What’s wrong with the way things are?
In a recent OECD survey, almost all countries report shortfalls in teaching skills, and difficulties in updating teachers’ skills.In many Member States there is little systematic coordination between different elements of teacher education, leading to a lack of coherence and continuity, especially between a teacher’s initial professional education and subsequent induction, in-service training and professional development.In-service training for teachers is compulsory in only eleven Member States. Where it exists, training generally amounts to less than 20 hours per year.As regards new teachers, only half of the countries in Europe offer new teachers any systematic kind of support (e.g. induction, training, mentoring) in their first years of teaching.Furthermore, in contrast with other professions, the teaching profession has a high percentage of older workers. The proportion of teachers aged between 45 and 64 is over 40% in many countries while as many as 30% of the teaching population
