The European Union is working to revalorise the teaching professions and to provide all teachers, trainers and school leaders with high-quality initial education and professional development opportunities.
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Why are teachers, trainers and school leaders important?
Teachers, trainers and school leaders play a central role in the provision of high-quality, inclusive education for all learners. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they rapidly adapted to school closures and switched to remote and blended forms of teaching to ensure that effective learning could continue.
Without involving and committing these professionals, no educational reform will succeed. They play a central role in fostering and implementing innovative curricula and teaching practices that provide learners with the key competences they need to flourish in Europe’s sustainable digital economy of the future.
However, shortages of teachers and trainers put the provision of high-quality, inclusive and innovative education at risk. To tackle this problem, the essential work of these education professionals needs to be revalorised.
They need support throughout their careers to develop their competences and opportunities to collaborate and exchange with their peers through projects and networks across borders.
What is the EU doing?
To address these issues, the Commission is taking the following steps:
- Developing 25 Erasmus+ Teachers Academy by 2025 to create networks of teacher associations and structures
- Establish European guidance for the development of national career frameworks to support the career development of school education professionals
- increase the number and quality of teacher mobility periods
- apply the European Prize for Innovative Teaching to recognize the work of teachers and their schools
