What should the teacher of the future be like? A contribution to critical reflection on the reform of slovenian education Alenka Polak and Polona Gradišek and Barica Marentič Požarnik
Summary: The quality of education and the professional development educational professionals are important factors in any society, influencing both the citizens, and the development and progress of society. Teachers and other educational professionals have a direct influence on children, pupils and students, who will be the future actors of social development. Indirectly, they also influence their parents and all others involved in their education. Based on the literature review, the authors of this paper critically comment on some conceptual issues in the field of education and professional development of teachers and other educational professionals. The paper aims to make an active contribution to a critical discussion that will encourage the professional audience and school policy makers to analyse the current situation and propose some concrete solutions to improve the quality of education in Slovenia. The paper highlights the educational-psychological aspects of teacher education and professional development, starting from modern professional concepts of active learning and the basic guidelines of the UNESCO publication Reimagining our futures together – a new social contract for education (UNESCO, 2021) for the society of the future. We base our vision of training professionals in education on four premises that we emphasise, such as the importance of critical reflection, character strengths, focus on learning, knowledge and teaching at higher cognitive levels, the importance of promoting active learning methods, teacher teamwork and a collaborative culture in educational institutions.