Teachers' Self-Assessment of Their Professional Skills According to the Teachers' Professional Standard

Abstract

Teachers' Self-Assessment of Their Professional Skills According to the Teachers' Professional StandardThe expectations of teachers' role image have altered due to the quick changes in Estonian post-socialist society. Class teachers graduate from Tallinn University with a basic knowledge of teaching and readiness for continuous learning and self-development through daily work aimed at developing their professional competence. Teachers' 5th Professional Standard has been accepted to regulate teachers' work in Estonia. Participation in educational life fosters self-development and shapes professional and individual identity. Teachers' professional standard can guide teachers in assessing their own professional skills, including essential competence such as planning and guiding, creating the learning environment, motivating learning, co-operation, communication, and self-analysis. The research problem is: how do the teachers assess their professional skills? The data have been gathered using educational-ethnographic essay and a questionnaire clarifying the correspondence of teachers' professional skills to the standard of professional competence. The research is located within the qualitative paradigm. The highest value was attributed to the skill to consider the individual differences of each child and command of versatile teaching methods. The further development is needed in areas of sharing one's thoughts and experience with colleagues and parents' involvement in co-operation.

Student Teachers' Experiences of Their Studies in Educational Science and Psychology

“…Innovation and creativity, again, are necessary for orienting the society towards sustainable development (ibid.). Based on Kukk and Talts (2007), Davidova and Kokina (2007) and the present study, it appears that the implications of teachersí lack of skills and interest in cooperation may have far-reaching effects on development from a societal perspective. For instance, involving parents in discussions that concern the education and future of their children is likely to strengthen commitment to values that promote sustainability and life-long learning.…”

“…Kukk and Talts (2007) found that teachers were aware of the necessity to cooperate with different parties such as colleagues, local authorities and parents, but neither their skills were sufficiently developed, nor did they express the desire to develop these skills. Davidova and Kokina (2007) show that Latvian teachersí motivation to engage in innovative activity depends on cooperation with pupils, other teachers, school administration, and local authorities.…”

“…Intentionality refers to goal-oriented studying, and can be facilitated by supporting students to set objectives for their own learning. In another study in the Estonian context, Kukk and Talts (2007) found that teachers generally emphasize studentsí personal goal-setting.…”

“…The teachersí sense of how the intentions would translate into learning experiences for the students was accurate. Also Kukk and Talts (2007) found that teachers do try to connect their subject as much as possible to the surrounding environment, and encourage the learners to apply their knowledge. Increasing contextuality in teaching is a powerful method to promote the idea of sustainability.…”

Motivation of Civic Education Teachers-in-Training in the Field of Education for Sustainable Development

“…Specific information about teachersí motivation in teaching topics concerning sustainable development is rare. There are studies in which the researchers assessed the interest and self-efficacy of teachers-intraining (Filho, 2012), the study of Redman for example mentioned the general lack of deep knowledge regarding sustainability (Redman, 2013) and the study presented by Kukk and Talts (Kukk, & Talts, 2007) refers in general to teachersí self-assessment of professional skills. But these studies do not reflect the political perspective of sustainable development.…”