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Collaborative professional development for inclusive teaching is a limited area of research, although there is an extensive need for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teachers. Research findings of how teachers’ professional development can contribute to support the development of powerful learning situations for all students are presented in this special issue. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge of how the use of lesson study can develop teachers’ capabilities to offer high-quality education for students with SEND.

The guest editor presents each of the papers and introduces key themes and concepts.

The collection of papers is divided into two themes; the first has a focus on lesson study used by teacher educators during SEND in-service training. In this theme, the teachers are the students who are studying different fields of SEND, supported by teacher educators. The second theme studies different forms of lesson studies carried out by researchers and teachers in the collaboration focused aspects of content that are of importance for students in SEND.

The papers focus on areas of education with a limited research tradition, and as a result, the studies may be seen as starting points for further research. The results so far lack generalisability. Therefore, the researchers have to test the findings further under different conditions and with wider groups of teachers and students.

The results of the papers can be used to develop both SEND teacher education, and collaborative professional development for in-service SEND teachers. This issue will, therefore, be of interest to school and system leaders.

The papers contribute initial findings from an under-researched area and also combine lesson study with methods and designs not previously explored.

The ever-changing educational landscape, exacerbated by recent events surrounding COVID, political and cultural unrest, necessitates educators who are antifragile, able to withstand pressures and thrive amidst uncertainty. To this end, the pilot study reported here aims to examine mathematics educators’ initial reflections on what it means to be a risk-taker in the classroom, what prevents them from engaging in instructional risks and what would support their instructional risk-taking.

The pilot study utilized interviews with participants, including four pre-service teachers who were enrolled at the university and seven in-service teachers who were employed on active PDS campuses within the school district.

Preliminary findings suggest teacher beliefs concerning risk-taking, the barriers to engaging in such behaviors and the support needed to be able to take instructional risks. Results highlight the role of school–university partnerships in cultivating a culture of risk-taking through active collaboration and dialogue.

These findings have important implications for universities and PDS partners engaged in preparing teachers for an educational field that is unpredictable and continually changing. Additional research should be completed in varying PDS settings.

Findings highlight the role of school–university partnerships in cultivating a culture of risk-taking through active collaboration and dialogue.

Educators are currently faced with an unprecedented instructional landscape. Antifragile, risk-taking teachers are needed who are adaptable and innovative, thus better equipped to enter the challenging and uncertain realities of education.

In the research literature relevant to open educational practices (OEP), the terms “students” or “learners” often refer to individuals engaging in formal study. This study aims to broaden the conception of learners to include those who engage with continuing professional development or professional learning. The study focussed on one intersection of OEP with equity pedagogy for these learners.

Guided by transformative approaches to knowledge, the research is qualitative and draws upon nine focus group interviews about multicultural education professional learning needs conducted in November 2019 and July 2020 with 74 early years educators and staff. Data were analysed with theoretical thematic analysis to provide a rich overall description of the data set.

Early years educators and teachers aim to centre equity pedagogy in their practices but are constrained by a lack of opportunity to engage in professional development, and fragmented approaches to professional learning, issues which may potentially be addressed through OEP.

This paper extends understandings of OEP as a means of helping learners, broadly interpreted, to promote equity pedagogy. Specifically, it highlights the promise of OEP for addressing early years educators’ professional development and learning about reconciliation and multicultural education.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute with innovative knowledge about how lesson study as a method can be used as a tool for increasing in-service teachers' professional development. More specifically, the aim is to test in what way one single lesson study cycle, where teachers' way of perceiving teacher–student interactions was tested before and after, contributes to teachers' increased understanding of relational competence. The study is a pilot preparing for an upcoming main study.

Participants were 19 lead teachers (swe: förstelärare) in a Swedish municipality. The study was based on a relational framework and methodological approach (Aspelin, 2017; Pianta, 1999). Data obtained through web-questionnaires and collaborative group reflections were analysed and compiled to find general patterns.

The majority of the participants (98.5%) considered their understanding of relational competence to be increased (Cohen's d 1.72) during the intervention. Additionally, there was a notable increase in participants' abilities to verbalise their understanding post-intervention.

The lack of revised studies might have impacted the validity of this work. However, as this was a pilot study the result can be considered to fulfil the purpose.

The research suggests that lesson study as a method for in-service teachers as participating students can be used effectively to increase teachers' professional development.

The study aims to investigate how lesson study as a method can be used to develop in-service teacher learning.

A literature review of 28 data literacy, education articles from 2010 to 2018 was conducted to gain a better understanding of the current state of data literacy research.

A systematic literature review of ERIC, Education Source, and JSTOR was conducted. Articles were included in this literature review if they focused on “data literacy” for K-12 teachers or leaders.

