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Event
  • 16.05.2022

Higher education teachers: reinventing the future of the profession

For more information and registration, see here.

This roundtable on higher education teachers is part of the World Higher Education Conference 2022, to be held in Barcelona on 18-20 May. The discussion will be led by UNESCO PLS and ILO focusing on the challenges of the teaching profession for reinventing higher education.

This 3rd World Higher Education Conference will bring together all relevant stakeholders to define and prepare their roadmap for a new era of higher education systems and institutions. This roadmap will be responsive to the challenges faced by humanity and the planet, as a result of diverse forms of crises, with special attention to the global disruption created by COVID-19. Furthermore, higher education must anticipate and prepare for its role in societies that goes beyond the next decade, inspired by the Futures of Education initiative, mentioned above.

It aims at breaking away from the traditional models of higher education and opening doors to new, innovative, creative, and visionary conceptions that not only serve current agendas for sustainable development, but also pave the way for future learning communities that overcome barriers, speak to all and are inclusive of all lifelong learners.

Event
  • 13.05.2022

Reimagining teachers, teaching and teacher education policy in the Global South | International symposium

The Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) and the SARCHI Chair for Teaching and Learning are organising an International Symposium on Reimagining teachers, teaching and teacher education policy in the Global South: Current experiences and future implications.

The aim of the symposium is to:

  • provide a platform for dialogue and debate about teacher education in the Global South
  • consider a future teacher education agenda in and of the Global South

Speakers include:

  • Prof Crain Soudien (Centre for International Teacher Education, South Africa)
  • Prof Padma Sarangapani (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India)
  • Dr Yohanna William (University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
  • Prof John Nyambe (University of Namibia)
  • Dr Kristina Stutchbury (Open University, UK)

For more information, please contact Dr Marcina Singh, singhm@cput.ac.za.

Please register here.

Event
  • 13.05.2022

Reimagining teachers, teaching and teacher education policy in the Global South | International symposium

The Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) and the SARCHI Chair for Teaching and Learning are organising an International Symposium on Reimagining teachers, teaching and teacher education policy in the Global South: Current experiences and future implications.

The aim of the symposium is to:

  • provide a platform for dialogue and debate about teacher education in the Global South
  • consider a future teacher education agenda in and of the Global South

Speakers include:

  • Prof Crain Soudien (Centre for International Teacher Education, South Africa)
  • Prof Padma Sarangapani (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India)
  • Dr Yohanna William (University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
  • Prof John Nyambe (University of Namibia)
  • Dr Kristina Stutchbury (Open University, UK)

For more information, please contact Dr Marcina Singh, singhm@cput.ac.za.

Please register here.

Event
  • 13.05.2022

Reimagining teachers, teaching and teacher education policy in the Global South | International symposium

The Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) and the SARCHI Chair for Teaching and Learning are organising an International Symposium on Reimagining teachers, teaching and teacher education policy in the Global South: Current experiences and future implications.

The aim of the symposium is to:

  • provide a platform for dialogue and debate about teacher education in the Global South
  • consider a future teacher education agenda in and of the Global South

Speakers include:

  • Prof Crain Soudien (Centre for International Teacher Education, South Africa)
  • Prof Padma Sarangapani (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India)
  • Dr Yohanna William (University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
  • Prof John Nyambe (University of Namibia)
  • Dr Kristina Stutchbury (Open University, UK)

For more information, please contact Dr Marcina Singh, singhm@cput.ac.za.

Please register here.

Event
  • 06.05.2022

Exchanging Best Practices and Support to Teachers in EiE Situations

Please register here.

This webinar is part of the INEE Meet-Ups, which are informal gatherings in all corners of the globe where INEE members and others can network, share experiences, and discuss relevant topics. This topical meets-up will discuss best practices and support for teachers in emergencies situation.

Join us on 19 May at 17.00 UTC time.

For more information, please visit the INEE website or contact meetups@inee.org.

Blog
  • 27.04.2022

Teacher innovation is key for resilient education systems: Lessons from the 2021 Policy Dialogue Forum

By Carlos Vargas Tamez, Head of the Secretariat of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 and Chief of UNESCO’s Section for Teacher Development & Anna Conover, Consultant.

This blog has been originally published by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) on April 22, 2022.


Unforeseen crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and violent conflict remind us that teachers and education systems need to be able to adapt rapidly to changing circumstances to meet the learning needs of children and youth. Capacity for innovation is one of the keys to building resilient education systems. Capitalizing on the many education innovations prompted by the pandemic, the Teacher Task Force chose “Innovation in teacher policy and practice for educational recovery” as the theme of its 13th Policy Dialogue Forum, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, and online, 2-3 December 2021.

Some of the main insights documented during the Forum are presented below, including those related to innovations in teaching and learning, teacher education and policy. These have been compiled in the Forum’s Final Report, released recently.

