Scholars of comparative education have given a lot of attention to the demand side of teacher labor markets. We have asked how do policies attract teachers into the profession and then retain and motivate them once there. Given the importance of teachers in learning, attracting and retaining the best teachers is of critical importance. The effects of these policies, however, are influenced by a prior question: who becomes a teacher?

There is still a limited understanding of supply side factors that lead teachers to enter, stay in, or leave the profession. This broadly includes factors that explain why someone becomes and remains a teacher such as their personal background, demographics, education, attitudes, values, and professional motivations. Understanding the supply side factors is important not just in their own right but also because of the implications they may have for other teacher related practices and outcomes of interest to policy. For example, will a teacher education and training program yield expected results? If we wish to increase incentive for teachers, what would be the best way to do so given who enters the teaching profession?

This panel brings together a series of papers that engage in these questions across a number of country contexts including Burkina Faso, Colombia, India, South Africa, and Vietnam. We begin to provide tentative answers to questions about teacher selection through the analysis of large scale quantitative data. We hope that conversations sparked by these papers can begin to establish a research agenda that asks not only how can we attract the best teachers, but who becomes a teacher and why?

Together, the three papers bring evidence to bear from a wide geographic scope around the central question of who becomes a teacher. The panel looks to generate discussion around how we can further understand teacher selection and retention, and draw cross-national comparative lessons for this emerging research agenda.

More information here.

CIES 2023 - Improving Education for a More Equitable World

Comparative and international perspectives are essential to fulfilling the dream of educational equity. The CIES 2023 Annual Meeting will explore the following crucial questions: how should we critically look at and meet desired outcomes across time and space? What changes can bring about responsible and sustainable advancement in learning, teaching, and schooling? What implications may these changes have on individual systems, contexts, and the already vulnerable planet? And how may our endeavors help redefine comparative and international education in a way that reconnects it with contextualized educational policy and practice?

Across the world, COVID-19-induced school closures severely disrupted learning, disproportionally affecting those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. At the same time, continuous professional development (CPD) educators shifted to remote and online delivery. Yet often, these educators were not well prepared for this.

Despite these challenges, many educators and policy-makers have increased awareness about the potential of remote and online education to increase access and quality. Blended CPD, defined as a pedagogically sound combination of in-person and online modalities, may combine the best of both worlds. 

In this session, three case studies will illustrate the value of blended CPD trajectories for educators:

• VSO describes how principles of universal design for learning were applied in a blended CPD offering to early childhood education and care educators in Bangladesh;
• VVOB describes how technology was used in a blended CPD trajectory for mentor teachers in basic education in Rwanda, to keep them motivated and engaged;
• Aga Khan Foundation reflects on how the Aga Khan Foundation’s Learning Hub has been created as a cost-effective online CPD platform reaching 6,400+ users around the world.
• EdTech Hub reflects on the three case studies drawing on cross-cutting themes, including diversity, gender, and inclusion; motivation and engagement; cost-effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability.

More information here.

CIES 2023 - Improving Education for a More Equitable World

Comparative and international perspectives are essential to fulfilling the dream of educational equity. The CIES 2023 Annual Meeting will explore the following crucial questions: how should we critically look at and meet desired outcomes across time and space? What changes can bring about responsible and sustainable advancement in learning, teaching, and schooling? What implications may these changes have on individual systems, contexts, and the already vulnerable planet? And how may our endeavors help redefine comparative and international education in a way that reconnects it with contextualized educational policy and practice?

Digital credentials are an emerging phenomenon all over the world, that can capture, recognise and validate a broader range of learning outcomes than traditional certification schemes, saving time and money for certificate issuers, retaining control over the validity of credentials and increasing visibility of skills. But: is this relevant for educators, and how?

The European Commission has recently launched its Europass Digital Credential Issuer, a free‑of‑charge web-app that allows credential-awarding bodies to prepare and issue degrees, diplomas or other learning credentials to learners in the form of European Digital Credentials for Learning.

Open Badges are a widely adopted type of digital credentials, that contain verifiable metadata about achievements according to a common data format and are presented as visual symbols of accomplishment. In 2023, the ETF Community of Innovative Educators will start issuing Open Badges to recognise the achievement of those members who submitted a teaching innovation practice and who have been particularly active in the community. During the webinar, the first set of ETF Open Badges will be showcased.

