Abstract
The Slovak teaching profession is in a difficult situation. There are signs that the country is facing a teaching staff shortage and that the demand for new teachers will continue to grow. The data indicate that some subjects are being taught by unqualified teachers on a fairly wide scale. Finding quick, simple solutions to these problems is a challenge because teaching is not considered an attractive profession, mainly because of teachers' low salaries and social status. We will illustrate related uncertainties and complications in the teaching profession by looking at two extremes of these trends in the teaching profession. On the one side, we have Teach for Slovakia, which has opened potential for new teaching qualification models. It is an example of inclusive education in the sense that it only works when differences among teachers are accepted and the focus is on teachers’ strong points and professional characteristics. On the other side, the introduction of national testing has made teachers accountable for student educational outcomes. Our qualitative interviews reveal that, in the (sometimes critical) views of teachers, accountability is now part of professionalism in Slovakia and is producing various tensions.
Highlights
We began work on this article towards the end of the summer holidays and the start of the 2019–2020 school year
The results showed that only 4.5% of lower-secondary teachers in Slovakia thought that society valued the teaching profession, the lowest percentage in the OECD
What does our analysis of these two examples tell us about teaching in Slovakia today? It shows how, over a period of many years, two different tendencies in education policy and the teaching profession have intersected
Summary
We began work on this article towards the end of the summer holidays and the start of the 2019–2020 school year. Teach for Slovakia (n.d.) defines its mission as follows: We are creating a community of leaders who will work together to make changes both inside and outside school During their two years in the programme, they draw on their real-life experiences of the education system. The last two weeks of Basecamp are devoted to improving team spirit and developing soft skills such as communication and negotiation skills It includes practical preparations for working in a school: basic administrative duties, drawing up lesson plans and class missions, and methods for testing or otherwise checking student skills and knowledge (Teach for Slovakia, 2019). Ordinary teachers, who spend years training and studying for their chosen profession as the law requires, are full of determination, but their determination is focused on their life-long teaching career, while their professional career growth is restricted by the school boundaries and the law. These teachers do not expect to become influential leaders outside school; their developmental framework is growth within the teaching profession in the classroom or school
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