Supporting Teachers
Supporting Teachers
Supporting Teachers
SPAIN
Mapping their professional
development in the EU
THEMATIC PERSPECTIVES
Please cite this publication as:
Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (2016). Supporting teachers and trainers for successful
reforms and quality of vocational education and training: mapping their professional
development in the EU – Spain. Cedefop ReferNet thematic perspectives series.
http://libserver.cedefop.europa.eu/vetelib/2016/ReferNet_ES_TT.pdf
The thematic perspectives series complements the general information on vocational education
and training (VET) systems provided in ‘VET in Europe’ reports. The themes presented in the
series feature high on the European agenda.
Thematic perspectives provide national overviews of specific themes in a common format and
offer comparative dimension across the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. They are
available at:
http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/networks/refernet/thematic-perspectives
This thematic perspective was prepared based on data/information from 2015.
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Cedefop.
Thematic perspectives are co-financed by the European Union and ReferNet national partners.
ReferNet is a network of institutions across Europe representing the 28 Member States, plus
Iceland and Norway. The network provides Cedefop with information and analysis on national
vocational education and training (VET). ReferNet also disseminates information on European
VET and Cedefop’s work to stakeholders in the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway.
http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/networks/refernet
1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................5
2. Profile of and requirements to teachers and trainers ............................................6
3. Practical training with companies: trainers or tutors for the
apprentices or instructors at the workplace ........................................................10
4. Teachers and trainers’ CPD: needs and gains ...................................................12
5. National projects financed by the EU to support VET teachers
and trainers professional development ...............................................................12
6. Conclusions........................................................................................................14
References .............................................................................................................14
Web Links ...............................................................................................................15
ANNEX 1. Information based on the OECD survey TALIS 2013 .......................16
ANNEX 2. Network for national reference centres .............................................20
1. Introduction
Teachers and trainers play an essential role in the innovation and implementation of
VET system reforms in Spain. In recent years, several actions and instruments,
platforms, common tools and original training materials were implemented to promote
their retraining and continuous training and support their professional activities.
1
( ) Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y de Formación del Profesorado.
2
( ) Centro Nacional de Innovación e Investigación Educativa.
5
professional training issues, which will become a reference for development of the
entire vocational training system and help harmonise the provision of VET.
Source: Unesco-OECD-Eurostat (UOE) data collection on education statistics, compiled on the basis of national
administrative sources, reported by Ministries of Education or National Statistical Offices. Data extracted on
29 September 2015.
6
A period of internship training at an education centre is compulsory, but its duration
differs depending on the level that will be taught. Practical training for new teachers is
increasingly gaining importance in alignment with the practices of our European
neighbours and it is promoted among the teaching faculty through salary benefits
expressed as recognition of credits required every six year-period of salary revision
(FETE-UGT, 2013) ( 3).
Initial teacher training is in the last stage of the transformation process following the
gradual adaptation of the Spanish university system to the European Higher Education
Area (EHEA) with some previous programmes still running, though practically extinct.
Initial and continuous training requirements and the conditions for acknowledgement,
support and evaluation of the VET teachers in public centres were established in the
2006 Organic Law on Education (LOE), modified by the 2013 Organic Law for
Improvement of Education Quality (LOMCE), which was implemented in the 2014/15
school year ( 4). The regional education authorities regularly hold public competition
3
( ) A six-year period is a complementary payment that is given to civil servant teaching
personnel, since October 1992, when two conditions are met: six years of teaching service
and enough training credits. It was created in 1991 by agreement between the State
Administration and the teaching unions.
4
( ) Eurypedia:
http://www.mecd.gob.es/educacion-mecd/mc/redie-eurydice/sistemas-
educativos/profesorado.html
7
exams to hire the necessary personnel pursuant to their academic offer and the VET
programmes they provide. There are different specialities of upper secondary and
technical teaching faculty, pursuant to the professional fields and families, and there
are even placements for specialist teachers to cover certain needs when there is no
civil servant teaching staff (see Section 1 for the types of teachers).
In the case of trainers in the VET programmes of the training for employment system,
they can access through direct open hiring procedures by employers in private training
centres which are approved by the labour authorities. These centres guarantee
fulfilment of the teaching faculty requirements and, specifically, regarding the selection
of trainers, in some regions (especially, the islands), there are certain difficulties in
finding professionals that meet all the requirements established in some training
programmes. In the case of trainers in programmes leading to professional certificates
(formal qualification from the labour authorities), they must meet the requirements
specified by the labour regulations in each training module, both in terms of
professional competence and teaching competence. The professional competence
refers to both, academic certification (see Figure 3) and professional experience (see
Figure 4) within the scope of the competence while the teaching competence refers to
competence to train and evaluate the learning results of the programme.
Figure 3. Highest level of education completed by trainers of the training system for
employment (2012)
These trainers are not usually permanent staff; rather they are hired pursuant to the
offer and planned training needs within the training for employment system and
pursuant to the needs of companies in the case of training for demands pertaining to
professional certificates. Certain Autonomous Communities have pools of approved
trainers because, although no important inefficiencies are shown pertaining to the
8
search, selection and qualification of trainers, these pools or files containing approved
trainers offer better guarantees to the training centres regarding the suitability of the
staff hired and simplify the processes for monitoring the Public Employment Services in
charge of overseeing these training activities ( 5).
There are also the so-called integrated centres, VET providers that are part of the
public network of training providers which can offer any VET options regarding the
National Catalogue of Professional Qualifications leading to VET diplomas and
professional certificates in the professional families or branch they are authorised for.
They may also offer other training options, for entering and re-entering the labour
market, and responding to the demands of people and of the sectorial economic
agents. In these integrated centres, the profile of the teachers and trainers is the same
as previously stated for the public education system. All formal qualifications of the
national system of professional qualifications require completing an internship period at
a workplace, which must assign a trainer/tutor. This is the case also of the dual system
formally implemented in 2012 (Royal Decree, 1529/2012). These trainers/tutors should
not only guide the learning process for the student/apprentice, but they should also
5
( ) As contained in the implementation report published in 2014 on the Annual Plan for
evaluation of the quality, impact, efficacy and efficiency of the training system for
employment 2011, the training activities for which took place throughout 2012 (the time
lapse is because this evaluation could only begin after the training activities that began in
2012 were completed).
https://www.sistemanacionalempleo.es/pdf/Resumen_Ejecutivo_eval_FPE_2011.VSEP2014.pdf
9
monitor the apprentices during the training period within the company (further
information in Section 3).
Likewise, regarding the online VET, in addition to the necessary accreditation of online
platforms and User Service Centres with 24-hour help for students in the case of the
labour administration platforms for professional certificates learning programmes, an
online tutor profile is foreseen. They will encourage and motivate online students during
their ’learning journey’. The tutorial system is based on virtual tutoring sessions and, if
applicable, face-to-face sessions. Tutoring in the online VET modality is compulsory
and is to be carried out during the training activity because, although the e-learning
process is more flexible it requires ongoing monitoring and assessment of the student
learning outcomes, to guarantee the scope and quality of the learning acquired by the
student. Professional certificates trainers in addition to the general requirements of
accreditation and professional experience must have proof of digital competence or
teaching experience in this type of training mode (Spanish Ministry of Employment and
Social Security, 2013). In any case, the assessment of the learning outcomes is done
face-to-face at the accredited professional training centre before providing the
qualification and the practical Training Module at workplaces can never been approved
as an online or distance training.
10
collaboration agreements signed by the interested VET centres and companies are,
once signed, sent to the regional government administration (Education, Employment
or Education and Employment Councils). In some cases, the regional government
administration provides the model form for the agreement to be signed between the
parties ( 6), as well as a protocol for communicating the entire process.
However, this procedure varies depending on the competent administration that carries
it out. In Extremadura ( 7), for example, regarding the Professional Certificates, the
centres are responsible for sending a list of proposed companies to the RPES (regional
Public Employment Service), which signs the corresponding agreements with the
companies. In the Balearic Islands, the RPES with the main unions offers to training
centres a list of potential companies available so that the training centres can choose
the ones for apprenticeship. The only case where the government is entirely
responsible for developing the process for apprenticeship is in Aragon, where the
centres and entities have no participation. The Aragon Employment Institute (PRES)
has signed with the main social agents in the region an agreement for seeking and
selecting the companies. In any case, at the national level there is a common
framework with the Higher Council of the Chambers of Commerce to mediate between
the VET centres and companies, to find and carry out the training period with
companies of their organization ( 8). Apprenticeship Planning and learning agreement is,
in any case, the responsibility of the training centre and of the companies.
The Chambers of Commerce ( 9) specifically participated in promoting the dual VET
system of the education system in the school year 2013/2014 (Cedefop Refernet
Spain, 2014, chapter 4).
The company tutors are professionals with extensive experience backed by years of
work, experts in their field. They do not need to have teaching qualifications though
they may have had the opportunity to work with students in practice on other
occasions.
