Cultivating a High-Caliber Teaching Workforce for the New Era

At the National Conference on Education, General Secretary Xi Jinping underscored the importance of implementing the initiative to enhance the morale and professionalism of teachers with the ethos of educators, emphasising the need to strengthen the professional integrity and conduct of teachers, raise the quality of cultivating and training teachers, and cultivate a high-caliber teaching workforce for the new era.

A high-caliber teaching workforce is essential for high-quality education. General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed great emphasis on the development of the teaching workforce. He has delivered a series of important speeches, issued several key directives, expressed ardent expectations, and set forth requirements for building the teaching workforce across the board. At the National Conference on Education, General Secretary Xi Jinping underscored the importance of implementing the initiative to enhance the morale and professionalism of teachers with the ethos of educators, emphasising the need to strengthen the professional integrity and conduct of teachers, raise the quality of cultivating and training teachers, and cultivate a high-caliber teaching workforce for the new era. His important speech provides fundamental guidance for vigorously carrying forward the spirit of educators, strengthening the development of a high-caliber professional teaching workforce, and solidifying the foundation of building a leading country in education.

It’s imperative to implement the initiative to enhance the morale and professionalism of teachers with ethos of educators, carry forward the spirit of educators, and strengthen the professional integrity and conduct of teachers. To strengthen a nation, it is essential to strengthen education first; and to strengthen education, it is necessary to give top priority to the construction of teachers' professional integrity and conduct. To nurture a new generation of capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigour, aesthetic sensibility and work skills, who are builders of socialism and will carry forward the socialist cause, we are in urgent need of teachers who not only excel in professional knowledge as “imparters of knowledge” and cultivate virtues as “models of the world”. Such teachers strive to unify the two roles, proficient at propagating the doctrine, imparting professional knowledge，and resolving doubts. We must prioritise strengthening the teaching workforce as the most fundamental task in building a leading country in education. We must enhance the morale and professionalism of teachers with ethos of educators and practice the collective value pursuit of teachers. We must strengthen the professional integrity and conduct of teachers as the foremost standard for teacher development, further establish a long-term mechanism for the endeavour. This includes integrating the ethos of educators and the strengthening of teachers’ professional integrity into the entire process of cultivating and training teachers and their career development. We must guide and support teachers to consciously internalise the ethos of educators, turning them into their own ideological acceptance, intrinsic motivation, and practical action. They should continuously enhance their own moral cultivation, establishing themselves through virtue, fostering learning through virtue, and teaching through virtue. By leading through exemplary behaviour, teachers will influence and inspire students. They should aim to be great mentors to students in their studies, careers, and personal growth, striving to become respected role models in society and setting examples for others to follow.

It’s imperative to further improve the teacher education system with Chinese characteristics and greatly raise the quality of cultivating and training teachers. High-quality teachers are the backbone of high-quality educational development. The transformation from a major country in education to a leading country in education represents a systematic leap and qualitative change, which places new and higher demands on the development of the teaching workforce. We must render strong support for the development of normal universities, strengthen the leadership of normal universities under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education, and improve the quality of teacher education on all fronts. It is important to understand and respect the scientific laws of teacher development, innovate the concepts in teacher education and talent cultivation methods, and deepen reforms in talent training, thereby comprehensively improving the quality of teacher cultivation and training. We need to further advance the “National Plan for Training Excellent Primary and Secondary School Teachers Programme”, support more high-level universities and colleges represented by those involved in China’s "Double First-Class" initiative by participating in the construction plan of world-class universities and first-class disciplines in training graduate-level outstanding teachers for primary and middle schools. In addition, we must continue to carry forward the programmes, such as the “Targeted Training Plan to Improve the Performance of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Underdeveloped Areas in China's Central and Western Regions”, the “Plan to Build a Stronger Teaching workforce for China's Basic Education System in the New Era”, and the “Teacher Education Collaborative Quality Improvement Programme”. The aim is to cultivate more outstanding teachers with deep educational commitment, solid knowledge foundations, and strong abilities to impart knowledge and educate people, better supporting the construction of a leading country in education.

It’s imperative to elevate teachers' political, social, and professional status, further guarantee their pay and welfare, and respect their professional dignity and legitimate rights and interests, helping teachers enjoy high social prestige and making teaching one of the most respected professions. Respect for educators and support for education are a fine tradition of the Chinese nation. We need to enhance the pay and welfare of teachers across all levels and types, ensuring that all policies to respect and benefit teachers are fully implemented. It is essential to uphold teachers' dignity and protect their legal rights, including safeguarding their right of school discipline, while also comprehensively reducing the non-teaching burdens of teachers. We must take firm action against slander and the stigmatisation of teachers, ensuring they enjoy high social prestige. This will attract more outstanding individuals to enthusiastically pursue teaching, excel in their work, and remain dedicated to teaching throughout their careers. In addition, we must deepen comprehensive reforms in teacher management, coordinate and optimise teacher management and allocation of resources, and increase efforts to adjust staffing and redistribute resources across regions to effectively address structural, temporary, and regional shortages of teachers. We must also innovate in recognising and promoting exemplary teachers, telling the stories of Chinese educators, and fostering a positive social atmosphere that respect teachers and value education, benefits teachers and strengthens education. This will create a favourable environment where outstanding talents are eager to enter the teaching profession, and excellent teachers continue to emerge.

“It’s a stroke of luck in life for an individual to encounter a good teacher in life. It’s a source of pride for a school to be bestowed with good teachers. It’s a beacon of hope for a nation to be blessed with the continuous emergence of many excellent teachers.” We must remember General Secretary Xi Jinping's words, gain a deep understanding of the critical importance of building a strong teaching workforce, and gather the collective efforts of the entire Party and society to promote the continuous improvement of teacher quality, optimise the structure of the teaching force, enhance teacher benefits, and foster a societal culture of respecting teachers and valuing education. This will provide strong support for accelerating the modernisation of education, building a leading country in education, and delivering education that satisfies the people.

Source：China Education Daily, 18 September 2024