Findings from TALIS 2024 in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia

4. Policy pointers for improving teacher policies and practice in the Western Balkans

Abstract

This chapter summarises key findings from this report, organised around four key themes: 1) identifying and responding to the learning needs of all students; 2) supporting students with specific needs, including special education needs or diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds; 3) providing instructional support during initial teacher education and to novice teachers; 4) engaging teachers in improving their practice throughout their career. The chapter proposes a set of policy pointers under each theme, suggesting different possible ways forward for policymakers in the Western Balkans. These are illustrated with policy examples from European education systems, offering insight into how similar challenges are addressed elsewhere.

This chapter presents a summary of key findings from the previous chapters and offers some policy pointers on possible ways forward for improving teacher policies and practice in the Western Balkans. It is organised according to four key policy themes that emerge from the analysis of TALIS 2024 data for the region:

1. Helping teachers to better identify and respond to the learning needs of all students;

2. Strengthening teachers’ capacity to support students with specific needs, including special education needs (SEN) or diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds;

3. Enhancing instructional support during initial teacher education and for novice teachers;

4. Ensuring professional learning engages teachers in improving their practice across the teaching career.

For each of these policy themes, the chapter summarises key insights from TALIS 2024 data and policy research, proposing some possible action steps that policymakers in the region can consider as they continue pursuing their ambitions to enhance education outcomes. These action steps are supported by international policy examples that can provide insights into how other education systems have approached similar challenges in their contexts.

4.1. Helping teachers better identify and respond to learners’ needs

Teachers across the Western Balkans report frequently using adaptive teaching practices but data indicate that the effectiveness of these practices could be improved. Standardised assessments show that there are large shares of students struggling to meet an expected level of performance. However, teachers’ reports of low and high academic performance among the students they teach suggest that the reference frameworks they use for determining student progression do not enable them to consistently identify learning needs, making them difficult to address.

While this is true across the region, teachers in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia recognise it as a challenge: they report low confidence in reducing student achievement gaps relative to other core areas of teaching practice, and assessing student learning is among their key professional learning needs. In these countries, teachers are less likely to report that they plan for differentiated instruction based on prior knowledge of their students than other adaptive practices.

Moreover, there are signs across the region that a high-stakes assessment culture may detract from assessment practices focused on determining student progress and providing the formative feedback that supports it, particularly among older, more experienced teachers. In all Western Balkan education systems, particularly Albania, experienced teachers more frequently implement summative assessment practices, such as providing a mark to students that allows for comparison with their classmates or administering a test at the end of a unit of work. Meanwhile, being held responsible for student achievement is a key driver of stress among all teachers across the region, particularly older and more experienced ones who also find marking student work an important source of stress. In several systems, they are also more likely to identify professional learning needs related to student assessment.

Beyond identifying and addressing learning needs in general, there are systemic challenges in all five Western Balkan systems in identifying and supporting students with SEN, specifically. Reported shares of students with SEN are extremely low in international comparison, particularly in Albania and Kosovo. While this is likely a consequence of the lower levels of integration of students with SEN into mainstream schools in the region, compared to EU and OECD education systems, it also raises concerns about under-identification due to narrow definitions of SEN or inconsistent classification.

To help teachers and principals better identify learning and learner needs so that they can address them more systematically, policymakers in the region can explore two main policy approaches:

1. Continue strengthening formative assessment approaches, supporting teachers to regularly determine students’ learning needs in a way that can inform their instruction

Continuous assessment of student progress through formative approaches is crucial in informing differentiated instruction that adequately responds to students’ learning needs. Some Western Balkan systems have already implemented related initiatives (see Chapter 2, Box 2.2); these should be continued and expanded to enhance the quality of the information that teachers are able to generate on students’ learning and their use of that information in their lesson planning and instruction.

To establish the foundations of professional competence for formative assessment, other education systems such as the French Community of Belgium and Norway have embedded related content in initial teacher education (ITE), including within practical components (OECD, 2013[1]). For in-service teachers, while external training formats can be helpful in continuing to build professional competence, initiatives to implement school-based collaborative learning on formative assessment have allowed teachers in contexts such as Norway and Sweden to integrate related practices into their everyday work (Guthrie et al., 2022[2]). Such approaches could be particularly helpful in building teachers’ confidence in implementing formative assessment in the Western Balkans as they enable them to trial new approaches in the classroom and discus and revise them with colleagues.

