The Futures of Teaching

As the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (Teacher Task Force) noted during its 11th Policy Dialogue, “The future of education will be marked by rapid changes […] creating opportunities and challenges for learners and teachers”. The Teacher Task Force also recommended that teachers be adequately prepared to teach relevant skills, knowledge and values allowing learners to “critically and actively manage change” and shape a just and equitable future (« Preparing Teachers for the Future We Want », 11th Policy Dialogue Forum Declaration).

Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (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 12th Policy Dialogue Forum will focus on the issues pertaining to the implications of new learning goals for teacher preparation and training, addressing inequalities and diversity, and innovations and their implications for teacher education and training and practices.

What does all of this mean for teaching?

Without doubt, discussions around the shifting learning goals and skills sets of the future are challenging accepted notions about what is expected of teachers, how they should teach and even what form the classroom should take. To develop the skills now needed by learners, teachers in next-generation learning environments are expected to transition away from traditional ‘listen and respond’ practices towards more interactive, agile, student-centered approaches. This requires a more diverse skill set than before, with teachers being ready to innovate in how they interact with and work with learners in developing new knowledge, being early adopters of technologies that support learning and working more effectively within physical and virtual learning communities

This also reaffirms the unresolved challenge posed in attracting and retaining qualified candidates to teaching profession. Countries and governments will need look at how policies can make the teaching profession more attractive, but also redefine teaching standards and working conditions

The 12th Policy Dialogue Forum aspires to provide insights, stimulate and provoke further discussions rather than affirming or defending any particular trend. Through a combination of round tables, plenary and breakout sessions, a broad spectrum of teacher stakeholders will come together in Dubai to debate:

• How are changes in thinking around the purposes of learning and skills expectations impacting on teachers and teaching practice? What are the implications for instructional models, the learning-teaching process, learning contents and how learning is assessed?
• How do we ensure that teaching in the future contributes to reversing current disparities and rather leaving learners even further behind?
• What innovations might support teacher’s new roles, or tap new sources of expertise and talent? What are the implications for the organization of the teaching corps?
• Beyond the pedagogic dimensions of teaching, what do the projected changes imply for governance of public education, the design of teacher policy and the teaching profession more generally?

These discussions will be articulated under the following three thematic areas:

1. Emerging trends in learning and their implications for teachers and teacher education and preparation
2. Future role/s of teachers in addressing education inequalities
3. Innovations: Implications for teacher education and practice

The Policy Dialogue Fora aim 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 Fora foster more effective collaboration, communication and resource mobilization towards the achievement of the Teacher Target and SDG 4 among TTF members.

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.

Teaching: A Profession

Context

To achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, the world will need to increase the supply of teachers, especially in developing countries and small island developing states. The latest statistics indicate that to attain universal primary education by 2020, it is predicted that countries will need to recruit a total of 10.9 million primary teachers. By 2030, the demand is expected to rise to 25.8 million teachers. But a quality education system is more than just an issue of supply and demand. This is why Target 4.c of SDG 4 makes a specific reference to the issue of quality: "By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers..."[emphasis added].

Indeed, the Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for Education 2030, adopted by Member States in May 2015 for implementing SDG 4, committed Member States to "ensure that teachers and educators are empowered, adequately recruited, well-trained, professionally qualified, motivated and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems" [emphasis added].

Since the adoption of the SDGs and the Framework for Action, the objective of the International Task Force on Teachers is to use the platform of its annual policy dialogue fora to unpack the meaning and implications of the teacher target to its members and partners. To this end, the 8th Policy Dialogue Forum in 2015 focussed the discussions on "Implementing the Teacher Target in the Sustainable Development Goals and Education 2030 Agenda", while the 9th Forum in 2016 addressed the theme of teacher motivation. Continuing along these lines, the theme for the 10th Forum, to be held in Lomé, Togo, is to unpack the concept of 'professionally qualified'.

What does 'professionally qualified' mean?

The issue of teacher quality pervades all discourses about improving education systems and students' learning outcomes. This is because for children to be adequately prepared for today's complex labour market -- and to live as responsible citizens in our diverse and inter-connected societies -- they need to develop the right knowledge and skills for the 21st century. A quality education today needs to go beyond skilling children in reading, math, and science. A quality education today needs teachers who can work with children to help them be creative and critical thinkers; children who can collaborate and communicate with people of diverse cultures; children who can be innovators while at the same time advocating for environmental and social justice. Today's world needs highly skilled professional teachers who can shape the future citizens of the world we want to live in.

