Happy to teach: Strengthening supportive school communities

Part III of UNESCO’s Happy Schools webinar series

In many school systems, happiness and academic achievement are seen as competing priorities. However, a growing body of global research shows that positive school environments are important levers for long-term learning outcomes and the well-being of students and teachers. Simply put, a happy learner will keep learning and a happy teacher will keep teaching.

UNESCO helps policy-makers understand the vital role of happiness in – and for – learning through the Happy Schools framework. The framework divides the concept of a 'happy school' into 4 pillars: people, process, place and principles. This framework helps governments adopt a system-wide approach to developing holistic policies that enable safe, supportive, and stimulating learning spaces where all students can learn and thrive.

On World Happiness Day 2023, UNESCO kicked off a Happy Schools webinar series to discuss each of the four pillars of framework in a dedicated discussion. This third installment will explore the people pillar to:

• Discuss systemic changes needed to improve relationships between teachers, students, parents, school leaders, staff, community members, and managers to establish and sustain positive learning environments where teachers are happy to teach and students are happy to learn.
• Share perspectives from around the world on the importance of supporting teacher well-being by strengthening the happiness of the school environment and attractiveness of the teaching profession.
• Encourage all to join Happy Schools in partnership and commit to happiness and a whole school approach to learning as the foundation of quality education.

Strong school-based relationships are the foundation of positive learning environments and outcomes. This webinar will celebrate World Teacher’s Day by highlighting the critical need to strengthen relationships between teachers, students, families, staff, communities and managers to ensure schools are happy places to teach and to learn.

Participants: Policy-makers, development partners, researchers, school leaders, teachers, young people and their guardians.

Format & session logistics: The webinar will take place on Zoom in English and Spanish.

Register here to participate

Join the second KIX webinar of 2023, focusing on strategies to improve the production, retention and motivation of competent teachers amidst the changing context of the profession in Africa.

Bringing together educators, school leaders, partners in education, and education authorities from Africa and beyond, the webinar aims to:

1. Uncover potential obstacles impacting both intrinsic and extrinsic teacher motivation within the changing teaching profession.
2. Reflect on global, regional, and national frameworks promoting the attraction of the best and most motivated candidates to teaching, while addressing impediments.
3. Explore innovative ways to reinvigorate the standing, voice, and societal value of teachers.
4. Foster hands-on learning among educators, school leaders, and experts to enhance well-being, especially during and after school reopening.
    

Webinar Details

Topic: What is the Game Changer on Teacher Motivation in Africa amidst the Changing Context of the Profession?

Date: Thursday, 21st September 2023

Time: 15:00 – 17:00 (East Africa Time)

Duration: 2 hours

Registration link: https://unesco-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtcu2prj4uGdaiLOoSStctysf6yf9Fzmoa

The webinar is organized under the framing of the KIX Africa 19 hub managed by UNESCO-IICBA, UNICEF ESARO and AU-IPED. The target audience includes:

• School leaders, teachers, and education partners at various levels in Africa and beyond;
• KIX Africa 19 hub focal points and their counterparts overseeing the teaching profession;
• AUC teachers cluster members, teacher unions, education institutions, Ministries of Education in Africa, education experts, NGOs, and stakeholders dedicated to teacher development and management
   

Click here to register for the webinar.

Join the first KIX 2023 webinar, focusing on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) for teachers. This webinar will serve as a platform for educators and education specialists in Africa to engage in a meaningful discussion on enhancing mental well-being and support systems for teachers.
 

Webinar Details

Topic: Mental Health: The Best Investment for Teachers in Africa? Subtopic: A Systemic Approach to Strengthening Mental Health & Psychosocial Support for Resilient Teachers and Learners in Africa

Date: Tuesday, 22nd August 2023

Time: 15:00-17:00hrs (East Africa Time)

Duration: 2 hours
 

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Christian Addai-Poku, Secretary General of AFTRA, Chief Executive of the National Teaching Council of Ghana, and President of Education International, Africa Region, will address the importance of prioritizing teachers' well-being and psychosocial support for better learning outcomes in Africa.

The webinar is organized under the framing of the KIX Africa 19 hub managed by UNESCO-IICBA, UNICEF ESARO and AUC-IPED, with the goal of fostering valuable insights into building a resilient teaching community. It aims to:

1. present the key issues impacting teacher mental health and wellbeing
2. share national and regional interventions on MHPSS for teachers; and
3. identify strategies to create linkages with various stakeholders.
    

