# EUR-Lex - 52007DC0392 - EN

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# 52007DC0392

**Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Improving the Quality of Teacher Education {SEC(2007) 931 SEC(2007)933} /* */**

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EN

|| COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 3.8.2007

COM(2007) 392 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Improving the Quality of Teacher Education
{SEC(2007) 931
SEC(2007)933

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Improving the Quality of Teacher Education

Introduction

There are around 6.25 million teachers
(full time equivalents) in Europe[1].
Teachers play a vital role in helping people develop their talents and fulfil
their potential for personal growth and well-being, and in helping them acquire
the complex range of knowledge and skills that they will need as citizens and
as workers. It is school teachers who mediate between a
rapidly evolving world and the pupils who are about to enter it.

The profession of teaching is becoming more
and more complex. The demands placed upon teachers are increasing. The
environments in which they work are more and more challenging.

Many Member States are reviewing the ways
in which teachers are prepared for the important tasks they perform on behalf
of European society.

The purpose of this Communication is to
assess the current situation in the European Union as regards the education and
training of teachers, and to propose a shared reflection about actions that can
be taken at Member State level and how the European Union might support these[2].

1.           Context

1.1         The Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs

The Lisbon European Council in March 2000
stressed that people are Europe’s main asset and that “investing in people ...
will be crucial both to Europe's place in the knowledge economy and for
ensuring that the emergence of this new economy does not compound the existing
social problems[3]."

The Barcelona Council in March 2002 adopted
concrete objectives for improving Member States’ education and training
systems, including improving education and training for teachers and trainers.
The Council in March 2006 noted that 'Education and training are critical
factors to develop the EU's long-term potential for competitiveness as well as
for social cohesion'; it added that 'Reforms must also be stepped up to ensure
high quality education systems which are both efficient and equitable.'

However, progress has been insufficient[4]       towards goals such as reducing the
number of early school leavers, expanding the share of young people who finish
upper-secondary school, or reducing the number of 15-year-olds with poor
reading skills.

The quality of teaching is one key factor
in determining whether the European Union can increase its competitiveness in
the globalised world. Research shows that teacher quality is significantly and
positively correlated with pupil attainment[5]        and that it is the most important
within-school aspect explaining student performance[6] (its effects are much
larger than the effects of school organisation, leadership or financial
conditions). Furthermore, other studies[7]     have found positive relationships
between in-service teacher training and student achievement and ‘suggest that
an in-service training program ... raised children's achievement ...(and) suggest
that teacher training may provide a less costly means of increasing test scores
than reducing class size or adding school hours’.

In 2004, the Council and Commission Joint
Report on progress towards the Lisbon Objectives[8] in the fields of Education and Training
called for the development of common European principles for the competences
and qualifications needed by teachers and trainers. The Council in November
2006 stated that 'the motivation, skills and competences of teachers, trainers,
other teaching staff and guidance and welfare services, as well as the quality
of school leadership, are key factors in achieving high quality learning
outcomes' and that 'The efforts of teaching staff should be supported by
continuous professional development and by good cooperation with parents, pupil
welfare services and the wider community.'

Improving the quality of Teacher Education
is, therefore, an important goal for Europe's education systems if quicker
progress is to be made towards meeting the common objectives that have been
established under the Education and Training 2010 programme.

Ensuring a high quality of Teacher
Education is also important, of course, to secure sound management of national
resources and good value for money: approximately two thirds of expenditure on
schools is allocated to teacher remuneration[9].

1.2         Other
policies and objectives of the Union

Teacher Education policy is closely
connected with other key European policy areas, notably:

–
Social policy with its emphasis on the role of
education and training as a route out of poverty and a key factor of social
inclusion, and the emphasis on 'core skills' in the Youth Pact;[10]

–
Innovation policy[11]   with its emphasis on ensuring that teachers
help young people to acquire a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.

–
Research policy with its emphasis on improving
the teaching of sciences at all levels of education in the Union[12].

–
Enterprise policy[13]    with its emphasis on the need for
public authorities to promote education for entrepreneurship to heads of
schools and teachers through initial and in-service training;

–
The Commission's New Framework Strategy for
Multilingualism[14]            which promotes the value of
language learning and which identifies the quality of language teaching and
better training of language teachers as important challenges; and

–
Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of
professional qualifications, which provides the legal framework for the
professional mobility of teachers.