The challenge arises as to how to implement, support, and monitor teacher quality. At a minimum, governments can regulate the minimum level of formal qualifications required to become a teacher. A 'qualification' is typically defined as the formal outcome (or award) of an accreditation or validation process that certifies that an individual has learned the knowledge, skills, and wider competences according to specific standards (OECD, 2010). For example, countries can establish that the minimum qualification required for becoming a teacher is a Bachelor's degree. The purpose is to ensure a common understanding of the minimum knowledge, skills, and other competences required for an individual to gain entry in the profession.

Formal qualifications, however, are just the first step in the process to becoming a teacher. Qualifications function in conjunction with teaching 'standards'. Broadly speaking, standards describe what teachers should know and be able to do, including desirable levels of performance at different stages of a teacher's career (Ingvarson, 2002). In this sense, standards can be used to define and measure teaching competence with respect to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are valued in a profession. In some countries, teaching standards are designed, monitored, and governed by professional teaching councils, with which teachers must register in order to obtain a licence to practice. Qualifications frameworks and standards of practice, therefore, are two mechanisms that governments or teacher organisations can implement to ensure quality teaching.

Teaching: a profession?

The 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers argues that "Teaching should be regarded as a profession: it is a form of public service which requires of teachers expert knowledge and specialized skills, acquired and maintained through rigorous and continuing study; it also calls for a sense of personal and corporate responsibility for the education and welfare of the pupils in their charge." However, some sociologists dispute this and argue that teaching is a semi-profession in comparison to other professions such as medicine or law. These scholars claim that teaching lacks three core characteristics that define a profession: (1) a profession is informed by a profession-specific, systematised, and scientific body of knowledge that informs the daily activities of practitioners; (2) practitioners of the profession undergo a lengthy period of higher education training and induction, and engage in continuous professional development; and (3) a profession has autonomy in connection with the right to exercise professional judgement and decision-making in practice and in governance over the profession (Guerriero, 2017).

Qualifications, standards, codes of conduct, and professional registration can, therefore, function to 'professionalize' teaching, and these mechanisms can be put in place to ensure that teachers are 'professionally qualified', perform as professionals, and are treated as such. A professionally-qualified teaching workforce can address two challenges in achieving SDG 4: First, a professionally-qualified teacher can ensure the public that the individual at the front of the classroom possesses the minimum required qualifications and competencies to facilitate quality learning. Second, teaching, as a profession, can improve the status of teaching, generally perceived to be a low-status profession. As a consequence of higher prestige, teaching can become an attractive career choice. With the projected teacher shortage impacting Africa the most, professionalizing teaching can support developing countries to meet the increasing teacher demand. While many advancements have been made in the last few decades to professionalize teaching in developed countries, progress in developing countries has been slow.

For this reason, the organizers of the 10th Policy Dialogue Forum have chosen the theme: "Teaching: A profession". In plenary and breakout sessions, discussions will be organized around the following four sub-themes:

• A. Knowledge and Competencies: What does the research literature say about what knowledge, skills, and competencies are required for effective teaching? Do teacher education institutions revise their curricula to incorporate new research findings of effective teaching? What are the processes by which countries in different socio-economic and cultural contexts apply and recognize teaching qualifications? How are qualifications linked to professional standards? How can the aspirational value of teaching standards be captured? What ongoing professional learning is required of practising teachers to ensure they maintain currency and stay abreast of best practice?
• B. Governance: Should countries implement governance mechanisms to ensure adherence to professional teaching standards; and if so, how? What roles can various stakeholders at each level of the governance system play? What should be the specific role of teacher organisations in developing and monitoring teaching standards? What are the cyclical requirements for review and approval of teacher education programs to ensure they maintain currency and are informed by best practice?
• C. Values and Accountability: What fundamental values should govern the profession? How should professional teaching standards address accountability of the actors? How can the public interest in the teaching profession be accounted for in the process of developing values? What are the professional dispositions required for teaching, for example, a sense of empathy, an ability to work collegially?
• D. Addressing Diversity: How should professional teaching standards be developed, implemented, and monitored to ensure inclusion and equity with respect to the diversity of teachers, learners, and teaching-learning processes? How can standards be developed so that they remain focused on the whole learner as well as the diversity of learners?

