The RESPOND framework for school development as a professional learning environment

In recent years, a substantial body of literature has focused on the need for school development as way to improving learning outcomes for students (Day et al., 2016; Sammons et al., 2014). In the RESPOND project we have been particularly concerned with linking the ultimate goal of the achieve ment of students as learners to that of teachers as professional learners and investigating how in this respect the school can envisage itself as both a learning environment for students and a professional learning environment for teachers. This involves building collaborative structures and practices within the school community based on a process of collaborative inquiry in which teachers work together to research systematically their own educational practice. Thestructures should facilitate reflection both as individual thinking and dialogue between colleagues leading to adjusting teacher practice. This involves teachers monitoring their teaching practice to determine if it is hav ing an impact on student learning and drawing conclusions that become the occasion for professional learning. It also requires a school development pro cess that informs, promotes, supports and satisfies individual and collective professional learning needs.