The professional development of VET teachers in Italy: participation, needs and barriers. Statistical quantifications and benchmarking in an international perspective

Background: In a context of scarce statistical information, this paper focuses on the professional development of Vocational Education and Training teachers in Italy, namely those teaching vocational subjects. It provides a statistical picture of it, in an international perspective and along three dimensions (participation, needs and barriers). Methods: Data used in this article originate from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey and they are subject to its methodology. The analysis is carried at upper secondary level of education and adopts a comparative perspective at national and international level. Results for teachers of vocational subjects are compared with those for teachers of general subjects working in schools with and without vocational programmes (used as two distinct groups for contrasts and comparisons). Results for Italy are compared with those for other six countries. Differences across countries and teachers groups are presented, analyzed and discussed, also considering a number of background characteristics of the teachers and of the context in which they work. Methods for statistical analysis rely on inference statistics. Key descriptive findings are highlighted and further investigated by means of logistic regression models. Results: The article quantifies, qualifies and internationally benchmarks a core set of figures, which can be used, in a comparative approach, to characterize the VET system in Italy and to report on its future progress in the field of teachers’ professional development. Conclusions: The article discusses policy relevant implications and advocates for collecting and further developing comparable data in future.