In addition, pre-forum sessions will be organized around the work of the Task Force's four thematic groups, which are:

1. Inclusion and equity in teacher policies and practices;
2. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and distance education for teacher development;
3. Teacher management in crisis and emergency situations; and
4. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers and facilitator.

These thematic groups have been working with the Task Force on an ad-hoc basis and meet regularly during the policy dialogue fora. The goal of the pre-forum sessions is to help the groups organize in a more systematic and institutional way to support the Task Force's program during the new phase of its strategic plan. The groups will examine challenges regarding the professionalization of the teaching workforce and set out possible steps for Task Force members to support national efforts in improving the quality of teaching. Within each thematic area, the objectives of the pre-forum sessions are to:

• identify and discuss key policy issues to improve the professionalization of teachers;
• identify existing initiatives and programs to build collaboration;
• identify technical and financial partners to reach out to and include in follow up actions;
• identify lead organizations and countries on specific areas of joint actions; and
• suggest means of follow-up after the session.

The Forum will also host a series of exhibitions curated by Task Force members around the theme of professionalization of teaching. The exhibitions will take a wide variety of forms such as video documentaries, multimedia presentations, print and online publications, and galleries of prints and photography.

Who will participate in the forum?

Approximately 350 participants including delegates from Teacher Task Force Member States, representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, teachers and educators, teachers' union representatives, researchers, and policy makers will participate in plenary sessions and thematic working groups.

Expected outcomes

With the objective of the 10th Policy Dialogue Forum to strengthen exchanges on the professionalization of teaching by unpacking the meaning and implications of 'professionally qualified', the primary expected outcome will be to develop a global report on a core set of standards for the teaching profession. To that end, the expected outcomes of the group discussions, plenary sessions, and the exhibitions will be to:

1. Discuss and agree on a common understanding of the current state of the professionalization of teaching and how to formalize teaching as a profession;
2. Take stock of progress and share good practices on the overall theme and sub-themes in order to develop a global set of core standards for teaching; and
3. Promote collaboration and networking among stakeholders on further research and advocacy at the national, regional, and global levels in order to inform the implementation and monitoring of SDG 4.c.

Motivating teachers, what do we know and what do we need to achieve Education 2030 Agenda?

Context

Teacher motivation is considered as a critical factor in teachers' performance and for the professionalization of teaching. This explains why the global education community gathered at the World Education Forum in Incheon in May 2015, has included the notion of "motivation" in the characteristics of the teachers and educators we need to achieve Education 2030 Agenda in the Sustainable Development Goals: "We will ensure that teachers and educators are empowered, adequately recruited, well-trained, professionally qualified, motivated and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems." [our emphasis]

Through Goal 4 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) World leaders committed to: "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all." This goal is ambitious, yet crucial for the realisation of all other SDGs. To attain this goal, education systems must be supported by a workforce of qualified teachers. However, reality shows a gap between the number of qualified teachers and the number of teachers needed between now and 2030. UNESCO's Institutes for Statistics estimates that globally there's a need to recruit a total of nearly 69 million teachers (over 24 million for primary education and 44 million for secondary education). SDG4.c aims to address this by proposing to "substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small-island developing States.".

Since the adoption of the SDGs and the Framework for Action of Education 2030 Agenda, the objective of the International Task Force on Teachers is to use the platform of its annual policy dialogue fora – its flagship programme – to unpack the meaning and implications of the teacher target and its importance to the other SDG4 targets and the overall SDGs to its members and partners. To this end, it has chosen to focus its 9th policy dialogue forum on teacher Motivation, one of the key concepts in the provisions on teachers in the Incheon Declaration cited above. The theme of the forum is as follows: "Teacher Motivation: What do we know and what do we need to achieve Education 2030 Agenda?" The aim is to take stock of what research says about teacher motivation, what governments do to attract and retain good teachers (for all levels and types of education), what teachers want/need to be motivated, and in turns motivate learners for effective learning outcomes?

Over 300 participants from all regions, including policymakers, practitioners, researchers and development partners will address the above through four sub-themes and through keynote speeches, panel presentations, and discussions in plenary and group sessions. The group discussions will be organized around the following four sub-themes with the use of existing research findings, available data and examples of good practice in different contexts:

1. Motivation and Teacher Education
2. Teacher Motivation and Teachers' Working Conditions (at School Level)
3. Education Governance and Teacher Motivation
4. Teachers and Learners Profiles and Teacher Motivation

What do we know about motivation?