6
( ) The Ministry for Education, Culture and Sports website, www.todofp.es, offers forms for
drafting the agreement but this is the responsibility of the autonomous communities:
http://www.todofp.es/todofp/sobre-fp/formacion-en-centros-de-trabajo.html.
7
( ) Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida.
8
( ) http://www.todofp.es/todofp/empleadores/formacion-centros-trabajo.html
9
( ) More information at: http://www.camara.es/es/formacion-y-empleo/formacion-dual
11
4. Teachers and trainers’ CPD: needs and gains
Continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers and trainers is a central issue
for the European Union strategies to improve education quality. The level of teachers’
participation in training and professional development activities in Spain in 2013 was
high, comprising 83.7%, although lower than the OECD average (87.3%) (OECD,
2014).
According to the TALIS data, over 97% of teachers feel that they are well-prepared for
teaching work, whereas the average percentage in the OECD countries is lower (90%).
As regards their needs for CPD, Spanish teachers feel prepared in the subjects that
they teach, but consider they need further training on teaching methods, especially to
work with students with special education needs and increasingly multicultural or
multilingual differences, result of the demographic changes undergone by Spanish
society in the last 10 years (Cedefop Refernet Spain, 2014, chapter 1). Over 50% of
teachers respond they have moderate to high training needs in such aspects as
teaching special needs students, ICT skills for teaching and new technologies at the
workplace, followed by focus on individualised learning, teaching transversal curricular
skills and academic and professional guidance and counselling for students. ICT skills
for teaching are one of the few subjects where the offer matches the training needs
match and has improved since 2008.
Knowing the teachers' characteristic features and improving their profile in the VET
system for employment is among the aims for guaranteeing the quality of the CDP
activities within the scope of the Public Employment Services. Thus, from the data
obtained from the Annual Plan for evaluation of quality of the training for employment
system, 66% of the trainers in 2012 stated having received continuing training (CVT) in
the last two years, and CDP in the field of the professional certificate that they were
teaching. Likewise, according to the European survey of Spanish trainers carried out by
the Network of Trainers (García Molina, 2012), 95% updated their knowledge and skills
at their own initiative and 23% due to employer requirements. The declared benefits of
their CVT are, in this order: personal development (84%), improvement as a trainer
(79%) and career opportunities (42%).
12
collaboration with the General Sub-directorate for Guidance and VET (SGOFP), a
series of online simulators were developed for various VET families, some produced
with the assistance of the European Social Fund (ESF), by agreements between the
Employer associations and Foundations of the various Sectors and others within the
Programme, Internet in the Classroom, with the participation, along with the Ministry of
Education, of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and the Education
Councils of the Autonomous Communities. Through interactive simulations they
develop content included in the official curricula, and they offer real cases that could
happen to the students in their future professional life.
10
( ) Learning Object Metadata (LOM) is a data model used to label and describe a learning
object and similar digital resources. Thanks to its use in cataloguing the object, it becomes
easier to find it later in the banks of resources. LOM is an international standard and its
adaptation to the Spanish educational context is LOM-ES (www.lom-es.es).
13
6. Conclusions
Professional development and continuing training of VET teachers is considered
essential for implementation of the system reforms and for the development of dual
VET and remote training or distance VET.
VET teachers are highly qualified and motivated for continuing education, both from a
personal and institutional standpoint and at regional and autonomous community level.
They actively participate in training and learning activities.
The national government has made available several online services and platforms to
provide teachers with the instruments necessary to face the new challenges entailed by
ICT applied to education within VET.
The challenges for the coming years will be to provide teachers with suitable digital
competences to face the demands presented by digital society and adapt to be able to
address special needs of certain vulnerable students and groups.
References
Cedefop Refernet Spain (2014). Spain: VET in Europe: country report 2014.
https://cumulus.cedefop.europa.eu/files/vetelib/2014/2014_CR_ES.pdf
FETE-UGT (2013). Formación permanente del profesorado no universitario en las
diferentes Comunidades Autónomas. Normativa y condiciones para percibir el
complemento retributive correspondiente [Report on continuous training of
teaching bodies in the various Autonomous Communities: regulations and
payment conditions].
http://www.feteugt.es/Data/UPLOAD/GAB%20sexenios%20profesorado.pdf
García Molina, José Luis (2012). Profesionales de la enseñanza y la formación
profesional: notas desde la situación española [Professional education and
training: notes from the Spanish situation]. Monographic S-XXI.
