Inservice teacher education is broadly defined as any learning opportunity for practicing teachers. The term Inservice teacher designates a teacher that has certification or is already teaching in a classroom, in contrast to a preservice teacher, who is preparing to become a teacher. Preservice and In-service teacher learning have changed over time. This is due to the evolution of how the field has moved. In particular, there has been a shift from many educators aligning with behavioral theories of teaching and learning to more constructivist, sociocultural, and situated theories of teaching and learning. Inservice teacher education has gone from one-shot workshops where an expert imparts knowledge to teachers in a traditional lecture-style workshop to more professional learning opportunities where teachers engage in communities of learning: unpacking content, examining teachers’ instruction, and analyzing student thinking.

Through this evolution, in-service teacher education has become synonymous with professional development or professional learning. These trends and the different ways the field of education conceptualizes teaching and learning have broad yet important implications for in-service teacher education and professional development. In particular, the language and jargon associated with the field have changed to reflect the transformed theories or stances.

In-service education is designed for the workforce development of the school system and the educational enterprise as a whole. If teachers are to perform their functions effectively and efficiently, it becomes imperative for them to require training in new skills and modern methodology.

The idea of In-service education has emerged to take care of the need to make the teachers up-to-date with respect to the knowledge of their subject of teaching, methods, and techniques innovative ideas in each sphere of their academic life. In-service education is continuing education of teachers and other educators.