Beyond training efforts, several systems, including France and Ireland, have also developed comprehensive guidance materials, assessment rubrics, exemplars and reporting templates to support formative assessment, including through video content. These focus on illustrating how the reference standards for learning and progression established in the curriculum can become practical tools for the classroom. Guidance materials focus on connecting assessment to learning and exemplifying what student performance at certain levels in the reference framework looks like in practice and what sort of instructional approaches can help stimulate progression across those levels.

Meanwhile, many EU and OECD education systems have introduced diagnostic assessments that help teachers identify students who are at risk of failure or underachievement in a more systematic way. This has included developing standardised diagnostic instruments aligned with curricula, mandating the use of diagnostic assessments at specific moments in education pathways and providing guidance on using the results to plan appropriate interventions or remediation (OECD, 2013[1]; Guthrie et al., 2022[2]). In Estonia, for example, there has been a strong focus on designing these assessments in a way that facilitates their application to teaching (see Box 4.1).

2. Enhance the identification of specific learner needs, linking this to guidance for teachers on how to support students with SEN

In the Western Balkans, more consistent identification and classification of specific learner needs could be helpful in supporting integration and directing adequate resources, including capacity building for all teachers and support from specialist professionals, to those students and schools that require them. However, such identification policies require careful implementation: some educators can carry preconceptions regarding the capabilities of students with SEN that may reduce the academic expectations they hold for them (OECD, 2023[3]). This is particularly the case in contexts where the integration of students with SEN into mainstream settings is an ongoing process, as in the Western Balkans. As such, combining identification efforts with guidance and training for teachers and principals regarding the type of additional supports or provisions that can benefit learners with different specific needs is also necessary.

Some countries, such as Portugal, have sought to increase resources and expertise within the system for learner needs assessment both among specialist professionals and educators. In the Western Balkans, there is scope for this via the resource hubs established as part of inclusive education reforms (see Box 2.1). Others, such as Sweden, have introduced systematic early diagnostic assessment for certain groups of learners, such as refugees or those with diverse linguistic backgrounds, to determine both academic and language needs with a view to informing individual education plans (OECD, 2023[3]). Providing training and guidance that helps principals and teachers understand different learner needs and their implications for practice is also important as is raising awareness of learner diversity and needs among the school community, including parents (OECD, 2023[3]). Neighbouring countries like Bulgaria have developed related initiatives in recent years (see Box 4.1).

Box 4.1. Improving needs assessment to inform adaptive and inclusive teaching practices

Estonia – Diagnostic assessments that inform differentiated instruction

Estonia operates a national formative assessment platform that holds a series of low-stakes, digital diagnostic assessments that teachers can access for different grade levels. The assessments provide immediate, actionable feedback on students’ competencies across literacy, mathematics and some transversal skills. They are voluntary, mark-free and are explicitly designed to support learning. By law, they cannot be used as a basis for making decisions about a student’s future educational path and principals and parents do not have access to the results. They are instead intended to promote the use of assessment by teachers to inform student learning. This is in line with national strategies that frame assessment as a pedagogical tool rather than an accountability measure.

Estonia has made use of digital infrastructure to place greater focus on the use of the assessments for teaching and learning. Feedback is automatically generated by the testing system in the form of individual reports at student and class level. The reports provide qualitative descriptions of strengths and weaknesses and propose concrete strategies for enhancing learning, including the types of questions or activities that could help students to develop certain skills. Moreover, the assessments are tied to e-tasks that help teachers to group students for differentiated activities within regular lessons.

