To the core of the teacher's profession
Professionalisation of teachers is known as a challenge in Flemish education. Compared to their foreign colleagues, Flemish teachers spend significantly less time on professional development activities. The main obstacles for participating in professional development activities are the difficult combination with the work schedule and the cost. Teachers, on the one hand, experience too little time to professionalise. On the other hand, budgets for professionalisation are low: for primary education it is an annual budget of 66 euros per teacher, in secondary it is 97 euros. The Vlor believes that there is a need for consolidation in this area and with this advice provides input to Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts, who wants to develop a plan around the professionalisation of teachers.
Core mission of the teacher
Professionalisation is a core task of the teacher. This means that a teacher, both as a person and as a member of a team, is entitled to professionalisation. At the same time, a teacher has the responsibility to continue professional development, both as an individual professional and as a member of the school as a learning organisation. Teachers also want to be inspired, fuelled by their love and commitment to education.
Enhanced teacher professionalisation can also be an important lever for (re)valuing the teaching profession and the quality of education.
Time and space
One of the important conditions for a strong professionalisation policy is that teachers are given sufficient time and space to professionalise. The Vlor therefore asks the government to take actions to make professionalisation a part of the teacher's job in a structural way.
Strong demand from the professional field
For this advice, the Vlor drew a great deal of inspiration from the platform it opened at the end of last school year for ideas about the teacher and the teaching profession. The council also made grateful use of the insights of the teachers' panel within the project "The teacher at school and in society".