11th International Policy Dialogue Forum

Strengthening Teacher Education: A prerequisite for quality teaching, training and learning

Since the adoption of the SDGs and the Framework for Action of the Education 2030 Agenda, members of the International Task Force on Teachers take advantage of its annual policy dialogue Forum to unpack the meaning and implications of the teacher target and its importance to the other SDG 4 targets, as well as the overall SDGs.

The 11th Policy Dialogue Forum will focus on the issues pertaining to teachers’ and trainers’ skills and competencies to meet all learners’ needs, to improve teacher quality/performance and quality learning.

Between 1999 and 2012, pupils to trained teacher ratios declined in 44 out of 50 countries with data, requiring policies of upgrading teacher qualifications in pre-service training (Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Policy Paper 19, April 2015; UIS, 2016).

Strengthening teacher education in order to guarantee quality teaching, training and learning for all calls for policy options that include, but also go beyond, the sole sphere of teacher training and continuous professional development, the types of training offered and their durations and objectives. Planning to reinforce teacher education also requires policy dialogue between policymakers and practitioners and may require a holistic approach to teacher competency profile and learner profile, as well as the negotiation of adequate allocation of resources. More, it is evident that indicators like the ratio of pupils to trained teachers have impacts on students’ learning outcomes.

This theme is directly in line with the implementation and monitoring of the SDG 4.c targets related to teachers and complement lessons learnt from the previous fora. The discussions will be organized around the following four sub-themes to shed light on various ways of developing teacher education:

• Knowledge, skills and competencies for teacher development
• Teacher training: Skills and competencies for work
• Promoting equal learning opportunities for all through teacher education
• Teacher education: Digital learning and continuing professional development

The 11th PDF will bring together over 200 participants from around the world and about 100 teacher stakeholders from the host country. It will allow policy makers, researchers, representatives from UN and other international organizations, teacher organizations, teachers, private sector organizations and foundations, to dialogue and network. It will provide the platform for stock‐taking of existing policies and practices, exchange of information, experiences and good practices on teacher‐related gaps among all the various constituencies.

The Policy Dialogue Forum aims at raising awareness among members and partners of the TTF on crucial issues for the implementation of the Teacher Target in the SDG and Education 2030 agenda. By revisiting teacher issues and sharing experiences related to teacher gaps, the Policy Dialogue Forum fosters more effective collaboration, communication and resource mobilization towards the achievement of the Teacher Target of the SDG 4 among TTF members.