Bulgaria – Diagnostic tools for identifying specific learner needs and increasing understanding of them

Through various projects funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), Bulgaria has been strengthening professional capacity among teachers and specialists to diagnose and understand specific learner needs. Under the Support for Inclusive Education project (2021-2023), Bulgaria developed an Individual Needs Assessment Map to assess needs among students with SEN. The tool provides a structured, functional approach to assessing learning, health, and participation barriers and to planning additional support or differentiated instruction accordingly. The tool has now been formally integrated into Bulgaria’s legal framework for Inclusive Education. Other projects have undertaken similar efforts to develop needs-identification tools targeting gifted students and those whose first language is not Bulgaria.

Two current ESF+ projects, “Bright Start” and “Success for You”, are providing training to teachers and specialist staff in schools on how to use these tools with their students as well as the necessary resources to implement relevant supports. Both projects also require intensive interaction with parents of students whose needs are assessed and who are receiving additional support.

Sources: Education Estonia (n.d.[4]); Voluntary, yet attractive and powerful low-stakes assessment, https://www.educationestonia.org/innovation/assessment/ (accessed on 18 March 2026); Ministry of Education and Research (2014[5]), The first trial of electronic national standardised tests in fifty schools was conducted successfully, https://www.hm.ee/en/news/first-trial-electronic-national-standardized-tests-fifty-schools-was-conducted-successfully (accessed on 18 March 2026); OECD (2026[6]), Implementing inclusive education projects in Bulgaria: Lessons from an evaluation of Bright Start and Success for You, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/030e0717-en.

4.2. Strengthening teachers’ capacity to support students with SEN or diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds

One of the main findings of the TALIS data is that teachers across the Western Balkans would benefit from stronger support on working with students with SEN. In Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, teachers report lower confidence in implementing supports for these students than other areas of practice. At the same time, supporting students with SEN is among the most frequently identified areas of need for professional learning in these countries.

As in many areas, novice teachers, in particular, could benefit from additional support to meet the needs of students with SEN. They are more likely than their experienced colleagues to report having these students in their classrooms, particularly in Albania and North Macedonia. Moreover, in North Macedonia and Serbia, novice teachers report that their initial training leaves them feeling less prepared to support students with SEN than other areas of teaching and are more likely than experienced teachers to report this as a professional learning need. Self-reported gaps in teachers’ capacity in this area are compounded by principals’ reports of shortages of staff with expertise in supporting students with SEN. This is the case in North Macedonia and Serbia, and to a lesser extent in Kosovo and Montenegro.

In some systems in the region, supporting students with diverse linguistic or cultural backgrounds is also creating challenges for teachers. Principals’ reports indicate that there is a higher demand for this type of inclusive practice in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, in general, and in rural schools specifically in Albania and Kosovo. In Montenegro, principals also report shortages of staff with related expertise. Meanwhile, demand among teachers for further training on working in multilingual and multicultural settings is particularly notable in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

To strengthen teachers’ capacity to support students with SEN or diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, policymakers can:

1. Expand the training offer for both trainee and in-service teachers on how to support students with SEN and those with diverse linguistic or cultural backgrounds

ITE sets the foundation for equipping teachers with the competences, values and knowledge to respond to a diverse range of learner needs (OECD, 2022[7]). Many countries, including and Ireland and Norway have integrated diversity, equity and inclusion into ITE curricula, including through dedicated, ad hoc courses or mandatory modules and teaching practicum that include time in schools with diverse learner cohorts. In Finland, Portugal and Sweden, knowledge and skills related to diversity, equity and inclusion are embedded in competence frameworks that establish what prospective teachers are required to demonstrate on graduation (Brussino, 2021[8]).

Building on this foundation, continuous professional development enables teachers to update and broaden their knowledge and practice regarding equity and inclusion (OECD, 2023[3]). In the Western Balkans, recent policy measures have focused on expanding such opportunities and should be sustained (see Chapter 3, Box 3.1). Across the EU and OECD, systems have taken similar approaches, often working with universities or civil society organisations to develop training materials and programmes. In some contexts, such as Germany and Portugal (see Box 4.2), policymakers - or educators themselves - have established school-based collaborative professional learning initiatives focused on inclusive education, including through dedicated professional learning communities and working groups bringing together teachers, principals and specialist professionals (Brussino, 2021[8]). Similar approaches present an opportunity to Western Balkan countries to complement the capacity building opportunities already in place with initiatives focused on specific school contexts and day-to-day classroom practice.

