International Conference on Education.

Workshop 4B. 9 September 2004.

Quality Education and the key Role of Teachers

The workshop began with a film “teachers in training to learn how to live together” by the National Institute of Education in Sri Lanka and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).

The four main themes that emerged during the workshop were:

1. Teaching: a demanding and constantly evolving profession. As well as the basic teaching competencies teachers must be open to other domains to respond to new needs such as education for peace, HIV/AIDS prevention, ICTs, social conflict mediation, gender balance, cultural diversity, human rights, democracy and life skills.

2. Recruiting quality teachers. In order to have quality teachers governments must improve salaries and conditions, especially in rural and less popular areas. As well as material incentives, teachers can also be retained by governments if they are given social recognition for their work. A career plan would alos help to motivate teachers. “Teacher poaching” by developed countries is an enormous problem for developing countries. 

3. Initial and continuing training for teachers. It is important to have the basic teacher training, but it is also important to emphasize continuous training and maintaining a balance between the two. One participant said: “we do not learn for school, we learn for life”. Participants emphasized the following points:
· Teacher training should include participating in school projects and managing crises in life.
· Training should reinforce the capacities for work and developing confidence in teachers (distance learning, ICTs).
· Develop apprenticeship in dialogue, autonomy, evaluation of tools and indicators which take account of the apprenticeship process in all aspects.

4. Accompanying and supporting teachers. 
· Encourage teachers participation in school management.
· Work towards reinforcing respect and confidence between the key people involved in schools (directors, teachers, pupils and parents).
· Develop and/or augment the professional liberty and autonomy of teachers equally and in the framework of the political national plan for education.