1.3         Changing
demands

Changes in education and in society place
new demands on the teaching profession. For example, as well as imparting basic
knowledge, teachers are also increasingly called upon to help young people
become fully autonomous learners by acquiring key skills, rather than
memorising information; they are asked to develop more collaborative and
constructive approaches to learning and expected to be facilitators and
classroom managers rather than ex-cathedra trainers. These new roles require
education in a range of teaching approaches and styles. Furthermore, classrooms
now contain a more heterogeneous mix of young people from different backgrounds
and with different levels of ability and disability. They
are required to use the opportunities offered by new technologies and to
respond to the demand for individualised learning; and they may also have to
take on additional decision-taking or managerial tasks consequent upon
increased school autonomy.

These changes require teachers not only to
acquire new knowledge and skills but also to develop them continuously. To
equip the teaching body with skills and competences for its new roles, it is
necessary to have both high-quality initial teacher education and a coherent
process of continuous professional development keeping teachers up to date with
the skills required in the knowledge based society.

As with any other modern profession,
teachers also have a responsibility to extend the boundaries of professional
knowledge through a commitment to reflective practice, through research, and
through a systematic engagement in continuous professional development from the
beginning to the end of their careers. Systems of education and training for
teachers need to provide the necessary opportunities for this.

1.4         Skills
shortages and limited training provision

However, systems for Teacher Education are
not always well equipped to meet these new demands.

In a recent OECD survey[15], almost all
countries report shortfalls in teaching skills, and difficulties in updating teachers’
skills. Shortages relate especially to a lack of competence to deal with new
developments in education (including individualised learning, preparing pupils
for autonomous learning, dealing with heterogeneous classrooms, preparing
learners to make the most of the ICT, and so on).

In many Member States there is little
systematic coordination between different elements of teacher education,
leading to a lack of coherence and continuity, especially between a teacher's
initial professional education and subsequent induction, in-service training
and professional development; nor are these processes often linked to school
development and improvement, or to educational research. Incentives for
teachers to carry on updating their skills throughout their professional lives
are weak.

Investment in the continuous training and
development of the teaching workforce is low across the European Union and the amount of in-service training available to practising teachers is
limited. In-service training for teachers is compulsory in only eleven Member
States; teachers are not explicitly obliged to undertake it in all of these
states[16].
Where it exists, training generally amounts to less than 20 hours per year.
There is no Member State in which the minimum compulsory training exceeds five
days per year, and in most countries only three days of training per year is
compulsory. Furthermore, the fact that in-service training may be compulsory
says little about actual participation rates.

As regards new teachers, only half of the
countries in Europe offer new teachers any systematic kind of support (e.g.
induction, training, mentoring) in their first years of teaching. Explicit
frameworks to assist teachers who experience difficulties in performing their
duties adequately exist in only one third of countries.

Table 1
below shows whether in-service training is compulsory or optional.

Status of in-service training for teachers
in primary, general lower and upper secondary education, 2002/03

Source: Eurydice. || ISCED 3

|| Compulsory

|| Optional, but necessary for promotion

|| Optional

||

Table 2
below shows that the minimum annual time allocation for compulsory in-service
training varies by country.

Minimum
annual time allocation (in hours) for compulsory in-service training in
primary, general lower and upper secondary education, 2002/03

|| BE fr || BE de || BE nl || DE || EE || LV || LT || HU || MT || AT || FI || UK-ENG/ WLS/NIR || UK- SCT || LI || RO

ISCED 1 || 21 || 21 || 14 || || 32 || 12 || 18 || 17 || 21 || 15 || 18 || || 35 || || 19

ISCED 2 || 21 || 21 || 21 || v || 32 || 12 || 18 || 17 || 21 || 15 || 18 || v || 35 || v || 19

ISCED 3 || 21 || 21 || 21 || || 32 || 12 || 18 || 17 || 21 || 4 || 18 || || 35 || || 19

x || CZ, DK, EL, ES, FR, IE, IT, CY, LU, NL, PL, PT, SI, SK, SE, IS, NO and BG.

