14 October 2006

The issue of standards in Albanian Education was once more taken up during a seminar organised jointly by the Foundation for Open Society for Albania (OSFA) and the Centre for Teacher Training and Qualifications. The seminar “Setting standards for teacher training and qualifications” was organised on 14 October at the premises of the Centre. It was the crowning of a number of activities supported by the Foundation’s Pre-university Education Support Program and the East East Program. The previous seminars involved:

1. A training program with the Centre’s staff on efforts to develop teacher standard in Europe and more specifically in Slovenia;
2. A study tour in Slovenia to lean about the implementation of standards by the Slovenian education system.

In the context of providing for a more intensive and adequate exchange of experience, the Dean of the Teacher Training Faculty at the University of Ljubljana, Mrs. Cveta Pucko, visited the Centre and contributed extensively to the Program. Mrs. Pucko commented on the actual document of standards drafted by the Centre in the process of delivering outputs of the program. In her exchange with the Albanian staff Mrs. Pucko underlined the need to combine standard implementation with strong elements of self-assessment and incentives for self-development by the teachers.

Among the recommendations produced by the seminar, mention can be made of:

1. The need to upgrade and improve selection criteria for students enrolling in teacher training programs;
2. Strengthening the quality of teaching at teacher training faculties;
3. Introducing the teacher’s portfolio as a tool to allow teachers to document their efforts and results achieved as part of their professional development.

The portfolio is an element that the teacher needs to keep and update constantly during his/her teaching activity.