Description
Teachers’ individual and collective capability is key to a successful whole-school approach to curriculum implementation. School and curriculum leaders design strategic and evidence-informed approaches to professional learning to build teacher capability in using the Australian Curriculum.
A balanced approach to professional learning deepens teachers' understanding of the curriculum content they teach. It also strengthens their ability to apply effective teaching and learning strategies in the classroom.
Key points
- School and curriculum leaders build teacher capability by leading professional learning. They facilitate collaborative processes that deepen curriculum knowledge and strengthen instructional confidence.
- The goal is to enable a capable, confident teaching workforce, skilled and knowledgeable in the Australian Curriculum and its implementation.
- Leaders work with teachers to evaluate areas of strength and areas that require further support.
- Aspect overview
- Guiding questions and AITSL standards
- Out-of-field teaching
- Support resources
- Research and further reading
Overview
Professional learning is the formal or informal learning experiences undertaken by teachers and school and curriculum leaders that improve their individual professional practice, and a school’s collective effectiveness, as measured by improved student learning, engagement with learning and wellbeing. At its most effective, professional learning develops individual and collective capacity across the teaching profession to address current and future challenges.
The Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2022
An intentional approach to professional learning should deepen teachers’ understanding of the curriculum and strengthen their ability to apply effective teaching and learning strategies in the classroom. A key focus of professional learning is ensuring teachers have a thorough understanding of the curriculum and its rationale, aims and structure. Teachers need to know how to navigate the Australian Curriculum, use it as a foundation for assessment, and adapt it to support students with diverse needs and abilities.
When teachers feel confident in their understanding of the curriculum and know their students, they are better prepared to:
- make evidence-informed decisions about the most suitable strategies for different learners, leading to more targeted and effective teaching
- adjust instruction to meet a variety of student needs, fostering higher engagement and achievement
- support a positive learning environment, as confidence reduces stress and allows for more proactive relationship-building and classroom management.
Teachers with deep curriculum knowledge and confidence are better positioned to implement effective practices. These practices ensure consistency and high standards across all classrooms and promote collective teacher efficacy. Well-planned, intentional professional learning builds a culture of continuous improvement. Teachers feel supported, capable and motivated to deliver engaging and impactful learning experiences.
Planning professional learning begins with identifying teacher needs at both an individual and collective level. Simple approaches such as self-reflections or self-nomination strategies can provide valuable insights for shared professional goal setting. This information helps schools shape professional learning approaches that are targeted, purposeful and responsive at the whole-school level. A school-wide approach to improving knowledge and understanding of curriculum empowers teachers to create effective teaching and learning plans tailored to their specific context. It also strengthens their capacity to contribute to whole-school curriculum planning.
Collaborating with other schools
Collaboration with other schools when building teacher capability in relation to the Australian Curriculum supports sharing of ideas, resources and expertise, and reducing teacher workload.
This collaboration may include the sharing of:
- expertise specific to learning areas or stages of schooling
- effective approaches to using curriculum when planning
- best practices in gathering and interpreting information about student achievement
- human resources.
It is important to ensure collaboration across schools has a clear purpose and shared goals, which are communicated to all participants. To successfully build teacher capability, research recommends active collaboration. This is where teachers learn from each other through joint research, mentoring, coaching, and activities that are designed to improve student outcomes. Collaboration focused on simply sharing resources or administrative tasks that may support reducing workload are less effective at improving outcomes for students.
By working together, schools can create learning experiences that benefit all students. Teacher workload and the drive to develop approaches from scratch are reduced through collaborating with educators and sharing expertise within and across schools.
School and curriculum leaders may also consider other curriculum leadership aspects to support the development of a whole-school approach to building teacher capability. Consider the following questions when making decisions about existing approaches and staff needs in developing a whole-school approach to implementing the Australian Curriculum.
Using the Australian Curriculum
How will the approach to building teacher capability include opportunities for teachers to deepen their understanding of the Australian Curriculum?
Sequencing learning
How will building teacher capability in using the curriculum enhance teachers’ capacity to design effective learning sequences?
Including all learners
How will teachers be supported to use the curriculum effectively to plan for all learners?
Aligning curriculum and assessment
What additional support will teachers need to ensure their assessment design is curriculum aligned?
