"A good teacher can make all the difference to a child’s future," said Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. “That is why I urge all Member States to improve training and support for teachers so that they can fully develop their competences throughout their careers and ensure high quality and innovative teaching to equip young people with the skills they need for modern life.”

Most EU countries have defined competences that teachers must possess to get a job and progress within the profession; these include pedagogical knowledge, team working, interpersonal skills and professional skills. These 'competence frameworks' are the basis for initial teacher education in all but 8 countries and regions (Belgium – German-speaking Community, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Slovakia).

Most of Europe’s 5 million teachers are contractually bound to work at least 35-40 hours a week, which includes teaching time, availability on school premises and time for preparation and marking. The number of hours that they have to be actively engaged in teaching varies widely: the number is generally higher in pre-primary education and decreases at higher levels of education. The average number of teaching hours in primary and secondary education is 20.

In about one third of European countries, teachers are expected to be present on school premises for around 30 hours a week. There is no set time requirement in Portugal, Sweden, the UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and Norway, plus Cyprus in secondary education and Iceland in pre-primary education. In Germany, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia, the number of teaching hours are reduced after a certain number of years of service.

Across Europe, the majority of teachers are aged over 40. Almost half of teachers are aged over 50 in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway and Iceland. The percentage of teachers below the age of 30 is particularly low in Germany, Italy and Sweden.

In the majority of EU Member States, teachers' minimum basic salaries are lower than per capita GDP for teachers working in compulsory education (primary and lower secondary education). Allowances, which can make a considerable difference to a teacher's take-home pay, are usually for overtime or additional responsibilities. Only half of the countries surveyed grant allowances to teachers based on positive teaching performance or student results.

Background

The Key Data on Teachers and School Leaders survey covers 32 countries (EU Member States, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey). It is produced for the European Commission by the Eurydice network and compiles the latest information on teachers and school leaders, from pre-primary to post-secondary education, including data on age, gender, working hours and salaries. The report combines data and information supplied by the Eurydice network, Eurostat and evidence from international surveys including the OECD's Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2008) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2009), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2011, International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement).

The Commission's Rethinking Education strategy underlines the importance of attracting the best candidates to become teachers, especially given the high number of teachers close to retirement. Adequate initial teacher education and continuous professional development for teachers and trainers improve the quality of education in Europe: a highly skilled labour force can only be realised by attracting and training the best educators. Promoting excellence in teaching is also a priority for the high level group on modernisation of higher education, which was launched by Commissioner Vassiliou in November 2011.

Eurydice

The Eurydice network consists of 40 national units based in 36 countries (EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey). Eurydice is co-ordinated by the EU Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.

For more information

The full report is available in English on the Eurydice website

European Commission: Education and training

Androulla Vassiliou's website

Follow Androulla Vassiliou on Twitter @VassiliouEU

Annexes

Figure 1: National induction programmes for beginning teachers at pre-primary, primary and 
general (lower and upper) secondary education (ISCED 0, 1, 2 and 3), 2011/12

Nb: Explanatory notes and country specific notes are available in the publication page 40
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/key_data_en.php/151EN.pdf

Figure 2: Official definitions of the weekly workload of full-time teachers in hours in pre-primary, primary and general (lower and upper) secondary education, 2011/12

Figure 2 (continued): Official definitions of the weekly workload of full-time teachers in hours in pre-primary, primary and general (lower and upper) secondary education, 2011/12

Nb: Explanatory notes and country specific notes are available in the publication pages 76-77
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/key_data_en.php/151EN.pdf