Teachers' Professional Needs in Social Dialogue (2017-2018)
ETUCE represents staff and personnel of all education sectors, such as teachers of the early childhood education schools/institutions, primary and secondary schools, vocational education and training schools, higher education and research institutes, adult learning institutes and beyond. As the European trade union federation of teachers, researchers and educational staff, ETUCE promotes and defends the rights and status of the teaching profession.
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Description
In a knowledge-based society and economy, education trade unions shall represent all aspects, interests and concerns of the employees in the education sector, including their professional needs. The ETUCE project “Education Trade Unions for the Teaching Profession. Strengthening the capacity of education trade unions to represent teachers’ professional needs in social dialogue” seeks to build the capacity of education trade unions to represent teachers’ professional needs and to enhance teachers’ professional issues as a crucial matter of social dialogue in the education sector. This comes at a time when teachers are faced with challenges, both at EU and transnational level, in relation to changes in the labour market, teaching profession, and social dialogue. The project continues the work that ETUCE and its member organisations have achieved in identifying challenges in the teaching profession in times of crisis and in strengthening their involvement in the European Semester.
Activities
Survey
An on-line survey in three languages (EN, FR, and RU) among ETUCE members in EU/EFTA and candidate countries:
- to identify national findings related to teachers’ professional needs and their representation, and whether they are a matter of social dialogue;
- to analyse the role of national and European sectoral social partners in education to negotiate on professional issues of teachers.
ETUCE has been supported by the research team from the University of Nottingham in carrying out the survey.
The preliminary survey results indicate that education trade unions play an important role in providing professional development opportunities to union members, and that this provision covers a range of issues in a diverse range of forms, often in partnership with other bodies. Nearly two-thirds of education trade unions (out of 58 unions which participate in the survey) indicated that they provide professional training directly to members (62.1%). However, regarding involvement in social dialogue, the responses suggest that education trade unions are less likely to participate in social dialogue on professional issues than more traditional industrial issues. The data also points to a centralised model in which social dialogue is more likely to take place at national level (determining policy and national frameworks), but less likely to take place at institutional level. The social dialogue form of communication of information and consultation are also more common than negotiations in the field of teachers’ professional needs.
Case studies
Three short case studies conducted in three EU member countries (Italy, Germany, and Poland) to share good practices and to represent the diversity in representing teachers’ professional needs among the EU countries.
Training workshops
Training workshop in Warsaw
At the 1.5-day training workshop that took place on 27-28 November 2017 in Warsaw, 40 representatives from ETUCE member organisations in Central and Eastern Europe, had the opportunity to examine various teacher training systems in the region and assess how different education trade unions engage in the process of representing teachers’ professional needs in social dialogue. The preliminary results of the online survey and a Polish case study were presented by Professor Howard Stevenson from the University of Nottingham. Seminar participants were also presented with the strategies of education trade unions in Scotland (Educational Institute of Scotland) and Finland (Trade Union of Education OAJ) on shaping teacher training. In working groups, participants shared their own experience and suggested various solutions for strengthening the capacity of education trade unions in improving teacher training. In order to get more inside views on teacher training in Poland, a visit to the University of Warsaw was organised where participants learned about a unique initial training programme for Math and Polish language teachers ‘School of Education’, that focuses on the co-teaching, team learning, and student-centered teaching approach.
Training workshop in Berlin
At the 1.5-day training workshop that took place on 5-6 March 2018 in Berlin, trade union representatives from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK had the opportunity to examine various teacher training systems in Western and Northern Europe and assess how different education trade unions contribute to the improvement of initial and continuous teacher training through means of social dialogue. Participants learned about the complex teacher training system in Germany, as well as about strategies of German education trade unions GEW and VBE on addressing various challenges in teacher training in federal states and on national level. In order to obtain a more practical insight into teacher training in Germany, a young teacher from Berlin secondary school and GEW Youth member shared his first-hand experience of the three-phases in teacher training in Berlin. Participants also learned about the Berlin reform to integrate inclusive and special education in all subjects of teacher training. In working groups, participants proposed solutions for strengthening the capacity of education trade unions in improving teacher training.
Training workshop in Rome
At the 1.5-day training workshop that took place on 26-27 April 2018 in Rome, trade union representatives from Albania, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey (who were joined by the Project Advisory Group members from Finland, Germany, Poland, and Latvia) had the opportunity to examine various teacher training systems in Southern Europe and assess how different education trade unions contribute to the improvement of initial and continuous teacher training through means of social dialogue. Participants learned about the main challenges in teacher training in Italy linked to budgetary cuts and decrease of resources allocated to education, as well as about the work of the IRASE Nazionale, Training Institute of UIL-Scuola, which provides individualised teacher training. In order to obtain a more practical view on initial teacher training in Italy, workshop participants visited public elementary and nursery school (Scuola Elementare Statale di Padre Piemonte con annessa Scuola Maternal) in Rome where they met school mentors and student trainees, who are carrying out a practical part of their university studies.
Final conference
The Final Conference ‘Strengthening the capacity of education trade unions to represent teachers’ professional needs in social dialogue” held in Brussels on 19-20 September 2018, concluded a 2-year long project. It started from the Public Hearing “Supporting teachers in the European Education Area 2025: The role of education trade unions in meeting teachers’ professional needs” where the main findings and outcomes of the project were presented in a research report by Howard Stevenson from Nottingham University. Speakers from DG EAC (European Commission), European Economic and Social Committee, Austrian Presidency, and the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE), highlighted the crucial role of education professionals in the design and implementation of the European Education Area 2025 and confirmed the key role of European education social partners in enhancing the professional profile of teachers, trainers and school leaders. Following the Public Hearing, education trade unions representatives from 29 countries of the European region discussed challenges in representing teachers’ professional needs in social dialogue and beyond and their possible solutions. Smaller working groups provided space and time for Conference participants to discuss and validate the draft Practical Guidelines for Education Trade Unions on ‘How to represent effectively teachers’ professional needs within the unions’ capacity and social dialogue structures’.
Pictures – Final Conference Report – Research Report
Practical Guidelines
A set of Practical Guidelines for Education Trade Unions on How to represent effectively teachers’ professional needs within the unions’ capacity and social dialogue structures intends to provide education trade unions in Europe with concrete recommendations on how to represent teachers’ professional needs and to enhance teachers’ professional issues as a crucial matter of social dialogue in the education sector. Striving for quality education, the guidelines aim to assist education trade unions in developing concrete strategies to implement and reinforce education trade unions actions regarding teacher initial training and continuous professional development.
Practical Guidelines EN FR DE ES RU
Advisory Group
The project is led by an Advisory Group who provide guidance and field knowledge, assist in the design of the on-line survey activity, contribute to training workshops and the project conference as well as to the elaboration of the draft practical guidelines and evaluation of results. Advisory Group constitutes of six representatives from the national teacher unions for each level of education:
Early Childhood Education: Ilka Hoffmann, GEW, Germany
Primary education: Dorota Obidniak, ZNP, Poland
Secondary education: Päivi Lyhykäinen, OAJ, Finland
VET: Rossella Benedetti, UIL Scuola, Italy
Higher education: Dita Stefenhagena, LIZDA, Latvia
Adult learning: Tatjana Babrauskiene, FLESTU, Lithuania
This project is carried out with the financial support of the European Commission