CASA DO PROFESSOR

Casa do Professor (as “Teacher's home”) is a social solidarity association, founded on 14th February 1979, with public utility status since 1999. Besides supporting 11 000 teachers at all levels of education, Casa do Professor also has protocols with 50 clusters of schools. It promotes socially oriented initiatives, scientific training, as well as cultural and recreational activities not only addressed to the teachers but also to their families, which means that the focus is not limited to their professional lives, it also extends to their personal and family considerations. The association’s aim is to dignify teachers, by reinforcing the nobility of their profession, that’s why it seeks to streamline activities with a professional and social intervention, and cultural dynamics. This mission is only achieved thanks to a close collaboration with hundreds of partners, from different areas of knowledge. All the activities are assumed with high professionalism and deep commitment so that the teacher always feels respected, cherished and happy. Casa do Professor is the place of union for every teacher. Casa do Professor was awarded a gold medal merit in 2006 as well as the Two Stars Committed to Excellence, from the European Foundation for Quality Management. Educating has always been our manin focus, looking thus for processes and tools that fosters this process, contributing to a greater tranquility and harmony of all the stakeholders. Therefore, for years, we have developed and integrated approaches to human development tools and processes that can improve the teachers’ technical skills since they can help the educational process to become effective. Work ethic, attitude, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and other personal attributes are crucial soft skills for career success. Casa do Professor’s Training Centre is the largest private training centre for teachers in the country, with 20 years of uninterrupted activity, accredited by the Scientific-Pedagogical Teacher Training Council and the General Direction of Employment and Labor Relations of the Government. Over a period of three years, our Training Centre has certified 6439 educators and teachers of basic and secondary education through eighty-nine training actions in modalities like workshops and courses. The number of teachers involved indicates that the Training Center fulfills its formative purpose, contributing to the professional development of thousands of teachers all over the country (Mainland Portugal and Islands). It is composed of trainers from all levels of education and disciplinary fields. Its training plan was defined as the result of a diagnosis carried out in collaboration with a Consortium of several schools. This kind of methodology has enabled us to achieve high quality training responses, namely in the following dimensions: arts, languages, sciences, technologies, supervision and coordination, didactic, pedagogy, inclusion and evaluation. Casa do Professor’s Pedagogical Innovation Centre has fostered the active developement of our internationalization Plan by becoming not only the coordinator but also a partner in several Erasmus+ KA2 and KA3 projects. In this context, Casa do Professor was the creator of the first major international Teacher Training project – NESTT (NEW EUROPEAN SETTINGS FOR TEACHERS AND TEACHING). It is a European project aimed at the lifelong training of teachers, which includes the Consortium of Portuguese schools and institutes, as well as three European institutions: Associatia Ed ulifelong from Romania, Stowarzyszenie Nowa Kulture i Edukacja from Poland and European Schoolnet, a Brussels-based organization that brings together thirty-one Ministries of Education from Europe. Casa do Professor also has a residence house for retired teachers and their relatives. This is an excellent service to our associates, inspired by the human value and in perfect articulation with the social and environmental context, in a privileged relationship with all the agents directly or indirectly involved in the organization.