Change of attitude needed for teaching profession, say agencies

In an interview with Flemish newspaper De Tijd, the chair of the Association University of Leuven (KU Leuven) stated that the average teacher in Dutch-speaking schools is conservative and is insufficient at an intellectual level. “Education reform will never succeed if the next education minister doesn’t first reform teacher education thoroughly,” said André Oosterlinck.

He referred to Finland as having an exemplary system because all teachers have a university degree, and students need to pass an entrance exam before they can start in a teaching programme at universities.

In the same interview, Flanders’ education minister Pascal Smet agreed that more and better educational programmes for teachers need to be introduced and that more academically inclined students should be encouraged to enrol. “We also need more people who have previously been active in the business world,” he said.

Raymonda Verdyck, managing director of GO!, the community education network of schools, said that Oosterlinck’s claims are a misleading shorthand. She admitted that the quality of education studies could be improved but said that attitudes towards the teaching profession also need to change.

The Education Secretariat for Cities and Municipalities, meanwhile, said that teachers cannot be blamed. “Policymakers should strengthen educational studies, improve the status of the profession and improve the on-going training of teachers.” He also emphasised that there are many good teachers at work.

The Christian teachers’ union stated that an entrance exam for candidate teachers would be a step in the right direction to give the profession more prestige again. The PXL University College in Hasselt is already preparing such an exam.