The Future of Education

Teachers’ Associations are an important and influential part of the Estonian education system as they constitute the framework within which teachers of different subjects receive the support they require for professional development and for improving the quality of their work.

However, cooperation between associations of different subject teachers is of even greater importance. The interdisciplinary approach in subject teaching is regulated at the national level, as the national curriculum of Estonia says that “integration of different subjects is to be achieved through teaching of the common content in different subject areas, developing of in-school projects, using the interdisciplinary approach in the choice of both content and teaching methods.  In order to  implement such integration, the Basic school organises the study process, creates the learning environment, and establishes cooperation between teachers in a way that allows the interdisciplinary approach – i.e. by specifying the competences, setting learning objectives, and analysing the common problems of different subjects“ (the National Curriculum of Estonia 2011:  General Part § 5, items 5,6).

In order to deliver the subject content at the required level, it is important for teachers to learn how to cooperate at the professional level first, and then at the level of the classroom. The non-profit organization Network of Estonian Teachers’ Associations aims at providing representatives of different teachers’ associations with possibilities to discuss problems, exchange experience, and, the most important, find common solutions to raise the quality of subject teaching.