Teachers’ competences in the contemporary school are significantly different from those necessary in the traditional learning manner. The earlier transfer of knowledge was directed to teaching where the pupil had to be a passive listener. Today the teacher’s competence is directed to the social and emotional development of the pupil. In the context of the diversity that enriches our schools, the teacher must be ready for an individual approach to each pupil, develop special and customized procedures, cooperation and partnership with parents, teamwork. A teacher’s competence is acquired through studies and is developed within the professional field of experience. Further lifelong learning has become inevitable.
The paper outlines what competences a teacher in a contemporary school should have. The practical work covers the research on the development of a teacher’s competences from their own perspective. The research results indicate that teachers are competent to work in a modern school but, at the same time, show that they strive for continuous improvement and lifelong learning.
