- 2022Design
Background
Teachers and trainers are key actors in planning, providing feedback and supporting the teaching and learning process. Heads of vocational education and training (VET) institutions should create a learning culture and environment that supports learning and wellbeing, skilfully managing and implementing changes. To guarantee high-quality education and training, and diverse learning environments, initial teacher training and professional development opportunities must remain of high quality.
In relation to the supply and quality of teachers, trainers and heads of schools, there are several challenges.
- The supply of teachers and trainers, and support specialists is insufficient. The teaching community is ageing, and the retainment rate of new teachers is low.
- An increasingly larger share of new VET teachers does not meet the qualification requirements: in 2010-20, only 60% of them complied.
- The skills of teachers, vocational teachers, supervisors, trainers and school heads in diversifying the learning process and environment and their readiness to introduce educational innovations is uneven; the potential of digital solutions is not fully exploited.
- The readiness of VET institutions to manage a multilingual and multicultural learning environment and to support students with a mother tongue other than Estonian is insufficient.
The following strengths of the Estonian VET system help to meet the challenges: the great autonomy of teachers and school heads, efficient and active networks of teachers and heads of schools, and high-quality digital infrastructure of VET institutions.
Objectives
To ensure the supply of teachers and trainers, and support specialists.
To empower teachers, heads of schools and other staff in VET to provide quality education and training.
Description
In order to develop the competences of teachers, trainers and heads of school, the following measures are foreseen:
- building the capacity of schools to develop the content of VET, including curriculum development and in-service training for vocational teachers;
- pedagogical-methodological in-service training courses (including special pedagogy and andragogy) for VET teachers, in-service training in digital pedagogy for vocational teachers;
- field-related training for vocational teachers, training for school teams and support specialists, in-service training for heads of schools;
- training for school and company traineeship instructors under the VET and higher education development programme PRÕM+;
- didactics training for IT practitioners from the IT Academy in VET;
- support for Erasmus+ placements abroad for vocational teachers;
- training in content and language integrated learning for VET teachers;
- in-service training in language teaching methodology for VET teachers;
- Estonian language training for VET teachers whose native language is other than Estonian;
- counselling for school teams on teaching in a multilingual and multicultural learning environment and supporting pupils whose native language is other than Estonian.
In 2022, the framework (conditions for granting support from EU structural funds) for developing competences of teachers, trainers and heads of school was being developed, including field-related training for vocational teachers, continuous professional development (CPD) on general pedagogy/teaching methods, and development activities for the heads of VET institutions.
The new IT Academy programme and traineeship system development programme had been prepared (but not yet adopted) to continue developing digital competences for VET teachers and trainers and to ensure training of school and company instructors.
In 2022, the inter-university Teachers' Academy was established to increase the universities' capacity to (re)train teachers and education leaders, and to provide high-level research in the field of education sciences.
Transition to Estonian as the only language of instruction by 2030 required reinforced and expanded provision of Estonian language training for teachers. In 2022, the framework (conditions for granting support from EU structural funds) was created to develop language training in general education and VET, including content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and Estonian as a second language for VET teachers and trainers.
In-service training of teachers and heads of education institutions, development of teacher training and didactics in universities and co-operation between education institutions (including networks of VET teachers) continued. In cooperation with universities, the development of pre- and in-service teacher training continued with the aim to provide flexible forms of study and state-of-the-art learning solutions for different target groups, including working teachers and those who do not meet the qualification requirements.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education and Research
- Education and Youth Board
Target groups
Education professionals
- Teachers
- Trainers
- School leaders
- Adult educators
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Thematic categories
Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences
Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.
This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.
The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.
This thematic sub-category refers to measures aimed at engaging more professionals into teaching and training careers, including career schemes or incentives. It includes measures enabling teaching and training of staff, managing VET provider and trainer teams in companies to act as multipliers and mediators, and supporting their peers and/or local communities.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET as an attractive choice based on modern and digitalised provision of training and skills
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation