Ei-iE

Leading the profession

Teachers and education support personnel know what works in education. They must be recognised and empowered to deliver on the promise of quality education for all.

At the classroom level, academic freedom and professional autonomy are prerequisites for quality teaching and learning. As professionals, teachers must be afforded the space and trust to make the best possible decisions for their students.

Beyond the classroom, education policy must be informed by the vast experience and insights only education professionals can provide. We advocate for the involvement of teachers, education support personnel and their representative organisations in all decision-making in education and work towards the expansion of sectoral policy dialogue at all levels and in all countries.

Our work in this area

  1. News 10 July 2023

    EI's 9th World Congress: Beyond the pandemic, educators and their unions continue to make a difference worldwide

    Education International (EI) General Secretary, David Edwards presented his Progress Report at the 9th EI World Congress, the first-ever World Congress held online, where union delegates representing EI member organisations around the globe are connecting from July 11th–13th around the theme of ‘Growing our unions, elevating our professions, defending democracy.’

    EI's 9th World Congress: Beyond the pandemic, educators and their unions continue to make a difference worldwide
  2. News 10 July 2023

    Educators must use their power to mobilise their unions, communities, and the world for quality education

    Education International (EI) President Susan Hopgood has formally opened the EI 9th World Congress , the first-ever World Congress held online, where union delegates representing EI member organisations across the globe the world will meet from July 11th–13th around the theme of ‘Growing our unions, elevating our professions, defending democracy.’

    Educators must use their power to mobilise their unions, communities, and the world for quality education
  3. Worlds of Education 7 July 2023

    Education International's 30th anniversary: Inspiration from the past and hope for the future

    Fred van Leeuwen

    The creation of Education International in 1993 was a critical advance for global education trade unionism. It put together democratic, international trade union and professional associations and ended long-standing divisions and rivalries. It also united all education sectors. The new organisation became the undisputed global voice of education workers and...

    Education International's 30th anniversary: Inspiration from the past and hope for the future
  4. Worlds of Education 6 July 2023

    Past and present, women persist in their unions

    Susan Hopgood

    Three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, teacher unionists were in an optimistic mood. Mary Hatwood Futrell, president of the US-based National Education Association, rose to address a global gathering of teacher leaders in Stockholm as Education International was born.

    Past and present, women persist in their unions
  5. News 4 July 2023

    Your guide to connect with colleagues at the 9th EI World Congress

    The 9th Education International World Congress is taking place online from July 11 to 13. This edition of our World Congress will focus on “Growing our unions, elevating our professions, defending democracy." Read on to see how you can connect with colleagues from across the world!

    Your guide to connect with colleagues at the 9th EI World Congress
  6. News 4 July 2023

    Education International's 9th World Congress: Ready to come together globally for inclusive education and stronger unions

    Union delegates representing Education International (EI) member organisations around the globe are getting ready to participate in the EI 9th World Congress , from July 11th–13th with the theme ‘Growing our unions, elevating our professions, defending democracy.’

    Education International's 9th World Congress: Ready to come together globally for inclusive education and stronger unions
  7. News 23 June 2023

    Iraq: Kurdish authorities must arrange for speedy payment of all salary arrears

    Insisting on the negative impact of the delay in the payment of the salaries of teachers and education support personnel in Kurdistan, the President of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Union (KTU), Abdulwahed Muhammad Haje, has made it clear that arrears in the payment of Kurd educators’ salaries must be considered as...

    Iraq: Kurdish authorities must arrange for speedy payment of all salary arrears
  8. News 23 June 2023

    Go Public! Finance quality, equitable, and inclusive education in Africa

    Top education union leaders from Cameroon, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia took stock of gains in their fight against education privatisation through the Education International (EI) Global Response campaign and committed to continue these efforts through EI's Go Public! Fund Education campaign to mobilise to fully fund public education systems and...

    Go Public! Finance quality, equitable, and inclusive education in Africa
  9. Worlds of Education 21 June 2023

    Teaching society through strike protest songs

    Piotr Kowzan

    Strikes are emotionally difficult because a prolonged absence from work can be challenging for teachers, especially if they spend the strike period in schools with no students. It is often a moment of financial distress for teachers’ families. When confronted by the police, strikers face physical danger as well. But,...

    Teaching society through strike protest songs
  10. Worlds of Education 20 June 2023

    Social justice without quality public education and teachers?

    José Olivera

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) held its 111th annual conference in Geneva (Switzerland) from 5 to 16 June. The ILO is the only tripartite body of the United Nations system that brings together representatives of the labour sector, governments and employers to address a range of issues pertaining to the...

    Social justice without quality public education and teachers?
  11. News 20 June 2023

    High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession launches to address the global teacher shortage and status of the profession

    One of the main outcomes of the United Nations Transforming Education Summit in 2022, the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, brings together key stakeholders in the education sector to help tackle the growing teacher shortage around the world. Education International brings the voice of the teaching profession to the...

    High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession launches to address the global teacher shortage and status of the profession
  13. News 8 June 2023

    Morocco: Trade unions focus on raising the status of teachers and reforming the education system

    The SNE-CDT (Syndicat National de l’Enseignement-Confédération Démocratique du Travail) has been negotiating for several years with the government to improve the living and working conditions of Moroccan education staff, and to secure a comprehensive reform of the country’s education system, to put an end to the ongoing inequalities in the...

    Morocco: Trade unions focus on raising the status of teachers and reforming the education system
  14. Worlds of Education 1 June 2023

    Realising ambitions for apprenticeships

    Amanda Brown

    At the upcoming International Labour Conference (5-16 June 2023), the International Labour Organisation will discuss the terms of a new international standard which could mark an important step in the improvement and development of national apprenticeship systems.

    Realising ambitions for apprenticeships
  16. News 22 May 2023

    Romania: educators' wages must be increased

    Unhappy with their wages, which they consider humiliating, Romanian educators have mobilised for an indefinite all-out strike to demand better pay for their work and recognition of its social importance.

    Romania: educators' wages must be increased
  17. News 19 May 2023

    From Aveiro to the world: “Go Public: Fund Education Support Personnel”

    Over 70 participants to the 2nd Education International (EI) Education Support Personnel (ESP) Conference, held from 17th-18th May in Aveiro, Portugal, adopted a strong statement urging governments to increase funding in education systems and to invest in trained and qualified education support personnel that have good working conditions, to ensure...

    From Aveiro to the world: “Go Public: Fund Education Support Personnel”
  18. Statements 18 May 2023

    The Aveiro Statement - Go Public: Fund Education Support Personnel

    Education International’s 2nd World ESP Conference: "Building Union Power: Defending the Rights and Status of Education Support Personnel”

    Recognising education support personnel’s important contribution to ensuring equitable, inclusive and quality education for all and fostering the development of the whole student;

    The Aveiro Statement - Go Public: Fund Education Support Personnel