x In-service training is not compulsory   v Variable Source: Eurydice. Additional notes Belgium: Three days a year. Germany: The amount of compulsory in-service training varies from one Land to the next. Estonia: 160 hours over a five-year period. Lithuania: 15 days spread across five years of training. This corresponds to 90 hours spread over five years. Latvia: The central education authorities have laid down a minimum time allocation of 36 hours for three years. Hungary: Every seven years, 60-120 hours of in-service training are compulsory. Malta: Three days a year at the beginning or end of the school year. Since 2001/02, three annual two hours sessions after school have been introduced. Netherlands: 10% of a teacher's annual working hours should be spent on the advancement of professionalism. This is a formally stipulated amount of time that is available for teachers to claim. Austria: For ISCED level 2, the information given here relates to teachers working in Hauptschulen. For teachers at allgemein bildenden höheren Schulen the amount of training is not specified. Finland: Three days a year of six hours each. United Kingdom (ENG/WLS/NIR): The five days in the school year when school sessions are not required are often used for in-service training. In addition, participation in arrangements for professional development is an essential aspect of professional duties. United Kingdom (SCT): There is a minimum of five days for in-service training. Teachers should also spend 50 hours a year on planned activities; some of this time may also be used for in-service training. Liechtenstein: Teachers must participate in at least one training activity every two years. Romania: 95 hours every five years, unless teachers take professional degrees during this period. Explanatory note Calculation: Unless stated otherwise in the above notes, one day corresponds to seven hours. For countries where a certain amount of training over several years is compulsory, the calculation is based on an average.

Table 3
below shows that support measures for new teachers are still not widespread. In
2002, only half of all countries offered new teachers assistance during this
period of their career.

Regulations
and/or recommendations on types of support and
supervision available to new entrants to the teaching profession
in primary education and (lower and upper) general secondary education, 2002/03

Type of support || CZ || DE || EL || ES || IE || IT || CY || PL || SK || UK-ENG/ WLS || UK-NIR || IS || LI || NO || BG

Formal/semi-formal meetings (for the discussion of progress or problems) || || || o || o || || o || o || o || o || || o || o || o || || o

Opinions, information and informal discussion || o || || o || o || o || o || o || o || o || || o || o || o || || o

Assistance with the planning of lessons || || || o || o || || o || || o || o || || || o || o || || o

Assistance with the assessment of pupils/writing their school reports || || || || o || || o || || o || o || || o || o || o || ||

Participation in classroom activity and/or classroom observation || o || || o || o || o || || o || o || o || || o || || o || || o

Advice concerning skills || || || o || o || || o || o || o || o || || o || o || || || o

Organisation of seminars/workshops/discussion groups || || || o || o || || || o || o || o || || || || || || o

Visits to other schools/resource centres || || || || o || || || || o || || || || || || ||

Special compulsory training (with a minimum time allocation) || || || o (1) || o (2) || || o (3) || || || || || || || || || o (4)

Manual || || || || || || || || || || || o || || || ||

Pilot projects (implementation in hand) || || o || || || || || || || || o || || || || o ||

No current measures || BE, DK, EE, FR, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PT, SI, FI, SE, RO

|| (1) 100 hours    (2) variable    (3) 40 hours    (4) up to 24 hours

Source: Eurydice. ||

1.5         Characteristics
of the Teaching profession in the European Union

Gender

Table 4
below shows that the majority of teachers in both primary and secondary
education are women[17]. In 2002 in all European Union countries except one, over 70% of
teachers in primary education (ISCED 1) were women. The proportion of women
teachers in lower secondary education (ISCED 2) is not as high as in primary
education. While the proportion of women in upper secondary education is less
striking, they outnumber men in nearly all countries.

