11. Supporting teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in the future : implications for educational policies and practicesUrška Štremfel, Ana Kozina, Tina Vršnik Perše, Iva Odak, Ivana Jugović, Lisa Paleczek, Valerie Fredericks, Nina Rozcen, Mojca Rožman, Nina Eliasson, Helene Dahlström, Gina Tome, Margarida Gaspar de Matos, Hrvoje Bakić, Aleš Ojsteršek, Iva Perković, 2024, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: The chapter is based on summarised findings of both the HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges policy experiment (presented in volume 1) and analyses of current European Union and national policy frameworks (presented in this volume), and elaborates on the conditions needed to ensure the scalability, transferability and thus sustainability of the HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges project outcomes and the systematic policy and political support needed on the European Union and national levels. It sets out 39 guidelines organised in 5 areas: 1) Including social and emotional and diversity awareness content in teachers’ professional development; 2) Supporting the development and implementation of teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness programmes; 3) Considering the role of working conditions in teachers’ well-being; 4) Enhancing teachers’ professional status in society; and 5) Improving policy frameworks for supporting teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness on all levels of the European Union’s multi-level governance. While considering the differences in current national policy arrangements and challenges to teachers’ well-being and the development of their social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in the HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges project field-trial countries (Austria, Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden), the chapter also introduces specific guidelines concerning ways to foster teachers’ SEDA development in their respective national contexts.
Keywords: education, European Union, field trial countries, HAND:ET, social and emotional competencies, diversity awareness, initial and continuous professional development, professional development, working conditions, teachers' professional status in society
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 874; Downloads: 485
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12. Perspectives from SloveniaUrška Štremfel, Aleš Ojsteršek, Stanka Lunder Verlič, Mija Javornik, 2024, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: The chapter presents the systemic support currently available for developing teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in Slovenia. It demonstrates that in educational legislation they are implicitly related to a safe and supportive learning environment. They are not systematically supported in initial professional development in various pedagogical programmes. Although several continuous professional development programmes in the field can be found in Slovenia, these are mainly shorter-term programmes that teachers attend voluntarily. Several developmental programmes conducted in the last few years in Slovenia were related to a safe and supportive learning environment and developing teachers’ diversity awareness. However, research shows that teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness, based on the Teaching and Learning International Survey and rare national research findings, particularly in recent years, in addition to teacher shortages and stress, remain important challenges of the education system in Slovenia. The ongoing educational policy reforms aim to address them by recognising the importance of teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness for the quality of teaching and learning and highlighting the need for systemic support for the development of teachers’ relational competencies and the intended renewal of initial and continuous teachers’ professional development in this respect.
Keywords: education, teachers, social and emotional competencies, diversity awareness, safe and supportive school environment, professional development, Slovenia
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 1095; Downloads: 458
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13. Perspectives from CroatiaHrvoje Bakić, Gordana Galić, Urška Štremfel, 2024, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: The chapter provides a review of current policy frameworks supporting teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in Croatia. It shows that although these competencies of teachers are not explicitly addressed in educational legislation, strategies and other relevant policy documents, implicitly the need for healthy (social and emotional) development of students is implied. Despite teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness not being systemically supported in initial and continuous professional development programmes in Croatia, several examples of such courses and programmes are identified. The integrated supervision for teachers and other professional staff conducted by the National Education and Teacher Training Agency addresses the development of both teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness competencies and their needs in the field. In the National Plan for Development of the Education and Training System until 2027, the pressing challenges facing the teaching profession (teacher shortages, working conditions, professional status in society) are planned to be addressed with several measures for advancing teachers’ professional development. The research findings presented in the chapter hold several policy implications indicating that the development of teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness should be incorporated into the planned renewal of teacher professional development and thereby be better systemically supported.
Keywords: education, teachers, social and emotional competencies, diversity awareness, professional development, policy, Croatia
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 997; Downloads: 421
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14. National policy support for developing teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness : comparative insightsUrška Štremfel, 2024, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: The chapter aims to provide comparative insights into national policy frameworks supporting the development of teachers’ social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness in the HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges project field trial countries (Austria, Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden). The results show that, despite several good practices being identified, the field is not systematically supported in the mentioned countries. This is evident in the lack of clear definitions and goals in key national policy documents, the non-obligatory presence of the topic in both initial teacher education and continuous professional development, the absence of systematic monitoring of teachers’ well-being and social and emotional competencies and diversity awareness, coupled with the scarce policy-related research in the field. Nevertheless, significant differences between countries are established. These findings are important for determining fields in need of further improvement, identifying good practices for policy learning between European Union countries as well as providing one of the several backgrounds for understanding the complexity of the HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges policy experiment results.