Planning for multi-age classes
What are the professional learning needs of teachers in your school when planning for multi-age classes?
Engaging with community
How would engaging with different community groups in your area support teachers to develop curriculum-focused learning based in real world contexts?
Evaluating resources
How does building curriculum expertise enable teachers to make good decisions about which resources will be most effective for use in classrooms?
Reflect–Act–Evaluate cycle
The Reflect–Act–Evaluate cycle is a practical framework designed to support continuous improvement. It encourages thoughtful engagement by guiding leaders through 3 key phases.
Reflect: this phase invites leaders to pause and consider current practices, beliefs and outcomes. It promotes deeper understanding by asking, “What is happening?” and “Why is it happening?” before moving to action.
Act: based on insights gained through reflection, this phase focuses on intentional decision-making and implementation. It asks, “What will we do?” and “How will we do it?” to ensure actions are purposeful and aligned with school priorities.
Evaluate: after action is taken, this phase supports review and learning. It prompts leaders to ask, “What changed?” and “What did we learn?” to assess impact and inform future cycles of improvement.
Figure 1: The Reflect–Act–Evaluate cycle
Guiding questions
The guiding questions in the accordions below are structured around the ‘Reflect–Act–Evaluate' cycle. They help school and curriculum leaders reflect on current approaches to curriculum implementation and lead discussions with teachers. School and curriculum leaders should select from these questions to support decision-making and discussions when reflecting on, actioning and evaluating a whole-school approach to professional learning related to the Australian Curriculum.
Reflect How does our professional learning keep teachers up to date with evidence-based practices that support student learning and curriculum planning?
Act How can we stay informed about current evidence-based practices and intentionally integrate them into professional learning offerings?
Evaluate How have we ensured that professional learning is research-informed and contributes to improved student outcomes and more effective curriculum planning?
Reflect How do we tailor professional learning to teachers’ experience and areas of expertise?
Act What processes help us identify teachers’ needs and goals, and differentiate professional learning accordingly?
Evaluate To what extent did our differentiated professional learning improve teacher practice in ways that align with their learning needs and development goals?
Reflect How do we support teachers to gain additional qualifications and curriculum expertise, especially those teaching out-of-field?
Act How can we support teachers in gaining advanced qualifications to strengthen curriculum knowledge and implementation, especially when teaching out-of-field?
Evaluate How effectively have we supported teachers engaging in advanced study, especially when teaching out-of-field? How has this contributed to improved curriculum implementation and teaching practice?
Reflect How do we ensure collaboration time is used efficiently and leveraged to reduce individual teacher workload?
Act What collaborative structures and practices can we implement to provide meaningful workload relief and improve the quality of planning and instruction?
Evaluate What impact did collaborative structures and practices have on teacher workload, instructional quality and student outcomes?
Reflect How are we sharing and using expertise across schools to strengthen curriculum planning and student learning, and support interschool collaboration?
Act How can we identify and share expertise across schools to improve curriculum planning and student outcomes?
Evaluate To what extent is shared expertise having a positive impact on curriculum and student learning?
Reflect How do we identify what support teachers need to understand and implement the curriculum effectively?
Act What strategies can we use to determine teachers' curriculum knowledge and implementation needs?
Evaluate How effectively did our strategies reveal teacher strengths and gaps, and inform targeted support for curriculum implementation?
Reflect How do we decide which curriculum-related professional learning is needed across the whole school?
Act What data sources and stakeholder input will inform our decisions about curriculum-related professional learning priorities?
Evaluate How well did our professional learning plan align with school-wide curriculum goals and teacher needs?
Reflect What processes do we have in place to identify the needs of teachers who are teaching out-of-field in our school?
Act What actions can we take to support teachers who are teaching out-of-field?
Evaluate How do we know our approaches have been effective in providing the support teachers required?
Reflect How effectively are collaborative practices supporting out-of-field teachers to plan, teach and assess using the Australian Curriculum?
Act What collaborative practices will we strengthen to support consistent curriculum implementation?
Evaluate What evidence shows that collaboration is improving consistency of curriculum implementation?
Reflect Are out-of-field allocations stable across terms and years, or are teachers assigned different out-of-field learning areas each term? What are the implications of this?