Percentage
of women teachers in primary education (ISCED 1) and
secondary education (ISCED 2 and 3), public and private sectors combined,
2001/02

ISCED 1    ISCED 2    ISCED 3    ISCED 1-2    ISCED 2-3

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

|| EU-25 || BE || CZ || DK || DE || EE || EL || ES || FR || IE || IT || CY || LV || LT || LU || HU || MT || NL || AT || PL || PT || SI || SK || FI || SE || UK || IS || LI || NO || BG || RO

|| (:) || 78.9 || 84.2 || (:) || 82.4 || (:) || (:) || 71.0 || 78.7 || 85.4 || 95.3 || 81.9 || 97.1 || 98.2 || 67.9 || 85.7 || 86.8 || 80.1 || 90.5 || (:) || 81.2 || 96.3 || 92.9 || 74.2 || 80.2 || 81.8 || (:) || (:) || (:) || 92.0 || 86.8

|| (:) || (:) || 82.8 || (:) || 59.4 || (:) || (:) || 59.8 || 63.0 || 59.0 || 73.8 || 66.3 || 84.7 || 81.3 || (:) || 82.7 || 58.8 || (:) || 66.2 || (:) || 69.0 || 77.0 || 77.0 || 71.4 || 62.8 || 59.2 || (:) || (:) || (:) || 76.3 || 68.8

|| (:) || (:) || 55.2 || (:) || 42.2 || (:) || (:) || 45.4 || 50.6 || (:) || 59.3 || 51.4 || 75.7 || 67.5 || (:) || 62.1 || 34.5 || (:) || 50.1 || (:) || 66.3 || 64.3 || 67.5 || 56.3 || 50.4 || 59.1 || 47.5 || (:) || 45.3 || 75.1 || 62.3

|| || || || 65.3 || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || 78.1 || || 72.8 || ||

|| || 58.6 || || || || || || || || || || || || || 42.2 || || || 42.4 || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

Remuneration

The supply of teachers is affected by a
number of factors, including remuneration. There are marked differences between
countries in the wages of teachers relative to average wages and GDP. In
Luxembourg and Germany, teacher salaries are high relative to average national
incomes. The highest maximum salaries relative to per capita GDP are in
Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Luxembourg and Spain.

The differential with other public sector
professions and private sector pay affects the retention of teachers in the
teaching workforce and is in turn affected by general labour market conditions.
When labour demand is high, more teaching graduates opt for a job outside the
teaching profession. Comparative wages especially influence retention rates for
men.

A comparative study of teaching and other
public sector professions or private sector posts for equivalent levels of
qualifications[18], has found that teachers who receive higher pay relative to other
professions, are less likely to leave the profession. UK research found that
the wages of teachers, relative to other professions which are open to teacher
training graduates, are deemed to be an important determinant of the decision
to take up and remain in the profession.

Age

In contrast with other professions, the
teaching profession has a high percentage of older workers (see Table 5). The
proportion of teachers aged between 45 and 64 is over 40% in many countries
while as many as 30% of the teaching population are aged between 50 and 64
years of age in some countries[19]. This has clear implications for teachers' (re)training needs.

It will be important to make teaching an
attractive career choice, in order to recruit the best candidates and to
attract people to switch careers in favour of teaching. In contrast to recent
practice in many Member States, experienced teachers will increasingly need to
be persuaded to remain in the profession instead of retiring early and may
therefore require additional professional development and support.

Table 5: Age
structure of all professionals and teachers (2005)[20]

Percentage of Professionals || || All Professionals Teaching Professionals

|| Age Group ||

Overall, there is a
need to take necessary steps to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of
well-educated and motivated men and women in the profession, in particular to
replace the age cohorts that are in decline.

2            A
Framework for action

2.1         Current European Union
support for teacher education

Member States are
responsible for the organisation and content of education and training systems.
The role of the European Union is to support them.

At European level, Community programmes
such as the Comenius and Erasmus actions within the Socrates programme, and the
Leonardo Da Vinci programme have provided support for projects to promote the
development of teachers' competences. The new Lifelong Learning Programme
(2007-2013) will increase support for teacher mobility and for cooperation
projects between teacher education institutions[21].

The European Social Fund is also an
important instrument that will be used to support the modernisation of
Education and Training systems, including the initial and continuing education
of teachers in Member States.

2.2         Joint Work with Member
States

The European Commission works closely with
Member States to help them develop and modernise their education and training
policies. It does this through the 'Education and Training 2010' Work
Programme, part of the revised Lisbon Strategy, which facilitates the exchange
of information, data and best practice through mutual learning and peer review.

