Organisational aspects
For the starting teacher, initial guidance is a right and a duty for the starting teacher. Initial guidance supports the temporary staff member in mastering his core tasks, in learning to develop himself further as a person and professional and in learning to find his way in his institution as a workplace and learning organisation.
Professionalisation is also an inherent part of being a teacher and part of every staff member's mission. It is a right and a duty for the teacher and the school board/school management.
The teacher is primarily responsible for his/her professional development and plays an active role from participation to implementation in his/her own practice. However, he/she can only fully assume this responsibility if he/she is supported in this by his/her school and school board. A teacher's first evaluator (usually the school leader) may, in consultation with the teacher, make certain professionalisation initiatives mandatory. In that case, these initiatives are included in the staff member's job description.
Several actors play a role in the professionalisation of teachers (teams) and the school as an organisation. To start with, the school leader. The school leadership ensures alignment between the individual professionalisation of teachers and the (supra-)school policy. Every school must draw up a professionalisation plan every year that coherently includes the professionalisation initiatives aimed at the competence development of staff and the development of the school as an organisation. The approach to initial guidance is also included in the plan. The Educational Quality Reference Framework defines quality expectations around each school's professionalisation policy: from needs-based to mapping effects of professionalisation.
In addition to the school actors (fellow teachers, middle managers, managers, support staff, etc.), the school board, combined school, actors external to schools play a very important part: pedagogical supervisors, teacher trainers, POC employees, providers of professional development, publishers, researchers, external parties, education authorities, etc. in accordance with sustainable professional development (including the support of the transfer), coordination between the various players is crucial.
The government also has a role to play in this support, for example by means of professional development at the initiative of the Government of Flanders and by providing the necessary means of professional development (see below).
Different forms of professionalization
There are various initiatives that ensure teachers grow in their professional expertise to optimise the quality of education. These initiatives can be different in terms of design, duration, target group, offerings, whether or not they are absent during the initiative with need for replacement etc.
First, there are the common 'traditional' activities of professionalisation (e.g. in-service training, participation in study days). In addition, there are many opportunities of learning in and outside the school, such as observations, coaching, team teaching. The school can be considered a place of work and learning. It is a place where not only pupils get learning opportunities, but where teachers can also (continue to) develop their expertise.
If there is a need for replacements, primary education (mainstream and special) schools can use the system of short term replacements (of which in-service training is an example). Those schools receive additional resources to cover short absences of staff appointed to the post of pre-school teacher or teacher. In secondary education, the Department of Education and Training facilitates the taking of a company work placement by offering replacement class activities relating to entrepreneurship and/or entrepreneurship to the pupils during the absence of the teachers on work placement.
Incentives, supporting measures and funding for participation in continuing professional development (CPD) activities
Financing the in-service training
As far as initial guidance is concerned, school boards receive additional framework resources annually to deploy staff to offer and (further) develop quality initial guidance in their institution(s). These funds are allocated directly to schools along with the usual framework.
Regarding continuous professionalisation, there are different funding channels, namely the professionalisation resources for the institutions, professionalisation at the initiative of the Flemish Government and professionalisation at the initiative of the pedagogical guidance services. This is regulated by the decree of 8 May 2009 on the quality of education.
In addition, the government subsidizes other projects (which can be of short or long duration) by means of a semi or non-regulated subsidy and also organizes study days for all kinds of education professionals.
In-service training budget 2021 (in thousands of EUR)
|
In-service training for the institutions by level |
|
|
Nursery and primary education |
4 007 |
|
Secondary education |
6 335 |
|
Adult education, excluding adult basic education |
354 |
|
Part-time education in the arts |
255 |
|
CLBs |
178 |
|
Adult basic education |
77 |
|
In-service training resources at the initiative of the school advisory services |
1 148 |
|
In-service training at the initiative of the Government of Flanders |
701 |
|
TOTAL |
13.055 |
In-service training resources for institutions
This concerns the resources allocated directly to schools for the implementation of their professional development training plan (see above). The plan is approved either by the local committee or, if there is no local committee, by the general staff meeting. The legislation defines in-service training broadly as long as it can be demonstrated that the funded initiatives contribute to the professional development of the teacher.
In the case of in-service training, the principle of the free market applies. The institutions may have recourse to an in-service organization of their choice for the periodic in-service training of their staff. There are various organizations (non-profit organizations, university colleges, universities, etc.) that offer in-service training. On their own initiative, they can register as an in-service training organization in the following areas database on KlasCement. Through this platform, the organizations have the opportunity to announce specific in-service training (supply-driven operation) but they can also indicate in general which topics teachers and school leaders can approach them for the purpose of developing a tailor-made initiative for them (demand-driven operation). The government does not award a quality label to these organizations and their offerings but the teachers and school leaders do have access to the "viewing guide" in search of professional development in order to be able to make a choice that is appropriate for them.
In-service training at the initiative of the Government of Flanders (priority in-service training)
Every two years, the minister will determine one or more themes to support the implementation of education reforms. Any organization which with expertise may submit a project proposal. The selected projects are offered to schools free of charge and across the board.
The Flemish Minister of Education opts for the priority in-service training in the school years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 as the theme 'language integration in primary education’ and ‘math in the first stage of secondary education’.
In-service training on the initiative of the pedagogical counselling services
The school advisory services are also important providers of professional development. They work in a demand-driven and supply-driven way. The network-based educational guidance services of Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen, GO!, OVSG, FOPEM, POV, VONAC/VOOP, Federatie van Steinerscholen Vlaanderen and IPCO [see 11.1.4] receive separate budgets each year for the organization of professional development activities and guidance activities for their own staff and for the staff of the institutions they supervise.
Semi- or on-regulated grants and other initiatives
Examples of short or longer-term grants are
-
Francoform: a professional development programme for French secondary and adult teachers;
-
Formaprim: a French professional development programme for all teachers and pedagogical supervisors in ordinary and special secondary education, adult education and for teacher trainers of future teachers of French secondary education
-
Formaprim: a professional development programme in French for primary school teachers; for primary school teachers, students and teacher educators in the Bachelor of Primary Education programme and pedagogical supervisors.
In addition, the government also organizes free seminars on all kinds of topics (e.g. the Inspiration Day School ♡ Research, Talentop) aimed at education professionals
Permanent training organized in higher education
The university colleges offer various programmes of advanced bachelor’s programmes in education: including special educational needs education (SEN), special needs and remedial learning, school development, etc. In addition, various postgraduate programmes are also offered in higher education, including teacher training: school management, school policy, ICT coordinator for nursery and primary education, equal educational opportunities in cities and town, etc.
Incentives to participate in continuous professional development
In principle, both the school leader and all staff members of the school can apply for professionalisation funds. However, it must be possible to prove that the professionalisation is useful for the staff member's duties. Schools can reimburse transport costs and teachers' registration fees and also decide whether teachers can be exempted from their teaching assignment for the professionalisation activity.