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. Worlds of Education 16 November 2017

    Engaging our students in conversations about the consequences of disengaging from global institutions: lessons on US withdrawal from UNESCO.

    Fernando M. Reimers

    Educating students to be engaged democratic citizens requires that they learn to engage with current affairs in schools. Engaging students with real world issues is also a way to get students to become more motivated with their studies and, over the long term, to be more effective professionally and more...

    Engaging our students in conversations about the consequences of disengaging from global institutions: lessons on US withdrawal from UNESCO.
  2. Worlds of Education 14 November 2017

    #WDR2018 Reality Check #3: Say No to for profit experiments in education: support Public education

    Juliet Wajega

    The World Development Report (WDR) 2018 - Learning to realize Education’s Promise - places learning at the center to equip children and youth for the future. The report recognizes the key role teachers play in achievement of quality education.

    #WDR2018 Reality Check #3: Say No to for profit experiments in education: support Public education
  3. Worlds of Education 7 November 2017

    #WDR2018 Reality Check #2: Teacher working conditions are student learning conditions: Lost opportunities in World Bank education report

    Leo Baunach

    The dedicated reader of the 2018 World Development Report (WDR) on learning and education will find moments of nuanced discussion. Unfortunately, these gems are brief caveats to flawed headlines and conclusions. The World Bank report valorizes professional teaching while degrading the voices and needs of teachers.

    #WDR2018 Reality Check #2: Teacher working conditions are student learning conditions: Lost opportunities in World Bank education report
  4. Worlds of Education 1 November 2017

    #WDR2018 Reality Check #1: A Guide to Reading the Rhetoric

    Francine Menashy

    The 2018 World Development Report marks an important milestone—for the first time in 40 years the World Bank’s dominant research publication is dedicated to education.

    #WDR2018 Reality Check #1: A Guide to Reading the Rhetoric
  6. News 12 October 2017

    Education International’s Asia-Pacific leaders gather to tackle regional challenges

    Asia-Pacific education union leaders reiterated their commitment to quality education for all, working towards countering for-profit education privatisation, increasing  teacher professionalism and demanding respect for educators’ human and trade union rights.

    Education International’s Asia-Pacific leaders gather to tackle regional challenges
  7. Research

    Practices, challenges and future prospects in the recruitment and training of teachers in Ethiopia

    Dr. Eric Daniel Ananga and Dr. Emmanuel M. J. Tamanja
    14 September 2017

    The study assesses the current practices, future prospects and challenges in the recruitment, selection, and training of the first cycle primary school teachers’ training policy of Ethiopia and puts forward policy recommendations.

    Practices, challenges and future prospects in the recruitment and training of teachers in Ethiopia
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  8. News 12 July 2017

    France: Unions criticise plans for sick leave waiting period in public sector

    EI-affiliated trade union groups in France have strongly criticised the French government's intention to reinstate a waiting day for public service employees in case of sick leave, describing the measure as “ineffective” and “unfair”.

    France: Unions criticise plans for sick leave waiting period in public sector
  10. Worlds of Education 1 June 2017

    Teacher union renewal: developing the power of the profession

    Howard Stevenson

    The challenges that face teachers often look very similar around the world. Global league tables are often behind the relentless pressure to drive test scores up, whilst the forces of global economic competition explain a race to the bottom on teachers’ working conditions. Teachers experience ever rising workloads, but perhaps...

    Teacher union renewal: developing the power of the profession
  11. Worlds of Education 31 May 2017

    Constructing Teachers’ Professional Identity – learning from seven countries

    Philippa Cordingley

    Early stages in research projects are always a mix of aspirations, exploration of the research literature and growing clarity about key questions. In a research project that is as important as the one funded by Education International, to explore how national policies and cultural factors influence the development of teachers’...

    Constructing Teachers’ Professional Identity – learning from seven countries
  12. News 31 May 2017

    Education unions forge a pathway from research to advocacy

    With an aim to research, refine, and resist, teachers’ unions are reinforcing their leading role at the cutting edge of research methods and practices at the 13th annual Education International Research Network meeting.

    Education unions forge a pathway from research to advocacy
  13. Research

    Organising teaching: Developing the power of the profession

    17 May 2017

    This study reports on the experience of several teacher unions as they respond to the challenges facing teachers in a range of national contexts: Chile, Kenya, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Turkey, and the United States of America.

    Organising teaching: Developing the power of the profession
    1. Download
  14. Worlds of Education 5 May 2017

    Big Data or Small Data: What’s the key to unlocking learning opportunities?

    Pasi Sahlberg

    Some say that schools don’t change. Many things may have remained the same but one thing is new: data. Today the walls of principals’ offices display performance results and data walls in teachers’ lounges highlight whether students have accomplished their learning targets. Data has become hot currency in school reforms.

    Big Data or Small Data: What’s the key to unlocking learning opportunities?
  15. News 3 May 2017

    Putting teachers at the heart of education systems the focus in Rotterdam

    The message on day one of the Unite for Quality Education and Leadership Conference was clear, with educators looking at making sure that teachers themselves are the architects of the profession and of education systems.

    Putting teachers at the heart of education systems the focus in Rotterdam
  16. Worlds of Education 3 May 2017

    It’s time to look carefully at where testing fails to make the grade

    Steffen Handal

    Teacher unions have for a long time expressed concern about the growing scope of international tests. In this post, I will point out some of the reasons why Union of Education Norway is especially critical to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). I will also point to some alternative...

    It’s time to look carefully at where testing fails to make the grade
  17. Worlds of Education 3 May 2017

    Review. The Global Education Race. Sellar, Thompson and Rutkowski. Brush Education Inc 2017.

    Martin Henry, John Bangs

    The number of countries which take part in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is now well over double the number of OECD member countries. If there is one thing which demonstrates just how far PISA has pulled in front of other global assessments of education, it is...

    Review. The Global Education Race. Sellar, Thompson and Rutkowski. Brush Education Inc 2017.