Teacher motivation is a significant factor in student performance. In recognising this, it leaves no doubt that teacher motivation is essential to quality education. Therefore, motivation should be a priority in the governance, the management and the training of teachers, and viewed as such from the initial stage of a teachers' career, and throughout. The concept of motivation is difficult to define due to its close relationship with both environmental factors and an individual's characteristics . As a result, researchers and practitioners tend to explore different concepts they deem closely related to motivation, or to identify factors that affect motivation.

A well-known theory on motivation is the self-determination theory of Deci and Ryan (2000) . They conceptualise motivation as for an individual 'being moved to do something' and being committed to it. Within the concept, they distinguish between different types of motivation based on the objectives and reasons which lead to the action. The two main types of motivation are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, "Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfaction, rather than for some separable consequence." (p.56), whereas "Extrinsic motivation is a construct that pertains whenever an activity is done in order to attain some separable outcome." (p.60). As intrinsic motivation comes from the individual, from personal interests and characteristics, it is perceived to be a strong form of motivation. It is in contrast to extrinsic motivation that is induced and needs to be sustained by external factors.

Important needs for intrinsic motivation are autonomy, competence and relatedness. The term autonomy refers to the freedom of making your own choices, as choice is a vital factor for internalization of motivation for example through choosing topics for professional development, or having a voice in decisions. The feeling of competence refers to being able to complete a task, which will allow for satisfaction, and pride, while not being able to complete a task might lead to frustration and insecurity. Competence could be encouraged through education, evaluation and an effective system. The last factor identified is the feeling of belonging, people are more likely to act, if they feel that behaviour is being valued by others, whether that be a family, a peer group, or society. This feeling can also come from peer learning, good school leadership and a strong support system.

A second relevant theory is the Equity theory by Adams (1965). The assumption behind the theory is that employees search for a balance between what they perceive as the contributions they deliver and the benefits they receive in their work. Adams argues that basic conditions are necessary for an employee to be satisfied or motivated, when the basic conditions are not met, it can affect motivation and with that performance. An opportunity for motivating the teacher workforce, thus lies in the improvement of their working conditions.

Today few studies have been conducted on teacher motivation in developing countries. At the forum we aim to better understand teacher motivation by discussing and reflecting upon existing research, available data and actual practice.
 

What do we need?

During the forum we will focus on unpacking the concepts used in the Incheon Declaration, underlined in the statement below:

"We will ensure that teachers and educators are empowered, adequately recruited, well-trained, professionally qualified, motivated and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems".

The forum will cover four sub-themes, which will be discussed in groups, and focus on the different fields and levels in which teacher motivation can be better understood and encouraged.

1. Motivation and Teacher Education

Teacher education is the beginning of every qualified teacher's professional career. Motivating and inspiring teachers during their professional education, both pre-service and in-service are fundamental for a lasting and satisfying career. Similarly, teachers must continuously develop professionally to adapt. For example, among the tools and means proposed to enhance teaching and learning is new technology. The comfort or discomfort felt by the teacher and the learners in applying technology to innovate practice is important. Questions to explore under the sub-theme include: How do initial and in-service training programmes (continuous professional development) serve to attract and retain good teachers? How do they develop the knowledge, skills and values that teachers and learners need to achieve effective teaching and learning? What curriculum contents and pedagogical practices, including the use of ICT, will support teachers and teacher educators to be professionals and ensure quality learning, etc.

2. Teacher Motivation and the Teachers' Working Conditions at School Level

Working conditions influence job satisfaction and motivation, and affect the teachers' dispositions to their job and their performance in the classroom. The school environment with the relations among the actors, the school ethics and values contributes to the feelings of belonging, competence and relatedness. Although, working conditions will impact individuals differently, factors such as access to professional support, facilities and materials should be considered as basic requirements for teaching, job satisfaction and the retention of teachers. The support that (novice) teachers receive from school leadership and senior teachers matter. It could reduce premature exit or attrition. Teacher autonomy, peer learning, relation with community, etc. will be explored here.

