Advancing Teacher Professionalism for Inclusive, Quality and Relevant Education

Description

Ms. Nataša Pantić, Chancellor's Fellow, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh gave a presentation on developing teacher competences for acting as agents of change. Ms. Pantić underlined the importance of teachers as agents of change and continuity, shaped by experiences and socio-cultural contexts. The impact of policies is however limited, with a world-wide study pointing out that 85% of teachers are resistant to changing their practices. Ms. Pantić introduced the concept of a 'teacher agency' with its purpose being commitment to change, its competences being practiced in context, an autonomous and reflecting agency. The most successful education systems invest in developing teachers as reflective professionals, and have a strong ethical foundation and commitment to equality. The challenges in the WB include the overall perspective on teaching – as an isolated teacher classroom experience rather than a whole school activity, as well as the fragmentation of teacher education in the region. The opportunities that exist allow for creating formative links between quality assurance frameworks for schools (already supported by teachers), teachers and teacher education, frameworks of competences supported by teachers in WB, as well as regional cooperation (creating networks of teachers). Developing a competences-based standards framework in the WB would be welcomed by the teachers themselves who seek guidance. Important choices need to be made in the future in regards to the development of the teacher profession on: the regulatory vs. consensus-building approaches, teacher' own and societies' expectations, as well as on monitoring, evaluation and development.

Period	19 Jun 2014
Event title	3rd Ministerial Meeting Western Balkans Platform on Education and Training
Event type	Conference
Location	BrusselsShow on map