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Whereas the achievement of students has closely been linked with the quality of teachers and there is a bulk of literature supporting the need of teachers' preparation in enhancing their quality, professional development (PD) of teachers has been a central focus of reform initiatives in education across the globe. This paper aims at analysing the existing literature on PD of teachers to reflect on the models and characteristics of effective PD, and to highlight the importance of context in PD of teachers.

To respond to the aim of the paper, a search in the field of pedagogy in Education Resource Information Centre (ERIC) was undertaken. The search strings used were “models of teachers' professional development”, “characteristics of teachers professional development” and “context in professional development” restricted to time period from 2000 to 2020.

The major argument this paper presents is that the models and characteristics of PD are relative and there is no uniform model to be implemented across contexts. Instead of debating the models and characteristics of effective PD, academics and practitioners have to be watchful to the context and the real needs of teachers in a particular context.

The paper critiques the generalisation of Western generated PD models to the developing world especially Pakistan which the existing research and literature is silent about.

Uncertainty, overwhelmed, doubtful, anxious … and so the list of emotions of the doctoral candidate goes on. Yet, we can move from not just surviving emotional and cognitive challenges to thriving and embracing the challenges through the creation of a support network. While family and friends might be one supportive network, they often fail to understand the lived experience of doctoral research, so it is critical to establish a professional network early in the candidature. This may form naturally if you are researching within a laboratory setting, but for many doctoral candidates engaged in social science research, finding a place in a professional network may not be straightforward. In this chapter, co-written by doctoral students and their supervisor, the processes and power of creating a network are shared and explored in the hope of supporting others to achieve the same. The chapter presents ideas for creating or finding a place in a network but more importantly for recognizing the power of the network to ensure successful outcomes beyond the completion of the thesis. While completion of the thesis is a primary aim of the doctoral candidature, we argue the quality of the candidature experience can shape the future of the graduate and subsequently the next generation of academics.