Act What actions can our school take to help provide consistency over time for those teachers teaching out-of-field?
Evaluate How has the support we provided improved the out-of-field teacher's confidence and approaches to curriculum implementation over time? What else could we do?
Reflect How well do we understand where out-of-field teaching is occurring, and its impact on curriculum planning, sequencing and assessment?
Act What processes will we implement to identify and respond to the curriculum implementation needs of teachers working out-of-field?
Evaluate What evidence shows that our processes and actions to support teachers working out-of-field improved curriculum planning, sequencing and assessment?
AITSL standards
School and curriculum leaders understand their role as instructional leaders as they plan to build teacher capability to effectively use the Australian Curriculum. They are responsible for identifying opportunities for learning that enable teachers to collaborate, reflect and engage in professional discussions to strengthen their Australian Curriculum knowledge, understanding and skills.
The information that follows outlines the relevant standards from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Australian Professional Standard for Principals, Australian Professional Standards for Middle Leaders and the Australian Professional Standards for teachers: Lead career stage. These standards have been identified to support school and curriculum leaders in implementing whole school approaches to building teacher capability.
Professional practice: Leading teaching and learning
- Principals create a positive culture of challenge and support, enabling effective teaching that promotes enthusiastic, independent learners, committed to lifelong learning. Principals have a key responsibility for developing a culture of effective teaching, for leading, designing and managing the quality of teaching and learning and for students’ achievement in all aspects of their development. They set high expectations for the whole school through careful collaborative planning, monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of learning. Principals set high standards of behaviour and attendance, encouraging active engagement and a strong student voice.
Professional practice: Developing self and others
- Principals work with and through others to build a professional learning community that is focused on continuous improvement of teaching and learning. Through managing performance, effective continuing professional learning and feedback, they support all staff to achieve high standards and develop their leadership capacity. Principals support others to build capacity and treat people fairly and with respect. They model effective leadership and are committed to their own ongoing professional development and personal health and wellbeing in order to manage the complexity of the role and the range of learning capabilities and actions required of the role.
Enabling standards
Standard 2 Enabling knowledge and skills
- Middle leaders draw on, and support others to develop clusters of knowledge and skills to solve problems of teaching and learning while building trust with those involved. The enabling knowledge and skills describe the how of effective school leadership and are enablers towards building a culture of learning across the school. This standard describes middle leaders leading with a strong sense of who they are, what they know and do and how they draw on their knowledge and skills to help all students achieve.
2a Using relevant knowledge
- The ability to use and source knowledge to enhance the attainment of improvement goals.
2b Solving complex problems
- The ability to lead the analysis and resolution of complex problems related directly to teaching and learning. Work through problems collaboratively, systematically, and iteratively
Core standards
Standard 4 Coordinating high-impact teaching and learning
- Middle leaders can have responsibilities for coordinating the delivery of quality programs of instruction to build students’ content knowledge and skills with high expectations of student progress and achievement. Practices within this standard align curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to meet learner needs and maximise learning progress for all learners. In demonstrating the practices described in this standard the middle leader will draw, in particular, on deep knowledge of evidence-based teaching practices combined with educational insights from cognitive science and other research on how students learn. They will also draw on their knowledge of curriculum content, progressions and assessment to enable student learning progress to be monitored and improved over time.
4a Curriculum
- Providing a clear, structured and knowledge-rich curriculum with high expectations of systematically building students’ content knowledge, skills and understandings to enable learning progress for all students.
Standard 5 Leading improvement in teaching practice
- Leading improvement through collaboration and teamwork is central to the work of middle leaders. Middle leaders are often key to implementing the school’s instructional improvement agenda, using their understanding of research evidence about improvement combined with their deep knowledge of school data. They work collaboratively with staff to implement actions to improve teaching and learning and cultivate a sense of collective efficacy. Middle leaders have a strong focus on continuous professional learning for themselves and their staff, with a focus on supporting classroom implementation of evidence-based practice. They provide support and challenge through provision of constructive feedback while collaborating with staff to improve practice and amplify impact which may occur through a model of mentoring, coaching and professional inquiry.
5a Professional learning
- Increasing teachers’ capacity to improve student progress and achievement in all targeted areas of their development through a culture of continuous professional learning.
