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Event
  • 25.02.2025

Designing and Implementing Effective CPD Programs for Teachers

Africa Teachers Webinar Series

The series is co-sponsored by the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities, the African Union, the European Union’s Regional Teacher Initiative for Africa, and the Global Partnership for Education’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange, a joint endeavor with the International Development Research Centre. The webinar series is organized by UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa, which leads the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub and is a partner in the European Union’s Regional Teacher Initiative for Africa.

Designing and Implementing Effective Continuous Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Thursday, February 27, 2025, 3 PM East African Time (GMT+3)

Key Speakers:

  • Dr. Ebby Mubanga, Deputy President, AFTRA & Registrar, Teaching Council of Zambia
  • Dr. Victoria Kisaakye Kanobe, Senior Project Coordinator, UNESCO IICBA
  •  Prof. Betty Ezati, Chairperson of Taskforce, Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education
  • Dr. Astérie Nyirahabimana, Assistant Lecturer, University of Rwanda, Kigali
  • Dr. Christian Addai Poku, Registrar of the National Teaching Council, Ghana

Links: 

Policy document
  • pdf
  • 18.10.2024

AI Competency Framework for Teachers

The AI competency framework for teachers addresses defines the knowledge, skills, and values teachers must master in the age of AI. Developed with principles of protecting teachers’ rights, enhancing...
Policy document
  • pdf
  • 18.10.2024

AI Competency Framework for Teachers

The AI competency framework for teachers addresses defines the knowledge, skills, and values teachers must master in the age of AI. Developed with principles of protecting teachers’ rights, enhancing...
Blog
  • 12.07.2024

Investing in teachers delivers positive returns for students

This blog was submitted by the Global Partnership for Education Secretariat in the framework of the Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign to showcase members' good practices in addressing teacher shortages worldwide.   


The shortage of teachers is a crisis undermining education systems globally. To achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030, 44 million additional teachers are needed. This shortage impacts sub-Saharan Africa the most: on average, there are 56 students per trained teacher.

The consequences of teacher shortages include large class sizes, increased teacher workload and financial strain on school systems, which impact the quality of education.

For GPE, quality teaching is a priority and, as such, GPE aims to invest in quality teachers and teaching in all partner countries.

Continuing teachers’ professional development in Cambodia

In Cambodia, the availability of well-trained teachers remains a critical issue, and teachers have had scant opportunities for professional growth. A GPE grant funded the Ministry of Education’s reform programStrengthening Teacher Education Programs in Cambodia (STEPCam). Implemented by UNESCO, STEPCam focused on in-service training and mentoring of teachers.

Thanks to STEPCam, 4,000 primary school teachers have been trained in early-grade Khmer and 3,000 in early-grade math. In addition, over 3,000 mentors, school directors and education staff have been trained to support teachers in their professional development. “My mentor taught me the methodologies I lacked,says Chhay Kimsak, a teacher at Chambok Haer Primary School in Siem Reap. “This helps fill the gaps in my class activities.”

Upskilling primary school teachers in Punjab, Pakistan

The TALEEM program (Transformation in Access, Learning, Equity and Education Management), funded by a GPE $50.6 million grant, is helping the government of Punjab bring more children to school to receive a quality educationby giving teachers the right skills. More than 126,000 primary school teachers had received training on basic teaching skills as of January 2024.

Under TALEEM, the School Education Department set up the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), a centralized data platform that helps the government better manage the teacher workforce, among other things. In IMIS, a school locator application helps assistant education officers easily find the schools they visit twice monthly to provide feedback to teachers, coach and mentor them, and track their progress, all of which can easily be recorded and shared via the system.

Developing early childhood education in Djibouti

GPE and partners supported the education ministry in developing a new skills framework for preschool teachersapproved in 2022accompanied by pedagogical guides that encourage learning through play. The primary and lower secondary curricula were also revised to focus on the building blocks of early literacy and numeracy, life skills, and other relevant content.

The programpartly funded by GPE and implemented in partnership with the World Bank and the Education Above All Foundationsupports 252 schools and has trained 2,000 teachers on the revised skills framework and curricula. In addition, classroom observation tools adapted from the World Bank's TEACH/COACH tool serve as a basis for the national preschool inspector and pedagogical advisors to support and monitor teachers. "Although preschool is important, specific practices for this age group are not yet common. So it is necessary to support teachers through in-person and in-classroom training," says Naglah Mohamed, National Preschool Education Inspector.

Improving teaching quality in Nigeria

Nigeria’s North East region has experienced civil armed conflict since 2009, significantly impacting education delivery. With GPE support, the government has increased the number of certified teachers and improved the quality of teaching in three states severely affected by the conflict. In 2021, GPE funding, with UNICEF as grant agent, supported a training program for 18,360 teachers in need of minimum level qualifications.

Also, in partnership with Teaching at the Right Level Africawhich groups children according to learning level rather than age or gradethe GPE-funded project provided over 3,600 teachers with professional development and mentoring to deliver remedial education to children in grades 4–6. Thanks to the project, 176,000 students from 386 schools strengthened their foundational learning skills: after 9 months, only 7% were considered beginners in English (compared to 54% at the start of the program) and 3% in mathematics (compared to 28%). These promising results have led GPE and partners to advocate for more investment to sustain and scale the program.

Increasing the number of female teachers in Yemen

Since 2015, ongoing conflict in the Republic of Yemen has disrupted learning for millions of children, but the majority of out-of-school children are girls. Girls face barriers to education such as early marriage, parental concern about long distances to schools, and unsafe schools. Also, “Most parents do not want their daughters to be taught by male teachers,” says Jawaher, a 16-year-old student at Al-Haj Naser Muthana School for Girls, AlDhale’e Governorate. There is a lack of female teachers, particularly in rural areas.

A GPE program enabled 2,162 female teachers to be hired to work in remote areas. This funding continued support to 1,600 teachers for eight years, and to almost 700 more teachers whose salaries were at risk due to the suspension of a World Bank program. In rural communities, female teachers play a key role in advocacy and outreach to families around the importance of education for girls, and GPE has pledged to support these teachers for another three years through new grants.

Photo credit: GPE/Roun Ry


The #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign is supported by:

donors

Event
  • 22.05.2023

ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth educational transformation overnight, resulting in increased digitalization and the rise of online and hybrid learning. It also brought on challenges such as inequity in access to education and learning loss.

The “Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum on the Future of Education” will be convened on 24-26 May 2023, via video conference, to discuss inclusive recovery from the challenges brought on by the pandemic and explore steps to invest in the future of education. The ASEAN Secretariat will host the forum virtually, as it will shape the Future of Education Flagship Reports and Policy Briefs, which will include future-oriented insights, recommendations, and pathways for the transformation of education toward attaining ASEAN Education 2050.

The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education” will discuss 3 thematic areas: 

  • Transforming Education Agendas: Building the Future We Want
  • Teacher Development: Innovations and Best Practices for the Future of Education and Beyond
  • Inclusive ASEAN 2050: Building Equitable Societies and Learning Cities

On 25th May, the session entitled "THE FUTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING" will be led by the Teacher Development Chief of Section and the Head of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 Secretariat M. Carlos Vargas, as he will present the impacts of the developments in the educational technologies brought about by the 4th industrial revolution on the future of education in the region. Teacher education experts on ICT will be invited to define the connection between learning, teaching, new education goals, and employability. 

For more information and to register, visit the official website of the conference.

Event
  • 22.05.2023

ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth educational transformation overnight, resulting in increased digitalization and the rise of online and hybrid learning. It also brought on challenges such as inequity in access to education and learning loss.

The “Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum on the Future of Education” will be convened on 24-26 May 2023, via video conference, to discuss inclusive recovery from the challenges brought on by the pandemic and explore steps to invest in the future of education. The ASEAN Secretariat will host the forum virtually, as it will shape the Future of Education Flagship Reports and Policy Briefs, which will include future-oriented insights, recommendations, and pathways for the transformation of education toward attaining ASEAN Education 2050.

The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education” will discuss 3 thematic areas: 

  • Transforming Education Agendas: Building the Future We Want
  • Teacher Development: Innovations and Best Practices for the Future of Education and Beyond
  • Inclusive ASEAN 2050: Building Equitable Societies and Learning Cities

On 25th May, the session entitled "THE FUTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING" will be led by the Teacher Development Chief of Section and the Head of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 Secretariat M. Carlos Vargas, as he will present the impacts of the developments in the educational technologies brought about by the 4th industrial revolution on the future of education in the region. Teacher education experts on ICT will be invited to define the connection between learning, teaching, new education goals, and employability. 

For more information and to register, visit the official website of the conference.

