Teacher Education and Training for Social Inclusion

in the Western Balkans ______________________________________________________________

Parental Involvement in Schools MattersBecici, 24 April 2010

Evgenia PetkovaEuropean Training Foundation

ETF analytical activity

• Analysis into preparation of teachers policies and practices for inclusive education in the Western Balkans undertaken in 2009-2010

• Identification of key issues and challenges related to the skills and competences required by teachers for inclusive education

Research methodology

Qualitative research strategy

• Desk research of relevant texts and documents

• Field research: interviews and focus groups with teacher educators and trainers, teachers and parents and community members

Outputs

• 7 country reports on policies and practices finalised December 2009

• Cross-country report (based on the country analyses) identifying common challenges and recommendations by June 2010

General findings

• Progress in adapting countries’ education and training systems to make them more inclusive

• Legal frameworks and policy papers value diversity in E&T; implementation still a challenge

• Progress in improving pre-service and in-service training and development of teachers with donors support

Narrow paradigm of inclusive education

• Patchwork approach in understanding and practicing inclusive education

• Focused mostly on special needs and target groups (e.g. Roma, specific ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, etc.)

• Insufficient involvement of parents and community

Teacher profession and career

• Low societal esteem and remuneration

• Reform fatigue

• Lack of system for CPD of teachers and for recognition the enhancement of their skills

• Scarce public funding for teacher training

Teacher skills for inclusive education

• Teacher skills for IE developed as ad hoc and externally-driven activities, without clear home-grown goals and achievement indicators

• Lack of standards to act as frame of reference for the specific competences for inclusive education

• Lack of practical guidance to teachers

Teacher skills for inclusive education

• Lack of confidence to work in diverse settings

• Wide spectrum of teacher attitudes (+ -) towards students with ‘non-standard’ profiles

• Shortage of teachers coming from ethnic/linguistic minorities

• Some subject teachers, esp. in VET, do not have pedagogical qualification

Pre-service teacher education

• Low status of teaching profession impact quality and potential of student teacher enrolment

• IE seen as adding new modules to existing academic teacher programmes, not as a cross-curricular principle

• Lack of sufficient practical training, “reality check” missing

In-service teacher training and CPD

• Lack of systemic approach

• Good practices (funded by donors and NGOs) remain “isolated islands” of experience

• Lack of holistic approach, taking into account not only teachers but overall school teams and management

Recommendations

Schools should no longer be mono-ethnic institutions with homogeneous classes

• Promote teacher education as a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, problem-oriented study area

Provide for broader teacher competences, incl. interactive and flexible ways of teaching and learning, working with mixed ability and cultural backgrounds

Work together, across institutions, across the country, across the region and Europe

For further information

Visit ETF website:www.etf.europa.eu

ETF Regional Project on Social Inclusion website:

http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/pages/Project_Social_Inclusion_EN?opendocument

Contact us with your feedback:lki@etf.europa.euepe@etf.europa.eu

THANK YOU!