Introduction to Worlds of Education
More importantly our campaign has received the enthusiastic endorsement of classroom teachers. Testament to that was the magnificent panel of teachers at our culmination event at the UN in New York in September who movingly outlined their hopes and aspirations for the young people they taught and for their profession.
This Worlds of Education celebrates teachers and teaching. In a way it is a special edition because it features world class writers focusing on the future of the teaching profession.
The OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey 2013 (TALIS) is one of the most comprehensive international studies of teachers’ views currently being undertaken. The former OECD Project Leader for TALIS, Kristen Weatherby, succinctly describes its important findings.
As Guntars Catlaks, EI’s Reseach Co-ordinator, explains, EI’s Research Board believed that as the TALIS findings were so important for teachers that independent academic analysis was worthwhile. Linda Darling Hammond provides a fascinating new picture of teachers’ views from the TALIS data. And in his hard hitting article Michael Fullan warns against the dangers of misinterpretation of the TALIS data and any individual ‘cherry-picking’ of TALIS conclusions. Both articles are written by globally renowned researchers with a history of studying education systems.
Pauline Rose, the former Director of UNESCO’s Education Global Monitoring Report, provides a unique picture of the challenges and opportunities facing developing countries in supporting the growth of their teaching professions.
Jelmer Evers, a classroom teacher from the Netherlands, gives us a preview of the book that he and his teacher colleague Rene Kneyber are editing which is based on their popular pamphlet published in the Netherlands, ‘Flipping the System’ and which will describe the reforms all countries need to take to empower the teaching profession.
Last but not least, Hugh MacLean the Open Society Foundations’ Education Support Programme, records the voices of teachers in developing in order to illustrate his powerful argument that in order for countries to improve their education systems the teaching profession must be empowered to take charge of teacher policy.
Every article contains vital messages for teachers and policy makers alike. Equally vital are your views and comments on them!
Fred Van Leeuwen General Secretary, Education International.
