Context of actions related to the practice

The central role in school innovation is played by the individual teacher. She is the starting and ending point of change – the change-agent in this process.  Her professional self is the centre of  taking control. It is the outcome of a self organising process in which personal impulses and an ideal picture of the self are balanced. Self-reflection, self-exploration, self-efficacy and self-assessment are the key words in this concept. The teacher’s knowledge, abilities, beliefs and attitudes are the basics of effective change. The context of this personal development is related to the structure of the education system, which gives teachers more or less professional freedom and authority. So change is not the result of an isolated individual effort, but rather is mediated by dialogues, collegial exchange, collaborative work and participation in a community of practice.

Professional development therefore has to be individual and  flexible, socially and institutionally integrated.