Strengthen Teaching by Improving Professional Mobility

Dr. Alain Michel

Scientific Advisor of European Institute for Education and Social Policy
Oct 12, 2013

We also need to take a fresh look at why people want to teach

The teaching profession, as we have known it, is obsolete. Certainly, we need
to rethink teachers roles. But we also need to take a fresh look
atwhy people want to teach. Indeed, fewer and fewer people want to
become teachers. Many of those who do enter the profession leave it within
a few years.
There is already a shortage of qualified teachers in many countries and this
trend is likely to intensify. Some think that we can address teacher shortages
by providing more ICT-based learning and edutainment. While this may be
appropriate, for older learners in higher education and training programs, at
least to a certain extent, it is certainly not a solution for younger learners in
primary and secondary school. Teachers have a crucial role to play in
supporting these young learners as they develop their social skills and start
to engage more actively in their communities.
Indeed, in many ways our expectations of teachers and schools are greater
than ever. Teachers are expected to do more to personalize learning in order
to meet diverse learner needs. They are also asked to develop new
approaches to assessment, to support active student learning, to keep up to
date with developments in their fields, and to integrate new technologies.
As a result, most countries are exploring policy options for strengthening
teacher qualifications. International organizations such as UNESCO, the
OECD and the European Commission have also undertaken studies on how to
attract new teachers while also raising the bar for professional qualification.
The growing international consensus that teachers should have a Master of
Education degree is a significant example of this trend.
A few obvious factors are likely to have an impact on the attractiveness of
the profession, such as salary level and working conditions. In some
countries, the relatively low salary of teachers, particularly in comparison to
other professions requiring an equivalent level of qualification, has lowered
teachers social status.

A recent study by the European Institute of Education and Social Policy

(EIESP) found that there are many additional factors that play a significant
role in decisions to enter and stay in the teaching profession. For example,
initial teacher education, early-career support and professional development
are particularly important. Over the last decade, the declining social prestige
and negative image of the profession portrayed in the media appears to
have had a big impact on the attractiveness of the profession in many
countries.
But there is another factor likely to improve the attractiveness of the
teaching profession which may at first glance look like a paradox. Despite the
fact that most people who decide to enter the teaching profession do so for
altruistic reasons teaching as a vocation the limited opportunities to leave
teaching for another profession may be a significant obstacle. In most
countries, support for mobility within and beyond the teaching profession is
very rare.
Real opportunities for teachers to take on new responsibilities during the
course of their careers may also be an important factor in attracting top
graduates. This is particularly the case in countries where the teaching
profession does not have much social prestige. Conversely, it is important to
attract professionals who wish to become teachers after they have worked in
some other field. Their real-world experience is extremely valuable.
Indeed, an important goal of education is to prepare students for working life
by helping them to acquire basic competences and skills they will need to
adapt to a fast-changing world. Teachers who have had previous professional
experience in business or public administration are particularly well equipped
to prepare young learners to navigate the multiple changes they are likely to
experience in their lifetimes.
Some countries are already doing more to facilitate this kind of teacher
mobility. For example, according to the Training and Development Agency
for Schools in England, between 2009 and 2010, the number of career
changers applying for teacher training rose by 35%, thus representing about
30% of the total number of new applicants.
In other words, a significant way of increasing the number of qualified
teachers who will be able to meet ever-higher expectations, is to increase
their opportunities to move between the teaching and other professions.