Principals also play a crucial role in shaping inclusive education practice within a school; some EU systems are supporting their access to targeted training and peer collaboration on related matters (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2021[9]).

2. Draw further on specialist expertise within the system to provide stronger professional and instructional support to teachers

Several Western Balkan systems have established regional resource centres within their school systems as a way of mainstreaming professional expertise and knowledge on inclusive education (see Chapter 3, Box 3.1). Their role can be further leveraged to support inclusive classroom practice. These specialist professionals can support schools by sharing knowledge and expertise with educators, providing additional and more specialised resources where needed and undertaking specific services such as diagnosis or therapeutic support (OECD, 2023[3]). They can also take on a role that is more focused on providing pedagogical support: in Finland, school-based specialists collaborate with teachers for professional learning, joint lesson planning and co-teaching, for example (see Box 4.2). In Denmark, specialist teachers with a focus on student behaviour, psychology and broader well-being have been used to initiate training in schools related to the development of social skills and inclusive communities (OECD, 2019[10]).

Some education systems, including England (United Kingdom) and Finland, have allocated learning support staff, such as teaching and language or bilingual assistants to schools with high concentrations of students with SEN or diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds (OECD, 2023[3]). School-based multi-disciplinary teams bringing together teachers, principals and specialist staff are also used in Bulgaria, to coordinate inclusive provision. Where relevant, these include educational mediators, representatives from minority ethnic or linguistic communities who act as a bridge between schools and communities, to support the educational integration of students and their families. Such approaches have been particularly effective in Bulgaria and other systems including Ireland and Romania in supporting the integration student from Roma communities (Rutigliano, 2020[11]). In Western Balkan countries with large minority populations, like Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia this could be particularly pertinent.

Meanwhile, in some countries, mobile or cross-school teams of multi-disciplinary specialists can help provide such support across multiple schools in locations where specialist expertise is limited or demand is particularly high (OECD, 2023[3]). This is a strategy used in Austria and may be particularly relevant in the Western Balkan context where neither learner needs nor specialist expertise are evenly dispersed across the school system.

Box 4.2. Strengthening professional capacity for inclusive education

Portugal – School-cluster based professional learning for inclusive practice

Portugal has strengthened teachers’ professional capacity for inclusive education by embedding continuous professional learning within school clusters. Teacher training centres attached to school clusters provide accredited, needs‑based professional development focused on supporting students with SEN, including through differentiation, individualised support strategies and collaboration with specialist staff. Because these centres operate at cluster level, as opposed to regional or national level, training can be closely aligned with schools’ actual student profiles and classroom challenges.

At the school level, some clusters have adopted learning‑community models for inclusion (e.g. INCLUD‑ED), which combine collaborative teacher learning with regular interaction with specialist expertise. Teachers engage in joint planning, reflection on inclusive practices and peer feedback, often alongside special education teachers and other specialists. Case study research suggests that these arrangements support teachers’ confidence in implementing inclusive practices in mainstream classrooms, particularly for students with SEN, by linking professional learning more directly to everyday teaching practice rather than only to diagnosis‑driven responses.

Finland – Collaboration with specialist professionals that is embedded in everyday teaching

Finland places responsibility for supporting students with SEN firmly within mainstream schools while ensuring teachers have regular access to specialist expertise. Classroom teachers remain responsible for all students but work closely with special education teachers and multi-disciplinary professionals, who support inclusive practice through co‑teaching, consultation and targeted interventions. This approach strengthens teachers’ professional capacity for inclusive education by:

• Embedding professional learning in daily practice: teachers develop skills in differentiation, adaptation and early intervention through ongoing collaboration with specialist colleagues rather than relying primarily on stand‑alone training.

• Leveraging specialist expertise: special education teachers act as co‑teachers and pedagogical advisors, supporting classroom teachers through joint planning, classroom observation and feedback.

• Focusing on instructional responses to learning needs: support is organised around students’ observed learning and behavioural needs in the classroom, encouraging teachers to concentrate on practical teaching strategies rather than formal categorisation.

