Teacher education
The quality of teaching has a direct effect upon learners’ level of attainment and upon the quality of their learning experience. The knowledge, skills, attitudes and competences of each of Europe's six million teachers are of great importance.
The demands placed upon teachers are evolving and increasing; the roles they are expected to play are changing significantly. It is important that systems for the education and training of teachers are able to ensure that all teachers are able to develop the knowledge and skills they require, and have access to the support they need, at every stage of their career.
The Commission has made a series of proposals for Improving the Quality of Teacher Education. These include:
- ensuring that all teachers have the knowledge, attitudes and pedagogic skills that they require to be effective;
- ensuring that provision for teachers' education and professional development is coordinated, coherent, and adequately resourced;
- promoting a culture of reflective practice and research among teachers;
- promoting the status and recognition of the teaching profession; and
- supporting the professionalisation of teaching.
In response, the Ministers of Education have adopted a number of Conclusions about the priorities in this work.
The European Commission works with Member States to raise standards of teaching and of teacher education in two main ways.
Firstly, through the Education and Training 2010 programme it facilitates the exchange of information and experience between policymakers. A group of experts from Member States meets regularly to examine in depth specific aspects of Teacher Education, to discuss common challenges and to exchange good practice. So far, they have worked on:
- Teachers’ continuous professional development;
- Schools as communities in which teachers as well as pupils are learning;
- School leadership;
- Preparing teachers to teach in culturally diverse classroom settings;
- Partnerships between Vocational Education schools and companies;
- Effective relationships between schools and teacher education institutions; and
- Induction programmes to support new teachers.
From these 'peer learning' activities policy recommendations are derived that can support member states to improve their policies on teachers and teacher education.
The work of these experts is described in more detail here.
Secondly, through the Comenius programme of the Lifelong Learning programme it:
- helps individual teachers (or other education staff) to develop their professional competences by funding their attendance at an in-service training course abroad;
- helps future teachers to develop their skills by working as an assistant in a school abroad for up to nine months;
- supports school development projects, and
- funds multinational projects to develop new pedagogical approaches or curricula.
For further information, please see the Comenius pages.
The European Commission is developing a statistical indicator on the professional development of teachers and trainers.
Documents
- Improving the Quality of Teacher Education - Communication from the Commission to the Council and the Parliament (August 2007)
- Improving the Quality of Teacher Education - Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council (November 2007)
- Preparing young people for the 21st century: an agenda for European cooperation on schools - Conclusions of the Education Council (November 2008)
- The professional development of teachers and school leaders - Conclusions of the Education Council (November 2009)
