The report covers three major domains:
1.    National ICT related teacher training policies
2.    Assessment schemes and evaluations for teachers ICT competencies
3.    Significant national, regional and European teacher training programmes

The first part, teacher training policies, identifies the challenges for policy makers. Currently two general occurrences have an impact on ICT related training policies, teacher shortages and a fragmented knowledge base of teachers as different levels of knowledge and attitudes exist within the group of serving teachers and the group of teachers entering the profession.

New and more complex roles for teachers in schools are already a common European challenge.  The report describes various new job profiles related to ICT implementation in schools and indicates that the training of headmasters is much more in focus than some years ago, but is not yet widespread and sufficiently elaborated in European countries. The diverse profile of the ICT coordinator is becoming more defined in some countries.

The report also suggests that training policies, aiming now to enhance teachers’ pedagogical ICT competence, focus mainly on educational targets, which are important for teachers to identify with. However, a precise definition of terms such as digital literacy, and means of implementation need to be included likewise in training policies in the future.

Policy also needs to move forward to issues such as curricula frameworks, assessment procedures and changes in the organisational structures. In some countries curricula reforms have taken place or are on its way. Changes in the organisational structures or assessment procedures are lagging behind.

The second part on assessment schemes identifies that most of the countries tend to certify their teachers’ ICT competencies at the end of an in service training.

Countries are on the way to define a common competence framework for teachers ICT competence by developing official certifications, setting standards or benchmarks. ICT is also part of the general assessment of teachers in service or initial training.

Broader approaches such as the use of e-portfolios in teacher training or assessment is only starting to emerge in some countries. Various examples of national and European certifications (e.g. The Danish and European pedagogical ICT licence, C2i certification in France) and several types of e-portfolios (e.g. development portfolios) are described in the report.

Looking at the pros and cons of existing licences, the survey also highlights that eleven countries see the need to develop new licences.

Training, the third area of the survey, reveals that ICT related teacher training is to a large extent decentralised in European countries. The majority of the large scale national courses described in the survey focus on both technical skills and competencies of how to apply ICT in pedagogical settings. Currently, some countries set the emphasis on networking of teachers and training the trainers. 

Evaluation of training courses has become a common practice in countries. Some results of evaluations are given from Norway, Germany and Finland.

The report states that on the job training and peer collaboration, which is a necessary component for successful application and acquiring of knowledge, is not yet a dominant factor of training courses.

Countries will need to think of offering new and more flexible ways of training of teachers, at different times, at different places, with different means and much more related to the concept of lifelong learning. This includes a shift in the culture of the teaching profession from a passive consumer of training courses to an active producer and organiser of its own learning process.

The survey was initiated in spring 2004 by EUN’s Policy Innovation Committee (PIC) and is part of the Peer to Peer project.

Representatives of Ministries of Education, National Agencies for Education and other organisations from the following countries have participated in the survey:
Belgium (Flemish Community), Belgium (French Community), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Spain (Catalonia), Switzerland.

Executive Summary [pdf]