The continuum of teacher education

90 Professional mobility remained a key priority for policy cooperation in teacher education, but gradually new trends emerged as the result of reciprocal Europeanisation examined in the first part of this chapter. The analysis revealed that some of the trends defining the European thinking in teacher education include the recruitment and retention to the teaching profession, the development of teacher competence frameworks and profiles, the continuum of teacher professional development, including policies for the different phases of initial education, induction and professional development, teacher quality assurance and the focus on teacher educators. The specific trends can be organised in some fundamental policy categories that will be examined in depth in the following section.

4.3. Unravelling the European thinking in teacher education: Implications

91 continuum synthesises other topics, we could say as a framework topic, because once you start working with the continuum perspective, then all other policy areas more or less follow.”

(Interview, EPE-2) At a systemic level, it is structured “by building induction on the professional outcomes of ITE in a bridging manner so that it prepares teachers for a career-long professional learning” (Stéger, 2014a, p. 339). The different phases are interlinked in a coherent integrated approach so that every phase gives feedback to the pervious phase in order to enhance quality (ibid.) and is influencing the phase following (European Commission, 2015). Figure 10 illustrates the relation between the different phases, indicating the view adopted by the Commission that a teacher is still developing after completing ITE. The stage of selection into ITE is also included, because it has often been raised as a precondition for improving the quality and attractiveness of the teaching profession in various EU documents (see European Commission 2012; Council of the European Union, 2009, 2014).

Figure 10: The continuum of the teaching profession (Source: European Commission, 2015, p. 15)

A continuum perspective needs to ensure cooperation and dialogue between stakeholders involved in the process, including the education ministry, ITE providers, school leaders, teaching professionals and other education stakeholder groups (Caena, 2014b, p. 3). As the result of research and peer learning, the Commission produced a policy guide entitled Shaping career-long perspectives on teaching, in 2015, which brings together best practices, existing knowledge and experts’ input, in order to improve ITE in Europe. For enhancing the quality of ITE, the Commission argued that the teaching profession should be regarded as an integrated continuum, “bringing together five interrelated perspectives: addressing teachers’ learning needs; support systems; career paths; the organisation of competence levels; and, the impact of school culture” (European Commission, 2015, p. 4). Specifically, the Commission suggested the following key policy actions for Member States to consider as part of creating a broader strategy in teacher education that supports the development of a continuum:

1. connecting the different phases of the continuum, particularly through career structures and incentives that foster professional growth;

2. developing programmes based on teacher learning needs, such as ITE curricula that support the development of teacher agency and the development of competences for self-directed learning;

3. establishing support structures which: are initiated by both teachers and external expectations at the national and local level; engage teachers in research in their practice; recognise formal, informal and non-formal professional development opportunities; and promote partnerships between ITE and CPD providers, as well as different types of teacher educators;

4. enabling career paths that recognise the range of roles and entry points to the profession;

92 5. identifying different competence levels for the different phases of the continuum based on shared understanding, ownership and language between stakeholders and between the different phases of the continuum; and

6. connecting teacher professional development and appraisal procedures to the broader agenda of the school, meaning to school improvement (European Commission, 2015, pp. 34-35)

It becomes apparent that the Commission conceptualises the continuum as an overarching strategy, connected to different aspects of teacher education policy, and recommends this as a roadmap for Member States when designing teacher education reforms. The continuum also implies that teacher education providers should rethink their activities and play a significant role of supporting teachers throughout their career (EDiTE, 2014). To better understand the implications of the continuum thinking on teacher education policy and practice, brief mention will be made of the different phases of ITE, induction and CPD in the following sub-sections.

4.3.1.1. Initial teacher education

With regard to ITE, the analysis in the previous section of this chapter revealed some recurring themes of European thinking. Firstly, the Commission seems to raise the importance of improving the teacher selection and recruitment processes in order to identify the most suitable candidates for the profession (European Commission, 2012, 2017). “A high level of selectivity at the recruitment stage during the ITE period, combined with an attractive salary and a positive image of the teaching profession,” are conditions which can attract the “best students”, according to the Commission (European Commission, 2013a, p. 59). Another way to deal with teacher supply is to introduce alternative pathways into teaching, an idea promoted within the EU as early as the launch of ET2010 (Council of the European Union, 2002). Alternative pathways are defined as “usually flexible, mostly employment-based and shorter than main ITE programmes” (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018, p. 36) that target motivated or high quality professionals of other sectors than education, or graduates from other disciplines, particularly in systems facing teacher shortages (ibid.).