In response to the Council's identification
of teacher education as a key issue, the Commission in 2002 established a
working group to reflect upon on improving the education of teachers and trainers,
which brought together the representatives of the 31 countries that participate
in the Education and Training 2010 work programme[22].

Subsequent work by the Commission and
national experts showed widespread agreement about the changes required. A set
of Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications[23]  was drawn up in cooperation with
experts appointed by the Member States and tested in 2005 at a European
Conference of senior policy makers, experts in the field of teacher education and
major stakeholders. Many countries have already begun using the Common European
Principles to enrich their reflection on policy development on teacher
education.

The Commission and Member States have
continued to explore responses to the challenges identified, through the group
on ‘Teachers and Trainers’, which comprises experts nominated by the 18 Member
States which have expressed a particular concern to develop their policies on
Teacher Education. It has organised a series of peer learning activities on
areas of shared policy concern, including systems of continuing professional development,
the school as a learning community for its teachers, School Leadership, preparing
teachers for culturally diverse classrooms, and partnerships between schools
and companies. Member States find that this kind of work provides useful learning
opportunities.

2.3         Common principles

The challenges facing the teaching
profession are, in essence, common across the European Union. It is possible to
arrive at a shared analysis of the issues and a shared vision of the kinds of
skills that teachers require.

The Common European Principles for Teacher
Competences and Qualifications, referred to above, were written on the basis of
the experience of teachers and teacher educators across Europe and validated by
stakeholders. It describes a vision of a European teaching profession that has
the following characteristics:

–
it is well-qualified profession: all
teachers are graduates from higher education institutions (and those working in
the field of initial vocational education are highly qualified in their
professional area and have a suitable pedagogical qualification). Every teacher
has extensive subject knowledge, a good knowledge of pedagogy, the skills and
competences required to guide and support learners, and an understanding of the
social and cultural dimension of education.

–
it is a profession of lifelong learners:
teachers are supported to continue their professional development throughout
their careers. They and their employers recognise the importance of acquiring
new knowledge, and are able to innovate and use evidence to inform their work.

–
it is a mobile profession: mobility is a
central component of initial and continuing teacher education programmes.
Teachers are encouraged to work or study in other European countries for
professional development purposes.

–
it is a profession based on partnership:
teacher education institutions organise their work collaboratively in
partnership with schools, local work environments, work-based training
providers and other stakeholders.

In line with these principles, and in the
light of the foregoing analysis, the Commission believes that the following policy
steps could be addressed to improve the quality of Teacher Education in the European
Union.

2.3.1      Lifelong
learning

Initial education cannot provide teachers with
the knowledge and skills necessary for a life-time of teaching. The education
and professional development of every teacher needs to be seen as a lifelong
task, and be structured and resourced accordingly.

Provision for teacher education and development
will be more effective if it is coordinated as a coherent system at national
level, and is adequately funded. The ideal approach would be to set up a
seamless continuum of provision embracing initial teacher education, induction
into the profession, and career-long continuing professional development that
includes formal, informal and non-formal learning opportunities. This would
mean that all teachers:

–
take part in an effective programme of induction
during their first three years in post / in the profession;

–
have access to structured guidance and mentoring
by experienced teachers or other relevant professionals throughout their
career;

–
take part in regular discussions of their training
and development needs, in the context of the wider development plan of the
institution where they work.

In addition, the Commission believes that all
teachers would benefit if:

–
they are encouraged and supported throughout
their careers to extend and develop their competences via formal, informal and
non-formal means, and are able to have their relevant formal and non-formal
learning recognised;

–
they have access to other opportunities for
continuous professional development, such as exchanges and placements (whether
or not funded through the Lifelong Learning Programme); and

–
they have the opportunity and time to study for
further qualifications, and take part in study and research at a higher
education level.

–
more is be done to promote creative partnerships
between the institutions in which teachers work, the world of work, higher
education and research institutions, and other agencies, in order to support
high quality training and effective practice, and to develop networks of
innovation at local and regional levels.