Sources: Finnish National Agency for Education, (2025[12]) Support for learning and school attendance https://www.oph.fi/fi/koulutus-ja-tutkinnot/perusopetus/oppimisen-ja-koulunkaynnin-tuki (accessed on 19 March 2026); Martins et al. (2025[13]), Schools as learning communities for inclusion: insights from case studies of two school clusters in Portugal, Frontiers, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals /education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1549712/full (accessed on 19 March 2026); OECD (2022[14]), Review of Inclusive Education in Portugal, Reviews of National Policies for Education, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a9c95902-en.

4.3. Enhancing instructional support during initial teacher education and for novice teachers

ITE in the Western Balkans does not consistently equip teachers with the full range of skills needed for effective practice. In Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia, sizeable shares of teachers have subject-specific initial education only, with limited pedagogical preparation. Generally in these three systems, teachers report that their initial education left them feeling well prepared in subject-related expertise but less so for specific instructional practices, such as teaching in diverse classrooms or supporting students’ social and emotional development.

Following ITE, TALIS data indicate that novice teachers across the region are not receiving sufficient support to develop their classroom practice in the first years of their career. For example, while there is high availability and participation in induction programmes in all five systems, they are typically dominated by activities related to supervision and orientation; instructional elements such as lesson observation and co-teaching are much less common. Similarly, in all Western Balkan systems, particularly Albania, novice teachers are less likely than their experienced peers to engage in collaborative activities focused on enhancing instructional practice, such as peer observation, feedback and professional learning. Moreover, in Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, their participation in mentoring schemes is notably low despite high rates of availability. Novice teachers’ reports of their work-related tasks also suggest there is scope to increase time spent on supporting them to improve instructional practice. Except in Albania, novice teachers in the Western Balkans report having fewer teaching hours than their more experienced colleagues but, unlike in many EU and OECD systems, this additional time does not appear to be re-directed towards tasks focused on enhancing instruction, such as professional learning and teamwork and dialogue with colleagues.

TALIS data indicate that there may also be certain structural challenges impacting novice teachers in Western Balkan systems. In Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia novice and younger teachers are more likely than their older, more experienced colleagues to teach students with complex needs such as SEN, diverse linguistic backgrounds, behavioural challenges or low performance. In Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, novice teachers are much more likely to be employed on fixed-term or part-time contract terms; this can make it more challenging for them to build relationships with colleagues and students and fully integrate into the instructional culture of a school.

Finally, there are signs of declining motivation to teach among early-career teachers: young teachers are less likely to report teaching as a first-choice career compared with older colleagues. In Serbia and Montenegro, around one-in-four teachers aged under 30 report that they are considering leaving the profession in the next five years.

To enhance the supports provided to trainee and novice teachers in the region to strengthen their practice and support their retention in the profession, policymakers can explore the following approaches:

1. Strengthen the practical orientation of initial teacher education

Better preparing teachers for classroom practice, specifically, improves both student learning and teacher retention (Jenset, Klette and Hammerness, 2017[15]). There is strong evidence to suggest that teachers with limited opportunities for practical experience during ITE can struggle to transfer learning from the higher education classroom to the primary or secondary context (OECD, 2019[10]). In EU and OECD countries, policymakers have undertaken a range of measures to strengthen the practical orientation of initial training in recent years. For example, some systems such as Romania have extended the duration of the practicum or field placement for prospective teachers (see Box 4.3). Others including the Netherlands and Wales (United Kingdom) have focused on strengthening partnerships between ITE institutions education and schools; this can enhance the coherence between theoretical and practical components while also providing insights to those working in universities into the practical realities of the classroom (OECD, 2019[16]; OECD, 2024[17]; OECD, 2019[10]). In the Western Balkans, related measures could help shift some of the focus of ITE programmes from subject content towards the type of pedagogical challenges teachers are likely to encounter in their day-to-day practice.

