Viewpoints:
Teacher quality
General
The ISO believes that the performance of students depends to a large extent on the quality of their teachers. For this reason, it is important that teachers are sufficiently qualified with the skills that are needed to give lectures and classes. Such a qualification (the BKO) was jointly recognised by all universities 10 years ago, while the comparable qualification for universities of applied sciences (the BDB) is not yet generally recognised. In addition, student lecturers are increasingly being used to teach. The quality of these student teachers varies and is not yet structurally guaranteed.
Current affairs
Every year the ISO announces the “Teacher of the Year”. This teacher is an inspiration for other teachers and is appointed by an expert jury. In addition, the ISO is always looking for further professionalisation of teachers. Through consultation with education institutions and politicians, the ISO is looking for the best ways for teachers to tailor their lessons to best practices and to the wishes of students. In addition to these ongoing consultations, the ISO has also organised the event “Reflection Rooms” in cooperation with the Comenius Network and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, in which the lessons learned from the corona crisis were mapped out.
Viewpoint of the ISO
The ISO has always been committed to good teaching staff in higher education and sees that institutions are doing a lot when it comes to the quality of teaching staff, but knowledge sharing and a shared vision are sometimes lacking. The ISO believes it is important that there is a clear vision on the capabilities that lecturers in higher education must have. From this point of view, the ISO is therefore seeking joint recognition of Basic Didactic Competence (BDB), alongside the comparable Basic Teaching Qualification (BKO). In addition, the ISO sees the use of student teachers as an opportunity for both the quality of the education and the development of students, provided that proper supervision and qualification are also in place for this.
