A challenge for education planning : the procedures for selecting secondary school teachers in Cyprus

Abstract

The Cyprus educational system faces a major issue regarding the selection of teachers for state secondary schools. In an effort to fight the situation of intervention, quite peculiar to small states, the system has adopted a very strict procedure for selection. This in conjunction with a surplus of university graduates, interested in becoming teachers, has led to an unpleasant situation with a range of conflicting educational, social and political repercussions. This essay considers how this issue has developed, it describes the current system and analyses its advantages and disadvantages, it refers to the efforts for improvement and it reviews some ideas regarding the topic of predicting the competence of teachers. The whole theme is considered from the perspective of a small island state. The author proposes concrete measures that are accommodating the various conflicting positions and which are, at the same time, in accordance with the generally accepted theory and practice.