Referring to teacher education programmes, European policies steadily promote the idea of a balanced mix between subject knowledge, pedagogical competences, and integrated periods of practical training (Council of the European Union, 2007, 2014; European Commission, 2012). Moreover, and because of the EQF reform in Europe, EU thinking related to ITE programmes suggests a shift from writing curricula focusing on discipline content towards writing curricula based on competence profiles and learning outcomes (European Commission, 2012). In addition to student workload, the components of competences and learning outcomes should define ECTS points (Tuning, 2009), easing the mobility of student teachers. Along those changes, introducing new topics in study programmes is indirectly implied by referring to: digital teaching and learning, self-reflection and collaborative working, education for diversity, citizenship education, school management and leadership roles (Council of the European Union, 2009, 2014; European Commission, 2012, 2017, 2018e). The Commission connects several of those topics to the idea of enhancing the European dimension in teaching.

In order to prevent a split between theory and practice, the EU considers partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders important, especially in designing and delivering teacher education programmes (Council of the European Union, 2014). Specifically, partnerships between universities and schools can enhance the development of study programmes for school practice and contribute to the development of mentoring systems at ITE institutions and

93 schools, provided there are joint responsibilities and clear roles for planning, management, monitoring and assessment (Caena, 2014b). Finally, ITE should be accompanied by quality control with a focus on teacher competence requirements, curriculum features and organisation (ibid., p. 16). This also implies the need to install an overall quality assurance system, “with emphasis being placed on achieving the required learning outcomes, on the quality and adequate duration of practical experience and on ensuring the relevance of what is taught”

(Council of the European Union, 2014, p. 3).

4.3.1.2. Induction

The role of induction is crucial in European thinking regarding the continuum of teacher education, because induction creates opportunities to relate back to ITE and prepares teachers for CPD (European Commission, 2010). Induction is understood as a structured support phase for newly qualified teachers and is usually associated with the first years of teaching (ibid.).

During induction novices entirely or partially carry out their tasks with the support of experienced teachers, they are remunerated for their work, and usually receive additional training and personalised help and advice (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018, p.

51). According to the Commission (2010, p. 16), induction programmes have various aims:

reducing the dropout rate of teachers; improving the quality of beginning teachers; support in the professional, social and emotional dimension; support of the learning culture in schools;

and providing feedback for teacher education institutes.

To consolidate the European thinking on induction, the Commission in 2010 published the handbook for policymakers Developing Coherent and System-wide Induction Programmes for Beginning Teachers. The specific policy handbook offered guidelines for policymakers in order to develop an induction system appropriate for their local needs. As with other phases of the continuum, the Commission suggested that the specific policy aims of induction should be clearly defined and their effects need to be measurable. Induction can be more effective if delivered as a coherent programme that provides novices with three levels of support:

personal/emotional, social and professional (European Commission, 2010, p. 35). All key actors in the field of induction should be involved in the design and assessment of induction, have their roles and responsibilities clearly defined, and have received the necessary preparation for fulfilling their responsibilities (ibid.). This means that teacher educators, including mentors, should receive training for their role in induction which is different to their role in ITE.

To effectively integrate induction in the continuum of teacher education, it is suggested that effective links and strong communication should be in place between the different teacher education providers (ibid.). Moreover, allocating adequate financial and time resources is important, in the sense that beginning teachers should have fewer teaching hours in the first years to be able to have more paid hours for other induction activities, such as meeting with the mentor and lesson preparation (ibid., p. 37). Regular review and evaluation of induction policies and provision can ensure that the induction phase is implemented consistently (ibid.).

