Education for a greener future

Several new Teacher Academy projects (Erasmus+) have the aim of helping teachers integrate green ideas into their teaching practices, which will continue to produce outcomes over the coming years.

The 21st Century European Teachers project provides insight into how European teachers can approach and develop teaching in subject areas that come to light with the emergence of complex current issues (including climate crisis and digital transition). The project’s aim is to innovatively improve the competencies and attractiveness of the teaching profession.

The EDuSTA project (Academy for Sustainable Future Educators) emphasises the key role of teachers in understanding the green transition and helps link this with their teaching (curriculum development, pedagogical design, assessment), especially in vocational education and training.

The TAP-TS project designs, produces, pilots, validates, publishes teaching and learning resources, and supports pedagogies on Educating for Environmental Sustainability (EES) for use in European schools and teacher education.

Another sustainability project, SYNAPSES, presents a vision of how pre-service and in-service programmes on teaching for sustainability citizenship could be interrelated and enriched to develop a joint offer with a significant European dimension.

Digital competency: more imperative than ever

Creating conditions for the development of digital competency remains a challenge in the education sector. This requires both systemic and bottom-up solutions.

The Erasmus+ project digiTED@EU focuses on the digital professional development of teacher educators. The project helps teacher educators to develop a digitally creative mindset and become agents of their own professional learning. Topics like hybrid teaching formats, digital assessment or promoting digital interactivity are addressed within the project.  

The acaSTEMy project aims to improve STEM teachers’ digital competences throughout pre-service education and continuing professional development. It will create distance and blended learning models in combination with international mobility and mentorship. The project will develop training courses to address major challenges (e.g. environmental sustainability, green deal, global health, immigration) and methodological factors (e.g. teaching diverse classes, dealing with science anxiety, fostering gender-sensitive teaching).

Strengthening teacher training and induction

Laying good foundations for future-forward thinking, alongside established practices and embracing innovation, are essential elements in initial teacher education.

The EQui-T project highlights the importance of inclusive approaches, especially in initial teacher education. It supports pre- and in-service teachers in identifying, producing, and sharing high-quality Open Inclusive Educational Resources (OIER).

Another EU-funded project focused on the induction of new teachers in Flanders (BE), to inspire practice and policy insights for new teachers and school leaders. The project’s guidelines and training plans (EN and NL) help schools support early-career teachers to tackle teacher dropout.

Reasons for and solutions to teacher shortages are also explored in this webinar by VLEVA:

Retaining teachers through international professional development

The Erasmus+ programme’s learning mobility is designed to bring positive and long-lasting effects for participants and their organisations. The European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA) recognises projects that help their teachers to thrive.

• Digital competence of educators for modern pedagogical practice: helped teachers to change their pedagogical practice through the use of digital devices, analytical thinking and STEM methods.
• We are European teachers: helped enrich teachers’ language and ICT skills and the European dimension of teacher education.
• To be a 21st century teacher: implemented new teaching methods to enhance teaching efficacy, reinforce innovative thinking, and promote job satisfaction.

Another EITA project, TELESPA, formed a strategic partnership to increase the quality and relevance of teacher training via innovative educational practices focusing on experiential learning and applied didactics.