Supporting teachers on the move for greater benefits

According to the Erasmus+ mobility projects selected in 2023, 40% of school staff choose a teaching assignment or a job shadowing activity, while around 60% choose to participate in a course.

The positive impact of learning mobility abroad on the professional development of teachers and on education systems has been recognised and stressed. For the teachers themselves, learning mobility can bring about significant benefits related to cultural, cognitive and personal learning experiences in addition to increasing knowledge and skills or fostering exchanges of good practices. Opportunities for learning mobility also increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession and can help to attract and retain teachers in schools.

For these reasons, the European Commission wants to reinforce the mobility of teachers. The proposal for a Council Recommendation ‘Europe on the move’ was adopted in November 2023 as part of the Talent Mobility package, and it aims to open up learning mobility opportunities to everyone. It updates the learning mobility framework Youth on the Move.

The new recommendation contributes to the European Education Area's goal to make learning periods abroad the norm for everyone, promoting mobility for learners and staff across all education levels and systems. It covers all education and training sectors and the youth sector. It proposes 12 concrete measures to help Member States overcome obstacles to learning mobility.

Teachers are a key target of the recommendation, and their learning mobility needs to be considered in the broader context of the teaching profession's attractiveness. A set of recommended measures include embedding learning mobility both in initial teacher education and in the overall development of schools.