Organisational aspects

Pedagogical staff in early childhood education

There is a wide range of further education and training opportunities for pedagogical staff to expand their professional competence, to cope with new demands in the profession and for further qualification and specialization. Most of these are visited in Switzerland due to a limited offer in Liechtenstein.

School education

Teachers' continuing professional education is regulated in the Teachers' Service Conditions Ordinance (Art. 16 ff.).Teachers undergo regular further training in order to enhance their professional competencies. The teacher's obligation to attend courses for professional development is evaluated during the job appraisal and the performance assessment.

The Office of Education may prescribe certain courses for professional development to specific categories of teachers. Participation in courses for professional development is free of charge, but teachers may be asked to pay a contribution towards the cost of materials. The Office of Education offers a course programme with courses for professional development on topics that are relevant for school education.

The course programme is created on the basis of a broad assessment of needs with the teachers, with the inspectors and with the pedagogical commissions, as well as on the background of needs for pending reforms and school development projects.

Inspectors are responsible for the approval of applications for professional development of the teachers and supervise their activities in this field. Teachers are accordingly asked to keep a booklet of attestations that records and confirms all their activities of professional development.

On the teachers' application the government may allocate time for sabbaticals to teachers who have been at state schools – with the last five years as an  uninterrupted period – and who have not yet completed their 55th year of life. This time for intensive iCET has the purpose to further and support the teachers in their specific professional disciplines and personal focuses, especially in the teaching subjects and in the fields of pedagogy and didactics. There is a maximum entitlement of ten uninterrupted weeks' paid leave for iCET (cf. the guidelines on paid leave for iCET).

Incentives for participation in continuing professional development (CPD)

Continuing professional development of the teachers is supported by the state within the framework of the budget estimate by the following offers:

a) courses and events for professional development by the Office of Education b) repayment of fees for courses by other institutions c) intensive courses for professional development d) additional further offers.

Incentives for the participation in CPD are part of possible career steps (Chapter 9.2.9).