Brussels, 24/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 November the European Commission and the OECD presented their report, “Teachers' Professional Development: Europe in international comparison”. It is the first international survey to focus on the learning environment and the working conditions of teachers in schools. “If we want high quality education it is crucial that we give our teachers the best possible opportunities to develop their skills, not only at the beginning but throughout their careers. By stimulating them to engage in professional development we contribute to the status and attractiveness of the profession,” said European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth Maroš Šefèoviè in a press release. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría added: “The results from TALIS contained in this report show that teachers have an appetite to learn and to seek continuous improvement, but also that the provision of in-service professional development needs to be better targeted to the needs of teachers”.
The report provides information that allows international comparison of teachers' professional development to be made. The key messages: (1) Professional development is an established part of teachers' lives. Hence it has significant potential as a lever for educational improvement. However, teachers suggest that “conflict with work schedule” is a main barrier to participation in professional development activities, which suggests that policies to integrate teachers' professional development more effectively into their total work package and into the functioning of schools would be beneficial. (2) Overall, the results indicate that a school policy of giving feedback to teachers on their performance is strongly linked to their professional development and its perceived impact. (3) School climate also plays an important role. Teachers who feel good about their job and within their school are positive about their professional development.
These findings should encourage policy makers to put increased focus on appraisal, feed-back and a positive school climate, the Commission says. The aim should be to contribute to the development of schools as “learning organisations”, fostering continuous professional learning, and thus improve the quality of teaching.
The thematic report was prepared by a team of researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, under the supervision of Professor Jaap Scheerens. It is based on the new OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), which looks at issues affecting teachers and their performance, seen through the eyes of school principals and the teachers themselves. It aims to fill important information gaps in the international comparisons of education systems. The survey was conducted with the support of the European Commission, and covers 23 participating countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flemish Community), Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey. The report is available at http: //ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc1962_en.htm (I.L./transl.rt)