2.3.2      Necessary
skills

Teachers have a key role to play in preparing
pupils to take their place in society and in the world of work. At every point
in their career, teachers need to have, or be able to acquire, the full range
of subject knowledge, attitudes and pedagogic skills to be able to help young
people to reach their full potential. In particular they need the skills
necessary to:

–
identify the specific needs of each individual
learner, and respond to them by deploying a wide range of teaching strategies;

–
support the development of young people into
fully autonomous lifelong learners;

–
help young people to acquire the competences
listed in the European Reference Framework of Key Competences[24];

–
work in multicultural settings (including an
understanding of the value of diversity, and respect for difference); and

–
work in close collaboration with colleagues,
parents and the wider community.

Given the increasing demands placed upon school
leaders, and the difficulties sometimes experienced in filling leadership posts,
it would also be advantageous if teachers had adequate opportunities to
acquire, develop and use skills of leadership.

2.3.3      Reflective
practice and research

Teachers help young people to take
responsibility for mapping out their own learning pathways throughout life. Teachers
should be able to take charge of their own learning pathways also. Furthermore,
as with members of any other profession, teachers have a responsibility to
develop new knowledge about education and training. In a context of autonomous
lifelong learning, their professional development implies that teachers:

–
continue to reflect on their practice in a
systematic way;

–
undertake classroom-based research;

–
incorporate into their teaching the results of classroom
and academic research;

–
evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching
strategies and amend them accordingly; and

–
assess their own training needs.

The incentives, resources and support systems
necessary to achieve this would need to be put in place.

2.3.4      Qualifications

Given the complexity of the demands placed upon
teachers, the range of knowledge and skills that they are required to master,
and the need for them to have sufficient practical experience in real
classrooms as a part of their initial education, it is not surprising that initial
Teacher Education courses are demanding. In 18 Member States, initial Education
courses for upper secondary teachers last at least five years and lead to a
university level qualification (ISCED 5A); for lower secondary teachers 12 Member
States require initial education at university level of at least five years[25].

Consideration could be given to moving to a higher
level qualification policy, as already adopted in some countries.

2.3.5      Teacher
Education in Higher Education

To ensure that there is adequate capacity
within Higher Education to provide for the quantity and quality of Teacher
Education required, and to promote the professionalisation of teaching, teacher
education programmes should be available in the Master and Doctorate (as well
as the Bachelor) cycles of higher education.

Links between teacher educators, practicing
teachers, the world of work and other agencies need to be strengthened. Higher
Education institutions have an important role to play in developing effective partnerships
with schools and other stakeholders to ensure that their Teacher Education
courses are based upon solid evidence and good classroom practice.

Those responsible for educating teachers (and
for educating teacher educators) should possess practical experience of
classroom teaching and have attained a very high standard in the skills,
attitudes and competences demanded of teachers.

2.3.6      Teaching in society

Teachers act as role models. It is important for
pupil attainment that the profession fully reflects the diversity of the society
in which it operates (in terms, for example of culture, mother tongue, and
(dis)ability). Member States could take measures to ensure that the composition
of the teaching workforce fully reflects the diversity of society, and in
particular remove obstacles to culture and gender balance at all levels.

3            The
commission’s contribution

In order to support Member States in their
reforms of Teacher Education, the Commission proposes to:

(1)
ensure that the new Lifelong Learning Programme
and the European Social Fund support Member States' efforts to improve the
provision and content of teacher education, and to encourage the mobility of
teachers and trainee teachers;

(2)
develop indicators that better reflect the
issues involved in improving education and training for teachers and their
recruitment, and report on progress in the quality of teacher education through
the biennial reports on the Education and Training 2010 programme;

(3)
contribute to the creation and dissemination of
new knowledge in the field of teaching and teacher education; and support
Member States in making effective use of it, through the Lifelong Learning
Programme and the Research Framework Programme;

(4)
support the development of initiatives that
promote the European dimension of teacher education and the mobility of
teachers;

(5)
review progress and bring forward further proposals.

4            Conclusions

This Communication has identified the
quality of teaching and Teacher Education as a key factor in securing the
quality of education and improving the educational attainment of young people.
It has listed a number of steps that could now be taken in this field, and ways
in which the Commission can support that work.

