As part of its new main line of action on national and regional policy learning, The Teacher Task Force is co-organising a series of workshops for the Arab States Region with the Regional Center of Quality and Excellence in Education (RCQE) and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS), in cooperation with Lebanon and Hamdan Foundation. The first workshop will be held on 13 June, followed by a second workshop in October/November. Between the two workshops, additional reflection by the TTF Secretariat and the regional Steering Committee members will take place to verify assumptions and refine regional policy learning needs for the second workshop.

In particular, the workshops aim to foster exchange and discussion in support of holistic and comprehensive teacher policy development as illustrated in the Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG) and its nine interconnected dimensions as a framework. This workshop will focus on common policy learning need related to teacher education and professional development including issues related to teacher training, qualifications, licensing, and its relationship to career structure and teaching standards. In addition to this, countries demonstrated an interest in the ICT dimension of teacher education including ICT skills and pedagogies for remote and distance teaching. 

Country focal points and deputies, including both country and organisational members, will be invited to the Arab States regional workshop. Other key partners with regional remits will be consulted and invited to actively participate as they are familiar with regional policy learning needs.

For more information contact Thomas, Yael (y.thomas@unesco.org) or Algohani, Maram (m.algohani@unesco.org).

The Saudi Ministry of Education will organize the International Conference and Exhibition for Education (ICEE) 2022 from 8 to 11 May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia under the theme “Education in Times of Crises: Opportunities and Challenges”.

As part of this, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 will organize a panel discussion entitled “Transforming the teaching profession: innovation in times of crisis”.  to explore different forms of innovation to transform the teaching profession during and after crises. This panel discussion aims to explore different forms of innovation to transform the teaching profession during and after crises. The discussions will focus on the following questions:

• What resources, support, and institutional arrangements do teachers need in order to enhance their capacity to innovate in their practice? How can ministries, local districts, school leaders and their peers help?
• How can innovations be documented, analyzed and shared to inform and promote the adoption or scaling up of innovations in teaching and learning?
• What competencies do teachers need to be confident pedagogic innovators, in particular during times of crisis? And how does the curriculum of teacher education need to be rethought to enable teachers to reflect on their practice and produce knowledge that feeds into education policy?
• What are the transformations that education systems need to undergo in order to allow teachers more room for innovation and to amplify their autonomy? What forms of support and resources do they require?
• How can teachers become more prepared to deal with crisis and emergencies and how can teacher policy become more flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances? How can public education systems, embrace local innovations that meet local needs while ensuring consistency in quality and equity?

INEE’s Teachers in Crisis Contexts (TiCC) Collaborative, in partnership with the LEGO Foundation, Education International, Oxfam, UNESCO, and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, have come together to support a Call to Action to transform sector-wide support to teachers in crisis contexts.

Part of this work is to share examples of promising approaches and persistent challenges across policy, practice, and research related to four thematic areas: teacher well-being, teacher management, teacher professional development, and school leadership and governance.

To register, click the link below:
https://rescue.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Cq_2KwxhRuuPAqI8eWsOxw

(After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the web event.)

N.B. This web event will be conducted in English with closed captioning in English.

This webinar is the third in a series to contribute to a growing evidence base on how to improve the ways that we support teachers through prioritizing teacher management policies and practices (i.e., recruitment, deployment, compensation, etc.). Teacher management is key to providing quality, equitable education and improving the classroom climate for all students so children and youth are better able to learn. As our colleague Francis, a Ugandan teacher explained, “I would like to see the teachers’ working conditions improve soon. Right now there are too few teachers for the many pupils. We lack teaching resources and proper working conditions.”

In this webinar, teachers and Education in Emergencies actors working in Myanmar, East Africa, and the Middle East will share their reflections on the challenges and opportunities of teacher management policies and practices in crisis contexts. Through a moderated discussion, these actors will come together to share good practice, lessons learned, and opportunities for change to improve teacher management for teachers doing extraordinary work amidst extraordinarily challenging settings. 

If you have any questions about the web event, contact: eventseries@inee.org.

REPLAY THE MEETING RECORDING.

This year’s international celebration of the World Teachers’ Day (WTD) focuses on teachers contributions in recovery processes following especially the Covid-19 crisis and its long lasting effects on education and learning in countries the world over. 

Capitalizing on the WTD 2020 celebration in the Arab Region (8 October 2020) organized by the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF) and UNESCO Office in Beirut, that focused on teacher leadership, this year’s WTD celebration will tackle more specifically what changed (and what needs to change) with regard to teacher continuous professional development. Along with other measures, such as those related to salaries, working conditions and social protection, quality continuous professional development is of utmost importance in preparing and supporting teachers to be at the heart of education recovery. 

Webinar topics

The webinar guest speakers and participants are invited to focus their intervention around several questions, as follows:

• How did the Covid-19 crisis impact teachers in the Arab Region?

• What (new) needs and challenges in terms of teacher professional development have occurred/been identified?

• What are some examples of successful/effective/innovative responses in terms of teacher professional development?

• What lessons and policy recommendations can be drawn to date.

Concept Note with draft agenda

REGISTER HERE

The forum aims to: 

• Introducing recent trends in education and the future of education 
• Introducing the great changes in teaching and learning processes of the future 
• Discussing the impact of technology on the future education. 
• Presenting international experiences about future education. 
• Defining  role of principal as a leader and teacher's role in future education and what are the competencies that must be provided. 
• Identify future education environments. 
• Defining  the role of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in education 

Consult the detailed programme.

Registration link.   

WATCH THE RECORDING IN ENGLISH, FRENCH AND ARABIC

Join this unique dialogue on the futures of teaching in the Arab States and beyond, organized by the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, in collaboration with Hamdan Foundation and the Futures of Education initiative.

The unprecedented disruption to schools caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting over 63 million teachers worldwide, has shone the spotlight on the challenges of educational systems preparedness to adapt rapidly to changing demands. With sudden switch to distance learning, teachers found themselves in unconventional settings that require more than digitized curricula and adaptive teaching methods and tools. The pandemic has further reinforced the need to ensure continuous teacher professional development, psychological support and socioemotional learning, a reinforcement of teacher's rights and working conditions, as well as ongoing research and assessment of rapidly changing teaching and learning.

The 90-minute consultation will provide a space for dialogue, between members of the International Commission on the Futures of Education and teachers and lead experts from the region and beyond. 

Panellists will include:

• Antonio Novoa, Ambassador of Portugal to UNESCO and a member of the International Commission - Futures of Education initiative
• Carlos Vargas Tamez, Head of the Secretariat for the International Task force on Teachers for Education 2030 and Teacher Development Section, UNESCO
• Christine Safwat, Executive Director of Educate Me Foundation, Egypt
• Elisa Guerra, Founder of Colegio Valle de Filadelfia, Mexico and a member of the International Commission - Futures of Education initiative      
• Hilmi Hamdan, Educational expert and trainer at the General Union of Palestinian Teachers, Palestine

• Malak Zaalouk, Director at the Middle East Institute for Higher Education at the American University in Cairo, Egypt

• Najwa Al Hosani, Acting Dean, College of Education, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
• Sobhi Tawil, Director of the Futures of Education initiative, UNESCO

The outcomes will be summarized in a report to be submitted to the Futures of Education Initiative, feeding into the final report to be released in November 2021.

The event will offer simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Arabic and is open to all.

Consult the concept note and the detailed programme with the speakers' bios.

Register here.