The teaching workforce in the Flemish Community of Belgium

This chapter gives an overview of the main characteristics of the teaching workforce in the Flemish Community of Belgium, including: initial teacher education, recruitment into teaching, employment status and career structure, compensation, workload and use of teachers’ time, teacher evaluation and teacher professional development. It also considers the role of school leaders and other types of staff in managing and supporting the teaching workforce at the school level. The chapter reviews existing policies aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the teacher labour market and providing adequate employment conditions for teachers to perform well. It also examines challenges faced by the school system in attracting, preparing, distributing and retaining effective teachers, as well as a number of fairness concerns in the organisation of the teaching profession.