Constructing Scenarios for the Future of Teaching in Flanders

Constructing Scenariosfor the Future of Teachingin Flanders Constructing Scenariosfor the Future of Teachingin Flanders This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed andarguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD. This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty overany territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. ISBN 978-92-64-72353-5 (print)ISBN 978-92-64-91902-0 (PDF)ISBN 978-92-64-91707-1 (HTML)ISBN 978-92-64-63849-5 (epub) Educational Research and InnovationISSN 2076-9660 (print)ISSN 2076-9679 (online) Photo credits:Cover © Geber86/Shutterstock.com. Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found at: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/support/corrigenda.html.© OECD 2024 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Attribution– you must cite the work.Translations– you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text:In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and thetranslation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.Adaptations– you must cite the original work and add the following text:This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed inthis adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.Third-party material– the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and forany claims of infringement.You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shallbe Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one. Preface The teaching profession is a profession to be proud of. Teachers make a difference, day in day out. Qualityeducation relies on them. There are, however, challenges facing education that put Flemish teachers (andtheir international colleagues) under rising pressure. The results of national and international assessmentsraise concerns about the quality of education. Societal changes do not stop at the school’s gate and impactwhat happens in the classroom. Teachers must manage society’s high expectations, looking in thedirection of education to provide answers to every societal problem. They feel increasing accountabilitypressure, which in turn leads to administrative burden. A growing number of Flemish teachers report feelingthat their profession is notappreciated by society. Teacher shortages only add to the strain on thoseremaining in the profession. These evolutions demonstrate an apparent need for a future proof vision that transcends the day-to-daychallenges and is sustainable for the long term.A vision that recognises the professionalism of ourteachers, while also focusing on how it can be better supported and improved. One that sees educationas a collective responsibility, away from the idea that teachers are on their own. This boils down tothethree questions we wanted to answer with this project: what is the core of being a teacher? What do weexpect 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 stakeholdersfrom outside of the education sector, like welfare, social and youth organisations. Engaging a diverse arrayof perspectives is essential for creating a broad and inclusive vision for the future of teaching. Thisapproach also addresses the critical need for more collaboration and effective collective learning, not justwithin schools, but within thebroader community. The outcomes of this project will prove useful in shaping future policy. The scenarios provide valuable inputinto discussions on how to foster an innovative, collaborative and future-proof profession. They give insightin how to empower teachers in a way that does not only do justice to their professionalism, but helps todevelop it further. The personas help us gain a better understanding of the diversity of teachers and theirvarious needs and expectations. We look forward to puttingthe lessons learned from this project intopractice. And we look forward to doing tha