This article describes the ongoing changes in the teachers’ qualification system and the role of nonformal
education institutions in Bulgaria. The changes are related to the improvement of the quality
of school education and the new functions and roles of the 21st century teacher. It describes some
basic problems in the implementation of the new model for qualification of Bulgarian teachers
which emerged after the first year of applying the reform in practice. It analyses the main issues of
the normative base, and discusses the problem of the role of the non-governmental sector in the
reform. The findings are based on the opinions of 44 teachers from the country, 14 of whom are
students in the Master's Program in Educational Management of the Faculty of Education at the
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
The research shows that teachers regard more seriously their needs for additional knowledge and
skills, and relate these to future courses and plans for professional and personal development. The
article recommends that there should be a national survey of the results of the implementation of
the new model of continuous teachers’ qualification and a re-examination of the increase in the
“benefits” (both moral and material) of the qualification for teachers.