Event
  • 24.01.2023

European Commission Regional Teachers' Initiative for Africa launch event

Read the press release here.

The Regional Teachers' Initiative for Africa is a European Commission flagship initiative that will invest EUR 100 million under the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package in accelerating the training of new teachers for Sub-Saharan Africa and responding to its estimated need for 15 million new qualified teachers by 2030.

It brings together the European Union, the African Union, UNESCO, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 and EU Member States to support African partner countries in their efforts to achieve a more competent, motivated and inclusive teacher workforce to increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession and, ultimately, to improve learning outcomes in basic education. 

The Regional Teachers’ Initiative will focus on making teaching both an attractive job prospect for promising young professionals and a life-long learning experience. It puts an emphasis on teachers in basic education acquiring and transmitting digital and green skills – skills that future-proof students for the world of tomorrow, enable them to plug into the opportunities of the digital transformation, and engage them in the preservation of our planet. The initiative will also cover teaching in crisis contexts.

Team Europe brings together four EU Member States agencies (from France, Germany, Belgium and Finland) to create a new Teacher Regional Facility. Through the Facility, the programme makes available funding, expertise, capacity building and tools to strengthen the teacher profession and improve teacher professional development, specifically in digital and green skills, as well as to build evidence and research capacity.

The programme’s actions will be implemented at the continental, sub-regional and multi-country levels, mostly in Sub-Saharan African countries and with some activities open to North African countries.

The event is planned to be web streamed at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2445181303

Event
  • 18.05.2022

Transforming Education Summit – First public consultation on the discussion paper on teachers

In the lead-up to the Transforming Education Summit 2022,  the first public consultation focused on the discussion paper prepared as part of the Action Track 3 on “Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession”.

Replay the consultation here.

The second consultation, on 14 June, will focus on the promising practices and potential new initiatives.

Action Track 3 is being led by representatives of two member states (Nigeria and Romania) and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 has been officially designated as the co-lead stakeholder. The work of the Action Track is being supported by the UN Support team, comprised of the International Labor Organisation (anchor), and UNESCO (alternate), UNICEF, UNHCR, UNRWA and the World Bank.

News
  • 05.10.2021

Teachers at the heart of education recovery: What does the latest data tell us about the state of the world’s teachers?

After more than 18 months of variable school closures and remote and hybrid teaching, World Teachers’ Day in 2021 is celebrating teachers and affirming their critical role in maintaining education as a vital service to all children as well as a fundamental human right.

To better inform education stakeholders’ decisions and policy-making, it is essential to understand the state of the world’s teachers through timely measurement and the use of internationally comparable statistics to identify gaps and opportunities. So, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 has published a World Teachers’ Day 2021 Factsheet as well as a policy brief based on the recent findings of the Trends in International Mathematics and Sciences Study (TIMSS) report* to shed more light on teacher needs, and the need for teachers.

The data in these documents reflect a dire need to reassess the importance of teachers and raise the profile of the profession. In 2016, a projected 69 million additional teachers were needed to ensure universal primary and secondary education by 2030 (SDG target 4.1), and much more must be done to improve teachers’ qualifications, working conditions and status. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis has not passed, which means pandemic-related needs persist, including teacher vaccination and professional development for the expanded use of remote or hybrid teaching now and in the future. Efforts must be made to ensure that addressing these needs does not take place at the expense of the progress that has been made so far.

To ensure education recovery, more teachers are needed in many countries

Although the total number of primary and secondary teachers worldwide increased by 41% between 2000 and 2020, there are still too few teachers to meet current and expanding needs. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa, where 4.1 million more teachers are currently needed to achieve universal primary and secondary education: almost 1 million in primary and 3.3 million in secondary education. Action to address this shortage is needed urgently, since, as new Teacher Task Force research shows, the gap is projected to increase to 11.2 million teachers by 2025 and 15 million by 2030, based on increasing school-aged populations and replacements needed due to teacher attrition. Needs are greatest in Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Niger and the United Republic of Tanzania, where more than 5% annual growth in the number of teachers is needed just to meet the targets of full primary and secondary enrolment by 2030.

Teacher attrition (teachers choosing to leave the profession) remains a significant contributing factor to the teacher gap in many countries. Teachers abandon their profession for a complex variety of reasons, including low social recognition of their work, lack of opportunities for professional development, insufficient promotion prospects and difficult working conditions. Over a five-year period, primary-level teacher attrition was as high as 22% in Guinea, 17% in Sierra Leone, 16% in Mauritania and 13% in Benin.