3. Education Governance and Teacher Motivation

For the proponents of the Incheon Declaration, it's only when educational systems are efficient and effectively governed that they could be able on a sustainable basis to attract to, and retain in the teaching profession individuals capable in willing to address the learning needs of all. Issues of teacher recruitment and equitable deployment, standards, certification, code of conduct, qualifications frameworks, teachers' participation in policy decision making, teacher salary and other incentives need to be addressed in a systemic manner. The importance of teacher data in planning cannot be overlooked; similarly, the question of what indicators could be used to monitor the dimension of motivation in SD4.c need to be further dug into

4. Teachers and Learners Profiles and Teacher Motivation

Closely related to the overall governance matters is the consideration that should be given to how education systems attract people from marginalized groups, minorities, people with special learning needs to espouse teaching and be supported to stay in the profession. How is teacher distribution organized for rural communities, remote areas, contexts of crisis and emergency to be staffed with teachers qualified of adequate qualifications? What about motivation challenges for teachers in sub-sectors like technical and vocational education (TVET), literacy and non-formal education, pre-primary education? For education to be of quality, the clear and deliberate attention to inclusive and equitable approaches to teacher management is fundamental.

Expected Outcomes

As mentioned previously, the purpose of the 9th International Policy Dialogue forum is to unpack the concepts used in the Incheon Declaration: "We will ensure that teachers and educators are empowered, adequately recruited, well-trained, professionally qualified, motivated and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems." Within an overarching framework of teacher motivation and the four sub-themes identified, the outcome of the keynote speeches, panel presentation, and discussions in plenary and group sessions will be to have:

1. Stock taken of current research, prevailing policies and good practices in relation to the sub-themes
2. Common understanding developed on the concept of "Teacher Motivation" among members and stakeholders,
3. Gaps identified in knowledge, data, expertise and resources
4. Partnerships promoted among stakeholders for collaborative initiatives on further research, exchange of expertise, advocacy actions at global, regional and national levels 

Implementing the Teacher Target in the Sustainable Development Goals and Education 2030

The 8th Policy Dialogue Forum of the TTF will take place in Mexico City from 15 to 17 March 2016. The Forum will be preceded on 14 March by the annual meeting of the TTF and a regular session of its Steering Committee who will take important decisions regarding the reorientation of the partnership to respond to the SDGsand Education 2030.

The main focus will be on sharing relevant policies, practices and tools among international key stakeholders with a view to facilitating the understanding, implementation and monitoring of the teacher-related target in the SDGs and new the education agenda.

The TTF has chosen to concentrate on the theme: Implementing the Teacher Target in the Sustainable Development Goals and Education 2030.

At the Forum, discussions will be organized around the following four sub-themes:

1. Teacher Education (pre-service, in-service and professional development; innovation and pedagogy);
2. Teaching and Learning;
3. Financing teaching and teacher development; and
4. Monitoring and evaluation in teacher development;

Altogether, with around 100 national participants from Mexico, nearly 300 participants are expected to attend the Forum and other related events taking place in Mexico. This includes a diverse representation of national governments, global and regional intergovernmental organizations, international nongovernmental organizations, teacher organizations and associations, development agencies, private companies and foundations. International experts will also participate.

The concept note, the agenda, the registration form and other relevant materials are available on the TTF Website.

Background

Providing education opportunities to all children, youth and adults is a basic human right and a lever of national and global development. Teachers play a central role in this provision. The Oslo Declaration - an outcome of the Eighth Meeting of the High Level Group on Education for All (EFA) held in Oslo (Norway) in December 2008 - endorsed the creation of an International Task Force on Teachers for Education for All (EFA). The Task Force is a voluntary global alliance of EFA partners working together to address the acute shortage of qualified and well-resourced teachers required to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015, as well as quality education for all.

The Task Force aims at strengthening its activities in the areas of advocacy and policy analysis, as well as in support to countries for data collection, evidence-based policy making, and the establishment of strong partnerships to improve the quality of educational systems. The Task Force is built on the principle of promoting coordination among international and regional efforts to develop and strengthen national policies on teachers to help improve the performance of education systems by addressing the shortage of qualified teachers. To this end, whenever its annual meeting gathers, the Task Force organizes policy dialogue fora, which serve as a platform where all stakeholders share their experiences on how they deal with teacher-related challenges.

The seventh Policy Dialogue Forum to be held in Rabat (Morocco) in December 2014 is the first forum under the second phase of the Strategic Plan 2014-2016 of the Task Force. The Forum will focus on sharing relevant policies, practices and tools among international key stakeholders with a view to facilitating the understanding, implementation and monitoring of the teacher-related target in the post-2015 international education agenda. It will thereby provide inputs to the development of the framework of action on the target and the Education agenda, which will be discussed at the 2015 World Education Forum in Korea. The seventh Policy Dialogue Forum will be held soon after the release of the United Nations Secretary General's Synthesis Report on sustainable development goals and comes before the negotiation phase of the post-2015 process, which is expected to start early in 2015. Meanwhile, the Technical Advisory Group of the EFA Steering Committee working on indicators has come up with its preliminary report. Building on these developments, the Forum aims to make concrete recommendations on teachers for the monitoring of post-2015 education agenda.

