Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to analyze the educational needs, educational conditions, and educational opportunities as the most important factors and, at the same time, as a strong foundation for the planning of teachers' professional development. By focusing on the literature, this paper examines the complex relationship between the aforementioned concepts and provides guidelines for reflecting on and improving curriculum planning in the context of teachers' professional development. Despite the recognition of the importance of professional development and the pressures that arise from contemporary educational needs, most professional development opportunities remain fragmented, insufficiently linked to curricula, and inadequately adapted to teachers' needs, conditions, and opportunities. Education professionals partially identify educational needs, but scarcely address the educational conditions and educational opportunities. This, in turn, is also a reason why educational concepts/reform interventions and other processes remain insufficiently shaped, fail, and end up as mere illusions or utopias. Improving certain educational conditions and opportunities at the state, local/regional and organizational levels has the potential to weaken the impact of disruptive and strengthen the impact of facilitating factors for the professional development of teachers. Therefore, in this paper, special attention is devoted to approaches aimed at examining educational needs, educational conditions, and educational opportunities that have received little attention in practice, given that there are no comprehensive studies on this topic in the scientific literature. The paper maintains that it is crucial for curriculum planning to avoid one-sided methodological approaches and to make decisions based on examinations of educational needs, conditions, and opportunities. Teachers' professional development does not take place in a vacuum; it is subject to constant change, and it is crucial to obtain as valid and as complete a picture as possible in order to improve its quality and effectiveness. The results of the conducted analysis have also shown that it is necessary to begin with a realistic assessment of the specific educational needs, conditions, and opportunities of both the potential participants and organizers of the educational process, as this increases the likelihood of their realization, which, in turn, results in their greater satisfaction. Without it, we are left with only short-term, limited, and improvised activities. The paper calls for a continuous exploration of educational needs, conditions, and opportunities, and curriculum-based planning of teachers' professional development in a changing contemporary educational context.

Keywords:

Educational needs, educational conditions, educational opportunities, professional development, teachers, curriculum planning.