Join the webinar by registering via the Zoom link here and be a part of this crucial conversation.

Join the first KIX 2023 webinar, focusing on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) for teachers. This webinar will serve as a platform for educators and education specialists in Africa to engage in a meaningful discussion on enhancing mental well-being and support systems for teachers.
 

Webinar Details

Topic: Mental Health: The Best Investment for Teachers in Africa? Subtopic: A Systemic Approach to Strengthening Mental Health & Psychosocial Support for Resilient Teachers and Learners in Africa

Date: Tuesday, 22nd August 2023

Time: 15:00-17:00hrs (East Africa Time)

Duration: 2 hours
 

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Christian Addai-Poku, Secretary General of AFTRA, Chief Executive of the National Teaching Council of Ghana, and President of Education International, Africa Region, will address the importance of prioritizing teachers' well-being and psychosocial support for better learning outcomes in Africa.

The webinar is organized under the framing of the KIX Africa 19 hub managed by UNESCO-IICBA, UNICEF ESARO and AUC-IPED, with the goal of fostering valuable insights into building a resilient teaching community. It aims to:

1. present the key issues impacting teacher mental health and wellbeing
2. share national and regional interventions on MHPSS for teachers; and
3. identify strategies to create linkages with various stakeholders.
    

Join the webinar by registering via the Zoom link here and be a part of this crucial conversation.

Education International and UNESCO-IICBA are jointly organizing a webinar entitled "Social Dialogue: Promoting Quality Education and Decent Working Conditions for Teachers in Africa" , to be held on 29th June 2023, from 9:00am to 11:00am GMT/Accra Time.

The discussion will centre around a framework for social dialogues proposed by Education International to promote quality education and decent working conditions for teachers in Africa. The webinar aims to:

1. Gather contributions from partner organizations to strengthen the framework.
2. Propose a validation process for the framework for social dialogues in Africa.
3. Anticipate the adoption of the framework by the governments of African Union member states.

Dr Carlos Vargas, Head of the Secretariat of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, will participate in a panel discussion focussing on country and partner perspectives on social dialogue.

• Please click here to register for the webinar.

The recent raise of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT is raising questions among educators and education leaders: how to deal with AI-related plagiarism? Should these tools be banned from schools? Is it possible to integrate them safely and effectively in teaching settings? How to build critical knowledge on AI systems among educators, to make sure that the management of educational data is secure, privacy-proof and used for the common good?

AI tools can potentially enhance teaching, learning and assessment, but at the same time they must be handled with care, to avoid harmful consequences.

The webinar will focus on the concept of Ethical AI, that is the development, deployment and use of AI that ensures compliance with ethical norms, principles and core values. Specifically, the recent “Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and data in teaching and learning for educators” by the European Commission will be presented and illustrated with practical examples.  

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

Please register at this link.

The Organization of American States (OAS) alliance with ProFuturo invite you to the launch of the Virtual Map and the presentation of the report “Digital Education in the Americas: Good Practices for Inspiration”.

Learn about the most innovative experiences in the use of new digital technologies for Education that are taking place in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the event, you will discover the main findings of the Mapping of Good Practices in Digital Education of the Americas carried out in 2022, which aimed to highlight the initiatives of educational institutions and Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean that, during the pandemic, promoted learning opportunities and generated a positive impact in the academic community.

Watch the event streamed here.

The Organization of American States (OAS) alliance with ProFuturo invite you to the launch of the Virtual Map and the presentation of the report “Digital Education in the Americas: Good Practices for Inspiration”.

Learn about the most innovative experiences in the use of new digital technologies for Education that are taking place in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the event, you will discover the main findings of the Mapping of Good Practices in Digital Education of the Americas carried out in 2022, which aimed to highlight the initiatives of educational institutions and Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean that, during the pandemic, promoted learning opportunities and generated a positive impact in the academic community.

Watch the event streamed here.

The Organization of American States (OAS) alliance with ProFuturo invite you to the launch of the Virtual Map and the presentation of the report “Digital Education in the Americas: Good Practices for Inspiration”.

Learn about the most innovative experiences in the use of new digital technologies for Education that are taking place in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the event, you will discover the main findings of the Mapping of Good Practices in Digital Education of the Americas carried out in 2022, which aimed to highlight the initiatives of educational institutions and Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean that, during the pandemic, promoted learning opportunities and generated a positive impact in the academic community.

Watch the event streamed here.

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?