How can we attract more people to become teachers? How can we help teachers to develop within their profession? What should school management do to improve teaching? These are some of the issues that were discussed over two days in Göteborg when the EU education ministers gathered for an informal meeting.

The theme of the meeting was the status of the teaching profession and the role of school management. The ministers exchanged experiences and heard the views of three different speakers on what should be done.

“Teachers are the single most important factor in children achieving good results,” says Minister for Education Jan Björklund, the host of the meeting.

“Motivated and skilled teachers and school leaders who are educational leaders, not administrative directors, are needed in order to achieve success,” says Mr Björklund.

In their discussions, the ministers stressed the importance of teachers receiving support in their work, a careful introduction to the profession, opportunities for further training and feedback from school management.

The ministers also discussed continuing professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders in countries other than their own. The Swedish Presidency is to invite the European Commission to propose how a European network could increase mobility for school staff when it comes to professional development.

Furthermore, the ministers established that all teachers should have access to induction programmes when entering the profession, and that countries should continue to exchange experiences of how continuing professional development can be improved. The Swedish Presidency’s hope is that conclusions on the issues discussed at this meeting will be adopted at the Council meeting in November.