Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers - Report

Part 3

Participation, consultation and collective bargaining in the teaching profession

32. In the Sixth Ordinary Session (1994), the Joint Committee reviewed the results of a number of country studies on participation, consultation and collective bargaining in the teaching profession. A common theme in these studies was the lack of participation of teachers' organizations in educational planning, especially in times of structural adjustment, with negative consequences for teachers and learning conditions. Further, governments continued to restrict basic rights such as collective bargaining and the right to strike.

33. Since the Committee last met, additional evidence supporting its observations has become available, highlighting the challenges the teaching profession faces. Based on data made available since 1994, the Joint Committee confirms that its previous observations not only remain valid, but deserve even greater emphasis. After reviewing documents prepared by UNESCO and the ILO, the Joint Committee found that participation by teachers' organizations in educational planning is lacking in all regions of the world.

34. The evidence from the regional and international analyses of teachers and education reveals that school systems in many countries are being restructured. A common form is decentralization of authority and greater accountability for schools or regional school authorities. In some countries, restructuring is a mechanism for cutting educational spending from traditional public sources and shifting the responsibility for funding to local government or parents. Almost invariably, this process affects the circumstances of teachers, professionally and economically.

35. In its 1994 Report, the Joint Committee noted that national case studies revealed that it was rare for teachers' organizations to be involved in educational planning, including restructuring of education systems. At most, individual teachers, often not a large number, were engaged as consultants or members of government-sponsored committees to advise on changes in education. Participation of teachers often was informal, rather than through formally-established institutions.

36. National case studies prepared for the ICE found considerable variety in the role of teachers' unions in the promotion of human rights and tolerance through education. In South Africa, leachers' organizations are not in agreement on the subject, while the teachers' union in Chile has become more active in this endeavour. Teachers in Ghana, on the other hand, do not have the opportunity as a professional body to participate in educational policy and decision-making processes.

37. The Joint Committee also noted a report from Education International (EI), which brings together more than 275 national unions representing 23 million teachers, to the ICE. EI polled its members in some of the most populous nations of the world, including Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan. Teachers' organizations in these countries reported that at best there was insufficient consultation between governments and teacher organizations, and in several cases, such consultation was non-existent. ln many countries, there is no appropriate mechanism for regular negotiation.

38. A review of the role of teachers in educational reform found a pattern of minimal participation of teachers in reforms. Many plans for educational change pay scant attention to the status of teachers.

39. The Joint Committee noted with satisfaction and urged adherence to the first statement made by ministers and ministries of education in the declaration of the ICE, which emphasized the importance of "the active participation of teachers and all educational partners in the processes of changing education systems". It further pointed to the conclusions of the ILO's Joint Meeting on the Impact of Structural Adjustment on Educational Personnel and to the report of the UNESCO convened International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century which both strongly urged that teachers' organizations be involved in planning and carrying out educational reform.

40. The Joint Committee also endorsed Recommendation No. 4 of the ICE which called on member states to "encourage the participation of teachers in the process of transforming education". In particular, the ICE urged that the direction of reforms be established through "consultation, co-ordination and dialogue with teachers and their organizations in line with the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers". ICE Recommendation No. 4 also suggested that participation of teachers be supported with training, equipment and professional support services.

41. The ILO/UNESCO Recommendation recognizes the right of teachers to negotiate with their employers through their organizations. The Joint Committee concluded that this right is frequently absent and endorsed the unanimous JMEP resolution concerning the fundamental rights of educational personnel. The resolution cited the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation and drew the attention of Member States "to the fact that teachers' organizations should be accorded legal status and the right to negotiate terms and conditions of work and employment, to represent their members and to defend their interests, and their members should not be discriminated against or repressed because of their trade union activities."

42. Inputs to the ICE Declaration included a round table held by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development in 1995 which recommended that governments "develop mechanisms for consultation with teachers and other social partnerships relating to education policy developments". The ICE Declaration also echoed the conclusions of a regional seminar in the Caribbean held in preparation for the ICE.

43. While these statements are positive signs that the educational community recognizes the need for the involvement of teachers and their organizations in making educational policies, the statements typically are vague, lack explicit recognition of the role of teachers' organizations, and do not contain recommendations for concrete measures to advance the principles of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation.

44. If education is to meet the challenges posed by social, technological and political changes, and if the status of teachers is to improve, the active and informed participation of teachers and their organizations will be crucial to the success of educational policy-making. Teachers bring their professional knowledge and experience to any discussions of change in educational systems. By definition, teachers' organizations are among the most committed supporters of improvement in the status of teachers, which is a necessary condition for higher quality of education in general. The collective voice of teachers is important to marshal support for new public policies if governments are to be persuaded to reverse priorities that have caused the decline in teachers' status.