It is also important to ensure high quality practical experiences for trainee teachers: placing teachers in classrooms with poor models for instruction and weak guidance will not support them to become good teachers (OECD, 2019[10]). There have been efforts in some EU and OECD systems to nurture strong professional learning structures in placement schools and embed content related to reflective practice and action research within training programmes. In this way, policymakers aim to foster a culture of continuous professional growth that can support novice teachers to develop further in the first years of their career and commit to professional learning habits that endure across the full duration of a career. Such approaches are particularly evident in Norway (OECD, 2019[16]). In the Western Balkans, establishing a culture of learning among trainee teachers could support higher quality engagement with induction and mentoring processes, and professional learning and collaboration early in the career.

2. Focus induction programmes for novice teachers on improving their classroom practice

Many EU and OECD education systems have expanded or strengthened induction for novice teachers in recent years to both enhance professional competence and support their long-term retention. Effective induction processes typically focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice, addressing workload challenges, providing strategies in classroom management and understanding school instructional culture (OECD, 2019[10]). Some systems, including the Austria, the French Community of Belgium and, more recently, Czechia, have allocated protected time for induction and other professional learning activities within the work schedule of novice teachers (OECD, 2025[18]; OECD, 2019[10]). Such an approach may be helpful in the Western Balkans where novice teachers typically have fewer teaching hours but also report spending less time on activities such as collaboration and professional learning.

In addition, extended induction processes that allow sufficient time for novice teachers to enhance their instructional practice can also be helpful. These special provisions for novice teachers can include specific entitlements to additional professional development or mentoring across multiple years, as has been the case with recent reforms in England (United Kingdom), Ireland (see Box 4.3) and Portugal for example (Department for Education, 2025[19]; LOOP, n.d.[20]). In the Western Balkans, this could be a means by which policymakers can reorient existing induction processes towards ongoing instruction-focused support as opposed to general orientation.

Box 4.3. Supporting trainee and novice teachers to develop effective classroom practice

Romania - Reforms to the practical components of initial teacher education (ITE)

Romania has recently introduced reforms to strengthen ITE with the development of a new Master’s programme, which aims to increase guidance and practice opportunities for trainees to develop pedagogical skills. The reform offers trainee teachers either a 12-month or 18-month Master’s programme. These programmes include an extended practicum in host schools which are expected to organise collaborative learning communities to support trainees’ learning and assign each trainee a mentor. Students will also experience different school contexts and environments within the practical training.

Meanwhile the planned curriculum for the new programmes places greater focus on practice, dedicating more hours to subject pedagogy as opposed to subject content. It also encourages students to use teaching methods reflectively and creatively by covering different pedagogical disciplines, concepts from educational research derived from practical examples and suggestions for making teaching, learning and assessment more effective that should be trialled during the practicum with structured time for reflection and feedback.

The Master’s degrees were first piloted in eight of the largest universities in Romania and will be more broadly implemented from 2027/28.

Ireland - Induction that expands mentoring for more practice-based support

Droichead is Ireland’s integrated professional induction framework for newly qualified teachers. Its objective is to support early-career teachers’ professional learning during induction, laying foundations for ongoing professional growth. A central feature is the Professional Support Team – composed of experienced colleagues who support and mentor the novice teacher through school-based induction and structured professional conversations. Droichead strengthens the practical focus of induction by:

• Expanding mentoring beyond “survival support”: mentoring is embedded in a structured induction process, guided by professional standards and expectations for reflective practice.

• Using practice-based inputs as a core feature: classroom observation is central, including (i) observation of experienced teachers by novice teachers and (ii) observation of novice teachers by members of the Professional Support Team for developmental rather than evaluative purposes.

• Creating collaborative and constructive induction environments: designing induction activities around professional conversations and observation cycles as opposed to informational sessions and check-ups is intended to put greater focus on improving classroom practice as opposed to meeting formal procedural requirements.