http://formacionxxi.com/porqualMagazine/do/get/magazineArticle/2012/11/text/xml/
Profesionales_de_la_ensenanza_y_la_formacion_profesional.xml.html
National Institute for Education Evaluation (2015). Practicas docentes y rendimiento
estudiantil. Evidencia a partir de TALIS 2013 y PISA 2012 [Teaching practices and
student achievement. Evidence from TALIS 2013 and PISA 2012].
http://www.mecd.gob.es/dctm/inee/internacional/practicasdocentesyrendimientoest
udiantil.pdf?documentId=0901e72b81e17e0c
OECD (2014). TALIS: the OECD teaching and learning international survey.
http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/talis.htm and
http://www.mecd.gob.es/inee/Ultimos_informes/TALIS-2013.html
Real Decreto 1529/2012, de 8 de noviembre, por el que se desarrolla el contrato para
la formación y el aprendizaje y se establecen las bases de la formación
profesional dual [Royal Decree 1529/2012 of 8 November that develops the
14
training and learning contract and establishes the basis for dual vocational training]
http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2012/11/09/pdfs/BOE-A-2012-13846.pdf
Real Decreto 1834/2008, de 8 de noviembre, por el que se definen las condiciones de
formación para el ejercicio de la docencia en la educación secundaria obligatoria,
el bachillerato, la formación profesional y las enseñanzas de régimen especial y
se establecen las especialidades de los cuerpos docentes de enseñanza
secundaria [Royal Decree 1834/2008 of November 8, defining the training
conditions for teaching compulsory secondary education, higher secondary
education, vocational education and training and special teaching, and
establishing the specialities of the secondary education teaching bodies].
http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2008/11/28/pdfs/A47586-47591.pdf
Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security (2013). Orden ESS/1897/2013, de
10 de octubre, por la que se desarrolla el Real Decreto 34/2008, de 18 de enero,
por el que se regulan los certificados de profesionalidad y los reales decretos por
los que se establecen certificados de profesionalidad dictados en su aplicación
[Order ESS/ 1897/2013, of October 10, developing the Royal Decree 34/2008 of
18 January, regulating the professional certificates and royal decrees that
establish professional certificates].
https://www.sepe.es/contenidos/personas/formacion/centros_formacion/pdf/Orden
_ESS_1897_2013.pdf
Web Links
Accreditation of remote training platforms in VET
https://www.sepe.es/contenidos/personas/formacion/centros_formacion/inscripcion
_teleformacion.html
EducaLAB (educational resources project)
http://educalab.es/cniie
Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y Profesorado (INTEF) [National Institute
of Education Technologies and Teacher Training]
http://www.ite.educacion.es/eu/descripcion
Network for national reference centres
https://www.sepe.es/contenidos/personas/formacion/centros_formacion/centros_re
ferencia_nacional.html
Procomun (an open source for education and learning)
https://procomun.educalab.es/en/
VET through the Internet website
http://www.mecd.gob.es/fponline.html
15
ANNEX 1.
Information based on the OECD survey TALIS 2013
Average
< 25 years 25-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 > 60 years
age
Spain 0.2 2.6 23.2 38.8 31.8 3.5 45.6
France 0.7 7.8 32.6 32.7 21.5 4.7 42.6
United Kingdom 3.8 17.1 34.4 24.6 17.9 2.2 39.2
Poland 0.8 7.8 35.0 33.0 21.6 1.8 41.9
Portugal 0.0 1.2 24.2 46.6 25.5 2.4 44.7
Sweden 0.6 4.4 25.7 31.4 24.5 13.3 46.0
OECD Average 1.8 9.5 27.4 29.5 25.3 6.5 43.4
16
Table 2. Distribution by teacher education level 2013 (all education levels)
Table 3. Evolution of the teachers' need for professional development in the following
areas, between 2008 and 2013
Knowledge Teaching in a
Centre
and under- ICT skills Teaching for multi-cultural
management
standing of applied to Special Needs or multi-
and
the subject(s) teaching students lingual
administration
that I teach environment
2008 2013 2008 2013 2008 2013 2008 2013 2008 2013
Australia 5.0 2.3 17.8 13.6 5.9 4.8 15.1 8.2 4.0 4.5
Korea 38.3 25.1 17.7 24.9 10.8 17.4 25.6 36.0 10.4 18.9
Denmark 4.6 6.3 20.1 18.7 3.9 3.2 24.6 28.0 7.1 7.0
Slovakia 17.2 9.1 14.8 18.7 4.8 7.9 20.1 18.9 4.6 7.8
Spain 5.0 1.8 26.2 14.0 14.2 10.0 35.8 21.9 17.5 19.0
Estonia 22.6 11.6 27.9 24.2 4.6 3.5 28.1 19.6 9.7 9.3
Italy 34.0 16.5 25.8 35.9 8.6 9.9 35.3 32.3 25.3 27.4
Mexico 11.0 4.3 24.9 20.9 11.9 15.3 38.8 47.4 18.2 33.2
Norway 8.6 7.0 28.1 18.2 5.8 2.5 29.2 12.3 8.3 7.4
Poland 17.0 1.8 22.2 10.6 7.8 5.9 29.4 14.5 6.6 5.6
Portugal 4.8 4.7 24.2 9.3 18.2 13.9 50.0 26.3 17.0 16.8
OECD 15.1 7.9 21.7 19.1 8.2 7.7 28.3 22.0 11.3 13.0
average
Source: OECD (2014).
