Exploring Possibilities for Holistic Professional Development

Reflections on an Experimental Program

Abstract

Dominant Western approaches to teachers' professional development (PD) remain rooted in the technical rationality of the early 20th century. This paradigm strives for a decontextualized universality of "what works" in PD through a commitment to precision and objectivity in methods and measurements. Unfortunately, this paradigm cannot adequately address the multidimensional complexity of individual teaching and learning contexts. In its attempts to construct universal best practices through the isolation of one variable at a time, the lens of technical rationality instead contributes to the fragmentation of teaching and ignores the diversity of teachers, learners, and environments in schools. A holistic approach to PD, however, draws on this complexity and diversity to nurture teachers' relationships with their own soul, their students, their colleagues, and their world. This paper presents and explores an example of a holistic approach to PD in a secondary school in Ontario. The justification and design of the approach is outlined in detail, followed by a summary of its strengths and limitations based on participants feedback and facilitator reflections. Based on the overwhelmingly positive responses, further research into holistic approaches to PD is encouraged.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Laurie Fraser, whose embodiment of the principles and spirit of holistic approaches to education was instrumental in the co-design and co-facilitation of this professional learning experience. This experience, and this paper, would not have been possible without her.