Source: OECD (2025[21]), Education and Skills in Romania, Reviews of National Policies for Education, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/594cbb5d-en; Oide (2025[22]), Droichead induction, https://oide.ie/droichead/home/ (accessed on 18 March 2026); Popa and Bucur (2024[23]), “Initial teacher education in Romania: Overcoming or succumbing to past weaknesses and threats?” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382254727 (accessed on 18 March 2026); The Teaching Council (n.d.[24]), The Droichead Process – Post primary, https://www.teachingcouncil.ie/i-am-a-registered-teacher/registration-with-conditions/droichead/the-droichead-process-post-primary/ (accessed on 18 March 2026);

4.4. Ensuring professional learning engages teachers in improving their practice across the teaching career

TALIS 2024 data indicate that Western Balkan education systems have key structures in place to support teachers throughout their career. This includes widely available mentoring programmes, frequent professional learning on a variety of topics and regular appraisal and feedback from school-based and external actors. However, data also indicate that more can be done to ensure these support structures focus on strengthening the quality of teaching and learning and stimulating continuous professional growth.

Engagement with professional learning in the Western Balkans is high but activities are not always practice-led. Except in Serbia, external courses and seminars are the dominant mode of professional learning in the region whereas instructional coaching or visiting other schools to inform instruction are much less common, for example. Teachers report frequently collaborating with colleagues, but this is most often focused on informal exchange of materials or information; fewer teachers report engaging in deeper, practice-focused activities such as peer observation, co-teaching or interdisciplinary projects. While mentoring programmes are available in many schools, uptake is low and those who participate do not exhibit stronger instructional confidence. Similarly, teachers’ lessons are observed relatively frequently throughout the region, but this is only linked to higher confidence in Albania and Serbia, indicating scope to strengthen the formative nature of observation processes elsewhere.

There is also evidence that, in some systems, professional learning opportunities are seen by teachers as being less meaningful as they progress through their teaching career. More experienced teachers in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia perceive professional learning and the feedback they receive on their practice as less relevant and impactful than their colleagues with fewer years in the profession. Moreover, in North Macedonia and Serbia, experienced teachers are much more likely to report insufficient incentives to participate in professional learning and to cite relevance as a barrier to participation.

TALIS 2024 data also indicate the importance of ensuring that older and more experienced teachers can access relevant and impactful professional development that continues to engage them in their work: in North Macedonia, for instance there are signs that teachers’ motivation may erode as they progress through their career; moreover, there and in Montenegro, a high share of older teachers report intentions to leave the profession in the next five years, often not as a result of imminent retirement.

To ensure that professional learning is both effective and engaging throughout the teaching career, policymakers across the region can:

1. Promote professional collaboration that fosters school-embedded and practice-oriented learning

The most effective way of motivating teachers to engage in professional learning throughout a career is to ensure that it is impactful for them and their students. Policymakers across the EU and OECD have been seeking ways to strengthen the quality of professional learning opportunities with a particular focus on promoting formats that are school-embedded and that promote collaboration and active learning among teachers (OECD, 2020[25]). For example, some countries such as the Netherlands (see Box 4.4) and Sweden have sought to establish professional learning communities or action-research processes within schools, encouraging teachers to engage with a specific, shared problem they face, reflect on it collaboratively and trial practical approaches to overcoming it in their classrooms (OECD, 2020[25]). There are also some recent practices in the region that seek to promote this type of approach and have been received positively by participating teachers, such as professional learning communities introduced in Serbia. There is strong evidence that this practice-centred approach to professional learning enhances day-to-day teacher practice and student outcomes (Brodie, 2019[26]).

Other systems have been appointing champion teachers or institutions with specific instructional expertise to network and collaborate with others, including through running school-based professional learning and establishing instructional coaching schemes. This is the case in Finland and Portugal for instance, where policymakers have established networks of teachers specialising in digital pedagogy. In some systems, similar approaches can be seen in areas such as inclusive education or action research (OECD, 2024[17]). In the Western Balkans, appointing champion teachers to help their colleagues tackle key challenges already identified in this chapter, such as accurately identifying and addressing learning needs through high quality formative assessment or meeting the needs of students with SEN and diverse linguistic backgrounds, could be particularly valuable.

Finally, some systems have adjusted organisational structures around schools and teachers to send clear signal about the value of professional collaboration: in the French Community of Belgium, for example schools have to embed strategies for collaborative work as part of their school development plans; in Portugal, dedicated time for collaboration is built into teachers’ weekly working time (OECD, 2025[27]). School leaders play a critical role in fostering teacher collaboration: some education systems, such as the French Community of Belgium and the Slovak Republic have embedded competence in related areas into mandatory training requirements for principals (OECD, 2025[27]).

