FURTHER EDUCATION OF PEDAGOGICAL STAFF IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Education is a highly complex process that has undergone significant changes in the last 20 years. Alternative educational concepts and new technologies have emerged that are changing its form. The changes also concern the role of the teacher, who no longer acts as an exclusive source of knowledge and skills but actively leads students to achieve knowledge of their own. Teachers are no longer just educators, but also instructors, mentors, coordinators and facilitators. Despite these changes, the role of the teacher is one of the central roles in the training educational process.

The public has long viewed the teacher's profession, together with that of physicians’ and scientists’, as one of the most prestigious as well as the most demanding ones. There is no doubt that this profession is among those which require constant education not only from the point of view of professional and pedagogical skills but also in terms of personal development. In the Czech Republic, the education of pedagogical staff involved in formal education is organized and coordinated in the framework of the Further Education of Pedagogical Staff. Further Education of Pedagogical Staff aims to ensure the required level of education system while supporting its development and innovation through the education of pedagogical staff.

This paper aims to analyze the current situation in the field of lifelong education of pedagogical staff in secondary vocational education (ISCED 354 according to ISCED 2011 classification). The main emphasis is put on teachers’ interest in further education, the offer reflecting their needs and the current trends in education and, last but not least, the material and managerial support provided for these activities. The main research tool is a questionnaire survey. Quantitative research was carried out in 2017 in 34 schools and involved 127 teachers of secondary vocational schools from different regions of the Czech Republic. Part of this paper is also the results of the pilot verification of the educational course based on the teachers' requirements from the above research.