The recent School Education Gateway survey on action research found that most respondents are familiar with action research and believe it sharpens critical awareness and provides actionable results, but that further support is needed through asynchronous training, guidelines and hearing about other teachers’ experiences.

The survey, which took place in summer 2021, found that the most effective ways of fostering pupils’ cultural identities include international collaboration via eTwinning and Erasmus+, enriching school practices with pluricultural content, and teachers’ professional development.

Everyday life skills such as preparing a healthy meal and managing finances should be taught at every school level, mainly through cross-curricular approaches, according to respondents to the latest School Education Gateway survey. The survey found that families and teaching staff are the most important actors in developing children’s life skills – their ability to deal with issues commonly encountered in daily life.

The school curriculum should change to include new topics, and this should involve teachers and school leaders, according to respondents of the latest School Education Gateway survey. The survey found that some topics, such as health and citizenship, are already covered to some extent, but that others – financial literacy and entrepreneurship, in particular – are currently less frequently taught.

Creativity is undoubtedly one of the most important processes and blend of skills and attitudes that can help young people thrive in the world today. However, most respondents in this survey feel that there are not enough opportunities for creative activities in schools.

Each year we ask you how we can best provide information from across Europe and professional development opportunities that match your needs. The results of the 2020 School Education Gateway annual user survey showed that users are most interested in webinars and self-paced courses for online professional development. Read more in this summary of the findings!

It is indeed not back to “business as usual”: in our latest survey, only one in two respondents reported that teachers are fully back in the classroom, while stress for both teachers and pupils is also reported. Many feel that pupils have learning gaps and that vulnerable pupils need more support. However, some positive effects are reported, with pupils appreciating school more and developing new skills, and both teachers and students using digital tools more confidently.

Schools should be responsible for teaching about climate change, but current curricula do not sufficiently address it, even though the subject can be easily integrated into subjects outside of the sciences and geography – that is, according to the results of our latest survey. Lack of training and resources are the key obstacles to teachers’ including the subject in lessons, while most respondents would support pupils who take action.

The survey findings reveal that almost all respondents’ schools have switched to some form of distance teaching since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and over 60% believe that school practices will not be the same when they reopen, with more online/distance teaching and learning than before. For two thirds of respondents, the closure of schools has led to their first experience with online teaching, which has been both positive and challenging.

The survey findings indicate that, even though only a minority of teachers aspire to be school heads, most wish to pursue a classroom-based career that can be enriched with more opportunities, responsibilities and variety outside the classroom and with more support to develop their careers in this direction. Respondents felt that only a small percentage of the public view teaching as a desirable career choice, with most people being neutral or negative about it.