B The realities of teachers

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 691.

There has been lately a great emphasis on teacher professionalism. It appears that many education systems have come to the conclusion that the quality of teachers is the most important factor to improve learning. This is leading to incentives for those teachers deemed to be good, to tighter recruitment of graduates, and stricter controls on the quality of teaching.

Most educators nowadays agree about the effectiveness of formative assessment, that is, assessment used on a daily basis for diagnostic purposes and to dynamically adapt teaching, rather than for grading. At the same time, it has now become clear that this type of assessment requires a deep re-think of the traditional roles of teachers and students, which takes time and support.

Education has always been associated with schools. However, this relationship is now under stress as new technologies move learning outside of the school walls. This trend poses challenges to the traditional role of the teacher. Some specific opportunities and risks are: educating outside school hours, more emphasis on facilitation, mentoring and guidance, increased workload, linking with families, some risks

Many classes in European schools are now culturally and ethnically diverse. Teachers are becoming increasingly experienced in dealing with diversity and know how to recognise and address inclusion issues when these arise.