Learning from best performers in education

"Throughout Europe, teachers and school principals are under great stress due to the high complexity of the challenges they have to face. They are asked to teach in increasingly multicultural classrooms, integrate pupils with special needs, use ICT in teaching, engage in evaluation and accountability processes, involve parents in schools and meet the growing expectations of pupils, parents, education systems and other stakeholders, who are all very demanding and too often contradictory. According to various studies, the burnout of teachers in Europe is estimated at 25-35%. This situation implies psychological suffering and has negative consequences for the teachers themselves, for their pupils and for the education system, affecting the quality of the class and the learning outcomes of the pupils. In these circumstances, however urgent and crucial the challenges that society poses to the education system may be, they will not be addressed effectively if a third of the key actors are unable to make the necessary effort.The project partners were aware of the problems resulting from burnout in education, but they also knew a number of teachers and schools that succeed in efficiently and creatively addressing today’s education challenges, producing valuable learning outcomes, motivating students and colleagues, and contributing to the necessary innovation and performance in their classrooms and schools. Best performers, both at pedagogical and at organisational level, represent a valuable asset for educational challenges and objectives as they show us how current challenges can effectively be mastered.We visited these teachers and principals to learn from them, and to make their approaches and methods available to other educators. We conducted numerous interviews with teachers and principals in Italy, Portugal and Austria and collected best practices. Based on the information we gained in the interviews, we developed the following products:IO1: SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRES FOR PEDAGOGUESPedagogues can discover their strengths and their fields of development and which methods “Best Performers” are applying to make their everyday school life easier. Depending on the scores achieved, the user receives one of three different evaluations: Starter, Well on the Way and Highly Advanced. Corresponding to this evaluation the user receives suggestions of methods in the database. The following questionnaires can be answered online and are also available as pdf:StresstestWith the help of this questionnaire pedagogues can find out how to use their inner beliefs to better manage everyday stress.Learning fieldsBy means of these questionnaires, teachers can reflect in which of the following areas they already feel quite competent and in which areas there is still a greater development potential for them. On the basis of the results, the pedagogues are given hints which methods in the database might be of particular interest for them.Topics: Self-determination, Participation, Solidarity, Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity Mindfulness, Well-being.Application fieldsPedagogues can identify the areas in which they are already a ""Best Performer"" and discover appropriate methods in the best performers resource database.Topics: Class Management, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Performance Assessment, School Culture and Diversity Management.IO2: GUIDEBOOK FOR SCHOOLS This guidebook, available as pdf and as e-book, contains innovative and proven measures and concepts for school development. In this book teachers and headmasters will find practical tips clearly arranged in the following chapters:•Organizational Development •Lesson Design •Human Resources DevelopmentIn this manual teachers and headmasters will also find information on suitable methods in our database, as well as references to the self-assessment questionnaires and to other websites. Under Human Resources Development a big chapter is dedicated to the topic of burn out and how to prevent teachers from burning out.IO3: METHODS DATABASE This database contains methods and approaches at pedagogical and organisational level. The integrated search engine allows users to apply different filters to find appropriate methods and approaches, or, if all fields are left blank, to get an overview of all methods in the database.IO4: TRAINING MODULES We have put together six different modules - 12 hours face to face training and 13 hours online training (incl. practical exercises) - on the following topics:•Classroom Management•Teaching/Learning Strategies•Performance Monitoring•School Culture•Leadership•Diversity ManagementThe partnership consisted of a well-balanced and complementary mix of organisations coming from Austria, Italy and Portugal, involving school authorities, umbrella organisations at national and EU level, teacher training institutions and training providers."