Keywords: education, teachers' well-being, social and emotional competencies, diversity awareness, national educational policy, comparative insights
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 937; Downloads: 395
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15. Conceptual framework of the project HAND in HAND : empowering teachersAna Kozina, Tina Vršnik Perše, 2024, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: This chapter explores three key areas. The first one centres on the significance of social and emotional competencies along with diversity awareness (SEDA) for teach‐ers. SEDA competencies play an important role in teachers’ personal and professional development, promoting their growth and fostering students’ progress in these areas. The second area provides an overview of the project HAND in HAND: Empowering Teachers Across Europe to Deal with Social, Emotional and Diversity-Related Career Challenges (“HAND:ET”). This project seeks to support teachers in developing SEDA competencies, equipping them to navigate the complexities of their daily work in ever more diverse classrooms and adapt to new challenges. The third area delves into the core concepts of the HAND:ET project, their interconnectedness, and the anticipated outcomes. The central elements of the HAND:ET project follow the complexity of educational processes within classrooms and schools and can be grouped into core concepts, tools and outcomes. The main concepts encompass social and emotional competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making) as well as diversity awareness. These concepts are deliv‐ered through the tools of mindfulness, empathic curiosity, and reflection. The outcomes directly expected are teachers possessing enhanced SEDA competencies, with indirect effects expected to include positive relationships within classrooms and schools.
Keywords: education, HAND:ET project, teachers, social and emotional competencies, diversity awareness, core concepts
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 894; Downloads: 563
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16. The EU policy discourse on EdTech and constructing the image of an excellent teacherJanja Žmavc, Lucija Zala Bezlaj, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: This article presents a discourse analysis of European Union (EU) policy documents on educational uses of digital technology (EdTech) from 2015 to 2022. It explores the ideological dimensions of language use and power relations, particularly concerning the teacher's role. Despite increasing critical scrutiny, the policy discourse in this period remains predominantly unidimensional, framing EdTech as a transformative solution. The study combines corpus-assisted analysis with critical discourse analysis and linguistic pragmatics to reveal how EU policy constructs a normative image of an ‘excellent' teacher inexorably linked to digital competencies. It shows how this discourse implicitly denies teachers' autonomy in technology adoption, reinforcing institutional power dynamics. The paper offers a critical perspective on the ideological underpinnings of language use in EdTech policy, challenging prevailing normative discourses and emphasising the need for a nuanced understanding of the socio-political implications and power dynamics inherent in the discourse surrounding teachers’ engagement with digital technology.
Keywords: EdTech, EU policy discourse, image of teacher, teachers, ideological language use, European Union
Published in DiRROS: 27.01.2025; Views: 751; Downloads: 655
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17. The effects of the Hand in Hand : empowering teachers(HAND: ET) programme on teacher burnout in Slovenia. Do experience and baseline emotional competencies matter?Ana Kozina, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: As burnout affects teachers’ health and well-being, as well as their teaching understanding interventions beneficial for prevention is crucial. In this study, we explored possible predictors of the decrease in the dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, cognitive weariness) after the HAND: ET intervention. We used following predictors: teachers’ experience (professional experience and previous experience of activities supporting emotional competencies) and baseline emotional competencies (self-awareness (operationalised as mindfulness), and self-management (operationalised as emotional self-efficacy)). We used data gathered from the Shirom−Melamed Burnout Questionnaire, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale, and a set of demographic questions in a Slovene sample of in-service teachers (N = 185). Teachers’ experiences were not significant predictors of a decrease in any of the dimension of burnout, while baseline emotional competencies, were significant predictors of emotional exhaustion. The findings support the universal nature of the HAND: ET intervention as well as the importance of continuous support for teachers’ emotional competencies.
Keywords: Slovenia, teachers, burnout, intervention, experiences, emotional competencies, HAND:ET
Published in DiRROS: 21.01.2025; Views: 820; Downloads: 420
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