Teacher professional learning in Scotland during (and after) the COVID-19 pandemic: A story of hope and humanity?

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic changed teachers’ personal and professional lives almost overnight as we all moved our lives online to be at a safe social distance from each other. In some ways this has been a leveller in that almost nobody has escaped the influence of the pandemic, but COVID-related mitigations in teacher professional learning have undoubtedly made issues of access and equity better for some and more challenging for others. This article explores how these changes to teacher professional learning in Scotland have both advantaged and disadvantaged particular teachers in particular contexts. It then goes on to illuminate how elements of the pre-pandemic dominant discourse in teacher professional learning have been both maintained and disrupted. The article concludes by articulating a series of lessons learned: things to be kept, nurtured, and developed; things to be avoided or to be wary of; and excitingly, things that might be possible in the future as a result of this experience. Keywords: teacher professional learning; COVID-19; Scotland; professional standards; discourse; rural