2. Enhance understanding of teachers’ developmental needs, including as they evolve

Improving understanding of teachers’ developmental needs is crucial in ensuring that professional learning is deemed relevant across a career. Such understanding is necessary for individual teachers themselves but also principals and policymakers (OECD, 2024[17]). To achieve this, education systems such as Denmark and the Slovak Republic have enhanced formative teacher appraisal and school evaluation to better understand developmental needs for individual teachers and schools, often requiring these to feed into development planning and providing guidance and support for this process (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2023[28]). For appraisal processes in the Western Balkans to generate useful information on developmental needs, it will also be important to ensure that they engage qualitatively with instructional practice as opposed to relying on outcome-based measures of teacher performance.

Other systems have introduced regular teacher surveys to generate system-level insights into professional learning needs or self-assessment tools, often in digital form, that provide information at individual level and aggregate results for policymakers. While many systems, including some in the region, have introduced self-assessments for specific competence areas such as digital education, there is scope to use similar approaches more broadly (OECD, 2023[29]). The Professional Learning Passport in Wales (United Kingdom) (see Box 4.4) is an example of how this can be achieved without requiring excessive administrative work for teachers. Combining needs assessment tools and those that track professional learning participation can be helpful for supporting school leaders and others providing instructional support to teachers to understand what teachers have and have not engaged with and offer coherent and sustained support (OECD, 2025[27]). Finally, some systems including Austria and Estonia have also engaged in system-level foresight exercises in collaboration with teachers, principals and researchers in which they seek to identify emerging development needs for the profession (OECD, 2024[17]).

Box 4.4. Practice-focused teacher development

The Netherlands – Lesson study as structured collaborative professional learning

Lesson study in the Netherlands is a school-embedded, collaborative form of professional learning in which teachers jointly plan a “research lesson”, observe its delivery, collect evidence of student learning, and then analyse and revise the lesson together. This model strengthens the link between development activities and classroom practice by:

• Anchoring professional learning in real teaching: the core activity is co-designing, observing and refining lessons, rather than participating in standalone training disconnected from practice.

• Building observation-and-reflection routines: live lesson observations and structured post-lesson analysis serve as key mechanisms for changing instructional practice.

• Keeping the focus on practice-oriented evidence: lesson analysis centres on how students respond to instructional techniques and processes during the lesson rather than relying solely on outcome metrics such as test results.

Wales (United Kingdom) – A digital tool that helps teachers and system leaders identify professional learning needs

In Wales (United Kingdom), teachers, leaders and teaching assistants can use the digital Professional Learning Passport (2020) to self-assess their learning needs, track their development activities, and self-evaluate the effectiveness of training. Users can also map their learning against Wales’ teaching standards to identify gaps and priority learning areas. At system-level, this data can help build a picture of the extent to which professional learning is meeting teachers’ learning needs, both in the offer and in practice, at institutional, regional, and national level.

Several formal qualification structures introduced by the Welsh government, including induction for novice teachers and the national qualification for principals, use the Passport as a mandatory reflection tool; this has helped increase uptake. The tool was introduced in 2017 and by 2022 around half of teachers and principals in Wales were using it although there is scope to increase its use as a tool for ongoing reflective learning. Principals reported that introducing new capabilities such as allowing data to be analysed at school and department level would be helpful for institutional planning and could also incentivise them to make the Passport a tool for more regular school-based training too.

Sources: Coenders and Verhoef (2019[30]), Lesson Study: professional development (PD) for beginning and experienced teachers. Professional Development in Education, 45(2), 217–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2018.1430050; Thomas, H. et al. (2023[31]), Evaluation of the professional standards for teaching, leadership and assisting teaching, Welsh Government, https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2023-05/evaluation-of-the-professional-standards-for-teaching-leadership-and-assisting-teaching-final-report.pdf (accessed on 12 March 2026); Wolthuis et al. (2021[32]), “The hullabaloo of schooling: the influence of school factors on the (dis)continuation of lesson study”, Research Papers in Education, 37(6) https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2021.1907776.

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