Five years have passed since the UN set its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and there is serious concern the world is not on track to achieve them. Even before the COVID crisis, a July 2019 report warned that progress has been slow, with inaction on the “existential threat” of climate change having the potential to compromise all other SDGs.

In order for teachers to contribute to achieve Target SDG 4 – which aims to ensure quality education for all – they must be supported through the unfolding challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

The Teacher Task Force 12th Policy Dialogue Forum, which was held in Dubai in December 2019, brought together educators to discuss how teachers’ experiences and needs will change over the next decade. Attendees debated how teachers may seize opportunities and show resilience in a rapidly-changing world, while contributing to a more equitable and sustainable future.

The Forum recommended that models of teaching, teacher training, and professional support for teachers must evolve as the meaning of a ‘foundational education’ shifts; for instance, versatile future-facing skills like critical thinking, digital skills, and entrepreneurship can be at odds with traditional top-down educational models, and remain on the periphery in many countries. It also called for teachers’ education to be adapted to brace for coming crises, which could result in more large, linguistically diverse, and virtual classrooms.

How classes could change

Teachers warned that it is “increasingly urgent” to prepare for large class sizes, multilingual classrooms, and scarcity of resources, particularly as migration – which can drive these challenges – is likely to increase in the face of climate change and political instability.

Teachers are already grappling directly with climate change as flooding, wildfires, and other extreme weather disrupts education infrastructure and networks; Dr Natalio D Wheatley, Education Minister of the British Virgin Isles, told the Forum that 90 per cent of the territory’s educational infrastructure was destroyed by a “devastating” Category 5 hurricane in 2017.

Preparing for future crises

Education systems can prepare for crises by taking cues from flexible teacher training and continuous professional development models which have been adapted to crisis settings. For instance, the Teachers in Crisis Contexts Collaboration created an open-source training pack to quickly build basic competencies for unqualified and under-qualified teachers recruited to teach in emergency settings. It was deployed in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, where just three per cent of children eligible for secondary schooling enroll, largely due to a shortage of teachers.

Teachers called for training in pedagogies that leave behind rigid concepts of didactic teaching and rote learning, and instead seek child-centred approaches that support every child with consideration for their prior experiences and education. This is essential for teaching children who have lived through distressing experiences such as displacement.

William Mushobya, a teacher at Jamhuri Primary School, Kenya, explained that his school handles many refugee children with trauma and psychosocial issues: “Children from conflict areas have limited social skills and need a lot of guidance and counselling,” he said. Training to prepare teachers for diverse and challenging educational settings could include units focused on wellbeing, stress management and inclusive education. Save the Children Jordan and MIT’s TREE programme, for example, aims to promote education of refugee children by focusing on teachers’ social and socio-emotional traits with the hope that the school can become a more friendly, nurturing and inclusive environment.

Developing digital

Over the next 10 years, education systems must respond not just to emerging challenges but also to emerging opportunities like technological advances. Digital technology offers almost unlimited opportunities for teachers – from accessing open-source resources to undergoing professional training remotely – and the Covid-19 pandemic has proved that the internet can be a lifeline for educators in crisis settings.

Yet there are serious disparities in access to digital infrastructure and remote learning is not possible for at least 500 million students: “Private schools in urban areas are investing in online schooling for their pupils. However, the level of investment is not standardised and not consistent among schools,” commented Nadya Faquir, a teacher from Mozambique. “Online education is not a feasible option in a country where most people have no access to the internet.” In order to expand these opportunities, teachers supported calls for sustainable and socially-responsive investment in digital infrastructure.

Across the globe, there is wide disparity in access to resources, infrastructure, and current levels of educational attainment. As teachers and education systems work towards the goal of guaranteeing inclusive, equitable and quality education for all, it is important to remember that – while there is shared interest in modernising models of teaching to prepare teachers for new responsibilities and diverse, challenging classrooms – there is no one-size-fits-all solution for teachers.

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Consult the full report from the 12th Policy Dialogue Forum on The Futures of Teaching in English, French and Arabic.

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This blog is part of a series of stories addressing the importance of the work of, and the challenges faced by teachers in the lead up to this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations.