45. The Joint Committee recognized the need for further efforts by the ILO and UNESCO to encourage the establishment of formal procedures and structures to involve teachers and their organizations in educational policy-making to implement the Declaration and relevant recommendations of the ICE, the ILO's Joint Meeting on the Impact of Structural Adjustment on Educational Personnel and the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. It urged that the two agencies seek examples of successful systems of consultation and negotiation with teacher organizations to identify the circumstances which promote these results. The agencies should also collaborate in identifying the specific roles that teachers have played in educational reform at national and sub-national levels in countries experiencing the changes identified earlier in this report.

Education for teachers

46. Surveys from different regions of the world show very strongly that the role of the teacher has changed considerably in recent decades, and this trend is likely to continue. Furthermore, the rate at which knowledge and information is generated, becomes obsolete and is replaced by new knowledge and information, makes it impossible for any teacher to remain effective and efficient without regular upgrading and renewal. There is also an abundance of evidence to show that there has been little change in approaches and methodologies in classrooms in spite of new technologies - television, multi-media and computers. Moreover, it was reported to the Joint Committee that at the present time, up to one-third of the world's teachers in some countries have no formal teaching qualification.

47. The ILO/UNESCO Recommendation at Section VI states the case for "in-service education designed to secure a systematic improvement of the quality and content of education and of teaching techniques". The Joint Committee believes that the further education of teachers has become even more crucial in today's world.

48. A review of pertinent reports earlier referred to indicates:

(1) there is a growing tendency to expect teachers to provide the education that addresses many social issues;

(2) a shortage of teachers in many parts of the world has led to poorly qualified, poorly trained and even totally untrained persons entering the profession;

(3) many teachers have been thrust into totally new roles because of changed economic, social and political situations in their countries.

49. The Joint Committee agrees with the Report of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century which places the teacher at the hub of education of the next century, and argues that the training and retraining of teachers must be given renewed emphasis and significance.

50. It further accepts the observation that in our rapidly changing world the initial training of teachers, however appropriate and thorough, will not take them through their professional lives. It reiterates the need for a commitment to the further training and education of teachers. Accordingly, The Joint Committee endorses the recommendation of the ICE that the "in-service training of teachers as a strategy for teacher improvement and quality education be made both a right and a duty for educators".

51. The Joint Committee is encouraged by the Declaration of the Ministers of Education at the ICE. In the second statement of the Declaration they state their determination, "to develop and implement integrated policies designed to recruit and retain in the teaching profession motivated and able individuals of both genders; to reform pre-service and in-service education in order that they shall serve the new challenges facing education...."

52. The task facing the education of teachers is a formidable one. In-service training has to deal with two basic needs at the same time, if the current and projected roles and perspectives for education and teachers are to be fulfilled. First, there is the urgent need to ensure that the large numbers of teachers across the region who are unqualified or seriously underqualified are fully trained and upgraded both academically and pedagogically. The Joint Committee noted in the report of the World Confederation of Teachers (WCT) that there is a tendency to recruit unskilled teachers or teachers with insufficient education and training. Second, there is perhaps the even more daunting task of preparing all teachers for the new roles and perspectives that are required of them especially as we approach the Twenty-first century.

53. In this perspective new demands are made on teachers with no diminution of the traditional ones. Teachers must be trained and prepared to handle intelligently and competently the rapidly changing information and communications technologies. They are expected to take up the slack created by the diminishing role of the family, the church and other institutions and their training must be appropriately adjusted. They must be able to cope with and prepare children for a world of change. They must be educated to provide the knowledge and values needed for culture of peace. Teachers must provide prompt responses to urgent problems of our times such as violence in schools. They must assume responsibility for what the Report of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century calls the four pillars of education - learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together - and must seek to integrate and reconcile them and not see them as discrete or separate things. All this implies new orientations, attitudes and philosophies, new curricula, new methodologies and pedagogies and new approaches to assessment.

54. The Joint Committee is not unaware of the fact that there is some in-service education for teachers across the world. However, it points out that the data before it indicate that much of what obtains is neither systematic, nor effective, nor well supported by teachers. It postulates that teachers' response to in-service training may be related to their working conditions and status which for reasons earlier noted are felt to be strongly demotivating.

55. As a consequence of the above situation, the Joint Committee feels that a number of questions must be raised for serious consideration by the relevant authorities. These are:

(1) what role can countries that do not provide appropriate and systematic in service education expect education to play in their social, economic and cultural development, and what quality of education do they expect?

(2) how can teachers be motivated for in-service training when there is similarity of treatment regardless of extra effort or commitment?

(3) how can they be expected to consider in-service training, when because of low salaries, they are often forced to take on a second or part-time job?

(4) why should they invest time in in-service courses which have been designed without their input and not in response to their felt needs?

56. While the above issues are of immediate concern for the further training and education of teachers, their significance and implications for pre-service or initial training cannot be overlooked. Provisions 11 and 31 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation taken together indicate the close relationship and continuity between pre-service and in-service training and present the education of teachers as a lifelong activity that needs constant upgrading. They strongly show the importance of pre- and in-service training of teachers to ensure that, at all times, teachers are competent and prepared to provide the most appropriate education for the changing times and circumstances.

