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英国纽卡斯尔大学教育、交流与语言科学学院教育技术教授 Strengthen Teaching by Improving Professional Mobility 通过提高流动性来加强教学 “We also need to take a fresh look at why people want to teach.” “人们为什么想当老师？我们需要重新思考这个问题。” The teaching profession, as we have known it, is obsolete. Certainly, we need to rethink teachers’ roles. But we also need to take a fresh look at why people want to teach. Indeed, fewer and fewer people want to become teachers. Many of those who do enter the profession leave it within a few years. 众所周知，教师职业已经过时。我们当然需要反思教师的角色，但也需要重新审视人们希望从事教育工作的原因。实际上，愿意当老师的人越来越少，很多人踏进了这个门槛，不出几年又纷纷转行。 There is already a shortage of qualified teachers in many countries and this trend is likely to intensify. Some think that we can address teacher shortages by providing more ICT-based learning and edutainment. While this may be appropriate, for older learners in higher education and training programs, at least to a certain extent, it is certainly not a solution for younger learners in primary and secondary school. Teachers have a crucial role to play in supporting these young learners as they develop their social skills and start to engage more actively in their communities. 很多国家已经出现合格教师资源短缺的情况，而且形势愈发严峻。有些人认为，通过提供更多基于信息通信技术的学习活动和教育游戏，我们就可以解决这个问题。至少在某种程度上，这个方案或许适合正在接受高等教育或参加培训项目的年长学习者；但它并不适用于比较年幼的中小学生。在他们发展社会技能，并开始积极参与集体活动的过程中，教师发挥着关键的支持作用。 Indeed, in many ways our expectations of teachers and schools are greater than ever. Teachers are expected to do more to personalize learning in order to meet diverse learner needs. They are also asked to develop new approaches to assessment, to support active student learning, to keep up to date with developments in their fields, and to integrate new technologies. As a result, most countries are exploring policy options for strengthening teacher qualifications. International organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD and the European Commission have also undertaken studies on how to attract new teachers while also raising the bar for professional qualification. The growing international consensus that teachers should have a Master of Education degree is a significant example of this trend. 在许多方面，我们对老师和学校的期望的确比以往任何时候都要高。为了满足不同学习者的需求，老师要付出更多努力以实现个性化教学，还要开发新的评估方法、提高学生学习的积极性，与时俱进、紧跟专业领域的发展脚步，同时拥抱新技术。因此，大多数国家都在探索强化教师任职资格的政策选择。联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）、经济合作与发展组织（OECD）和欧盟委员会等国际组织也积极开展研究，探索怎样在提高专业资格门槛的同时吸引新的师资力量。国际各方日渐达成共识：教师应具备教育硕士学历，这就是该趋势的重要例证。 A few obvious factors are likely to have an impact on the attractiveness of the profession, such as salary level and working conditions. In some countries, the relatively low salary of teachers, particularly in comparison to other professions requiring an equivalent level of qualification, has lowered teachers’ social status. 有几个显而易见的因素可能会影响教师职业的吸引力，如薪酬水平和工作条件。在有些国家，教师的薪水相对较低，尤其是和其他要求具备同等资历的职业相比，这种反差降低了教师的社会地位。 A recent study by the European Institute of Education and Social Policy (EIESP) found that there are many additional factors that play a significant role in decisions to enter and stay in the teaching profession. For example, initial teacher education, early-career support and professional development are particularly important. Over the last decade, the declining social prestige and negative image of the profession portrayed in the media appears to have had a big impact on the attractiveness of the profession in many countries. 欧洲教育与社会政策研究所最近的一项研究发现，许多附加因素对教师队伍新人的加入和稳定发挥着至关重要的作用，例如，职前教师教育、青年教师扶持培养和职业发展机制都尤为重要。过去十年，很多国家教师职业的社会声望日趋下降，媒体对教师形象的负面刻画貌似对该职业的吸引力产生了巨大影响。 But there is another factor likely to improve the attractiveness of the teaching profession which may at first glance look like a paradox. Despite the fact that most people who decide to enter the teaching profession do so for altruistic reasons – teaching as a vocation – the limited opportunities to leave teaching for another profession may be a significant obstacle. In most countries, support for mobility within and beyond the teaching profession is very rare. 不过，另一个因素也许会提升教师职业的吸引力，只是初看上去似乎有些自相矛盾。尽管大部分决定当老师的人都是出于无私，视教师为神圣的天职，但是另谋他业的机会有限也许正是教师职业缺乏吸引力的一个重要障碍。大多数国家对教师队伍内部的流动和教师转行的支持非常少。 Real opportunities for teachers to take on new responsibilities during the course of their careers may also be an important factor in attracting top graduates. This is particularly the case in countries where the teaching profession does not have much social prestige. Conversely, it is important to attract professionals who wish to become teachers after they have worked in some other field. Their real-world experience is extremely valuable. Indeed, an important goal of education is to prepare students for working life by helping them to acquire basic competences and skills they will need to adapt to a fast-changing world. Teachers who have had previous professional experience in business or public administration are particularly well equipped to prepare young learners to navigate the multiple changes they are likely to experience in their lifetimes. 让教师真正拥有在职业生涯中转行的机会：这或许也是吸引优秀毕业生的重要因素，尤其是在教师职业社会声望不足的国家。相反地，这对吸引曾在其他领域工作、现想转行当老师的专业人才来说也很重要，他们的工作阅历和经验是一笔极其宝贵的财富。现实世界日新月异，帮助学生培养适应快节奏社会的基本能力和技能，为今后的工作和生活打好基础是教育的重要目标。拥有商业或公共管理经验的老师非常有助于指导学生如何为应对人生中可能遇到的各种变化做好准备。 Some countries are already doing more to facilitate this kind of teacher mobility. For example, according to the Training and Development Agency for Schools in England, between 2009 and 2010, the number of career changers applying for teacher training rose by 35%, thus representing about 30% of the total number of new applicants. 一些国家已经采取多项措施，促进教师的流动性。例如，英格兰学校培训与发展局的数据显示，2009年至2010年间，申请参加教师培训的转行者增加了35%，占新申请总人数的30%。 In other words, a significant way of increasing the number of qualified teachers who will be able to meet ever-higher expectations, is to increase their opportunities to move between the teaching and other professions. 换言之，增强能够满足更高期望的合格师资力量的一个重要方式，就是增加教师职业与其他职业之间的流动机会。 原文来自于WISE官方网站：www.wise-qatar.org |
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