Teacher Qualification

=Teacher Qualification =

Teacher qualification is one of most essential factors to training quality. In Lithuania teacher qualification is based on a formal qualification category system that consists of 4 stages:
 * 1.	teacher,
 * 2.	senior teacher,
 * 3.	teacher methodologist,
 * 4.	teacher expert.

Such a system differentiates teacher’s salaries and allows striving for a professional career; it motivates a long term work in education area; it is one of the most efficient ways to increase qualification improvement motivation. A teacher can move from one category to the other one by a certain certification procedure.

Teacher
Teacher qualification category is equal to qualification acquired in high education together with pedagogical qualification. Teachers with professions of informal primary education and initial vocational training, but without pedagogical qualification can obtain teacher qualification category by certification procedure if their work experience in this area is not less than 2 years and if they have gone through a certain course of pedagogical psychological knowledge.

Senior Teacher
Senior Teacher qualification category is granted for a person with high education background, pedagogical qualification and no less than 4 years work experience in subject training.

Teacher Methodologist
Teacher Methodologist qualification category is granted for a person with high education background, pedagogical qualification, the delivered subject qualification and no less than 6 latter years continuous work experience in subject training. If a person has no qualification of the delivered subject he must have no less than 8 latter years continuous work experience in subject training.

Teacher Expert
Teacher Expert qualification category is granted for a person with high education background, pedagogical qualification, the delivered subject qualification and no less than 6 latter years continuous work experience in subject training. If a person has no qualification of the delivered subject he must have no less than 10 latter years continuous work experience in subject training.