11.2.3 New teacher profiles and integrating different roles

New teacher profiles and integrating different roles

Given that the new approaches affect the roles of teachers, the distinctions between existing  roles and types of teachers could also be affected. In Partner Countries, VET institutions often have teachers of general education subjects, (often the best paid), teachers of specialised subjects (theory of the VET profile), practical instructors or practical masters (often poorly paid), and trainers or supervisors in companies (often not prepared as trainers). Apart from that, school managers and methodologists play an important role. There are also examples of VET teachers in Partner Countries who combine theoretical and practical training in their pedagogical activity. Furthermore, there is a trend to integrate trainers from business. Professionals from the manufacturing or service sector are sometimes engaged in vocational education, after compulsory psychological and pedagogical training. Teachers who can perform multiple roles, and cross over into different learning environments, are very valuable in a flexible VET system that aims to support young people and adults through different types of programmes. Some countries have already tried to integrate the different roles under a common teacher and trainer profile. The advantage of having such integrated vocational pedagogues is that they can be more flexibly deployed, and have a higher status than the often underpaid practice instructors.