Teachers recruitment, training and salaries (ISCED 1)

A second major trend of the primary reforms of the second half of the century concerns the upgrading of teacher requirements and, thereby, the promotion of teacher training and teaching salaries (Figure 2.2.2.).

31 The LOGSE and LODE were repealed in 2002 by the Act on the Quality of Education (“Ley Orgánica de Calidad de la Educación”, LOCE). The LOCE kept however the same basic organization as the previous legislation as far as primary education was concerned.

32 URL: http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/sweden/rapport_1.html, retrieved November 1^st, 2009.

35

1 8 0 0 1 8 2 5 1 8 5 0 1 8 7 5 1 9 0 0 1 9 2 5 1 9 5 0 1 9 7 5 2 0 0 0

D K F I G R H U IT P T S E

FIGURE 2.2.2. TEACHERS RECRUITEMENT, TRAINING AND SALARIES (ISCED 1) Note: DK=Denmark; FI=Finland; GR=Greece; HU=Hungary; IT=Italy; PT=Portugal; SE=Sweden.

Denmark provides a good example of continuous efforts in this matter. The 1814 Law already organised the training of teachers in parsonages and state training colleges. The recruitment of teachers in public schools was further regulated in 1867 and 1900. A series of laws, in 1908, 1919, 1931 and 1946, regulated the salaries of teachers in “Folkeskoler”, and in 1937, a new law regulated further the recruitment of teachers by imposing the completion of the Teaching Examination (“Lærerprove”) to be entitled to teach. That rule was strictly applicable to all teachers except those with more than 10 years of experience, or those practicing in schools with less than 10 pupils, who were eligible for special derogations. This law was further supplemented by the 1954 law about Folkeskoler teacher training. In 1966, the Act on teacher training required an upper secondary education (i.e. “studentereksamen” or higher preparatory examination (HF)) to be admitted for teacher training. During the 1970s, the demand for teachers decreased and necessitated an adaptation of the teacher training recruitment. Hence, in 1978, an act was passed on course activities at colleges training teachers for the folkeskole; in 1979, colleges of education were included into the 1977 act on higher education admission restrictions; in 1982, the educational specialisation was removed from teacher training

36 and new liberal examination forms³³ were instead introduced to adapt the supply to the demand of teachers in the educational system; and in 2000, the Danish University of Education Act and the CVU-Act (Centres for Higher Education Act) reduced the number of educational institutions for teachers and reduced costs of these institutions. The acts of 1991 and 1997 further redefined the content of teacher training programme and the agreements of 1993 and 1999 redefined the status of the teachers, replacing the civil servant status by employment on group contract basis for future employment (1993), and making salaries more flexible, decentralised and individualised, linked to the targets and results of teachers’ activities (1999).

Another interesting example is Finland. In the 1970s, the implementation of the comprehensive system in Finland went hand in hand with substantial revisions in teacher training, with the goal of raising teacher education to the university level. The 1971 Teacher Education Act (“Oppetajankoulutuslaki”, 844/1971) upgraded and transferred initial training for primary education from teacher training colleges to university education institutions. The 1978 Decree (530/1978) on studies in Education upgraded the requirements for teachers in lower secondary education from a university degree of

“kandidaatin tutkinto” (awarded following 3 years of full-time university study) to a

“maisterin tutkinto” (5 years of full-time university study). Whereas the 1995 Decree on Degrees in Education and Teacher Education (576/1995) expanded teachers’ professional qualifications, the 1998 Basic Education Act and Decree uniformed initial teacher training, and the 1999 Amendment to the 1998 Decree on Qualifications of Educational Staff required from teachers to have completed study in their subject with a minimum of 35 credits (1,400 hours). Specific measures were also taken to increase public spending in teacher salaries (see, for instance, the teacher agreement of 1984 introducing an increase in the initial pay of new teachers and significant changes in the collective agreement system of the educational sector) and in in-service training (Decree of 1996 and programme of 2001-2003).

In Hungary, the 1985 Act on Education explicitly confirmed the professional independence of teachers and the 1993 Act on Public Education regulated their qualifications and working conditions, specifying that teachers needed at least a

33 In 1992, an order on the education of folkeskole teachers allowed for internal examination and the use of

37

“föiskola”, a non-university-level qualification, for employment. The duration of initial teacher training was fixed at four years in “föiskola” programmes and five years in university-level programmes. In 1996, an amendment to the 1993 Act introduced a quality bonus system and described a system of in-service training in which 120 hours in seven years were compulsory for all teachers. In addition, a special examination for teachers was introduced and made compulsory for those newly employed. This new system was regulated by a government decree at central level but the in-service plan had to be prepared at the school level. More recently, the Decrees No. 111 and 277 of 1997 (still in force), defining the common training requirements for all teacher qualifications and regulating in-service teacher training in detail, introduced arrangements for specialised examination of teachers and general compulsory in-service teacher training.

The compulsory 120-hour in-service training required once every 7 years could be completed by taking a new initial or specialised postgraduate training course. Teachers holding this specialised examination qualification became entitled to a higher salary scale.

The corresponding examination had to be conducted by higher education institutions. Any institution could obtain the right to offer in-service teacher training, on condition that its Charter entitled it to participate in adult education and that its programmes were accredited by the Ministry of Education. During the school year 1997-98, the SULINET-IRISZ programme was launched for the provision of adequate equipment, technology and educational content and information about ICT. And in 1999, the Public Education Act was amended to abolish the compulsory nature of the specialised examination for teachers.

Moreover, in Italy, new teaching programmes were designed in 1958 to replace the curricula of 1955, but they came into effect only in 1987. In Greece, further education for teachers was formally required by the 1985 Law (still in force). In Portugal, the Decree-Law No. 1/98 approved the new career status for pre-school education teachers and teachers of “ensino básico” and upper secondary education. In Sweden, the Education Act of 1985 (still in force) established that all school teachers in municipal schools shall be municipal employees. To become permanently employed, a teacher was required to have completed a teacher study programme at a university or university college. Applicants not

internal examiners.

38 fulfilling this requirements could only be appointed for a maximum of 12 months at a time.