Editorial: Empowering language teacher agency: Self-directed and informal approaches to professional development

Abstract

This editorial introduces the special issue Professional Development: Reflections on Informal Initiatives and Self-Directed Strategies, which explores how language teachers sustain professional growth amid continuous technological and pedagogical change. Traditional professional development often struggles to meet teachers’ diverse and evolving needs, particularly as digital transformation and generative artificial intelligence reshape language teaching. In contrast, informal and self-directed learning enable teachers to exercise autonomy, pursue contextually relevant goals, and connect learning directly with classroom practice. At the same time, these approaches highlight disparities in access, digital literacy, and institutional support. The contributions in this volume examine how teachers navigate such challenges through reflective practice, peer collaboration, and engagement with emerging technologies. Together, they point to the need for professional learning ecosystems that integrate autonomy with structure, individual initiative with collective inquiry, and innovation with ethical and contextual awareness. The issue argues that empowering teacher agency depends on reimagining formal professional development to complement, rather than replace, the informal learning already undertaken by teachers.