Furthermore, under the Strategic Plan 2014-2016, the Teacher Task Force coordinates the Technical Reference Group (TRG) on Teacher Effectiveness for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The objective is to provide advisory and technical support in order to strengthen teacher components in education sector plans in GPE-supported countries through collaboration with Local Education Groups (LEG) and by bringing the experiences and knowledge from the broad network of the Task Force. At the Policy Dialogue Forum 2014, the role of the Task Force as the coordinator of the TRG of the GPE will be discussed and clarified.

Why a Policy Dialogue Forum on teachers in post-2015 international education agenda?

With the deadline for the EFA goals less than one year away, the international community, aware of unmet challenges and emerging ones, as well as opportunities, has been debating the education we want for a global sustainable development after 2015 in various international arenas. Teachers are recognized as pivotal in the achievement of quality and equitable education, and sustainable development. However, there remain daunting gaps with regards to the provision of this needed teaching force, as evidenced by the analysis in the EFA Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2013/4:

• Shortage of trained teachers: Globally, 1.6 million additional teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015. In a third of countries with data, less than 75% of teachers are trained according to national standards.
• Overcrowded classrooms: In 2011, in 26 countries there were over 40 pupils per teacher in primary school classrooms.
• Insecure contracts: Over the past decade, teachers have increasingly been hired on short term, insecure contracts in order to quickly fill the gaps. In West Africa, contract teachers made up half the teaching force by the mid-2000s.
• Inadequate salaries: Teachers in some developing countries don't earn enough to lift their households above the poverty line. Average teacher salaries are below US$10 per day in 8 countries.

The EFA GMR 2013/4 puts the spotlight on the importance of implementing policies to unlock the potential of teachers so as to support them in overcoming the global learning crisis. The Report proposes strategies that governments should adapt to:

• Attract and retain the best teachers;
• Improve teacher education;
• Allocate teachers more fairly; and
• Provide incentives in the form of appropriate salaries and attractive career paths.

It also highlights the areas of teacher governance that need to be strengthened to ensure that the benefits of these strategies are realized.

At the Global EFA Meeting (GEM) held in Muscat, Oman in May 2014, ministers, heads of delegations, leading officials of multilateral and bilateral organizations, and senior representatives of civil society and private sector organizations adopted the Muscat Agreement, with two key dimensions:

• An overarching goal of the post-2015 education agenda, aiming to "Ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030" as the overarching goal and
• The translation of this goal into global targets, for which minimum global benchmarks and relevant indicators will be identified and/or developed.

One of the seven targets mentioned in the Muscat Agreement is related to teacher: "Target 6: By 2030, all governments ensure that all learners are taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers."

The Open Working Group (OWG), which was established in January 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly based on the outcome document ("the Future We Want") of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 ("Rio+20"), proposed goals and targets on sustainable development for the Post-2015 development agenda. The latest draft goals proposed by the OWG as of July 2014 include a teacher-related target: "Goal 4.c: by 2030 increase by x% the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states".

As a multi-stakeholder and multi-constituency alliance of partners, the Task Force takes it as its prime responsibility to facilitate the understanding of key teacher-related issues to unpack for effective and efficient policies at national and global levels in this critical period. Furthermore, as the coordinator of the strategic objective on teacher effectiveness in the Global Partnership for Education's Strategic Plan 2012-2015, the Task Force aims to collect and provide information and tools to guide countries implement and monitor their teacher policies.

Objectives of the Policy Dialogue Forum and participants

The objectives of the Policy Dialogue Forum 2014 are:

1. To share relevant knowledge, experiences and tools on how teacher targets and indicators could be developed to implement and monitor national teacher policies.
2. To gather inputs for concrete recommendations on teachers for the development of the framework for action, which will be discussed at the 2015 World Education Forum in Korea.
3. To reach consensus on recommendations for actions to be pursued at country, regional and/or international levels with regard to teacher effectiveness.
4. To identify ways of enhancing collaboration and partnership among various teacher stakeholders at country, regional and/or international levels with a view to achieving the teacher-related target in post-2015 international education agenda.

