Fifty years ago, the status of teachers in Europe was on a par with that of doctors. That is no longer the case. At the informal ministerial meeting today and tomorrow, the EU’s ministers for education will discuss what can be done to improve the work situation and improve teachers’ skills.

The meeting will be chaired by Sweden’s Minister for Education Jan Björklund.

“We are facing major problems in Europe when it comes to our school systems. Results have been falling for a long time and schools must improve. Therefore we will be focusing on the question of the provision of teachers, on how we can get bright pupils to want to become teachers in the future”, says Jan Björklund.

The challenges that the EU countries face are similar across borders. The quality of teacher training, terms of employment and the climate in schools are issues with which all countries in Europe are grappling. Even if the EU does not have any formal power on schooling, the ministerial meetings are an opportunity to exchange ideas and carve out common solutions.

In-service training on the agenda

The issue of in-service training will also be raised when the ministers meet. Jan Björklund considers that lifelong learning is especially important for school staff.

“It is very common to take a three or four year teacher training course and then work as a teacher for several decades. I believe there is a need for refreshment, both of subject knowledge and of teaching skills”, he says.

Along with representatives of a total of 31 countries, the European Commissioner with responsibility for education and youth, Ján Figel’, will attend the meeting. Other speakers at the meeting are Barbara Ischinger, Head of the OECD’s Directorate for Education, Professor Ilse Schrittesser of the University of Vienna, and Sir Michael Barber, author of a much discussed report on improvements in the education system.

The meeting of education ministers is the first of three meetings to take place at Eriksbergshallen in Göteborg on the west coast of Sweden. On 28–29 September and 1–2 October, the ministers for defence and finance respectively will meet. The same meeting venue and conference equipment are being used for all three meetings, with the aim of saving resources and sparing the environment.