Teachers at the heart of a historic first for Eastern Partnership education programme

The 'Regional peer learning workshop on Teaching Excellence - Empowering Educators' concluded last Friday in Helsinki after four days of events from 17-20 September. The workshops were organised in the framework of the 'Supporting education reforms and skills in the Eastern Partnership region' initiative (EaP education programme), the first European Union regional programme focusing on education in the Eastern Partnership region. This three-year (2024-26) programme aims to improve the efficiency, quality, equity, equality and relevance of education systems in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

In a first for the €2.5 million initiative, launched in Turin last May by the European Training Foundation and the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), all delegations from the countries participating in the programme met together in Helsinki and Tallinn to compare their own reform experiences with the education systems of EU Member States.

It would have been difficult to find two better examples than Finland and Estonia for a series of events aimed at brainstorming challenges and solutions in the rapidly evolving landscape of the teaching profession. Finland is widely regarded as having one of the best education systems in the world, with its success rooted in a historical background of social and political investment in education as an engine for economic growth. Neighbouring Estonia topped the latest PISA 2022 results: its Minister of Education and Research, visited by the 40 participants in the ETF-led event, attributes this success largely to the professional skills of Estonian teachers. 

The inaugural day of the proceedings coincided with another historic moment for the whole European Union – the reshuffle of the new European Commission. The opening remarks at the reception held in the Oodi Library in Helsinki by Jaana Palojärvi, Director for International Relations at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, focused on the significance of the EU Enlargement strategy, while ETF Director Pilvi Torsti, emphasised the importance of the programme in the context of EU integration and expressed Finland's – her country of birth - pride in serving as a source of inspiration for the ETF's eastern partner countries. 

The programme comprised four days of intensive discussions, school visits (to seven different institutes, from primary to upper secondary level, including a vocational college and a teacher training school) and high-level meetings with Finnish and Estonian education institutions. The overarching theme of the debates was the strengthening of the attractiveness of the teaching profession, with insights exchanged on individual national reform agendas and potential sources of peer learning from other participants and hosts.  

The Viikki Teacher Training School of the University of Helsinki was visited by the participants and is one of the most important public schools in Finland. 

The structured recruitment process in Finland, coupled with its focus on autonomy and continuous professional development, proved highly engaging for participants. In-depth discussions ensued as representatives from partner countries posed several questions on adapting Finland's teacher development models to their national contexts, while highlighting similarities between some strategies implemented in their own countries. 

The open and transparent discussions in Estonia revealed the common challenges of navigating education reforms in the wake of the Soviet legacy, a historical background shared with the other countries in the programme. Straight after independence, their goal was to prepare students and teachers for the complexities of the 21st century, which the inherited system was not equipped to address. This demonstrated the urgent need for reforms that were both necessary and innovative. 

The Finnish and Estonian education systems are well-known for placing a high degree of trust in teachers, with minimal evaluation. This decentralised approach allows teachers to act as primary decision-makers, a level of autonomy that is likely to be a surprise to many international observers. As one participant from the Armenian delegation noted, "we are still in a phase where we feel the need to assess, but we want to understand how to reach your level, aware that this requires a long-term vision". 

The broad goal of these visits and discussions was to empower teachers and learners, enhance educational outcomes and reinforce partnerships with the European Union. As an Estonian upper secondary school headmaster noted, the “EU funds have been instrumental in transforming numerous Estonian schools into cutting-edge learning hubs,” which are now regarded as models in many countries worldwide. Will programmes like the Eastern Partnership contribute to creating the conditions for such a steady growth in the five participant countries? 

Throughout the event, delegates from the partner countries expressed a growing awareness of their shared challenges, including rural-urban disparities in education, barriers to the teaching profession and the need to modernise vocational education to make it more attractive to students. Participants pointed out that initiatives such as the Eastern Partnership education programme can foster a common platform for ideas and inspiration, complemented by the adoption of the most effective international practices observed in the EU. 

From in-service training of teachers to school leadership, the key takeaways from the country delegations, hosted on the last day at the Trade Union of Education in Finland (OAJ), highlighted the insights captured that the participants will bring back to their respective countries, where they will seek to implement the new approaches they have learned or deepen their understanding of. 

The closing remarks from ETF experts Timo Kuusela and Iwona Ganko set out the way forward for the Eastern Partnership education programme, proposing a continuous peer learning approach among the five countries that demonstrates tangible results already in the creative process of reforms. 

Jouni Kangasniemi, Senior Ministerial Adviser and Education Finland Programme Director at the Finnish National Agency for Education, advocated for an approach that is "a gradual evolution rather than a revolution". This perspective has been instrumental to Finland's success. With the commitment of governments, donors, and public servants, we can expect similar outcomes in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine soon.