57. The Joint Committee recommends that a determined effort be made to ensure that no one is allowed to embark on teaching without an acceptable minimum level of academic achievement and pedagogical training, as implied in provision 13 and 14 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation. The burden on in-service training will always be great and the status of teaching as a profession will be questionable until this is achieved. Of greater importance, however, is likely damage to the growth and development of children taught by ill-prepared and untrained teachers.

58. The Joint Committee particularly emphasizes the importance of recommendations 2 and 3 of the ICE which focus on pre-service and in-service education and training of teachers. The thrust of recommendation 2 which strengthens provision 12 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation, is "better linkage between pre-service training and the demands of an innovatory profession". It draws attention to important concerns associated with training programmes, especially the gap between teacher training inputs and activities and the perceived demands that professional activity should satisfy the recommendation. It suggests at section 2.2 a close link between pre-service and in-service training and presents a "unified teacher education and training system which views pre-service and in-service learning as a continuum" as highly desirable. This reflects the intention of sections V and Vl of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation and is strongly supported by the Joint Committee.

59. The ICE recommendation 3 has as its title "In-service training: Both a right and duty for all educational personnel". This recommendation covers a wide range of relevant interests and concerns, ranging from the recognition that the training and education of teachers is an on-going process, through the need for the locus of action to be the work place itself, to the involvement of teachers in determining and developing appropriate programmes, and the need for trainers to be at the cutting edge of research and development in the field. It thus strengthens and advances the goals of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation.

60. Given the changed circumstances in today's world and especially the new roles and direction being ascribed to teachers and the variety of demands being made of them, teacher preparation must move away from the traditional content and approaches if it is to meet the demands of the modern realities and challenges of teachers, teaching and education. Changed circumstances require new content and knowledge, new approaches and strategies. There are many competing areas that would merit serious consideration. They include such issues as Education for Peace and Tolerance, Information and Communication Technology, Cross Cultural Education, Values and Valuing, Moral Education, and Environmental Education.

61. The explosion of knowledge, the new demands on teachers, the democratization of schooling, The Jomtien Declaration, the new perspective of the Report of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, the social environment of education, issues of globalization, modernity, equity and equality, gender, the avoidance of conflict and the quest for peace together with a whole host of other factors indicate the necessity of taking teachers beyond the barest minimum level of qualification. Teachers should be encouraged and facilitated in every possible way to improve their qualifications, and broaden the scope of their work for both developmental and promotional purposes. This is indeed the focus of provision 33 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation. The commentary on this provision lists objectives formally associated with further education activities. To this may be added research. The criticism advanced in the closing session of the ICE that education systems lacked vision in not investing in research and development, teachers and education in the way that industry has done, is apropos. The ability of teachers to do research as a serious activity is vital at a time when so much is required and expected of education and teachers. Teachers and other stakeholders need to know what teaching techniques work and what do not, before teachers commit themselves to new approaches. Benefits that come from any investments in the area would redound to the pupils, the school, the system and even the wider community as well of course as to the individual teacher.

62. The importance attached to the pre-service and the further education and training of teachers in the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation has been endorsed and strengthened by the recommendations of the ICE. This emphasis has been justified by the current state of the art in teaching education across the world. By establishing a link between pre-service and in-service training and recommending that in-service be considered both a right and a duty, the ICE has advanced the case for further training of teachers. Strategies and practical steps are now strongly indicated to facilitate the realization of the value and benefits to be derived from the training of teachers.

63. Against the above background the Joint Committee proposes the following strategies:

(1) that Member States of ILO and UNESCO be reminded of provisions 13 and 14 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation and the need to take urgent steps (emergency training, crash programmes, etc.) to remove the backlog of untrained teachers in their systems and initiate programmes for pre-service training to ensure that a similar buildup does not recur;

(2) that it be recommended to such Member States that:

(a) evidence that a teacher has attended and meaningfully participated in acceptable levels of further training be one of the factors to be considered in his/her advancement in the system;
(b) the involvement and participation of relevant teachers be a requirement when training activities are being determined or materials developed;
(c) the views of educators across the regions be sought as to the types of programmes and materials considered necessary for the facilitation of the new perspectives for teacher training such as peace education, values education and globalization, and that the preparation of relevant self-instructional materials be commissioned;

(3) that Member States be encouraged to undertake studies of teachers' workload, including out-of-school time devoted to school work; time available to teachers for reflection, planning and professional interaction; and variety and nature of tasks undertaken on a routine basis and their assessed ability and preparation for these tasks;
(4) that UNESCO and ILO undertake regional seminars or other mechanisms, to consider the application of section V of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation in light of the changed circumstances of education and teacher education.