5c Collaborative practice
- Leveraging collaborative practice to monitor and improve the impact of teaching on student learning and wellbeing.
Professional knowledge
Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
- Lead initiatives within the school to evaluate and improve knowledge of content and teaching strategies and demonstrate exemplary teaching of subjects using effective, research-based learning and teaching programs.
2.2 Content selection and organisation
- Lead initiatives that utilise comprehensive content knowledge to improve the selection and sequencing of content into coherently organised learning and teaching programs.
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
- Lead colleagues to develop learning and teaching programs using comprehensive knowledge of curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements.
Professional practice
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals
- Demonstrate exemplary practice and high expectations and lead colleagues to encourage students to pursue challenging goals in all aspects of their education.
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
- Exhibit exemplary practice and lead colleagues to plan, implement and review the effectiveness of their learning and teaching programs to develop students’ knowledge, understanding and skills.
Professional engagement
Standard 6 Engage in professional learning
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs
- Use comprehensive knowledge of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to plan and lead the development of professional learning policies and programs that address the professional learning needs of colleagues and pre-service teachers.
6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice
- Initiate collaborative relationships to expand professional learning opportunities, engage in research, and provide quality opportunities and placements for pre-service teachers.
6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice
- Implement professional dialogue within the school or professional learning network(s) that is informed by feedback, analysis of current research and practice to improve the educational outcomes of students.
6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
- Advocate, participate in and lead strategies to support high-quality professional learning opportunities for colleagues that focus on improved student learning.
Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community
7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities
- Take a leadership role in professional and community networks and support the involvement of colleagues in external learning opportunities.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Lead Career Stage
Out-of-field
Teaching out-of-field refers to a phenomenon where teachers are allocated classes that are different to their training background, qualifications, and expertise.
Hobbs et al. (2022:8)
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Australian teacher workforce data (2025) shows that in the 2022–23 period, 49% of those teaching secondary students taught at least one subject in areas for which they were not specifically qualified. This percentage varies across learning areas and specialisations, and is influenced by other factors such as geolocation and career stage. Experiences of out-of-field teaching may range from one or 2 ad hoc lessons, to filling the timetable for a particular learning area for a term, to longer or more frequent placements.
Description
There are many ways that out-of-field teaching may be categorised. Out-of-field experiences may include teachers teaching:
- in a learning area or subject for which they do not hold qualifications; for example, Physical Education teachers teaching Mathematics
- outside of the stage of schooling in which they are qualified to teach; for example, secondary teachers allocated to upper primary classes
- in a specialised area where they have general but not specialised qualifications; for example, a teacher qualified broadly in science assigned to a specialist chemistry class.
School and curriculum leaders who can accurately identify out-of-field teaching in their context are better placed to provide appropriate support.
Considerations
Teachers who are teaching out-of-field may require additional support when:
- planning learning area content with which they are unfamiliar
- sequencing what is taught, when and in what order, so that students’ knowledge, understanding and skills build logically
- selecting and evaluating teaching materials and resources to use in classrooms
- making necessary adjustments so that all learners have access to the curriculum and can participate and progress in their learning
- designing and implementing formative and summative assessments for an unfamiliar learning area
- effectively interpreting the evidence of student learning collected from assessments
- engaging confidently with families and other community members.
Leadership actions
When developing a whole-school approach to curriculum planning, school and curriculum leaders should consider the specific needs of out-of-field teachers and the supports they might need to build their curriculum planning capability.
These supports may include:
- targeted professional learning in their out-of-field learning area
- dedicated time for mentoring from a learning area or stage of schooling colleague
- shoulder-to-shoulder coaching
- access to learning area professional associations and communities of practice in their out-of-field learning area.
School leaders are at the coal face of dealing with teacher shortages and allocation. How principals and middle leaders (such as heads of department) support and mentor out-of-field teachers can determine the nature of the ‘lived experience’ of teachers, and teachers’ capacity to learn to teach out-of-field.
Hobbs et al. (2022:6)
Staff meeting resources
These resources provide a structured starting point for collaborative discussion and reflection on current approaches to whole-school curriculum planning. They include facilitator notes, activity documents and supporting presentation slides designed to guide whole-school reflection and planning.