17
Table 4. Percentage of teachers who inform of a moderate or high positive change in the aforementioned aspects, after receiving
information on their evaluation
acknowledgement
development that
by the director or
improve learning
from colleagues
Possibilities for
responsibilities
financial bonus
Participation in
Use of student
evaluations to
Confidence in
special needs
Degree of job
Salary and/or
you carry out
improvement
initiatives for
development
yourself as a
Management
professional
professional
methods for
the centre's
satisfaction
Classroom
Amount of
Motivation
Countries
Practises
Teaching
Teaching
practises
students
teacher
Public
Job
Australia 39.9 38.6 30.8 31.2 39.5 56.5 11.9 39.5 45.0 29.0 42.9 46.9 50.0
Chile 70.3 64.3 64.1 68.3 74.9 86.1 47.0 84.1 82.0 69.3 80.9 82.8 83.4
Korea 59.9 52.9 37.4 55.0 65.1 65.8 38.4 57.8 64.4 61.4 58.4 53.0 57.4
Spain 50.8 45.8 28.9 38.2 42.2 59.0 10.5 44.8 45.4 40.5 53.2 53.5 55.3
Estonia 56.4 43.4 27.8 46.4 47.3 64.3 27.2 44.2 54.1 37.4 47.9 54.7 55.7
France 54.2 43.6 36.5 22.0 39.4 64.7 22.5 42.1 51.5 33.5 44.5 59.3 62.0
United
40.6 36.1 33.0 28.0 35.0 53.0 18.4 41.7 48.1 29.6 49.5 38.9 41.3
Kingdom
Israel 70.4 55.5 54.0 50.5 58.4 73.1 24.0 56.1 60.3 42.2 55.1 72.4 73.8
Italy 54.3 45.3 a 46.2 a 71.9 a 67.4 67.9 65.9 69.0 75.3 75.0
18
acknowledgement
development that
by the director or
improve learning
from colleagues
Possibilities for
responsibilities
financial bonus
Participation in
Use of student
evaluations to
Confidence in
special needs
Degree of job
Salary and/or
you carry out
improvement
initiatives for
development
yourself as a
Management
professional
professional
methods for
the centre's
satisfaction
Classroom
Amount of
Motivation
Countries
Practises
Teaching
Teaching
practises
students
teacher
Public
Job
Japan 83.0 63.4 33.6 41.9 71.1 85.1 27.9 71.2 88.6 63.2 75.5 77.4 81.5
Mexico 62.0 62.6 51.3 67.8 82.0 89.0 30.9 82.9 86.3 49.3 81.6 89.3 86.6
Norway 58.9 34.9 15.2 25.4 32.0 68.0 19.9 47.1 52.2 33.5 47.9 54.6 52.9
Netherlands 52.2 45.3 31.1 36.6 44.1 58.7 19.9 38.9 43.8 25.1 31.4 45.2 51.6
Poland 72.1 64.4 51.0 53.1 53.3 69.2 32.6 58.6 63.5 61.6 67.3 67.8 69.1
Portugal 47.9 46.2 23.7 38.5 44.9 58.8 6.5 50.0 48.9 40.1 53.1 54.7 54.1
Czech
57.3 38.6 21.6 30.3 43.6 62.4 27.3 52.7 56.9 43.5 50.5 55.7 55.2
Republic
Sweden 60.0 37.6 20.4 23.6 38.3 61.4 33.2 45.0 47.5 37.2 44.7 50.6 53.7
OECD
57.0 46.8 31.9 40.3 48.9 66.5 22.4 50.7 56.7 43.2 53.7 60.0 61.6
Average
Source: OECD (2014).
19
ANNEX 2.
Network for national reference centres
20