Teachers in Europe Careers, Development and Well-being

03 March 2021

Teachers play an essential role in the learning process and in making it a fruitful experience for all students. The pandemic, the rapid transition from face-to-face to distance learning have further highlighted their essential contribution to our societies. If in one hand, teachers’ role is evolving as new demands and expectations arise, together with new responsibilities, on the other hand, this profession has been going through a vocational crisis for some years now. National and European policy-makers have been developing solutions to mitigate the impact of shortages and maintain high quality teaching standards. This report, focused on lower secondary teachers (ISCED 2), contributes to the debate by providing evidence on both policies and practices. It combines Eurydice data on national legislation with data on teachers’ practices and perceptions from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). These two data sources together shed light on the impact produced by national policies on teachers’ behaviours. It also provides ground for evidence-based reforms. The report covers all 27 EU Member States, as well as the United Kingdom, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.