Principles of quality education for teachers

Nowadays, more and more children and students from diverse backgrounds with different needs are enrolling in kindergartens and schools. Educators and teachers are among the first to meet and work with them, which is why continuous professional development (CPD) is essential. However, it is equally important that the professional development activities they attend are of high quality. Research shows that the higher the quality of these activities, the better the process quality in classrooms. Therefore, we need well-trained and professionally supported CPD educators, as well as clear definitions of quality standards for implementation of CPD events. With this project, we addressed a gap in this area, as there are no comprehensive documents in the broader European context that define these aspects, especially from the perspective of social justice, interculturalism, and human rights in education. We also tackled the need for professional support for CPD educators and raised awareness of the importance of using quality assurance tools in the selection, employment, and CPD of CPD educators.

The main goal of the project was to support the processes of selection, employment and continuous professional development (CPD) of CPD educators with high-quality tools and to enhance the quality of CPD activities for educators and teachers across the EU and beyond. The project aimed to do so in a way that promotes social justice, interculturalism, and human rights in education. The specific objectives were to: - Define a framework for high-quality continuous professional development (CPD) activities for educators and teachers, emphasizing social inclusion, interculturalism, and human rights in education; - Strengthen the capacities of partner organizations and CPD educators to implement high-quality CPD activities that promote social justice, interculturalism, and human rights; - Enhance the capacities of partner organizations to improve approaches to selecting, employing, training, and professionally supporting CPD educators.

As part of the project, we analyzed existing employment and continuous professional development (CPD) practices for CPD educators and developed quality principles for their work. We designed a training program and created a handbook to support CPD educators in their professional growth. Through the training, we supported CPD educators in strengthening their competencies for high-quality CPD delivery, reflection, self-assessment, planning their own professional development, self-care, and more. Partner organizations enhanced their knowledge and skills to support CPD educators in their professional growth (CPD) and in integrating topics such as social justice, interculturality, and human rights in education. We also carried out dissemination activities to raise stakeholder awareness of the importance of high-quality CPD activities and the continuous professional development of CPD providers. PIQET tools enable long-term improvements in CPD practices across the EU and beyond.

The key outputs of the PIQET project are: PIQET Analysis: Existing Practices for the Recruitment and Professional Development of Continuous Professional Development Educators PIQET Principles: Quality Principles for Continuous Professional Development Educators PIQET Training Programme: Training Programme for Continuous Professional Development Educators PIQET Handbook: Handbook for Continuous Professional Development Educators Together, these outputs form the PIQET Toolkit, designed to ensure the quality of CPD and support CPD educators in their professional growth. The project achieved a shared understanding of CPD quality among partners, improved CPD educators competencies for reflection, self-assessment, development planning, feedback delivery, and more; strengthened partner organizations’ capacity to support CPD providers, and reinforced the integration of social justice, interculturality, and human rights in education. Additionally, it increased stakeholder awareness of the importance of high-quality CPD and the need to reform policies on CPD educators selection, employment, and professional support.