Lesgeven in buitenland goed voor ontwikkeling onderwijzer en gastschool (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Directoraat-generaal Onderwijs, jeugd, sport en cultuur (EAC) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 30 maart 2011.

A new impact study says that assistantships for future teachers supported by the EU's Comenius i programme hold great benefits for both the classroom assistants and their host schools.

In a new survey conducted for the European Commission future teachers participating in the EU's Comenius programme said that working in a host school abroad helped them to develop both personal and professional skills, such as learning about new teaching methods and improving foreign language skills, and increased their motivation to become a teacher. They also saw the assistantship as a valuable experience which increased their chances of finding a job. At the time of the survey, more than 80% of former assistants were employed, mainly in the educational sector.

1,100 Comenius assistants every year

Each year approximately 1,100 future teachers receive grants to undertake an assistantship of three to ten months in a host school abroad. The assistants, under the supervision of a senior teacher, help in classroom teaching, support pupils´ project and group work and teach their mother tongue. Often, they also support pupils with special education needs and develop EU projects, such as eTwinning or Comenius partnerships.

The main objectives are to give future teachers the chance to gain a better understanding of the European dimension to teaching and learning, to enhance their knowledge of other countries and foreign languages and to improve their teaching skills.

In order to find out to what extent these objectives are being met, an impact study the European Commission requested an impact study. More than 3,100 future teachers and 1,175 host schools of those who took part in Comenius Assistantships between 2000 and 2009 responded.

Benefits for future teachers and their host schools

The study shows that Comenius Assistantships significantly contribute to the professional development of future teachers and trigger impacts not only on the assistants but also at an institutional level in host schools. The host schools appreciated in particular the fact that the Comenius Assistantships help strengthen the European dimension at the school, often lead to new EU cooperation activities and make it possible to offer more personalised help to pupils. As for the impact on pupils, the increased motivation to learn a foreign language, interest in other cultures and improved language skills were highlighted.

About 90% of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the results of the assistantship. However, the study pointed to the need to satisfy participants' preferences for a future host school/assistant, to achieve a satisfactory collaboration between the assistant and the host school before and during the assistantship, to create a good working climate for the assistant at the host school and to help the assistant integrate both at the school and in the local community.

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