At the end of the webinar, an open session will take place to collect ideas from the community members on new activities to be developed within the community.

On the Agenda: 

➡️ The digital credentials revolution: why is it important for educators? Anthony Camilleri, KIC

➡️ The European Commission strategy for digital credentials, Koen Nomden, European Commission (TBC)

➡️ Open Badges at work: get your badge through the ETF Community of Innovative Educators, Simone Ravaioli 

➡️ How to implement micro and open credentials in daily work of schools, Questions and Answers session – moderated by Fabio Nascimbeni, ETF

➡️ Co-creation session 

The event will take place online on the Zoom platform and will be delivered in English, Russian and Arabic. 

How to register? Please fill in the the registration form

After registering you will receive the link to access the meeting. 

Digital credentials are an emerging phenomenon all over the world, that can capture, recognise and validate a broader range of learning outcomes than traditional certification schemes, saving time and money for certificate issuers, retaining control over the validity of credentials and increasing visibility of skills. But: is this relevant for educators, and how?

The European Commission has recently launched its Europass Digital Credential Issuer, a free‑of‑charge web-app that allows credential-awarding bodies to prepare and issue degrees, diplomas or other learning credentials to learners in the form of European Digital Credentials for Learning.

Open Badges are a widely adopted type of digital credentials, that contain verifiable metadata about achievements according to a common data format and are presented as visual symbols of accomplishment. In 2023, the ETF Community of Innovative Educators will start issuing Open Badges to recognise the achievement of those members who submitted a teaching innovation practice and who have been particularly active in the community. During the webinar, the first set of ETF Open Badges will be showcased.

At the end of the webinar, an open session will take place to collect ideas from the community members on new activities to be developed within the community.

On the Agenda: 

➡️ The digital credentials revolution: why is it important for educators? Anthony Camilleri, KIC

➡️ The European Commission strategy for digital credentials, Koen Nomden, European Commission (TBC)

➡️ Open Badges at work: get your badge through the ETF Community of Innovative Educators, Simone Ravaioli 

➡️ How to implement micro and open credentials in daily work of schools, Questions and Answers session – moderated by Fabio Nascimbeni, ETF

➡️ Co-creation session 

The event will take place online on the Zoom platform and will be delivered in English, Russian and Arabic. 

How to register? Please fill in the the registration form

After registering you will receive the link to access the meeting. 

A key element of solving the teaching and learning crisis worldwide is better supporting teachers to deliver quality education. While it may be easy to think only of school- or high-level interventions, there are key actors at the middle tier of education systems who are uniquely effective in providing this support.

In this second of the two planned webinars, UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) will examine what does it take for instructional leaders at the middle tier to be successful.

Learn about the first webinar here.

Celebrating the launch of a new research report from IIEP and EDT, Leading teaching and learning together: the role of the middle tier, the webinars will explore the role of a critical but too often neglected set of actors: those working at the ‘middle’ of education systems, such as district education officers, network facilitators, supervisors or teacher mentors. Together, these actors can contribute to improving the quality of education, by acting as mediators of new policies to the frontline and instructional leaders who work across schools to support the improvement of teaching and learning. The webinar will highlight promising practices for policymakers globally and bring key thought leaders into conversation with country experts and middle-tier leaders.

For more information and to register consult this page.

A key element of solving the teaching and learning crisis worldwide is better supporting teachers to deliver quality education. While it may be easy to think only of school- or high-level interventions, there are key actors at the middle tier of education systems who are uniquely effective in providing this support.

In this first of the two planned webinars, UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) will examine how instructional leaders positioned at the middle tier of education systems can improve teaching and learning.

Learn about the second webinar, planned for 23 February, here.

Celebrating the launch of a new research report from IIEP and EDT, Leading teaching and learning together: the role of the middle tier, the webinars will explore the role of a critical but too often neglected set of actors: those working at the ‘middle’ of education systems, such as district education officers, network facilitators, supervisors or teacher mentors. Together, these actors can contribute to improving the quality of education, by acting as mediators of new policies to the frontline and instructional leaders who work across schools to support the improvement of teaching and learning. The webinar will highlight promising practices for policymakers globally and bring key thought leaders into conversation with country experts and middle-tier leaders.

For more information and to register consult this page.