About eTQF

The eTQF -A Framework to Support Teachers’ CPD in the use of ICTs project has been developed under an Transversal strand of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme.

Project Number: 135297-LLP-1-2007-1-IE-KA3-KA3MP

Project Duration: 1 January 2008 - 30 April 2010

When ICT is integrated into teaching then everyone benefits. This project aims to develop a framework to support Teacher's acquisition of ICTs. It supports teachers at all levels from schools, colleges and third level. This will be a tool for teachers, schools principals, education managers and education authorities to support the development of teacher's competency in the use of ICT in education. This programme was developed to allow teachers to measure their own competency with ICT, make note of any areas that they require further training or knowledge and then to share their skills and learn from their peers by means of a web 2.0 site.

• To support the continuous professional development of teachers in the use of ICTs in education.
• To develop a tool which teachers, schools principals, education managers and education authorities can use to assess and benchmark teachers’ competency in the use of ICT in education.
• To test the tool across all education sectors to validate its broad applicability.

The eTQF Specific Objectives are:

• to research existing ICT competency frameworks and emerging ICT technologies to inform the development of the tools;
• to investigate the potential for using the e-Cert product developed in the EU Leonardo Da Vinci programme;
• to develop a framework with a range of options and competency levels that makes it applicable in all education sectors and for all stages of professional development and to test the framework in the school, adult education, VET and Higher Education sectors.

The eTQF Outputs produced will be

• the eTQF Competency Framework;
• the eTeach Programme;
• the eTeach Community of Practice;
• the research report and the test results.

Teacher further education across Europe is very diverse and on a very large scale with in-service education & further education provided for more than four million teachers. Continuous professional development also takes place outside compulsory or formal channels especially in the many member states where no compulsory provision is supported. The potential impact of eTQF is very significant and large scale but given the enormous diversity across member states it will need to be promoted and its value advocated at a variety of levels over an extended period, probably even a decade. In the shorter term the impact can be very beneficial for teachers and education authorities in member states who become early adopters.