Professional development for inclusive teaching and training

Training for teachers and trainers should be of high quality, engaging and effective and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. According to Cedefop, CPD can be provided in many different forms such as courses, webinars, workshop, internships, competence sharing in professional networks, higher education programmes for upskilling, study groups and so on. The following six models drawn from international research, are examples of professional development for VET; they can be structured and carried out according to the different situations and teaching abilities, in an online or in-person format:

• Training model: is the most common form of professional development and includes lectures, workshops and seminars. Due to the large number of participants and repetitive content this model may not serve directly to improve teachers’ practical skills, but it is still a useful way to introduce new knowledge.
• Deficit model: this model addresses individual teachers’ deficits as well as institutional ones and draws on these weaknesses to develop new teaching and organisational strategies. It can be integrated into institutional and/or individual assessment and/or appraisal processes.
• Cascade model: involves the sharing of knowledge, skills and practices among teachers. Through methodological activities for example, teachers can both share their own knowledge while learning from others (peer learning).
• Coaching/mentoring model: this model is based on a one-to-one relationship, where discussions and peer counselling between teachers can function as CPD activities. Coaching is more skills based while mentoring involves an element of counselling and professional friendship.
• Community of practice model: consists in a group of practitioners with the aim of deepening their professional expertise. Community learning has advantages and can be an enriching experience, but it could also bring dominant members of the group to shape other individuals’ opinions and understanding.
• Action research model: teachers can conduct research on relevant topics to gain new, evidence-based, professional knowledge and improve their teaching performance accordingly.
   

To motivate teachers and trainers and encourage them to take part in professional development, it is necessary to overcome specific barriers that many of them face, such as lack of time, lack of employer support or lack of funding. 

International research suggests that the most common support measures for teachers to participate in CPD activities are time off from work, facilitation to access learning material and financial support. 

According to Cedefop findings, CPD for VET teachers and trainers working in school-based settings is mandatory in the majority of European countries to ensure that they will have the possibility to update their knowledge, skills and competences and keep abreast of new pedagogical approaches and technical advancements during their professional career. 

However, accessibility barriers to CPD should be lifted and countries should further encourage VET teachers and trainers working in schools to participate in CPD. Involving VET teachers and trainers in co-designing their CPD would increase their motivation to actively participate in it. Increasing the attractiveness of their profession is another incentive that could motivate participation in CPD activities. There are various ways to achieve this, including salary increase and/or career progression. 

Conducting regular teachers and trainers’ satisfaction surveys and caring for their well-being may improve CPD quality and accessibility. Evaluation of CPD programmes may be part of such surveys (see Tip 2). 

Additional incentives should be given to encourage VET professionals working in work-based settings to participate in CPD activities, not only for further developing their technical skills but also their pedagogical and tutoring competences. Especially, an exchange of CPD settings involving training of VET teachers in companies and training of VET trainers in schools would be mutually beneficial to address the needs of both groups of VET professionals. 

Creating the conditions to encourage more people to opt for a ‘dual career’ becoming “hybrid” teachers and trainers (i.e. people who work in parallel in VET institutions and companies), may be a promising way to acquaint VET learners and fellow teachers and trainers with state-of-the-art technologies, working methods and skills. 

Hybrid teachers and trainers have the potential to strengthen the link between VET programmes and the labour market, address teachers shortages and make their profession more attractive, thus efforts should be made at country level to define legal provisions and specific CPD for this emerging profession. 

Teachers and trainers are more likely to attend and engage in professional development activities when these are interesting and relevant to their teaching practice and subject. 

To tailor professional development opportunities and fill in teachers’ skills gaps, it is therefore necessary to identify the diverse and changing training needs of each individual VET teacher and trainer. To this end, a training needs analysis is required to keep training relevant and up-to-date. 

According to Cedefop research, needs analyses are conducted in school-based VET systems in almost all European countries, while only in few countries for trainers being employed in work-based settings. In both cases, they should be linked to evaluation or appraisal as part of the entire CPD provision process. 

Evaluation and needs analysis processes should be an integral part of CPD, as they could contribute to the design of tailor-made CPD programmes better responding to the needs expressed by teachers and trainers (see Tip 8). 

To ensure that VET teachers and trainers receive efficient and valuable CPD, a certain level of co-operation is required among different stakeholders involved in the provision and attendance of such programmes.

• VET institutions have the role of enabling and facilitating access to PD for their teaching staff. It is therefore important that institutional leadership takes a systemic approach to teachers’ CPD.
• Teachers’ and school networks can be effective channels for encouraging participation in CPD and exchanging experiences, including for VET trainers.
• Local companies and industry associations can also provide and encourage CPD by providing industry placements for VET teachers. 
• Local universities and relevant associations should also work to improve the quality of CPD by sustaining connection between practice and research and by offering the opportunity to VET trainers to receive training on pedagogies.

Partnerships between schools and companies is of great importance as work-based learning (WBL) is particularly useful for school-based teachers as it is for students. Part of VET teachers’ initial training can take place in a VET institution to have direct experience of teaching in a classroom, but another part of it can take the form of an internship, externship or secondment to a company to equip future VET teachers with industry-relevant skills. Vice versa, trainers who may come from many years of work experience in industry and may not hold pedagogical skills, would strongly benefit from school-based training.
Different networks and councils can be created to connect the different actors. As for specific formal links between schools and companies agreements or contracts on a bilateral or trilateral level can be made. Exchanges between trainers and schools may be at the discretion of both parties. However, there is a variety of ways to coordinate which may also be more formalised in the form of agreements or contracts.

