Readiness for change

What steps does education currently require from teachers and managers to ensure its quality in the current difficult situation?
Currently, every field of activity, and education is no exception, requires rapid adaptation to changes, modernization and digitalization of processes. If necessary, we quickly switch from offline learning to online format and practice blended learning. This year, the European Collegium has created such a position as a director of digital transformation, who, together with the team, implements the school’s disruptive development strategy. Starting in September, a new branded mobile application will be launched, which will become an effective source of information and communication for our educational space, and we are also actively using chatbots to adapt new students and their families to our educational institution.

How acute is the problem of gender balance among specialists in educational institutions now?
– There is a myth that men are needed in schools because boys should receive examples of courage. And since there are few men there, there are few examples.

This is a stereotype that is based on the statement that only men can “radiate” courage. Men, like women, are carriers of life experience. It is important for children to see different examples of life experience, this will enrich them and help them in life.

In addition, there is an opinion that teaching and raising children is an exclusively female sphere. So the question should be posed in this way: not what to do so that there are more men in Ukrainian schools, but how to make the professionalism of Ukrainian teachers grow. It is not men that are lacking in schools, but teachers by vocation, specialists who realize the importance of their profession.

Are there other examples of stereotypical thinking that are inherent in the education sector?
– Sometimes we hear clichés like: if you are a boy, then study more mathematics, and if you are a girl, then you are better off studying the humanities. Then children automatically grow up with the idea that something is for them and something is not for them, and this is how gender segregation is formed, starting with small phrases imposed on children. A non-discriminatory approach should become the foundation of the educational process.

What is needed to attract more young female professionals to education?
– The prestige of the profession is very important, it depends not only on teachers’ salaries, but more on society’s attitude to this role, on the stereotypes associated with this work.
Even the fact that Focus magazine is writing an article about educators is an important step that shows that education is relevant and very important.

What steps should the state take to make education attractive to young people?
– The biggest problem now remains the professional training of future teachers. Unfortunately, the fact that the passing score of the external examination for admission to pedagogical universities is perhaps the lowest pushes young people to consider such institutions as the last chance to get a higher education, and not a chance to get a dream profession. Therefore, the state policy on the reform of higher education will certainly affect the image of the teaching profession.

What can educational institutions do themselves?
– A school like the European College can do a lot to attract young people. You won’t find ageism here, we all understand that professionalism, willingness to change and learn are qualities that depend on a person’s personal qualities, not on age. In addition, pink hair or tattoos will never be an obstacle to working in our school.
Salaries do not depend on the teacher’s category or length of service. In our school, a teacher of any age can obtain the status of an Expert Teacher, this requires considerable effort, but the cost of his/her hour of work will also increase.

Another important thing for young people is the motivational web, which we are constantly working on with our HR department. Every year we travel together, go to exhibitions and performances, sing in musicals and perform on big stages. We have a reading space where you can find all the latest bestsellers; there is a teachers’ wish board, and every year the company makes someone’s dream come true; we organize incredible teacher parties several times a year, and this summer my team and I are organizing a school charity run. And starting in September, we will have a relaxation room where you can relax or even take a nap when the teacher has a “window.”