Taken together, these proposals would serve
to: ensure that provision for teachers' education and professional development
is coordinated, coherent, and adequately resourced; ensure that all teachers
possess the knowledge, attitudes and pedagogic skills that they require to be
effective; support the professionalisation of teaching; promote a culture of
reflective practice and research within the teaching profession; and promote
the status and recognition of the profession.

In doing so, they will contribute to
improving the quality of education for all and help Member States achieve their
Lisbon goals for social cohesion and economic competitiveness and growth.

The Commission will seek to take forward
these proposals within the Education and Training 2010 programme, working with
the ‘Teachers and Trainers’ Cluster of Member State experts. It will be
assisted in this task by the forthcoming conferences organised in the framework
of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council.

The Commission invites the European
Parliament and the Council to respond to the issues outlined in this Communication.

[1]               Study Mobility of Teachers and Trainers, undertaken
on behalf of Directorate-General for Education and Culture, 2006 (http://ec.europa.eu/education/doc/reports/doc/mobility.pdf).

[2]               This Communication relates to teachers in general
education and in initial vocational education; for these purposes a teacher is
a person who is acknowledged as having the status of a teacher (or equivalent)
according to the legislation and practice of a Member State. It excludes
persons employed outside the formal systems of education and training because
of the different nature and context of the tasks they undertake.

[3]               See, for example, the integrated guidelines for
Growth and Jobs which recognise the importance of competences for employment,
and in particular guideline No 23 on the need to adapt education and training
systems in response to new competence requirements by, inter alia, ensuring the
attractiveness, openness and high quality standards of education and training
systems.

[4]               Commission annual report on progress towards the
Lisbon objectives, 16 May 2006

[5]               see, for example, Darling Hammond et al 2005, Does
teacher preparation matter? Evidence about teacher certification, Teach for
America, and teacher effectiveness. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13(42)
16-17, 20

[6]               Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain, 2000; Hanushek, Kain and
Rivkin 2005, ‘Teachers, Schools, and Academic
Achievement’.

[7]               Angrist and Lavy, 2001, Does Teacher Training Affect
Pupil Learning? Evidence from Matched Comparisons in Jerusalem Public Schools
Journal of Labor Economics, 19, 2, 343-69

[8]               http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/jir_council_final.pdf

[9]               OECD report Teachers matter: Attracting, Developing
and Retaining Effective Teachers, 2005; www.oecd/edu/teacherpolicy

[10]             The European Youth Pact,
http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/84335.pdf

[11]             as presented in the Communication Putting knowledge
into practice: A broad-based innovation strategy for the EU COM(2006) 502 final

[12]             A high level group chaired by Mr. Michel Rocard MEP has
examined existing European and national innovative ongoing initiatives
activities in the field of scientific education. Their report, available at http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.topic&id=1100&lang=,
calls for the introduction of a new approach to science education that breaks
radically with traditional pedagogical methods.

[13]             See Commission Communication Fostering
entrepreneurial mindsets through education and learning COM(2006) 33 final

[14]             COM(2005)596 of November 2005

[15]             Teachers Matter, OECD 2005

[16]             For a full explanation of the data on which these
tables are based, and the definitions used, please refer to: Key data on
Education in Europe 2005, Eurydice, ISBN 92-894-9422-0; http://www.eurydice.org/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/showPresentation?pubid=052EN

[17]             Key data on Education in Europe 2005, Eurydice, ISBN
92-894-9422-0

[18]             Dolton, P. J. and Van der Klaauw, W. ‘Leaving teaching in the UK – a duration analysis’. Economic
Journal 105 (429), 431-444, 1995.

[19]             Study Mobility of Teachers and Trainers,
Directorate-General for Education and Culture, 2006

[20]             Idem

[21]             Decision 1720/ 2006/ EC

[22]             Working Group on improving the education of teachers
and trainers, progress reports 2003, 2004: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/2010:objectives_en.html#training

[23]             http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/testingconf_en.html

[24]             See Recommendation of the Parliament and the Council
2006/962/EC

[25]             Eurydice: Key Data on Education in Europe, 2005