Teacher autonomy is essential for meaningful innovation in teaching and learning

Teachers are best placed to assess the conditions of their own classrooms. Based on these, they innovate and adapt their practice, but their innovations often go unrecognized. The Forum highlighted the need to promote teacher autonomy and agency – that is, the capacity to act in an autonomous manner – to generate meaningful pedagogical innovation. However, they need training, sufficient resources, good working conditions, and support to develop the autonomy and agency needed to initiate, implement and evaluate new ways to teach that will improve student learning and wellbeing.

Emphasizing how teaching and learning are based on relationships, Forum participants shared innovative examples of how teachers collaborated with peers and parents during the pandemic. For instance, in response to school closures, Kenya’s Teachers’ Service Commission provided educators with guidance on how to support other teachers and offer psychosocial support to families and learners. By providing teachers with opportunities to discuss their teaching practices and exchange resources with each other and with students’ families, key lessons learned now inform Kenya’s policies to support online learning and teacher professional development.

Innovations involving digital technologies must be adapted to each context

The role of digital technologies in innovation was also explored during the Forum, emphasizing tailored and context-sensitive use of technologies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. While the pandemic hastened the need for technology-assisted innovations, mechanisms to assess, scale up, and refine are also necessary to ensure these innovations meet the needs for equitable, quality, and inclusive education. However, it is important that digital technologies do not reproduce top-down, rote learning resulting in excessive standardization, but rather are designed and implemented using a range of approaches to help foster student-centered pedagogies and facilitate education transformation.

Teacher education must be part of purposeful career paths

Teacher professional development should be embedded in teacher career paths and be aligned to teacher standards and accountability systems. Forum participants explored how countries need to avoid innovating in a fragmented fashion that does not follow commonly agreed principles. This requires alignment across levels of education and between initial teacher education and continuing professional development. It also requires better alignment between existing curricula, teacher professional development and student assessment to strengthen student outcomes.

Based on lessons learned during the pandemic, teacher education should also include peer learning and mentoring programmes. In particular, teacher education needs to integrate inquiry and research skills which prepare teachers to be lifelong-learners, able to adapt their practice to changing conditions and meet their students’ evolving needs. Teacher training and educational research institutions have an important role to support this kind of continuous exchange, particularly to address challenges brought on by rapid transformations.

Innovation in policy making must be inclusive and collaborative

Teachers need to be part of decision- and policy-making processes. One example presented was the development of the Comprehensive National Teacher Policy (CNTP) in Ghana. This process was coordinated by the Ghana Teacher Task Force (GTTF) with contributions from the Ghana Education Service, development partners, and other actors. This collaborative process established a framework for social dialogue with teachers and their representatives at the local, district, and national levels.

Policy also needs to be informed by data which reflect realities on the ground. Grassroot-level innovation can be enhanced by teacher participation in data collection and analysis. With proper training, teachers and school leaders can use data to assess their own practices and address challenges in their own schools. An example of innovation in data use came from The Gambia, where schools develop their own indicators and targets through a process of consultation that involves teachers, parents, students, and their communities.

Policies must balance clear frameworks with flexibility to respond to local conditions

Innovations in teacher policy presented during the Forum included establishing new forms of partnerships with civil society organizations and funding agencies. For instance, an innovative workshop organized by UNESCO and the TTF brought together policymakers from various countries to inform the development of St Kitts and Nevis’ National Teaching Council. Rather than imposing a ‘one size fits all’ approach, this process allowed policymakers to explore different types of national structures and the roles played amongst a number of high- and low-income countries before establishing their own National Teachers’ Council.

Teachers are essential to the innovation necessary to ‘build back better’ in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their professionalism needs to be recognized and supported, and experimentation and adaptation must take place within clear policy frameworks. Governments, teacher training institutions, and other actors must balance structure and flexibility to foster both bottom-up (grassroots) and top-down (system-wide) innovations, so that they can contribute to ensure equitable, inclusive, and quality education for all.

Download the Final Report from the Policy Dialogue Forum on Innovation in teacher policy and practice in education recovery.

Photo credit: GPE/Alexandra Humme

Event
  • 25.04.2022

How should the UNESCO 1974 Recommendation be revised? Have your Say!

Replay this event.

This teacher consultation is organized by Education International in collaboration with UNESCO’s Sections on Teacher Development and for Global Citizenship and Peace Education and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF). The objective of the event is to gather the views and perspectives of teachers on how to update the 1974 Recommendation.  

The 1974 Recommendation is a normative instrument which aims to support the design and implementation of effective educational policies and programmes that contribute to the building of a just, sustainable, healthy and peaceful society.

Given the multitude of contemporary threats to global peace and human survival - such as climate change, pandemics, infectious diseases, the spread of violent and hateful ideologies, conspiracy theories, persistent inequalities, discrimination and xenophobia – the UNESCO is updating the 1974 Recommendation to better reflect the complexity of today’s global landscape and ensure the instrument is fit for purpose in our current context.

