riigikogu.ee Reforms at basic school and secondary school level in Estonia Laine Randjärv Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament 10 March 2016, Riga

riigikogu.ee Estonian Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020 The Strategy 2020 has five main objectives:  changed approach to learning – learning is based on the individuality, interests, experience and potential of each student;  competent and motivated teachers and heads of schools;  better alignment of educational provisions with the needs of the labour market;  a digital revolution in lifelong learning;  equal opportunities and increased participation in lifelong learning.

riigikogu.ee Defining the responsibility of the state and the local government  School Network Programme 2015 – 2020  The responsibility for basic education lies with local governments, the responsibility for secondary education with the state  School places for students with serious educational special needs are ensured by the state; students with less serious special needs are integrated into normal schools  The state pays educational support to owners of schools

riigikogu.ee School Network Programme 2015 – 2020  Establishment of state run secondary schools in county centres (at least 15 schools)  Optimisation and updating of the basic school network  Reorganisation of school network for students with special educational needs (reducing the number of schools by 1/3)  Ensure adequate conditions in basic schools to integrate students with less serious special needs

riigikogu.ee Investments in School Network Program 2015 – 2020: EUR 241 million -Reorganisation of secondary school Network -Reorganisation of basic school network -Updating the infrastructure of schools for students with special educational needs -Supporting inclusive education

riigikogu.ee Decreasing population

The number of students and schools -Primary or basic school - Secondary school - Basic school students - Secondary school students

riigikogu.ee The state pays educational support to owners of schools -Labour costs of teachers MEUR (81%) -Labour costs of directors and directors of studies 14.2 MEUR (6%) -Teaching aids 7.5 MEUR (3%) -Additional training for teachers and heads of schools 1.8 MEUR (1%) -Investment component 2.6 MEUR (1%) -School lunch 17.4 MEUR (8%)

riigikogu.ee Change in the approach to learning  Individuality of every student taken into account and supported  Support services must be accessible to schools and students  Drop-out rate must be reduced

riigikogu.ee Factors to help reduce dropout rate  Curricula that take into account the individuality of students  Access to support services  Better skills of teachers in identifying special needs in children  Schools must immediately intervene when learning problems appear, repeating a year is not acceptable

riigikogu.ee Reducing dropout rate - 1st school level - 2nd school level -3rd school level -Secondary school

riigikogu.ee Access to support services  In 2014, average gross monthly salary of support specialists in municipal schools was EUR 793 (EUR 1,025 salary for teachers)  35 local governments out of 208 spend nothing on support services in their schools  Local governments spent EUR 7.2 million on support services, i.e. an average of EUR 55 per student (EUR 26 in Tallinn, EUR 55 in Tartu)

riigikogu.ee Competent and motivated teachers  Initial training  Induction year (non-mandatory introduction to school life and teaching during the first year of teaching career; mentorship by an experienced teacher; at the end of the year teachers will compile a development portfolio)  In- service training (national teacher training priorities are set yearly for central in-service training; central in-service training is free, provided by universities, private or third sector organisations; a private teacher training market also exists)

riigikogu.ee Teachers in general education in 2014/2015, and goals for 2020  Number of teachers : 14,329  Average age of teachers: 47.4  Share of teachers < 30 years of age: 9 %; goal for 2020: 12.5 %  Share of female teachers: 86 %; goal for 2020: 75 %

riigikogu.ee Competent school leadership  Role of director in signing work contracts with teachers  Teachers’ workload is agreed in the work contract between the teacher and the director (how many lessons per week, but also administrative duties)  Teachers’ workload is 35 hours a week (usual national standard is 40 hours a week)  35 hours should also include preparing for lessons, correcting tests and homework, tutoring, and other duties of a teacher

riigikogu.ee Teachers’ gross monthly salary

riigikogu.ee Increase in teachers’ salaries

riigikogu.ee Digital focus  Incorporating digital culture into learning process » better integration of IT into curriculum » support teachers in using technology in teaching » e-assessment methodology and tools – level tests for digital skills  Supporting digital learning resources in schools » Interoperable software solutions, commercial and non-commercial study materials  Digital infrastructure in schools, use of personal digital devices (BYOD) for studying

riigikogu.ee Success stories  Estonia’s high 2012 PISA world ranking and in particular in Europe. 19

riigikogu.ee Our success stories  Estonia has a very low school drop-out rate – just 0.2%  91% of our teachers meet the qualification requirements  74% of the Estonian heads of school have a master’s degree  School leaders have 96.5% to 100% discretion over their school’s personnel policy and budget  Every county has a learning and career counselling support system in place 20

riigikogu.ee Thank you for your attention!