The materials are flexible and can be adapted to suit different school contexts, priorities and focus areas for discussion.
The facilitator notes and accompanying presentation slides have been developed to support whole group discussions when reflecting on current approaches to building teacher capability.
Presentation materials
Building teacher capability facilitator notes
Building teacher capability PowerPoint presentation
Documents
Professional learning for school and curriculum leaders
ACARA has developed a professional learning course to support school and curriculum leaders to develop a deeper understanding of the advice, resources and research in the Building teacher capability aspect. This course will support leaders to:
- recognise strategies for building teacher capability in curriculum planning
- identify essential knowledge and leadership actions that could strengthen teacher capability
- select from a set of practical next steps to build teachers’ curriculum planning capability.
This course supports school and curriculum leaders to reflect on current practice and initiate planning a whole-school approach to curriculum implementation.
Access to this course is through ACARA’s Professional Learning Hub.
ACARA resources
ACARA provides professional learning for all educators to deepen their understanding of the Australian Curriculum. Free, self-paced online professional learning can be accessed through the Professional Learning Hub. It is designed to build deep familiarity with the Australian Curriculum.
The courses currently available to strengthen teachers’ knowledge and confidence in using the Australian Curriculum include:
This course covers the key changes in the Australian Curriculum from Version 8.4 to Version 9.0. It is presented as a series of videos. There is a course for each learning area, a combined course for the cross-curriculum priorities and a combined course for the general capabilities. There is also a course for the key changes to the Foundation year of schooling.
This course covers the intent and structure of each learning area and the subjects for Humanities and Social Sciences in Years 7–10. The course is presented as a series of interactive learning experiences. It is designed to promote teacher engagement with the background information available on the website for each learning area. The focus is to develop a deeper understanding of the rationale, aims and structure of each learning area.
This course covers the intent and connections between the strands and sub-strands of each learning area. The course is presented as a series of interactive learning experiences. It is designed to improve teachers’ understanding of the flexible ways content can be addressed within each learning area.
This course supports teachers in developing a deeper understanding of the Curriculum, Abilities, Standards, Evaluation (CASE) model for personalised learning. It explores how to deconstruct the achievement standards and content descriptions, identify strengths and barriers, and apply universally designed strategies to address students’ learning needs.
National resources
In addition to the work of ACARA, there are a range of national resources that school and curriculum leaders can access and use with staff. These resources will support developing teachers’ capability, and building knowledge and expertise related to the Australian Curriculum.
Access national resources through the links below.
Australian Academy of Science Education
Civics and Citizenship Education Hub
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on Students with Disability
Subject associations
Connecting teachers, including those who are teaching out-of-field, with the relevant learning area professional associations and communities of practice may help provide support and access to relevant information and professional learning. These associations can be accessed through the Australian Alliance of Associations in Education.
Leading professional learning
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has developed a range of resources to support school leaders and teachers as they work together to build a collaborative learning culture in their school. The following links are provided to support school and curriculum leaders as they work to develop their own knowledge and expertise when developing professional learning for teachers.
Quality teaching modules Module 2 in this series of self-paced online courses is focused on helping teachers and leaders understand effective approaches to professional development.
Spotlight: Middle leadership in Australian Schools This spotlight highlights the important role middle leaders take in supporting teachers across multiple domains, including building curriculum expertise and designing professional learning.
Improving teacher professional learning This is a complete guide to understanding and leading professional learning in your context.
High-quality professional learning This spotlight highlights the complexities of professional learning and the importance of the school leader in supporting teacher agency.
Teacher self-assessment tool This teacher self-assessment tool helps teachers to review their teaching practice. It can be used alongside the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to set goals and plan relevant professional development pathways.
Shifting the culture of out-of-field professional education for teachers (SCOPE-T Project)
An Australian Research Council funded study, led by Deakin University, examines the factors that influence out-of-field teachers’ uptake of professional education. It maps the ecosystem of providers, institutions and policy settings through which that professional education is delivered. The study responds to a nationally recognised lack of a coherent, accessible and valued system of professional education specifically designed to support out-of-field teachers in building in-field capability.
Visit Shifting the culture of out-of-field professional education for teachers for more information.
Research
Dabrowski A and Mitchell P (2021) Professional Learning Modes, Literature Review, Australian Council for Educational Research, doi:10.37517/978-1-74286-695-6.
