Why One-Time Training Is Not Enough: The Case for Job-Embedded Professional Learning

Professional development is often treated as an event. A workshop. A webinar. A conference session. While these experiences can inspire new thinking, research and practice consistently show that learning sticks when it is connected to daily work.

Adult learning theory and early childhood leadership research emphasize that growth happens through reflection, practice, feedback, and relationship over time. Job-embedded professional development allows educators and leaders to apply new ideas in real contexts, receive support, and adjust based on lived experience.

Frameworks such as the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership's Whole Leadership Framework and NAEYC's Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators highlight the importance of continuous learning embedded within systems, not isolated from them.

Customized learning journeys that combine workshops, coaching, peer learning, and reflection are more likely to change practice. They respect educators as professionals. They recognize that complexity cannot be addressed in a single session.

This does not mean conferences or workshops lack value. It means they are most effective when paired with follow-up, application, and shared inquiry. Learning becomes something people live, not something they attend.

A question for the journey: How might professional learning change if it were designed as a journey rather than an event?