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It is with great pleasure that I welcome today the proceedings of the Workshop organized by the Pedagogical Institute for the Professional Learning of Teachers, which this year coincides with the completion of ten years since the launch of actions to implement one of the key policies of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth for the modernization of our educational system.
According to the Governance Programme and the Strategic Plan of our Ministry for 2024-2026, greater autonomy is sought in school units and it is our strategic objective to strengthen and continuously develop the human resources in education.
On the basis of decisions of the Council of Ministers, the upgrading of teachers' professional learning was promoted for a universal and systematic coverage of learning needs.
On the basis of decisions of the Council of Ministers, the upgrading of teachers' professional learning was promoted for a universal and systematic coverage of learning needs. This decade has seen the emergence of a systematic and continuous effort to support and empower teachers, since their professional learning is an essential element for improving the educational system and transforming their role, improving their pedagogical practices and, by extension, improving learning outcomes.
The purpose of teachers' professional learning is to improve the quality of schools, which presupposes the continuous enrichment of knowledge, the methodical development of teachers' pedagogical practices and the improvement of learning outcomes. The decision of the Council of Ministers in September 2023 to establish the Unified Improvement Plan for the self-evaluation of school units is a further step in this direction. At the school unit level, the development of the Unified School Unit Improvement Plan will be carried out through specific self-evaluation tools. The development of the teachers' professional learning plan, as part of the Single Improvement Plan, will promote actions and themes that address the needs of the school unit as well as the individual needs of teachers.
Professional learning in such a context is a continuous and iterative activity at all stages of teachers' careers. It is also universal, and thus each school year begins with a clear pathway for each teacher's professional learning. Finally, it is systematic, and thus achieves its objectives. The value of the whole effort lies in the fact that it focuses on practical issues concerning the school and the educational reality, with the aim of empowering teachers in the daily challenges of their educational work. Therefore, professional learning is promoted within the school, based on the specific needs of teachers and in relation to the particularities of the school unit, i.e. the specific conditions of the school, the student population and the parents or guardians of the students. A key prerequisite for teachers today to respond to the ever-changing conditions and challenges that are putting pressure on education systems in Western countries is the learning of teachers as professionals, which puts the teacher at the centre, gives him/her a more active role and moves him/her away from practices of technocratic knowledge and simple application of techniques in the educational process. In this sense, professional learning offers the opportunity for teachers to plan, evaluate, reflect and change their practice, adapting to new conditions.
And indeed, the implementation of the integrated policy of professional learning by the Pedagogical Institute in recent years has shown very positive results for our educational system, the most important being the change of the learning culture within the school to a decentralized daily practice and the improvement of the For these reasons, our Ministry considers it imperative that all schools, at all levels, make the professional learning of their teachers a priority.
In closing, I would like to thank the Directorates of Primary, Secondary General and Secondary Technical and Vocational Education for their cooperation with the Pedagogical Institute, which implements our teachers' Professional Learning policy. Finally, I thank the Pedagogical Institute for organizing today's Workshop and we look forward with great interest to the results of its work, especially those concerning future plans for the teaching profession.
Finally, I thank all of you, since without your contribution and participation, no policy can be implemented. Thank you for your work and for your contribution to improving the daily life of our schools and I assure you that I will be by your side.
IP
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