European Commission Communication: Improving the Quality of Teachers
Back to overview03 augustus 2007 - European news
As part of the Education & Training 2010 policy of the European Commission, the commission has published a communication on the improvement of the quality of teachers.
The communication is an adaption of the 'Common European Principles for Teachers' Competences and Qualifications' document that was developed in 2005.
To prepare their pupils for the EU’s increasingly knowledge-based society, teachers are called upon to teach a new range of skills, which often require new teaching methods. Moreover, teachers are increasingly called upon to teach classes that have pupils from different cultures, mother tongues, ability levels and levels of special needs.
However, analysis by the European Commission shows that current systems for teacher training and education in the Member States are often failing to give teachers the training they need. Indeed, in some Member States there is little systematic coordination between different elements of teacher education, which leads to a lack of coherence and continuity, especially between teachers’ initial professional education and their subsequent induction, in-service training and professional development.
The present Commission Communication outlines a common framework for policies to improve the quality of teacher education. The document responds to a request, expressed in the 2004 Council and Commission Joint Report on Progress Towards the Lisbon Objectives in the Fields of Education and Training, that a set of common European principles be developed to improve the competences and qualifications of teachers and trainers.
The Communication provides Member States with a number of broad orientations for developing policies and practices. These include:
- ensuring that all teachers have access to 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.