Inclusive VET should be a main component of CPD. 
Teachers and trainers should be appropriately trained and be supported to be able to: 

• identify learners at risk of early leaving and help them to complete their studies; 
• provide psychosocial support for all students and especially displaced and refugee students; 
• refer students to guidance and counselling services; 
• know basic principles for the re-integration of NEETs, refugees and migrants, in initial VET;
• support young learners with disabilities and special educational needs in mainstem VET programmes.

CPD for inclusive teaching and training should focus on developing VET teachers and trainers’ digital skills for inclusion (see also Tip 5), classroom management, learners’ well-being, school climate and students’ guidance. Other competences to display include interpersonal and social skills, organisational skills, methodological skills, leadership skills and competences for applying flexible and individual approaches to training, as well as self-reflection skills (see also Tip 8).

Specific activities to promote inclusion through CPD may include: 

• master's degree in teaching VET at secondary level with a focus on inclusive VET;
• accredited courses focused on motivating students to engage in schoolwork;
• professional qualification of ‘Career counsellor’ 
• studies for performing specialised activities in the field of prevention of socio-pathological phenomena;
• training schemes and tailor-made coaching for multidisciplinary teams (teachers, trainers and non-pedagogical staff) to prevent drop out / early leaving and reduce social exclusion;
• in-service training for teaching and training staff applying didactic activities for students with disabilities or special educational needs (SEN);
• optimisation of learning outcomes for students with Asperger syndrome in VET.

CPD to promote inclusive VET should be sustained and embraced at both national and EU levels and be supported by appropriate legislation, funding, and mechanisms. Identifying learners at risk of early leaving and how to support them, as well as creating inclusive learning settings in both school and work-based contexts should be an integral part of teachers and trainers’ initial education and training as well as part of their lifelong learning opportunities.

The right use of digital tools in education plays a key role in promoting digital inclusion. 
VET providers may not have sufficient confidence or competences to profit from the benefits that technology can offer to inclusive teaching and learning. This can be due to impediments in accessing digital resources, a negative attitude or resistance to change, or a lack of just-in-time technical support. Some relevant factors should be taken into consideration when addressing teachers’ and trainers’ inclusive digital skills development: 

• Access to training: what are the actual opportunities offered, where and how. Continuous professional development should be available for all levels of education at working hours and free of charge.
• Uptake of training: what are the reasons/obstacles for teachers to engage in such training.
• Capacity to apply digital skills: refers to the ability to effectively integrate digital tools and resources in teaching/training in meaningful ways.
• Propensity to apply digital skills: the ability of applying these tools should be supported by teachers’ intention to do so, which is influenced by the presence of institutional structures and culture to support, encourage and enable teachers’/trainers’ efforts.

International research suggests that preparing teaching staff to make effective use of digital tools for teaching should cover two main areas: 

• building teachers’ and trainers’ digital skills, as well as their knowledge of new digital technologies, equipment and practices in the workplace.
• developing teachers’ and trainers’ skills and competences in applying new pedagogical approaches, instructional tools and educational technologies to deliver learner-centred teaching and training.

A professional development strategy has therefore to consider and address all these aspects, being able to make digital knowledge accessible and favourable for all VET providers and students. 

VET teachers and trainers should be provided with professional development on how to focus on learners’ well-being and ensure psychological and social support which goes beyond the student’s learning achievements and addresses their specific mental needs and challenges. Refugee students, for instance, do suffer often from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this requires special attention from VET practitioners to make them feel comfortable in the new setting and positively relate to a new environment. Also, teachers and trainers may also suffer from secondary trauma and need to develop coping strategies or receive psychological support themselves. CPD for VET teachers and trainers should therefore have a twofold aim: a) provide competences regarding how to offer psychosocial support to students and their parents and b) support directly pedagogical workers to reduce the risk of professional burnout.

Teachers’ self-evaluation can help them identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as learning needs and objectives. Teachers may use it to request and plan CPD accordingly. Teachers’ self-reflection can also be a means for their CPD. Cedefop's Evaluation plan for learning providers and Reflection tool for VET providers are two powerful tools that can be used to this end.

Since factors triggering education success for students and actions taken to prevent early leaving are mostly left up to educators and their competences, their individual ability to assess and rethink their behaviour and to evaluate their teaching practices is fundamental and can affect their choices, motivation and coping mechanisms. Self-reflection can have a great influence on teachers’ practice involving interaction with students at risk of ELET and on preventing this phenomenon.

As a tool used by educators to improve their work performance, self-reflection can be considered as one of the three phases of a self-regulatory circular process which includes forethought, performance and self-reflection, where each of this phase influences the other two. In terms of reducing ELET forethought prepares for education interactions and classroom management with the aim of supporting all students. Finally, if teachers observe some indicators that could lead to student’s early leaving, a subsequent self-reflection can be useful to put in practice supportive actions that would prevent the student from dropping out.