Today, on International Literacy Day, we’re celebrating the teachers at the heart of five award-winning organisations that use literacy education to help adults and children fulfil their potential, benefitting not just their students but entire communities. 

As countries around the world plan their routes out of COVID-19 disruption, having literate, empowered citizens is vital. Literate communities are communities equipped to build a better world. These are the winners of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes who have greatly contributed to this goal.

Winners of the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize for the development of mother-tongue education:

Ageing Nepal, Nepal

In a country where the majority of adults are illiterate, the teachers of Ageing Nepal are on a mission to empower people with basic skills in reading, writing and numeracy, in both English and Nepali.

Their work is innovative and instructive. Teachers use role play to build student confidence and to help them to see the relevance of lessons for everyday life. Classes are also taken into the real world, touring the local markets so students can practice their reading on street signs and market displays. Ageing Nepal’s senior teachers and facilitators encourage students to use their new skills to express themselves in the form of reciting poems, telling stories as well as cracking jokes. 

Since 2016, this pioneering, experimental approach has helped 180 older people build the confidence to better share the benefits of their age and experience with their communities.

United World Schools, UK

United World Schools (UWS) is an international charity ‘teaching the unreached’ in remote and marginalised communities in Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal. Its mission is to help communities develop sustainable education structures. Educators provide ongoing support until each school is self-sustaining and able to provide education for all the community’s children. 

Crucially, it trains teachers from within the community. This preserves indigenous languages, customs and culture all whilst providing children with the foundations of mainstream Burmese education so they can qualify for Burmese-language government schools. Since 2008, UWS have trained nearly 400 teachers and had over 35,000 children enrolled in their schools, transforming the prospects of 225 communities.

COVID-19 may have made this mission more difficult to achieve, but UWS has built the infrastructure to act fast and assist its teachers in navigating the crisis to keep students learning. 

“UWS supports our supply of soaps, and materials like paper and pens to make posters for our COVID-19 awareness campaign...We are also getting training on regular education topics like subject knowledge, teachers’ guide, and lesson plan development," says Stellar, 35, a teacher at a UWS school in Eastern Shan State, Myanmar.

Winners of the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy for the promotion of literacy amongst adults in rural areas and out-of-school youth:

Just Commit Foundation, Ghana

Teachers at the Just Commit Foundation (JCF) take a holistic approach to the idea of ‘literacy’. Reading, writing, comprehension and grammar, in both local languages and English, is at the core of the Foundation. But their broader mission is to help students become life-literate. They design lessons that teach students the management and leadership skills they need to build and maintain their own businesses, even when resources are limited. For the teachers, it’s a joy to see their hard work pay off, “The feeling is always unique when you have the chance to teach Creative Arts for entrepreneurship to...the most disadvantaged students in Ghana.” JCF have so far helped hundreds of children develop the skills they need to support themselves and develop their communities through business, with more than 30 home and school businesses set up and running successfully.

Learning By Teaching, Mexico

The ‘Learning by Teaching’ programme at the Centro Universitario de Participación Social (CUPS) in Puebla, Mexico elevates teachers and community members alike. Running for nine weeks over the summer, the programme transforms bright young university students into teachers, sending them to remote communities otherwise marginalised from mainstream education. The university students gain thorough training in teaching methodologies, and an opportunity to develop and make use of their social conscience. The adults they teach gain a solid grounding in literacy, science and the arts. Over 3,000 adults in the state of Puebla have benefitted from the programme so far, helping to boost the overall literacy rate in the region.

General Literacy Office, Yemen

Since 1998, the General Literacy Office in Sana’a, Yemen has organised the 'Educating and Integrating Refugees in Literacy Classes in Yemeni Society’ programme, operating in 21 provinces and overseeing 215 literacy centres. Its aim is to help refugees complete the formal education courses required for them to be able to access preparatory and secondary education in the country. Despite six years of war bringing widespread disruption to education, the future has not been forgotten. Teachers in Sana’a remain committed to educating not just local children, but the refugees now in their care. 652 students were enrolled in the programme in 2019 alone. By 2023, the General Literacy Office in Sana’a plans to open a further 34 literacy centres, to help  integrate even more refugees into Yemeni society with classes in Arabic literacy, numeracy, and essential life skills.

