“Professional development and Learning of teachers teaching out-of-field”

A Special Issue accepted in the journal “Professional Development in Education” for 2026

Editors will be Lewes Peddell and Linda Hobbs

A call for papers will follow soon.

Rationale for the Special Issue:

Teaching “out-of-field” (or non-specialist teaching) is a worldwide phenomenon where teachers are teaching subjects for which they have inadequate training and qualifications (Ingersoll, 2019). The ‘out-of-field phenomenon’ arises due to systemic teacher shortages, unequal teacher distribution, and school scheduling issues (Hobbs & Porsch, 2021). The recent challenges in the teacher workforce, especially after the disruption of COVID-19, are leading to desperate measures to get teachers in front of classes, resulting in an increasing reliance on OOF teaching (Blackmore et al., 2023). Addressing OOF teaching through professional development and teacher education is vital for workforce planning (Weldon, 2016).

Teacher learning, professional development, and ongoing professional learning are critical to a teaching profession continually adapting and changing to educational and societal forces (Keay et al., 2019). Within this context, teachers, including those teaching or about to teach out-of-field, need to upgrade or learn new content knowledge and teaching approaches due to changes in teaching assignments, movement between schools, and the transition into teaching through the various pathways now available in many jurisdictions. Such pathways include substitute teaching, with these teachers often instructing subjects beyond their expertise and facing challenges accessing professional development due to school funding constraints, perceived lower status, and a self-perceived lack of authority and voice stemming from their temporary and precarious employment conditions (Reupert et al., 2023).

Learning to teach out-of-field often places additional strain on teachers and has implications for teacher self-efficacy, professional identities, beliefs, and a sense of belonging (Du Plessis, 2019). Therefore, additional support and professional development for out-of-field teachers becomes critical to maintain teaching quality.

While teaching out-of-field has become common in many countries, there are differences in how it is manifested, regarded, and responded to internationally (Hobbs & Törner, 2019). With increasing recognition and understanding of the problem, governments, subject associations, universities, and other stakeholder organisations are increasingly developing and/or funding programs and initiatives to support out-of-field teachers across various subjects (Peddell & Samojlowicz, 2023). Evidence-informed approaches to professional learning and development that support out-of-field teacher learning, well-being and effectiveness are critical. Specific examples and outcomes of interventions, innovative programs, and policy initiatives across different education systems are needed to shed light on out-of-field teachers’ specific professional development needs in different contexts and at different stages of their teaching careers.

This special issue will address this need by collating research into the out-of-field teaching phenomenon, explicitly focusing on the professional development of teachers learning to teach in new subject areas.  

References

Blackmore, J., Hobbs, L., & Rowlands, J. (2023). Aspiring teachers, financial incentives, and principals’ recruitment practices in hard-to-staff schools. Journal of Education Policy, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2023.2193170

Du Plessis, A. E. (2019). Barriers to effective management of diversity in classroom contexts: The out-of-field teaching phenomenon. International Journal of Educational Research, 93, 136-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.11.002

Hobbs, L., & 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

Hobbs, L., & Törner, G. (2019). Examining the phenomenon of “teaching out-of-field”: International perspectives on teaching as a non-specialist. Springer.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2019). Measuring Out-of-Field Teaching. In L. Hobbs & G. Törner (Eds.), Examining the Phenomenon of “Teaching Out-of-field”: International Perspectives on Teaching as a Non-specialist (pp. 21-51). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3366-8_2

Keay, J. K., Carse, N., & Jess, M. (2019). Understanding teachers as complex professional learners. Professional Development in Education, 45(1), 125-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2018.1449004

Peddell, L., & Samojlowicz (2023). A microcredential supporting out-of-field teachers of mathematics. Principles guiding instructional design [Conference presentation]. International Conference on Teaching Out-of-field: A worldwide phenomenon, Shanghai, China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97v_1zq75eA

Reupert, A., Sullivan, A., Tippett, N., White, S., Woodcock, S., Chen, L., & Simons, M. (2023). An Exploration of the Experiences of Substitute Teachers: A Systematic Review. Review of educational research, 00346543221149418. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543221149418

Weldon, P. (2016).Policy insights: Out-of-field teaching in Australian secondary schools. Australian Council for Educational Research: Melbourne, Australia.

Focus the Special Issue

This special issue aims to generate and disseminate new research to better support teachers, schools, educational systems, and governmental agencies in understanding and addressing challenges associated with out-of-field teaching. Initiated by the OOFTAS Collective, a global group of researchers, this proposal aligns with our strategic focus to increase the prominence and impact of research concerning the out-of-field teaching phenomenon. The special issue will also provide an important avenue for publishing new and exciting research from current PhD students and early career researchers focused on the professional learning of OOF teachers and the outcomes and design of recent government local responses to teacher shortages and OOF teaching. With PDiE, we will leverage our existing networks and branch into new networks to promote the call for papers, including but not limited to those of PDiE, for example, through educational associations (e.g., ATEE, BERA, ATEA, AERA, ECER), subject-specific professional associations (e.g., AAMT, ASTA), and government research agencies (e.g., ACER). Furthermore, this proposal for a PDiE special issue contributes to a broader movement to engage stakeholders of all levels and locations, aiming to catalyse transformative and potentially disruptive dialogues that have the potential to create future cross-systemic and intersystemic evidence-based initiatives concerning out-of-field teaching.

The scope of the proposed special issue will deal with the out-of-field phenomenon from the following perspectives and critical questions: 

Ongoing teacher learning:

Teachers are ultimately responsible for managing the challenges of out-of-field teaching. These challenges require them to approach learning to teach a new subject with flexibility, resilience, openness, and diligence and to devote much time and energy to this process. Often, teachers must learn ‘on the job’ without appropriate support structures, which can particularly be the case for substitute teachers. This learning depends on a teacher’s in-field subject expertise, their in and out-of-field teaching experience, the type of support teachers receive, leadership attitudes and decision-making practices, and the dispositions of the teacher as a learner. Novice and graduate teachers are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of out-of-field teaching, as are teachers employed precariously as causal relief/supply teachers. Critical questions relate to (a) the nature of school cultures and practices that can lead to learning opportunities for out-of-field teachers, (b) how the challenges of learning to teach out-of-field compare to the benefits, and (c) how school leaders and other educational system stakeholders can effectively manage and support OOF teaching to mitigate teacher attrition from factors including additional strain, teacher welfare issues, precarious employment conditions, and issues for other teachers who are responsible for supporting them.

Formal professional development:

A common response for education systems is to provide certificate courses for out-of-field teachers to ‘upskill’, ‘re-certify’, and ‘gain approval to teach’ a new subject. How these are funded, recognised and promoted depends on the education system. Professional development can also include other learning opportunities or experiences offered by subject associations, teacher unions, governments, resource providers, and other companies interested in teacher education.Critical questionsrelate to (a) what professional development works for OOF teachers and why, (b) whether out-of-field teachers require different professional development from in-field teachers, and (c) equity in relation to the accessibility of professional development based on funding, rurality, employment conditions, and school governance practices.