Education systems are undergoing transformations on multiple levels. Some of the issues facing current education systems include the growing multicultural nature of student populations, need for peace and tolerance, respect for the other, inclusive education, quality, standards and accountability, and the role of technology. Problem solving, synthesis of information, knowledge creation and managements are skills essential to succeed in today’s highly technological work place. Schools have been criticized for being conservative in nature and not supporting innovation. This paper will discuss issues relating to innovation in education, quality assurance, strategic planning, and school improvement. We will present case studies and lessons learned relating to strategic visioning workshops we facilitated helping education systems establish a vision for the future and concrete action plans for implementing and achieving that vision. Systemic reform as a process forces us to think in terms of systems: education systems, policy systems, community systems, information systems, and technology systems. It is an ongoing cyclical process during which all parts of all systems involved are taken into account. In the case of education, there are several subsystems involved within the broader education system, and which need to be accounted for in change efforts. In addition, specific recommendations will be provided as they apply to the Cyprus education system.

This paper discusses a theoretical framework for the professional development of teachers and draws from several interrelated theoretical areas such as the notions of situated and distributed cognition and communities of practice. We first present the theoretical ideas on which this framework is based and discuss projects that were developed following the framework. We will then present the lessons learned and discuss the implications for the design of professional development programs that sue both face-to-face and online technologies. We will highlight the value of leadership, management, commitment, innovation, assessment, evaluation, communication, and interaction that underpins successful online professional development projects. While our work shows that the framework has the potential to contribute to online professional practice, more research is required to understand the variety of possibilities opened by online professional development. If educators choose to use and support online professional development, a number of issues arise concerning leadership, management, pedagogy, and evaluation. On the surface, the most obvious challenges appear to be funding and infrastructure. However, as our work shows, other more complex issues need to be dealt with in order to support this type of intervention. Here we present a few other questions that may be addressed in future research: What are the shared commitments and responsibilities that enable online participants to become a professional community of practice? What is the role of leadership in professional development? How can professionals within a working environment become a stronger professional community that takes advantage of new information and communication technologies?