How important is teachers training?

Research has shown that the professional development of teachers is one of the most important factors in improving school effectiveness and student learning outcomes. As highlighted in a 2017 European Commission Communication, the teaching profession involves lifelong professional development. Recent educational reforms challenge teachers to work with new technologies, integrate competency-based curricula and new teaching, learning and assessment methods, tailor learning to the diverse needs of learners and collaborate with peers.

FOOTT PRINTTS is a co-funded collaborative partnership with seven European educational institutions and organizations ensuring a comprehensive approach to in-service teacher training. The project aims to improve the quality of in-service teacher training across Europe by identifying good practices, developing a guidance framework and sharing conditions for success. Through extensive research and collaboration, the initiative aims to develop an interactive platform to support and guide teacher trainers, ensuring a consistent and support high-quality training standard across Europe.

Through extensive research and collaboration, the initiative aims to provide an interactive platform to support and guide teacher educators to ensure a consistent, high-quality standard of education across Europe.

The project intends to fill a gap of missing practical guidance on quality factors of international teacher training and to provide theoretical and practical research findings from which we will derive possible conditions for success.

This will be done by providing good practice for quality assurance systems in European teacher training, using the example of seven countries across Europe representing regional, national, public, and private training institutions.

The aims of the project are:
- Develop research-based guidelines for in-service teacher education.
- Ensure that the guidelines are adaptable and relevant and provide practical advice for designing effective training programs.
- Involve stakeholders in planning, feedback and evaluation.
- Disseminate the results through various channels to encourage dialogue and discussion around key issues related to in-service teacher training.

The project is being carried out to research, develop, and implement strategies and guidelines focused on in-service teacher training, considering various educational principles, research, and classroom references, and ensuring applicability in diverse contexts across participating countries.

The first step of the project involves conducting a literature review to analyze current policies and conditions that contribute to successful Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teachers in six participating countries: Austria, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Greece, France, and Denmark. This literature review was led by the project partner, the European Institute of Education and Social Policy (EIESP), based in France. The review aimed to foster an international understanding and consensus on quality standards for teacher training. It also considered relevant EU-level policy priorities, including the 2020 Council conclusions on European teachers and trainers for the future, as well as the 2022 Proposal for a Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability. Existing literature and publications on teacher CPD were also be considered. Empirical Analysis: Sequential Mixed Methods Analysis The empirical analysis will generate both quantitative and qualitative data on the practices and perceptions regarding the quality of in-service teacher training in the European Economic Area (EEA) from February 2024 to October 2025. While in-service teacher training has been analyzed empirically at the national level and across Europe, there is currently a lack of comprehensive cross-country empirical analysis. By gathering evidence from various European regions, the goal is to develop a shared understanding of the perceptions regarding the quality of in-service teacher training, while respecting the geographic, cultural, political, and institutional differences of the respective education systems. Recent policy developments addressing alternative pathways for teachers in response to teacher shortages in Europe (Eurydice, 2023) are expected to enhance the diversity of teachers’ experiences, training, competencies, and skills, creating new challenges for teacher trainers in effectively conducting CPD. Therefore, the empirical analysis will focus particularly on how to address this heterogeneity in CPD. **Practical Guidelines for In-Service Teacher Training** An interactive website will be created to publish evidence-based examples of good practices, practical tips, and useful materials to support teacher trainers across Europe in delivering high-quality in-service teacher training. This project aims to promote cooperation between teacher trainers from public and private educational institutions and facilitate joint international research collaboration within the EEA. By co-creating teacher training materials and collecting good practice examples that illustrate an evidence-based framework for quality in teacher training, the project will offer opportunities for teacher trainers across Europe to engage, participate in conferences, and learn from one another within communities of practice.

This ongoing project aims to improve in-service teacher training across Europe by gathering and analyzing stakeholder perspectives. The study focuses on six countries: Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Poland, and Portugal. Researchers are collecting cross-country empirical data on current practices and perceptions of training quality. Three questionnaires, targeting micro, meso, and macro levels, will be distributed to 4,180 participants (approximately 700 per country). Complementing the quantitative data, 18 qualitative interviews with teacher trainers (three per country) will explore the diverse educational contexts within the European Economic Area (EEA). The project's expected outcomes include enhanced visibility of stakeholder needs and perceptions regarding in-service teacher training. The resulting empirical cross-country data will provide valuable insights into current practices. Critically, the study will develop evidence-based quality criteria to support teacher trainers across the EEA. This framework will assist teachers in improving their continuing professional development (CPD) and address their specific needs. At institutional (meso) and policy (macro) levels, the findings will inform national policies within the EEA, aiming to improve conditions, infrastructure, and quality standards for in-service teacher training. The project ultimately seeks to empower both individual teachers and systemic actors to enhance the quality and effectiveness of professional development for educators.

•Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute. •European Commission (2017). School development and excellent teaching for great learning: A review of evidence. Publications Office. •European Commission (2019). Key competences for lifelong learning. •Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. Pearson. •OECD. (2019). TALIS 2018 results (Volume I): Teachers' knowledge and beliefs, the working environment. OECD Publishing.