79 % Ukrainian teachers believe that the system of teacher training needs to be reformed and that the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine should do it. These are the results of a survey of 8,427 teachers from all over Ukraine, which was conducted by the NGO "EdCamp Ukraine" together with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine - "Teaching and learning: how and where to grow Ukrainian teachers."
"Reformation should begin with the abolition of the monopoly of regional institutes of postgraduate education. The Law "On General Secondary Education", if the Verkhovna Rada adopts it in the fall, will detail the relevant norm of the Law "On Education" and provide for the possibility for teachers to improve their qualifications in non-governmental organizations. We hope that we will be able to allocate money for this in the 2019 budget. We are working on this with the Ministry of Finance. At a minimum, we will develop criteria for all organizations involved in the professional development of school teachers. We will publish a list of institutions that meet the criteria on the website of the Ministry of Education and Culture, so that teachers can choose. Such training can be counted towards hours of professional development. By the way, if the law is adopted, the hours will double," said the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Liliya Hrynevych at the fourth national (non)conference EdCamp Ukraine 2018.
Proposals for the criteria for determining the list of such institutions will be presented by EdCamp Ukraine for discussion at the end of August. An open online discussion will also be held on the page where the teacher survey was conducted.
In addition to dissatisfaction with the system of professional development, teachers also pointed to the biggest gaps in their own education during the survey. So, 45% admitted that they lack learning foreign languages, 43% want to learn about the prevention of professional burnout, 39% - about creating a new educational space. 64% need face-to-face courses, trainings, and 54% would also satisfy distance learning. 56% respondents would like to use exchange programs in Ukraine and abroad.
When conducting the survey "Teaching and learning: how and where to grow Ukrainian teachers", experts relied on the experience of similar surveys in the world. For example, studies by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and TALIS from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The International Charitable Foundation "Renaissance" and the Representative Office of the United Nations Population Fund became major partners of the national research in Ukraine.