Results demonstrated that the concept of data literacy has become more concrete, but there is still disagreement about the parameters of the construct. While data literacy was shown to be gaining in importance, training from schools of education were focused heavily on assessment literacy. Four recommendations are made as follows: (1) create skill-focused educator prep programs, (2) encourage opportunities for collaboration, (3) model data use from both quantitative and qualitative sources and (4) investigate the role of technology and big data on data literacy.

The scope of this literature review was very narrow and, as such, does not fully encapsulate data-driven decision-making in K-12 education overall.

Data literacy is important for both teachers and leaders, as educational environments strive to better understand individual learners and improve learning outcomes. This literature review looks to pull together the current status of data literacy research with hopes of inspiring more targeted research that influences training practices for both teachers and leaders.

The purpose of this poetic inquiry was to understand how the professional development school (PDS) model can help pre-service teachers (PSTs) develop an inclusive philosophy of teaching while positioning themselves as social justice advocates. Four clinical interns collaborated in the research process guided by the university professor-in-residence (PIR).

To conduct this poetic inquiry the interns kept journals, participated in individual interviews and weekly book club discussions to help us understand how education is situated within a broader social justice framework. Transcription poems were created from discussion and interview transcripts to capture the interns' perspectives and experiences in developing their philosophies.

The findings, shared through transcription poems, indicate that the interns established inclusive beliefs, experienced tensions between their beliefs and practices and emphasize the importance of community in developing as social justice advocates.

By sharing the findings through poetry, this study invites a more focused look into the nuances of PST’s emerging beliefs on inclusive education in a PDS.

Lesson study is one of the most adopted models of teacher professional development. However, as education has become increasingly digital, this study aims to investigate the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.

This article systematically reviews journal articles on the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.

While the lesson study model is typically based on the premise that teachers prepare and observe a lesson at a school, the reviewed research suggests that digital tools open new ways to conduct lesson studies. Six themes on the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies are identified: analyzing videos from the teachers' classrooms, analyzing external video resources, fictional animations as a complement to videos, structured digital lesson study work, hybrid teacher collaboration and digital teacher collaboration. Opportunities for further research are suggested.

The identified themes can inspire practice on how to use digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.

Little attention has been paid to the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.

The aim of this study was to measure the readiness of science and mathematics supervisors to utilize technology and online learning platforms for teachers' plans and professional development, during and after the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To achieve this aim, the researchers developed a questionnaire comprising of 55 items based on the instruments used in pertinent studies. A mixed-methods research design was employed, whereby a quantitative online survey was supplemented by focus group discussions with selected supervisors. Survey data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance and t-test, while information obtained via focus groups was coded to identify common themes related to the obstacles and challenges supervisors face.

When completing the survey, the supervisors approached proficiency using technology; however, focus group discussions revealed misconceptions related to e-leaning and limitations in their abilities to use technology in schools, as well as obstacles imposed by the structure and management of the educational system. T

These findings indicate that supervisors need support in acquiring the competencies required for integrating technology in education, and that their support to teacher community needs to be grounded in clear and systematic approaches and best educational practices.

These findings indicate that supervisors need support in acquiring the competencies required for integrating technology in education, and that their support to teacher community needs to be grounded in clear and systematic approaches and best educational practices.

The involvement of clients in service encounters and service development has become a central principle for contemporary health and social care organizations. However, in day-to-day work settings, the shift toward client involvement is still in progress. We examined how health and social care professionals, together with clients and managers, co-develop their conceptions of client involvement and search for practical ways in which to implement these in organizational service processes.

The empirical case of this study was a developmental intervention, the client involvement workshop, conducted in a Finnish municipal social and welfare center. The cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) framework was used to analyze the development of client involvement ideas and the modes of interaction during the intervention.

Analysis of the collective discussion revealed that the conceptions of client involvement developed through two interconnected object-orientations: Enabling client involvement in service encounters and promoting client involvement in the service system. The predominant mode of interaction in the collective discussion was that of “coordination.” The clients' perspective and contributions were central aspects in the turning points from coordination to cooperation; professionals crossed organizational boundaries, and together with clients, constructed a new client involvement-based object. This suggests that client participation plays an important role in the development of services.

The CHAT-based examination of the modes of interaction clarifies the potential of co-developing client-involvement-based services and highlights the importance of clients' participation in co-development.

Recent literature within public service logic has called for more explicit conceptualisation of customer value in public services. This study aims to fill this gap by examining how the customer value approach can be applied in the management of public health care services.

This study is a qualitative case study of management of public health care services in Finland. The authors interviewed 17 regional health care service developers and analyzed the interview data using thematic analysis.

The study suggests five propositions for applying customer value approach from the marketing literature in public health care service management. The study enables a deeper understanding of customer value creation in this context and improvement of public health care services.

This study contributes to the public management research in general and public service logic research in particular by suggesting what constitutes customer value in public health care services.