英國紐卡斯爾大學教育、交流與語言科學學院教育技術教授

Strengthen Teaching by Improving Professional Mobility

通過提高流動性來加強教學

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The teaching profession, as we have known it, is obsolete. Certainly, we need to rethink teachers’ roles.  But we also need to take a fresh look at why people want to teach.  Indeed, fewer and fewer people want to become teachers.  Many of those who do enter the profession leave it within a few years.

眾所周知，教師職業(yè)已經(jīng)過時。我們當然需要反思教師的角色，但也需要重新審視人們希望從事教育工作的原因。實際上，愿意當老師的人越來越少，很多人踏進了這個門檻，不出幾年又紛紛轉(zhuǎn)行。

There is already a shortage of qualified teachers in many countries and this trend is likely to intensify. Some think that we can address teacher shortages by providing more ICT-based learning and edutainment. While this may be appropriate, for older learners in higher education and training programs, at least to a certain extent, it is certainly not a solution for younger learners in primary and secondary school.  Teachers have a crucial role to play in supporting these young learners as they develop their social skills and start to engage more actively in their communities.

很多國家已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)合格教師資源短缺的情況，而且形勢愈發(fā)嚴峻。有些人認為，通過提供更多基于信息通信技術的學習活動和教育游戲，我們就可以解決這個問題。至少在某種程度上，這個方案或許適合正在接受高等教育或參加培訓項目的年長學習者；但它并不適用于比較年幼的中小學生。在他們發(fā)展社會技能，并開始積極參與集體活動的過程中，教師發(fā)揮著關鍵的支持作用。

Indeed, in many ways our expectations of teachers and schools are greater than ever. Teachers are expected to do more to personalize learning in order to meet diverse learner needs. They are also asked to develop new approaches to assessment, to support active student learning, to keep up to date with developments in their fields, and to integrate new technologies. As a result, most countries are exploring policy options for strengthening teacher qualifications. International organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD and the European Commission have also undertaken studies on how to attract new teachers while also raising the bar for professional qualification.  The growing international consensus that teachers should have a Master of Education degree is a significant example of this trend.

在許多方面，我們對老師和學校的期望的確比以往任何時候都要高。為了滿足不同學習者的需求，老師要付出更多努力以實現(xiàn)個性化教學，還要開發(fā)新的評估方法、提高學生學習的積極性，與時俱進、緊跟專業(yè)領域的發(fā)展腳步，同時擁抱新技術。因此，大多數(shù)國家都在探索強化教師任職資格的政策選擇。聯(lián)合國教科文組織（UNESCO）、經(jīng)濟合作與發(fā)展組織（OECD）和歐盟委員會等國際組織也積極開展研究，探索怎樣在提高專業(yè)資格門檻的同時吸引新的師資力量。國際各方日漸達成共識：教師應具備教育碩士學歷，這就是該趨勢的重要例證。

A few obvious factors are likely to have an impact on the attractiveness of the profession, such as salary level and working conditions. In some countries, the relatively low salary of teachers, particularly in comparison to other professions requiring an equivalent level of qualification, has lowered teachers’ social status.

有幾個顯而易見的因素可能會影響教師職業(yè)的吸引力，如薪酬水平和工作條件。在有些國家，教師的薪水相對較低，尤其是和其他要求具備同等資歷的職業(yè)相比，這種反差降低了教師的社會地位。

A recent study by the European Institute of Education and Social Policy (EIESP) found that there are many additional factors that play a significant role in decisions to enter and stay in the teaching profession. For example, initial teacher education, early-career support and professional development are particularly important. Over the last decade, the declining social prestige and negative image of the profession portrayed in the media appears to have had a big impact on the attractiveness of the profession in many countries. 

歐洲教育與社會政策研究所最近的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，許多附加因素對教師隊伍新人的加入和穩(wěn)定發(fā)揮著至關重要的作用，例如，職前教師教育、青年教師扶持培養(yǎng)和職業(yè)發(fā)展機制都尤為重要。過去十年，很多國家教師職業(yè)的社會聲望日趨下降，媒體對教師形象的負面刻畫貌似對該職業(yè)的吸引力產(chǎn)生了巨大影響。

But there is another factor likely to improve the attractiveness of the teaching profession which may at first glance look like a paradox. Despite the fact that most people who decide to enter the teaching profession do so for altruistic reasons – teaching as a vocation – the limited opportunities to leave teaching for another profession may be a significant obstacle. In most countries, support for mobility within and beyond the teaching profession is very rare.

不過，另一個因素也許會提升教師職業(yè)的吸引力，只是初看上去似乎有些自相矛盾。盡管大部分決定當老師的人都是出于無私，視教師為神圣的天職，但是另謀他業(yè)的機會有限也許正是教師職業(yè)缺乏吸引力的一個重要障礙。大多數(shù)國家對教師隊伍內(nèi)部的流動和教師轉(zhuǎn)行的支持非常少。

Real opportunities for teachers to take on new responsibilities during the course of their careers may also be an important factor in attracting top graduates.  This is particularly the case in countries where the teaching profession does not have much social prestige. Conversely, it is important to attract professionals who wish to become teachers after they have worked in some other field. Their real-world experience is extremely valuable. Indeed, an important goal of education is to prepare students for working life by helping them to acquire basic competences and skills they will need to adapt to a fast-changing world. Teachers who have had previous professional experience in business or public administration are particularly well equipped to prepare young learners to navigate the multiple changes they are likely to experience in their lifetimes.

讓教師真正擁有在職業(yè)生涯中轉(zhuǎn)行的機會：這或許也是吸引優(yōu)秀畢業(yè)生的重要因素，尤其是在教師職業(yè)社會聲望不足的國家。相反地，這對吸引曾在其他領域工作、現(xiàn)想轉(zhuǎn)行當老師的專業(yè)人才來說也很重要，他們的工作閱歷和經(jīng)驗是一筆極其寶貴的財富?，F(xiàn)實世界日新月異，幫助學生培養(yǎng)適應快節(jié)奏社會的基本能力和技能，為今后的工作和生活打好基礎是教育的重要目標。擁有商業(yè)或公共管理經(jīng)驗的老師非常有助于指導學生如何為應對人生中可能遇到的各種變化做好準備。

Some countries are already doing more to facilitate this kind of teacher mobility.  For example, according to the Training and Development Agency for Schools in England, between 2009 and 2010, the number of career changers applying for teacher training rose by 35%, thus representing about 30% of the total number of new applicants.

一些國家已經(jīng)采取多項措施，促進教師的流動性。例如，英格蘭學校培訓與發(fā)展局的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2009年至2010年間，申請參加教師培訓的轉(zhuǎn)行者增加了35%，占新申請總?cè)藬?shù)的30%。

In other words, a significant way of increasing the number of qualified teachers who will be able to meet ever-higher expectations, is to increase their opportunities to move between the teaching and other professions.

換言之，增強能夠滿足更高期望的合格師資力量的一個重要方式，就是增加教師職業(yè)與其他職業(yè)之間的流動機會。

原文來自于WISE官方網(wǎng)站：www.wise-qatar.org