What unites this year’s prize winners is the understanding that literacy is a means, not an end. Literacy education equips these institutions’ students with the basic tools to build a life for themselves and a better future for their communities. Though often operating in difficult circumstances, each of these organisations demonstrates how bringing education to the marginalised benefits us all.

For media inquiries find out more here.

Image credit: Sidsel Sørensen

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This blog is part of a series of stories addressing the importance of the work of, and the challenges faced by teachers in the lead up to this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations.

Four ways the COVID-19 crisis could change the teaching experience for the better

COVID-19 has brought countless new challenges to teachers and education systems across the world. Teachers have had to adapt and evolve rapidly in response to school closures. 

As schools reopen in a world where lockdowns may be more common-place, teachers have been forced to create and employ new ways for educating children. In this new teaching reality, it is essential to review roles and responsibilities as well as the rights, protections and wellbeing of educators.

Experts are beginning to point to ways that COVID-19 will be the catalyst to create more sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies, and education is a bedrock of those. 

Here are four ways the crisis could change the teaching profession for the better:

New digital skills will equip teachers for the future

As the virus spread and schools closed, teachers had to adapt quickly to an online model of teaching which was new to many. Inequities in connectivity and access to technology, resources and digital support has made the experience different according to school, country and even subject. Often teachers were given insufficient training, support or resources.

Teachers have reported the challenge of their own as well as students’ digital literacy and access to online learning. For many, it was a sudden swerve into an unknown world with a lack of clarity over how different online tools could interact with learning. The skills they have acquired in the past three months have prepared them for an increasingly digital future. 

It was not an easy initiative to take", says Shaila Sharmin, a fellow at Teach For Bangladesh. “We didn't have any resources as we were not prepared for this long lockdown. We had no skill regarding video editing. In spite of the challenges, we made it happen.”

Teachers have a new resilience

One way of strengthening the support for new ways of education delivery is leadership as well as dialogue with the school and peer support networks. Teachers report gaining more confidence through communication with their colleagues, as well as with parents. 

 I help parents and family with tips and suggestions on how to organize the home study routine. I also offer guidance on how to help students understand whether they have managed to reach all the learning objectives", says Débora Garofalo, a technology teacher in the public education network at the São Paulo State Education Secretariat.

It is vital, then, that teachers are listened to and their concerns heard as new forms of education are developed.

Developing support systems with colleagues and sharing technical knowledge and expertise has improved online teaching skills as well as building community at a time of stress and isolation.

Teachers report that peer learning has been a key element of developing online methods. Sharing solutions and what has worked for different teachers will help educators build networks and a more resilient way of teaching.

What makes it manageable is the fact that we are in it together", says Anne-Fleur Lurvink, a secondary school teacher, from Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Resources gaps have been exposed

Resources are central to strengthening the future of education and preventing a generational crisis in response to COVID-19. Governments will now be under more pressure to protect education funding and rethink how teachers are motivated. 

Teachers have proved that they are the front line workers “who hold the system together” and so they need support and resources to help them do their jobs. Protection of physical health and safety as schools reopen must be a fundamental right. Teachers may be facing challenges at home as well as professional upheaval. Therefore offering support and resources for psychological well-being and mental health as well as professional help will be important as the crisis continues. 

Respect for the profession has grown 

Calls to seize the chance to address the education crisis that many countries were already experiencing before the pandemic are rising. Parents having to homeschool their children has given many a new perspective on what it takes to educate.

Suggestions of how to improve teaching includes greater support for the teaching profession, protecting teachers from burnout which can lead to absenteeism and leaving the profession, enhanced communication and connectivity and making digital platforms open source and free rather than run by private companies. Schools and education systems which engaged the most with parents, teachers and students are showing signs of increased resilience. 

Another area is evolving curricula to represent what is relevant to the world today and its inhabitants, during a climate and biodiversity crisis and at a time of science denial and misinformation. 

As COVID-19 has shown, the wellbeing of the planet and the health of humanity are inextricably linked. Teachers and the education they provide are integral to a more sustainable future.

Cover photo credit: Dan Gaken/Flickr

This blog is part of a series of stories addressing the importance of the work of, and the challenges faced by teachers in the lead up to this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations.