The Teacher Task Force and UNESCO will host a session on teachers at the Global Education Meeting 2024 on 1 November in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Titled "Valuing, diversifying, and investing in the teaching profession," this event will address the pressing global teacher shortage, with an estimated 44 million additional educators needed by 2030.
The session will mark the launch of the Teacher Task Force’s Call to Action as part of its #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign. As the global phase of the campaign concludes, the Call to Action urges immediate and comprehensive action to value, diversify, and invest in the teaching profession, following the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession.
The programme will also feature a presentation of key findings from the Teacher Task Force and UNESCO Global Report on Teachers, emphasizing the challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers worldwide. It will explore strategies to value and support teachers, promote workforce diversity, and secure financial investments to improve working conditions and professional development.
Participants will discuss successful initiatives, policy measures, and the importance of social dialogue to amplify teachers' voices. The event will offer a platform for sharing experiences and innovative approaches to accelerate progress towards SDG 4 by addressing the teacher shortage.
At the event, a call to action will be launched as part of the Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign, urging all education stakeholders to take immediate and comprehensive actions to value, diversify, and invest in the teaching profession. This call, aligned with the UNSG High-Level Panel’s Recommendations on the Teaching Profession, will be voiced at the 2024 Global Education Meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil, at the parallel session on Teachers.
Click here for more information on the 2024 Global Education Meeting.
This blog was submitted by Childhood Education International and authored by Julie Kasper in the framework of the Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign to showcase members' good practices in addressing teacher shortages worldwide.
To address teacher shortages and workforce diversity, Childhood Education International’s Pathways to Teaching Project (PTP), supports refugee and (im)migrant teachers in overcoming barriers to rejoin the teaching profession in the U.S.
As the Teacher Task Force’s #TeachersMissing campaign and the UNESCO Global Report on Teachers have made clear, there is a crisis in recruiting and retaining an additional 44 million teachers worldwide to achieve universal access to primary and secondary school by 2030.
What is hidden, perhaps, and particularly devastating about this statistic is the fact that there are talented and dedicated teachers who have been forcibly displaced from their homes and resettled/migrated to a new country who are eager to rejoin the teaching profession but are barred or not warmly welcomed to do so.
How can they fulfil their purpose as classroom teachers in their new country of residence?
The Center for Professional Learning (CPL) at Childhood Education International has been exploring answers to these questions over the past year through their Pathways to Teaching Project (PTP). This project is focused on supporting individuals of refugee and (im)migrant backgrounds, called PTP Fellows, now living in the United States as they learn, network, and develop unique plans for navigating hurdles to join the U.S. teacher workforce.
Funded by the New Schools Venture Fund and in partnership with local and state educational authorities, talent management staff, workforce development programmes, refugee/(im)migrant service organizations, higher education and alternative certification programmes, and a generous team of supporters comprised largely of diverse classroom teachers, PTP Fellows from around the world spent eight months learning about U.S. education systems and certification and licensure requirements.
“The Pathway [project] helped me understand that I wasn’t alone because at first I felt like I was alone. I didn’t know what direction I would go to. The Fellowship helped re-establish my confidence towards pursuing my teaching career goal. It helped provide me with my first community and association where I was able to learn about the U.S. education system.” PTP Fellow from Nigeria
PTP Fellows were welcomed into a community of practice, where they were supported in their exploration of the education systems and various education careers in the U.S. The community of practice also helped them to take first steps along their journeys to re/join the global teacher workforce.
“In this program, I was encouraged by everyone's positive words and I felt that I can face any problem and reach my goal.”
PTP Fellow from Afghanistan
Like other countries around the world, in the United States teacher shortages are of increasing concern; studies reveal 55,000 teacher vacancies and more than 270,000 underqualified teachers working in U.S. classrooms.
Alongside these concerns around teacher retention and recruitment in the U.S., diversification of the U.S. teacher workforce is a top priority. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education, and many researchers cited in an IES infographic on this topic, argue that a diverse teacher workforce is essential for equitable experiences and outcomes for students.
“I remember one of the [PTP] speakers said ‘I carry a drum from my country; I carry a map of my country; I wear an attire that was made in my country.’ Those make wonderful, remarkable connections to kids. Because when they look at you and see themselves in what you wear or what you say, it cuts down on the problems that you will face in the classroom.”
PTP Fellow from Liberia
Individuals arriving in the U.S. with teaching experience are uniquely positioned to address both of these needs. In addition, they can offer cultural and linguistic support for students and families.
In CPL’s inaugural PTP cohort of 40 individuals, more than 23 languages are spoken. This abundance and talent is needed in the teacher workforce in the U.S. and around the world.
Why then, is it so challenging for “newcomers” to re/join education careers after moving from one country to another?
What might we do, as a global community and within our national and local education systems, to lower barriers and create more welcoming pathways to joining education professions, including to becoming classroom teachers?
