The new school year has not yet started, and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is already shocking Ukrainian teachers with another “improvement”, which promises to be a challenge for the entire educational community. This time MES solidified new professional standard “Teacher of general secondary education institution”.
This updated professional standard, which is planned for implementation in 2024, looks like another bureaucratic experiment that could destroy the remnants of an already fragile education system. Instead of real support for teachers, there are again additional requirements, unclear evaluation criteria and endless “reforms” on paper, which, unfortunately, have little to do with the real problems of the school. What to expect from the updated teacher’s document? Will the standard really contribute to the development and improvement of the educational process, or will additional unmanageable responsibilities fall on the shoulders of educators?
Expectations versus reality
With the appearance of another document, one wants to believe that, probably, this time up there in the offices, educators will hear the cries for help, they will brainstorm everything and issue the guide that will really lead our education system out of the thickets of difficulties and problems onto a smooth path of development and improvement. But, as they say, it didn’t happen as expected.
And here we have a new standard developed by officials, which is accompanied by promises to improve the professional quality of teachers and improve the educational process. But is this really what the Ukrainian school needs now? Unlikely. Instead of recognizing and solving the main problems – low pay for teachers, catastrophic underfunding of schools, lack of modern resources – the state continues to increase pressure on teachers. It is likely that this new standard will be just another confirmation that bureaucratic requirements for officials are more important than the real working conditions of teachers.
In the professional standard “Teacher of a general secondary education institution”:
- defined professional qualifications;
- the possible trajectories of obtaining professional qualifications are outlined, depending on the obtained degree of education and specialty;
- the structure of the description of competences is aligned with the structure of the descriptors of the National Qualifications Framework;
- the number of competencies necessary to ensure the performance of relevant labor functions is optimized.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine recommends using a professional standard for:
- development of educational programs for the training of specialists in the field of knowledge “Education/Pedagogy”, other specialties that provide for the assignment of professional qualifications defined by this professional standard;
- development of programs for the professional development of teaching staff and professional development;
- development of job instructions for relevant positions;
- evaluation of the professional activity of pedagogical workers.
Let’s compare the purpose of the new standard with the previous one:
“The purpose of a teacher’s professional activity is to organize training and upbringing of students during their complete general secondary education (hereinafter referred to as education) by forming in them key competencies and worldview based on universal and national values, as well as intellectual, creative and physical development abilities necessary for successful self-realization and continued education.” (The text is taken from the new professional standard “Teacher of a general secondary education institution” – ed.)
“The purpose of a teacher’s professional activity is to organize education and training students during their complete general secondary education (hereinafter referred to as education) by forming in them key competencies and worldview based on universal and national values, as well as the development of intellectual, creative and physical abilities necessary for successful self-realization and continuing education.”(The text is taken from the professional standard for the professions “Teacher of primary classes of a general secondary education institution”, “Teacher of a general secondary education institution” “Teacher of primary education (with a diploma of a junior specialist”, which has lost relevance – ed.)
Comparing the purpose of the new standard with its predecessor, we immediately see that “students” have been replaced by “education seekers”, and some definitions have been completely removed from the document. Changing the concepts of “education seekers” and “students” already looks quite funny, because they are constantly changed one for the other. It is clear that officials of the ministry have to “earn their bread”, so they create the appearance of work, but it is extremely meaningless.
“Since this was the first professional standard related to the reform of the National Academy of Sciences, we tried to use many examples and explanations in it.
Now we want to do the opposite – to summarize the presented formulations and make them shorter. And additionally prepare an educational and methodological package, which would clarify the competencies, give teachers practical tools that will help to use the text of the standard in practice”, – explains the director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Development of Education Natalia Sofiy.
Columns with communication and responsibility and autonomy have been added to the beautifully designed board. That is, they explain to the teacher how he should communicate, when and with whom during the performance of his duties, and also list what he is responsible for. Autonomy, as always, is conditional, because the selection of all the necessary materials must be discussed and agreed ten more times. And when does the poor teacher have to look for all the necessary and most useful materials, when studying just one such table of competencies and requirements will require more than one sleepless night after a full day of work? And in addition, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, supposedly trying to help, still wants to issue a whole package with a lot of questionnaires for self-assessment. This is probably during breaks, between checking notebooks, teachers have to fill them.
Separately, I would like to comment on the use of the above-mentioned standard for the training of future teachers. All educators have gone through that path when, having moved from the desk to the teacher’s desk, they faced a pile of documents that they had to learn how to fill out correctly. And how many difficult pedagogical situations have been learned only through one’s own trials and errors. Because the knowledge that future teachers receive in pedagogical universities is very different from what needs to be applied in practice.