According to an interviewee of this study, the results of the policy handbook on induction have culminated in various policy developments at both EU and Member States level:

The 2010 policy guide on early career support is an example for how such things do not necessarily lead to the birth of initiatives in the short run but maybe in the mid-term create something when the moment is ripe. For instance, this work that was made six years ago fed into our work on the continuum of teacher education and we are now starting a pilot project at the request of the European Parliament

94 on mentoring for novice teachers, online tools for mentoring novice teachers, which is an interesting new project that will run over a year. It is a pilot project we are going to do in some countries and at the same time it is also related to e-twinning and can help to understand that online communities of practice can work very well. (Interview, EPE-6)

Other proposals include the length of the induction period, which should be at least one year, or preferably extend over the first two or three years of recruitment, and the involvement of novices in research activities to ensure the development of reflective competences (European Commission, 2013a). For a successful induction phase, it is important to improve the communication and collaboration between the staff of teacher education departments at universities, mentors in schools, school leaders and inspectors, developing a common language among teacher educators (ibid.).

4.3.1.3. Continuing professional development

Unlike with ITE or induction, European policy cooperation in CPD has not yet produced concrete policy outcomes targeting the specific phase. According to an interviewee, this is partly explained by the fact that the Council has not exerted an influence on teachers’ CPD as much as on ITE (Interview, EPE-9). References to CPD can be found in various policy documents related to the continuum of teacher education, but generally CPD proves a “highly problematic issue” across Europe, because the transfer to and implementation of European policies on the national level has been only partially successful (Gassner, 2010, p. 31).

This is also because the notion of CPD is not always sufficient to describe all activities aiming at developing the skills and knowledge of practising teachers (Interview, EPE-13). The work of the 2016-2018 OMC working group on networks and schools as learning organisations has shown that even if CPD is not explicitly mentioned, the activities analysed and proposed can be interpreted as CPD (Interview, EPE-7). In this sense, it seems that European policy cooperation has led to important developments in the area of teacher professional development, but this is not always described as CPD in the narrow sense.

In European thinking, CPD has traditionally been linked to professional mobility opportunities in order to enhance teachers’ understanding of the European dimension in education. As with other areas of lifelong learning, participation in CPD can take place through formal, informal and non-formal learning activities (Council of the European Union, 2007), using the opportunities of the Erasmus programme or virtual mobility platforms. It is important to note here that implicitly all Erasmus projects related to teachers contain CPD elements, since teachers and schools working on common European projects are meant to go through a learning process (Interview, EPE-13). Similarly, eTwinning, the European Schoolnet and the School Education Gateway are important virtual platforms promoting CPD (Interview, EPE-5).

European policies often promote a compulsory element in implementing CPD (Council of the European Union, 2009; European Commission, 2012), which is considered an integral part of teacher’s activities and can thus be connected to school development plans (European Commission, 2012). In a similar way, teacher unions promote the role of CPD:

From our side, it is a general public good, public benefit if the teachers are compulsory obliged to go to CPD and they are supported by the state. It means the courses should be paid by the school and the state, and the government, and the teachers should be allowed to do it during the working hours. However, many teachers are doing the CPD on their own, they have to pay high amount of money

95 they own. Plus, the provision of the courses is not linked to what the European Commission is defining as necessary skills and competences from the teachers.

(Interview, EPE-9)

According to Eurydice (2015), the time teachers in lower secondary education spend in CPD is higher in countries where it is mandatory, while in cases where schools and teachers themselves are responsible for defining training priorities the mismatch between the CPD offer and the needs expressed by teachers is generally lower. Although the economic recession has resulted in many countries reducing their CPD programmes, new expectations from schools, including the key European competence proposed in 2006, require teachers to have CPD throughout their career (European Commission, 2013a). The following expectations by teachers were expressed in a survey undertaken by the Commission: (a) take into account education efforts by teachers and their ability to innovate in meaningful and effective ways for career advancement and/or pay raises; (b) the support of CPD with research-action and sufficient time credits for long-term CPD wherever possible; and (c) special training for school leaders is necessary to prepare them to facilitate CPD (ibid., pp. 66-67).