Personalized Professional Learning through a Master's Degree: Learning Disability Specialists

Introduction: Experienced teachers pursuing graduate specialization in learning disabilities (LDs) anticipate profound professional transformation. However, while acquiring advanced diagnostic frameworks and evidence-based interventions, many encounter a "practice-gap" when re-entering schools. This reflects the tension between individual expertise and organizational contexts where formal support for specialist roles is often absent. Drawing on Avidov-Ungar's (2024) multidimensional personalization framework, this study examines how LD specialists navigate professional development following an MA degree, specifically under conditions of structural isolation and limited institutional recognition.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 MA-qualified LD specialists in Israel (13 in schools, 2 in private practice). The study utilized a retrospective qualitative design, focusing on professional learning trajectories, post-degree integration, and perceptions of organizational support. Data were analyzed using abductive thematic analysis, mapping the interplay between individual agency and systemic constraints.

Results: Findings reveal a recurring "Organisational Void", a systemic lack of professional supervision or peer consultation that fails to reinforce graduate-level expertise. To bridge this gap, specialists engage in what we term Compensatory Personalization. Individual initiative and self-sourced resources, ranging from peer networks and social media groups to generative AI tools, substitute for missing institutional infrastructure. While this enables immediate functioning, it places heavy emotional and professional burden on specialists, leading to a precarious "migration of expertise" where highly qualified professionals increasingly turn toward private practice.

Conclusions: The study conceptually distinguishes Supported Personalization, fueled by organizational scaffolding, from Compensatory Personalization, which relies solely on individual resilience. We argue that for specialist expertise to be sustainable within public education, systems must move beyond individual resourcefulness toward structural integration. Implications for policy-making and teacher retention in specialized fields are discussed.