The teaching profession is a profession to be proud of. Teachers make a difference, day in day out. Quality education relies on them. There are, however, challenges facing education that put Flemish teachers (and their international colleagues) under rising pressure. The results of national and international assessments raise concerns about the quality of education. Societal changes do not stop at the school’s gate and impact what happens in the classroom. Teachers must manage society’s high expectations, looking in the direction of education to provide answers to every societal problem. They feel increasing accountability pressure, which in turn leads to administrative burden. A growing number of Flemish teachers report feeling that their profession is not appreciated by society. Teacher shortages only add to the strain on those remaining in the profession.
These evolutions demonstrate an apparent need for a future proof vision that transcends the day-to-day challenges and is sustainable for the long term. A vision that recognises the professionalism of our teachers, while also focusing on how it can be better supported and improved. One that sees education as a collective responsibility, away from the idea that teachers are on their own. This boils down to the three questions we wanted to answer with this project: what is the core of being a teacher? What do we expect from the teacher as professional? And how can other professionals support the teacher in this?
It was pivotal that these questions were answered in close collaboration with the education sector: teachers, school leaders, researchers, intermediaries and unions. Additionally, we involved stakeholders from outside of the education sector, like welfare, social and youth organisations. Engaging a diverse array of perspectives is essential for creating a broad and inclusive vision for the future of teaching. This approach also addresses the critical need for more collaboration and effective collective learning, not just within schools, but within the broader community.
The outcomes of this project will prove useful in shaping future policy. The scenarios provide valuable input into discussions on how to foster an innovative, collaborative and future-proof profession. They give insight in how to empower teachers in a way that does not only do justice to their professionalism, but helps to develop it further. The personas help us gain a better understanding of the diversity of teachers and their various needs and expectations. We look forward to putting the lessons learned from this project into practice. And we look forward to doing that, in line with the outcomes of this project and how they were conceived, in close collaboration with all the stakeholders that were involved in the process. A sincere ‘thank you’ to the OECD for this project, for building evidence together from different perspectives. And a call to you, the reader, to think with us about this project and the future of teaching.
Jeroen Backs
Head of Unit Strategy and Knowledge, Department of Education and Training
Hilde Lesage
Head of Unit Education Personnel, Department of Education and Training