is solidly entrenched in Israel as the "first foreign language", as defined in the Policy on Language Education in Israeli Schools. The English curriculum published in 2001 expresses the view that English is the world's most important language and therefore requires the highest standards of teaching. This research examined how…