For more information, the agenda, and to view the guiding questions in order to prepare for the discussion, see the event concept note here.

Please note that there will be simultaneous interpretation in English, Spanish and French.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Jennifer.ulrick@ei-ie.org.

Event
  • 13.04.2022

Launch of the TTF new 2022-2025 Strategic Plan

The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 will launch its new 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. This event will showcase how the international community is joining forces in this unique global alliance for teachers. Their goal is to promote the teaching profession as the cornerstone of ensuring that every child has access to quality teaching and learning.

Speakers include UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Education and the two co-Chairs of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 Steering Committee - representatives of Germany and South Africa.

Provisial agenda:

agenda EN

Photo credit: Dominic Chavez/World Bank

News
  • 24.03.2022

Supporting teachers in emergencies through crisis-sensitive policies

By Karen Mundy, Director of UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning and Carlos Vargas-Tamez, Head of the Secretariat of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 and Chief of Section for Teacher Development, UNESCO

The unfolding events in Ukraine are a stark reminder that crises can strike anytime, anywhere. In addition, other ongoing crises such as COVID-19, various conflicts and disasters across the globe, including those due to climate change, are all threatening education continuity and quality – especially for those displaced. In 2021, the UN Refugee Agency reported that more than 84 million people were forcibly displaced globally. In 2022, this figure is set to rise, as more than 1.5 million children have already fled Ukraine.

 

Are education systems ready to respond?

Education systems are often underprepared in the face of crises – whether in terms of welcoming the sudden arrival of refugee children, protecting the safety of learners and teachers, or having to quickly shift to remote learning. In many countries, plans to prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises are lacking, which makes already chaotic situations more complicated and leaves frontline actors with limited guidance and tools to respond effectively.

Schools and their communities are too often the direct target of attacks. Between 2015 and 2019, more than 8,000 students, teachers, and other school personnel in 37 conflict-affected countries were killed, injured, abducted, threatened, arrested, or detained, according to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. Various reports point to schools being attacked in Ukraine.

As illustrated by COVID-19, teachers – who are themselves affected by crisis – often act as critical agents of support to colleagues and students alike. They can foster a sense of safety and normalcy, while supporting families and communities with important information. Their support to learners is essential – but teachers can only tap into this role if their needs are first addressed.  

For example, teachers need to be equipped to teach in increasingly challenging conditions, such as damaged facilities or overcrowded classrooms, and to be able to differentiate pedagogy to adapt to learners from education systems that use other curricula and languages. Since teachers are impacted by crises in various ways, they also need to receive adequate psychosocial, material, and financial support to play the supportive role that learners need. 

 

Supporting education systems to build crisis-sensitive teacher policies

Applying an emergency and crisis-sensitive lens in the development and implementation of national teacher policies is essential to ensure that teachers can act as critical agents of support and protection to ensure that quality, inclusive education continues and to promote social cohesion and resilience. This involves anticipating and addressing challenges of recruitment, deployment, retention, and training, while also ensuring teacher well-being, job security, and safe and enabling working conditions.

In 2021, the conveners of the Norwegian Teacher Initiative joined forces with the Teacher Task Force and UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) to develop a new module to inform the development and implementation of emergency and crisis-sensitive national teacher policies, in recognition of the important role played by teachers in preparing for and responding to crisis and emergency situations.

This new module complements the 2019 Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG). It highlights the importance of crisis-sensitive teacher policies to increase the resilience of education systems by ensuring that education stakeholders are able to prepare for and respond to crises. It addresses the various dimensions of teacher policy and puts forward new measures to support teachers as they work to prevent, mitigate, and recover from conflicts and disasters. The module also includes country examples, highlighting effective policies and practices for teacher management in crisis settings.

Teacher policies that consider the implications of crisis on the profession can contribute to a motivated, quality workforce. Such policies are key to ensure that teachers are not just supported and protected but are also prepared to provide vulnerable children with safe learning spaces and quality education, and thus protecting this fundamental right for all.

The new module on Crisis-sensitive teacher policy develop is available for download on the Teacher Task Force’s website.

 

About the TPDG

The Teacher Policy Development Guide was designed as a dynamic tool to address emerging teacher policy challenges. It is built on the premise that a holistic teacher policy is needed to improve the quantity and quality of teachers. To be effective in enabling inclusive, quality education, teacher policies must be comprehensive and integrate different interrelated aspects of the profession, such as, recruitment and retention, teacher education, deployment, career structure, teachers’ working conditions, rewards and remuneration, standards, accountability, and school governance. In addition, teacher policies need to be well planned, resourced and aligned with other educational and non-educational policies to ensure effective implementation.

 

Photo credit: Sacha Myers, Save the Children