It is worth noting that the popularity of the teaching profession has long since lost its position. This year, the average competitive score of those who entered the budget for the specialty “Secondary Education” is about 140 points. It is obvious that applications for admission were submitted not by those applicants who followed their vocation, but by those who were looking for an easier way to enter the budget.
“Unfortunately, this problem can be traced in our specialty “secondary education”, because it does not really attract applicants with the highest scores. Obviously, this is due to the low starting salary of the teacher”, – the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vynnytskyi recognizes the problem. So let’s scare away future teachers with incomprehensible and excessive workload and responsibilities.
And the listed items and means of work indicated on the plate are generally read with sadness. After all, the MES probably does not know that in many rural schools there is still one textbook for ten students, and there is nothing to say about a personal computer for the teacher. It has already become a good tradition for teachers to purchase stationery at their own expense, and then share it with students who have a pen or a piece of paper at home.
Reaction of educators to the updated standard
Since the new standard provides criteria for evaluating the teacher’s work, teachers will have to constantly improve their professional skills, meet modern educational trends, and also monitor the fulfillment of each new requirement. It sounds good, but where do you get the resources for all this? How are teachers supposed to meet the new standards in conditions of chronic underfunding, technical backwardness of schools and enormous workload? Do teachers have to become superheroes who should be psychologists, innovators, and trainers for students at the same time?
Therefore, it is not surprising that another “improvement” from the Ministry of Education and Culture caused a stormy reaction among educators.
Angela Kyrychuk, Facebook user:
“It would be funny if it weren’t so sad… When you pay a teacher a salary like a gardener who only makes sure that the trees don’t scatter, then expect the same work. If your requirements for work are good, then the salary should be appropriate. So don’t annoy the educators with such papers, because the staff of the ministry will not close all the teacher vacancies that are available, and this is only the beginning…”.
Natalia Khazanyuk, Facebook user:
“Keep what you have, developed and tested. This is not the time to experiment at all.”
Leonid Torba, Facebook user:
“Soon, those who still remain in the school with such an assessment of the teacher’s work by the state will disperse.”
Serhii Penyaev, Facebook user:
“What, are these standards so necessary now during the war? Apparently, it was developed by fantasists and dreamers, not practitioners. And who does not answer, and this is the majority that will be fired? So let the developers go to work at the school and check in practice whether they meet the standards developed by them.”
Olena Korol, Facebook user:
“When will there be standards for the head of the MES and employees of the MES?”.
Iryna, a teacher in Kharkiv:
“Aren’t there too many points for a salary of 7,000? As far as I’m concerned, one thing was enough – “Present/absent at work”! And of course – “Thank you for your patience”!”.
Olena, a teacher from Lviv:
“Yesterday I realized that it was time to change my job. First, some laws are written, then others. The new laws completely supersede the old laws. Not taking them into account at all. It is impossible to live in a regime of such impermanence. All our teachers who received diplomas from the Ukrainian SSR and in the 90s have diplomas of teachers who received diplomas in 2016-2022 secondary education. Who are they now? It turns out unnecessary.
Legally certified are those who have the appropriate qualifications, and of course the law has no retroactive effect. But I don’t think it will change the situation. The old professional standard suited more people. If we do become rarer, you will know for what reason. This is not a matter of legal discussions. For the state, we are nobody and they don’t call us anything. We are unnecessary. We can be humiliated, our opinion can be disregarded, we can be ignored. And no one will go to restudy. We have already been there”
Another problem is that these changes are often not accompanied by financial support. Educators have been waiting for a salary increase for years, because the current payments are more like compensation for superhuman efforts. But will there be at least a clause in the new standard about improving the teacher’s working conditions or stimulating his development not only through requirements, but also through material support? Unfortunately, no. Instead, teachers will once again be forced to follow the new rules without any additional help.
Perhaps the biggest concern is that the new requirements could be the last straw for many educators. While the teaching profession is already losing popularity due to low pay and high levels of stress, the additional demands may simply scare young people away from the profession. Older teachers, burdened by bureaucracy, may decide to leave the job. And if the situation does not change, who will be left to teach our children?
What should teachers do in such a situation? Fighting for your rights is, without a doubt, the first step. Education trade unions and public organizations should unite in order to force the authorities not only to implement reforms, but also to create conditions for their real implementation. Teachers deserve decent pay, support, professional development and respect for their work, not a constant burden of responsibilities.
The new professional standard should not be a tool of pressure, but a mechanism for improving the quality of education. But this requires political will and a real desire to help educators, and not just cover up with loud reforms. Otherwise, we will get another bureaucratic “paper” reform, which will affect not only teachers, but also children who should be provided with quality education.
