Mokytojų kvalifikacijos tobulinimo poreikiai
Teachers needs and opportunities for professional development

Summary/Abstract: Changes in science, technology, social transformations encourage changes and raise new requirements for teachers' career - development, reflection, analysis, enhancement of possessed competencies and acquisition of new ones, i. E. Lifelong learning skills necessary to adapt to constantly changing life conditions. The problem of the research - qualification requirements for teachers are changing in line with rapid changes in teaching and learning environment and changing requirements in the area of teaching / learning. This situation creates new needs for teachers' qualification development and determines lack of information about these needs. Therefore, emerging necessity to identify these needs and opportunities of their realization is apparent. The object of the research is teachers' needs for professional development. The research aimed at identifying general education school teachers' needs and opportunities for professional development. The research tasks: 1. Characterize theoretical assumptions concerning changes in teachers' needs for professional development. 2. Define factors that determine teachers' professional development. 3. Identify examine empirically teachers' needs for professional development. 4. Define opportunities for teachers' professional development. The research findings indicate teachers' especially positive and optimistic assessment of possessed competencies in the area of teaching process planning, teaching methods and assessment of teaching achievements. However, an assumption should not be rejected that such assessment is conditioned by shallow and standardized understanding of the stages of teaching process, lack of consideration concerning changes in the areas of teaching planning, teaching methods and assessment as well as challenges facing these processes. This is indirectly evidenced by certain disproportions in distribution of the respondents' responses related to the questions about their abilities to select appropriate methods and deliver a new theme, also concerning possession of abilities to prepare teaching material and identify pupils' learning needs. The situation is likely to be influenced by the lack of teachers' practical understanding about application of the competencies in specific teaching and learning situations, for example to apply different learning methods. Verification of such assumptions calls for supplementary qualitative research. In the area of teaching methods priority is given to traditional teaching methods, whereas innovative teaching methods (active teaching methods) are conceived in simplistic and superficial way, not seeing their real purpose and aims. Teachers are more inclined to use traditional assessment methods that allow them to evaluate pupils' acquired knowledge instantly and lack practice to use assessment methods (for example, accomplishment of practical assignments).

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