The role of teachers’ participation in professional growth: a comprehensive systematic review

Abstract

This systematic literature review explores the dynamics of teacher participation in professional development and identifies key factors contributing to the enhancement of teaching competencies and professional identity. While the importance of reflective and sustained engagement is acknowledged, the specific mechanisms linking active involvement to enhanced teaching competencies have not been adequately analyzed. To address this, a comprehensive search was conducted across reputable academic databases. These include Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and ERIC, targeting studies published between 2020 and 2026. The review process followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) methodology, encompassing stages of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion. Using a retrieval of 7,847 records, 60 peer-reviewed articles were selected based on language, relevance, publication type, and thematic scope. A two-stage selection was used, combining abstract-level lexical warrants with full-text coding against a single analytical scaffold collaborative agency/identity/efficacy-ecology (CAE-8). The findings reveal three themes: i) collaborative professional learning designs (C1-C3); ii) teacher agency and identity (A4-A6); and iii) the influence of external factors on teacher competencies (E7-E8). The conclusion emphasizes that sustained and meaningful participation in context-sensitive professional development environments is essential for cultivating adaptive and competent educators. This review synthesizes existing research and offers actionable insights and practical recommendations for educational systems to implement strategic support mechanisms.