On 16 September 2021 the Teacher Education Policy in Europe Network organized a webinar on career pathways for teachers. The reason for this theme was the need to explore how teachers can stay motivated in their profession during a longer time span. This motivation is key for retaining teachers in their profession, and key for learners in schools, as motivated and passionate teachers are better in supporting their learning.
During the webinar, the focus was on the question how teacher career paths could support this long lasting motivation and wellbeing of teachers. As many countries are struggling with teacher shortage, the question how to retain teachers and how career opportunities can contribute to this, is of high importance.
The webinar consisted of three parts. In the first part three keynote presenters explored the issue of teacher career paths from different angles. In the second part subgroups discussed issues and experiences and exchanged policy examples from different countries. In the third part, the outcomes of this exchange were collected and key issues for further exploration were identified, especially in relation to the role of teacher education.
The summary ends with recommendations for different stakeholders.