While COVID-19’s effects on teacher attrition are not yet clear, in many contexts the pandemic has led to calls for additional teachers to be recruited to ease school reopening, putting further strain on limited financial and other resources. In 2021, however, a global survey by UNESCO/UNICEF/World Bank/OECD on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures revealed that just 31% of 103 countries recruited additional teachers for school reopening, ranging from about half of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to just one-quarter in sub-Saharan Africa, of which most were southern African countries.

More needs to be done to improve teachers’ qualifications 

International comparisons of teacher qualifications are difficult, since teacher training standards and programmes differ widely and have varying entry prerequisites, duration and content. More and better indicators to measure and monitor the multiple dimensions of teacher qualifications need to be developed in order to understand the quality of teachers, their capacity to perform in the classroom and their needs for additional training and continuing professional development (CPD).

Globally, 83% of teachers at both primary and secondary level hold the minimum required qualifications to teach, but the situation differs by region: 97% of teachers at both levels are qualified in Central Asia, compared to 67% of primary and 61% of secondary teachers in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, regional figures hide wide variations between countries. In Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti and Mauritius, 100% of teachers hold the minimum required qualifications, compared to just 62% in Niger, 52% in Gabon, 27% in Sao Tome and Principe and 15% in Madagascar.

The TTF policy brief, based on TIMSS data, shows that teacher qualifications play an important role in learning outcomes. A multi-country analysis suggests that teachers who have a bachelor’s degree that included pedagogy, have participated in CPD and have at least 10 years’ experience are correlated with stronger learning achievement in many countries.

A bachelor’s degree was the most common qualification among teachers in the 64 high- and middle-income countries participating in TIMSS. Typically, teachers from higher-income countries have higher qualifications: 90% of grade 4 students in mathematics had a teacher with a post-graduate degree in Czechia, Germany, Finland, Poland and Slovakia. On the other hand, in some middle-income countries, including Armenia, Morocco and Pakistan, more than one-third of students had teachers who had only completed upper secondary education.

Teachers need support in addressing pandemic-related needs

Governments have struggled to support teachers in transitioning to remote and hybrid teaching models during school closures. Not only do teachers need training in how to use technologies, they also need specific support for distance learning pedagogies as well as emotional and psychosocial support. The joint UNESCO/UNICEF/World Bank/OECD survey shows that the most common support provided to teachers was instruction on distance education. Globally, 71% of countries provided instructions, ranging from 100% in Eastern and South-eastern Asia to 45% in Central and Southern Asia and 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. In comparison, teachers in just 42% of all countries were provided with ICT tools and internet access, ranging from 67% in Europe and Northern America and 56% in Latin America and the Caribbean to 22% in Eastern and South-eastern Asia and only 6% in sub-Saharan Africa.

The pandemic has precipitated a growing trend in distance education and technology integration in teaching, but according to the TIMSS report, CPD to support online education was inadequate in many countries before the crisis. Across countries, just 35% of grade 4 students had mathematics teachers who had been trained in technology integration.

Finally, for teachers to fully contribute to education recovery, their health and well-being must be strengthened and sustained. This includes prioritizing teachers during vaccination efforts. Currently, 71% of countries have included teachers in a priority group for vaccination (See Teacher prioritization map in COVID-19 vaccine rollout plans). Vaccination efforts are at different stages worldwide, but some countries which did not prioritize teachers have very low rates of fully vaccinated teachers – for example, 12% in Venezuela and 9% in Algeria. Teachers’ mental and emotional health must also be sustained, but just 6 in 10 countries globally and 3 in 10 in sub-Saharan Africa offered psychosocial support to help teachers deal with the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has generated additional strain for teachers who, in many cases, already faced high workloads with inadequate support. To weather the crisis, and to meet the SDG 4 promise, more must urgently be done to give them the resources they need. 


Visual credit: © UNESCO with icons from Shutterstock.com

*The Trends in International Mathematics and Sciences Study (TIMSS) report is an international assessment of student achievement in mathematics and sciences, which contributes to understanding teacher quality and its role in student achievement through a set of indicators that contextualize teacher qualifications within students’ school environments. The new TTF policy brief is based on the latest TIMSS 2019 report, which covered 64 countries.