THE TEACHER OF TODAY AND TOMORROW

The international scientific-practical conference “The Teacher of Today and Tomorrow: Between Reality and Expectations” was held at the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences (LEU) on 24 November 2016. The conference applications were sent by educational researchers and teachers-practitioners from Lithuania, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Belarus, Poland, Latvia, Tukey, Italy and Portugal. The conference was attended by a hundred and thirty participants and listeners. The most relevant problems of the school and the teacher in the contemporary world were addressed in the plenary sessions. Vilma Bačkiūtė, Head of the Division of Teacher Activity of the Ministry of Education and Science of Lithuania, Tomás Ó Ruairc, Director of the Teaching Council, Ireland, Jonas Ruškus – Professor of Vytautas Magnus University, Member of Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations, Alvyra Galkienė, Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Education, LEU, Do Coyle, Professor of University of Aberdeen, Fred Taveau, Dunja Chamberlain, Lecturers of International School of Geneva, Andrei Korol, Rector of the Yanka Kupala Grodno State University joined the discussions on the issues of the conference. The themes of the conference were developed in three directions: changes in the school and expectations set for a teacher, integrity and multidimensionality of teacher activities and teacher education, development of professionalization. They all were elaborated on in seven parallel sections. The poster presentations aroused the greatest interest among participants in the conference. All the poster presentations at the conference were united under the umbrella title The Sketches of Contemporary School. As many as sixteen poster presentations were exhibited and their thirty authors actively shared success stories of their institutions and disseminated such ideas as achievements in inclusive and non-formal education, a school for everyone, setting creativity free, self-directed learning and others. The international scientific – practical conference “The Teacher of Today and Tomorrow: Between Reality and Expectations” rallied and untied parents as members of school communities, students as teachers to be, currently working teachers, heads of schools, researchers and education policy makers. All the participants acknowledged the aforementioned as the greatest strength and impetus for change.