Darling-Hammond L, Hyler ME and Gardner M (2017) Effective Teacher Professional Development, Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute, accessed 3 September 2025.
Du Plessis A (2021) Out-of-field Teaching and Education Policy: International Micro-Education Policy, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1948-2.
Evidence for Learning (2022) Effective Professional Development, Evidence for Learning, Sydney, accessed 3 September 2025.
Gore J, Lloyd A, Smith M, Bowe J, Ellis H and Lubans D (2017) “Effects of professional development on the quality of teaching: Results from a randomised controlled trial of Quality Teaching Rounds”, Teaching and Teacher Education, 68:99–113, doi:10.1016/j.tate.2017.08.007.
Hobbs L, Campbell C, Delaney S, Speldewinde C and Lai J (2020) Defining and Mapping Out-of-Field Teaching in Victorian Government Schools, Report prepared for the Victorian Department of Education and Training.
Hobbs L, Du Plessis AE, Oates G, Caldis S, McKnight L, Vale C, O’Connor M, Rochette E, Watt H, Weldon R, Richardson P and Bateup C (2022) National Summit on Teaching Out-of-field: Synthesis and Recommendations for Policy, Practice and Research, https://ooftas-collective.squarespace.com/s/TOOF-National-Summit-Report.doc, accessed 22 May 2026.
Hobbs, L and Porsch R (2021) “Teaching out-of-field: Challenges for teacher education”, European Journal of Teacher Education, 44(5), 601–610. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1985280.
Lay CD, Allman B, Cutri RM and Kimmons R (2020) “Examining a Decade of Research in Online Teacher Professional Development”, Frontiers in Education, 5:573129, doi:10.3389/feduc.2020.573129.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2019) TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, OECD Publishing, accessed 3 September 2025.
OECD (2020) Innovating teachers’ professional learning through digital technologies, OECD Publishing, accessed 3 September 2025.
Timperley H (2008) “Teacher professional learning and development”, Educational Practices Series, International Bureau of Education, accessed 3 September 2025.
Further reading
ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) (2023) School Improvement Tool, ACER, doi:10.37517/978-1-74286-700-7.
AERO (Australian Education Research Organisation) (2025) Professional learning research insight: Motivations for schools participating in external professional learning, AERO, accessed 15 December 2025.
AERO (2022) Using professional learning communities to improve student outcomes: Case study, AERO, accessed 15 December 2025.
AITSL (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) (n.d.) Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders, AITSL, accessed 15 December 2025.
AITSL (n.d.) High Quality Professional Learning Toolkit, AITSL, accessed 15 December 2025.
AITSL (2019a) SPOTLIGHT Professional Learning for Rural, Regional and Remote Teachers, AITSL, accessed 15 December 2025.
AITSL (2019b) SPOTLIGHT Professional Learning for Relief Teachers (PDF 1.4 MB), AITSL, accessed 15 December 2025.
Earp J (host) and Goos M (2 May 2024) Podcast special: Out-of-field teaching (podcast), Teacher Magazine, accessed 18 May 2026.
Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Effective Professional Development, Education Endowment Foundation, accessed 15 December 2025.
Hudson C (2024) “A conceptual Framework for Understanding Effective Professional Learning Community (PLC) Operation in Schools”, Journal of Education 2024, 204(3):649–659, doi:10.1177/00220574231197364.
Luft JA, Hanuscin D, Hobbs L and Törner G (2020) “Out-of-Field Teaching in Science: An Overlooked Problem”, Journal of Science Teacher Education, 31(7), 719–724, https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2020.1814052.
Russell D (2018) “Professional learning: Implementing Collaborative teams”, Teacher magazine, accessed 15 December 2025.
Shah C, Richardson P and Watt H (2020) Teaching ‘out of field’ in STEM subjects in Australia: Evidence from PISA 2015, GLO Discussion Paper 511, https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/215639, accessed 5 June 2026.
Wheeley E, Klieve H, Park E and Du Plessis A (2023) “Preservice teachers’ perceptions about Out-of-Field Teaching: Perceived implications for students, teachers, and schools”, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 48(4). https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5619&context=ajte, accessed 5 June 2026.