The whole membership of the International Task Force on Teachers for EFA is invited to the forum. This includes a diverse representation of national governments, global and regional intergovernmental organizations, international nongovernmental organizations, development agencies, private companies and foundations. International experts will also participate.

The Management of Teacher Education - Trends in policies and practice: what works, why and for whom?

The discussions were rich and productive under four sub-themes:

1. Teacher Education: structures, contents and outcomes
2. Attracting and retaining teachers
3. Equity and teacher education management
4. Teacher education management in Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster (PCPD) contexts

The Forum drew following recommendations on issues under area deepening the evidence base for policy formulation and implementation:

1. To further investigate the management and planning of the content of initial teacher education particularly as this relates to the development effective classroom practices.
2. The management and identification of the content and delivery of in-service teacher professional development programmes.
3. To examine the diverse ways in which governments had successfully sought to manage and improve teacher recruitment and retention through interventions to improve working conditions and the general quality of professional life (including professional development).
4. To examine the quality of the working and professional lives of women working in rural areas and the impact this has on their effectiveness and motivation.
5. To examine the impact of policy decisions about ‘language of instruction’ on teacher effectiveness and teacher motivation.
6. To establish a data collection process that allows the monitoring of teacher recruitment, retention and education in ways comparable to that currently in place for pupil enrolment.
7. To work with national governments to improve data collection and analyses at a national level comparable to that suggested in recommendation 6, such work it was recommended should extend to technical support in the development of national policies and strategies around all aspects of the work of teachers.
8. To provide support to build, manage and implement teacher education programmes in Post-Conflict Post Disaster (PCPD) contexts.
9. To set out proposals, in the context of recommendation 8, for structures of inter-agency management and co-operation in supporting teachers in PCPD situations.
10. That the Task Force establish a dialogue with the research donor community to seek to make the issue of teachers and teacher education a much higher priority in the commissioning and funding of research addressing education and development.

"Three Years of Global Partnership to Address the Teacher Challenge, Three Years from the 2015 EFA Benchmark: Achievements and Perspectives"

The forum was articulated around five major sub-themes:

1. Teacher education and professional development
2. Teachers’ status and working conditions;
3. Inclusion in teacher policies and practices;
4. Teachers and teaching for sustainable development;
5. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher policies and practices.

The forum enabled a rich and productive debate on what we have learnt on these issues, about networks and initiatives to build our work on, and how the Task Force could refocus its work to better inform effective teacher policies and practices around the world.

"Teacher Challenges for EFA in India"

The main characteristic of the New Delhi forum was that it gave attention to teacher issues in India, yet did so under a global perspective.

The shortage of teachers has been identified as a crucial factor in the success of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in India (Education for All). With the growing emphasis on quality education and the Universalisation of Secondary Education (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan-RMSA) foreseen as a priority after 2015, the need to address a wide range of teacher-related issues is a pressing priority. The National Curriculum Framework (2005) and the Right to Education act (RTE) that came into force in April 2010, has furthermore emphasized the need to address both the qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of the teacher deficit.

The following five sub-themes constituted the substance of the debates:

1. Continuing professional development for teachers;
2. Decentralization: challenges and steps forward;
3. Feminization of the teaching force;
4. Public-private partnerships to address the teacher gap;
5. Monitoring & Evaluation of teacher policy reforms.

The national authorities showed a keen interest in this meeting and made sure that teachers and administrators at central and state levels participated in the conference. Recommandations on each of the five themes were adopted for consideration by the national government and by the Task Force at global level.

On the fringe of the Policy Dialogue Forum held in New Dehli, an experts meeting on teachers was also organized by the E9 countries.

"Ensuring Equity in Country Policies and Practices for Providing Quality Teachers toward Achieving the EFA Goals by 2015"

In the forum, discussions focused on the following:

1. Sharing country experiences and best practices to develop comprehensive planning of equitable provision in teacher management to ensure quality teachers for EFA ;
2. Sharing knowledge on decentralized structures and mechanisms of teacher management with regard to equitable provision of quality teachers for EFA ; ; and
3. Sharing experiences across countries with respect to programs and strategies to address a range of issues that cover shortages of teachers, career development, recruitment, training, deployment, induction and continuing professional development ;
4. Sharing the model of effective and context-issues such as global warming and climate change, the use of ICTs in education, education for sustainable development, crisis and post-conflict situation.