What we have learned from our PTP initiative is that the solutions are not immediate nor one-size-fits-all. PTP Fellows made important progress toward achieving their goal of teaching in the U.S.
Thirty-three percent secured new educator roles for the 2024-2025 school year, including three individuals who are now full-time classroom teachers. Others are earlier in their journeys and are working toward securing copies of their transcripts and diplomas (an impossibility for many Afghan women currently), learning more English, passing licensure exams, and building their knowledge and skills to thrive in U.S. classrooms. They are also becoming familiar with curricula-in-use, learning technologies, and diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and policies that are different from their previous teaching contexts and countries.
88% of participants have a unique, SMART pathway plan that they feel confident will help them in becoming a teacher. These plans were co-created with coaches, mentors, and the project team at CPL to ensure they are realistic and achievable based on each educator’s life circumstances, talents, needs, and local context.
Welcoming pathways that don’t assume certain language and/or digital fluencies, documentation/degree(s) in hand, or shared life/cultural experience are essential. There are brilliant individuals in communities around the world who want to teach. Their cultural and linguistic assets can enrich schools and improve experiences and outcomes for every learner. Let’s invite these #TeachersMissing back into our education systems!
To learn more or to connect with the work the Center for Professional Learning at Childhood Education International is doing, please contact Julie Kasper, Director of Teacher Learning and Leadership: jkasper[at]ceinternational1892.org.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com/Monkey Business Images
The #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign is supported by:
The Teacher Task Force will present its Global Report on Teachers, titled Addressing teacher shortages and transforming the profession, at the Fourth International Educational Conference of the Gulf Arab States Educational Research Center (GASERC), taking place on 5-6 November 2024 in Kuwait.
This event will bring together educational leaders, policymakers, and experts to discuss the future of education in Gulf countries, focusing on critical issues like teacher shortages and education reform. The conference will cover a range of themes, including supporting teachers to lead education transformation, the role of digital technologies in education, and improving education financing. The Teacher Task Force will highlight key findings from the Global Report, emphasizing the urgent need to address global teacher shortages and transform the profession.
The event will be conducted in both Arabic and English, with simultaneous interpretation available. Participants can also follow the conference online via a livestream on the GASERC YouTube channel, with recorded sessions available afterward.
The Teacher Task Force will present the Global Report on Teachers, Addressing teacher shortages and transforming the profession, at the 2024 Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX).
This regional forum, held from 11 to 13 November 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda, will bring together stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving education across the continent. Focusing on the global teacher shortage, the Teacher Task Force will contribute insights from the report, emphasizing the importance of transforming the teaching profession to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).
For more information on the event, click here.
Photo: Rooftop
On 5 October, the French version of the Global Report on Teachers will be unveiled at a launch event during the 19th Francophonie Summit in Paris, organised in partnership with CONFEMEN.
This launch is part of the broader activities taking place at the Village de la Francophonie on 5 October, aligning with the day's theme of "teachers as drivers of innovation across the Francophone world". Originally released in English at the TTF Policy Dialogue Forum in Johannesburg in February 2024, the Global Report on Teachers provides vital insights into the state of the global teaching profession. The release of its French version will ensure its key findings and recommendations reach a wider Francophone audience, offering a fresh perspective on teacher development and challenges across the region.
The programme of the event will feature dynamic presentations focusing on the report’s findings. Notable speakers include Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force Secretariat, and Borhene Chakroun, Director of Lifelong Learning Policies at UNESCO, who will share their insights on how innovation in education can reshape the teaching profession. The CONFEMEN stand will host ongoing activities throughout the day, with the opportunity for visitors to discover cutting-edge initiatives targeting teacher development, with contributions from various governments and organizations participating in the summit.
This event will bring together a wide audience, including diplomats, international and national organization representatives, civil society members, and educators, with live streaming and real-time updates shared across social media platforms.
Entry is free to all who wish to attend. For further information, please consult the webpage of the Village de la Francophonie.
The United Kingdom National Education Union (NEU) is organising a roundtable during the Labour Party Conference to 'soft-launch' its new report, Prioritise teachers to transform education: How tackling the global teacher shortage can unlock the UK’s development agenda.
The event will feature contributions from the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, focusing on how addressing the global teacher shortage is essential for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 and supporting Labour’s wider development goals. Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force, will provide insights from the Recommendations of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and the Global Report on Teachers, emphasising the importance of UK government action on teacher recruitment, retention, and training in the Global South.
Event Goals:
The United Kingdom National Education Union (NEU) is organising a roundtable during the Labour Party Conference to 'soft-launch' its new report, Prioritise teachers to transform education: How tackling the global teacher shortage can unlock the UK’s development agenda.
The event will feature contributions from the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, focusing on how addressing the global teacher shortage is essential for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 and supporting Labour’s wider development goals. Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force, will provide insights from the Recommendations of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and the Global Report on Teachers, emphasising the importance of UK government action on teacher recruitment, retention, and training in the Global South.
Event Goals: