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The multidimensionality of teacher shortages

Among the numerous determinants of quality education and learning outcomes, getting a qualified, supported and motivated teacher into each classroom is the single-most important school-based factor. Yet, there is a global shortage of teachers both in terms of quantity and quality, as many education practitioners lack sufficient skills, training, and support. Teacher shortages is a multidimensional phenomenon affecting education systems around the globe, but, with specific challenges in different contexts. Addressing shortages will require a systemic and holistic approach that is guided by a strong vision of what the teaching profession is and revaluing the professionalization of the teaching profession.

Against this backdrop, UNESCO and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF) have just published the first Global Report on Teachers. This biennial report fills a gap within a body of global public goods and aims to use data and analysis to improve teacher-related education policies and programmes focusing on different thematic areas.  Its first edition examines teacher shortages looking at data, the multiplicity of causes, possible factors to address the issue, financing, future research and recommendations.

Based on the Global Report on Teachers (GRT), this keynote speech will delve into the root causes of teacher shortages, including teacher attrition and the attractiveness of the profession, and will highlight possible policy options to address this phenomenon in view of its multidimensionality and grounded on good practice gathered through research in five continents.

There are many causes for these shortages beyond the capacity of governments to train, recruit and deploy teachers where they are needed. Several factors such as poor salaries, difficult working conditions and a lack of professional support and recognition result in fewer high-quality candidates being attracted to teaching. Moreover, given the struggles facing the profession, attrition exacerbates shortages in many countries, particularly low-income economies and especially among the most remote and rural areas and those affected by crises. Beyond a discussion of the challenges contributing towards shortages, this speech based on the findings of the GRT will provide various examples of how countries have attempted to mitigate teacher gaps with varying levels of success.

New research avenues are needed to increase knowledge and understanding around teachers’ shortages and teachers working conditions worldwide. Understanding what the current situation is critical to identify different policy solutions that can address the major issues faced by teachers and policymakers. Despite the numerous sources, data on teachers have long been inadequate; moreover, with fundamental changes underway across education systems and within wider societal transformation, new types of data and indicators will be required to ensure education policymakers have the information needed to make informed decisions. Some areas to better unpack will include better models for future recruitment, qualifications and training, teacher management, organization and working conditions.

Finally, some promising and possible avenues, identified in the GRT, to elevate the status of teachers and working condition of teachers with a view to transforming the teaching profession will be presented. It will point to future research needs and the role of school leaders in facing this pervasive issue. 

La multidimensionalidad de la escasez de profesores

Entre los numerosos factores que determinan la calidad de la educación y los resultados del aprendizaje, el más importante es conseguir que en cada aula haya un profesor cualificado, apoyado y motivado. Sin embargo, existe una escasez mundial de profesores, tanto en términos de cantidad como de calidad, ya que muchos profesionales de la educación carecen de las competencias, la formación y el apoyo suficientes. La escasez de profesores es un fenómeno multidimensional que afecta a los sistemas educativos de todo el mundo, pero que plantea problemas específicos en contextos diferentes. Para hacer frente a la escasez se requerirá un enfoque sistémico y holístico que esté guiado por una sólida visión de lo que es la profesión docente y la revalorización de la profesionalización de la profesión docente.

En este contexto, la UNESCO y el Equipo Internacional de Trabajo sobre Docentes para la Educación 2030 (en inglés: International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF)) acaban de publicar el primer Informe Mundial sobre los Docentes (IMD, en inglés: Global Report on Teachers (GRT)). Este informe bienal viene a llenar un vacío dentro de un conjunto de bienes públicos mundiales y pretende utilizar datos y análisis para mejorar las políticas y programas educativos relacionados con los docentes, centrándose en diferentes áreas temáticas.  Su primera edición examina la escasez de personal docente, analizando los datos, la multiplicidad de causas, los posibles factores para abordar el problema, la financiación, las investigaciones futuras y las recomendaciones.

Basándose en el Informe Mundial sobre los Docentes (IMD), este discurso de apertura ahondará en las causas profundas de la escasez de docentes, entre ellas el desgaste docente y el atractivo de la profesión, y destacará posibles opciones políticas para abordar este fenómeno teniendo en cuenta su multidimensionalidad y basándose en las buenas prácticas recopiladas a través de la investigación en los cinco continentes.

Las causas de esta escasez son múltiples y van más allá de la capacidad de los gobiernos para formar, contratar y desplegar a los profesores allí donde se necesitan docentes. Varios factores, como los bajos salarios, las difíciles condiciones de trabajo y la falta de apoyo y reconocimiento profesional, hacen que cada vez haya menos candidatos de alta calidad que se sientan atraídos por la docencia. Además, dadas las dificultades a las que se enfrenta la profesión, el desgaste agrava la escasez en muchos países, sobre todo en las economías de renta baja y especialmente entre las zonas más remotas y rurales y las afectadas por las crisis. Más allá de un debate sobre los retos que contribuyen a la escasez, este discurso basado en las conclusiones del IMD ofrecerá varios ejemplos de cómo los países han intentado mitigar las carencias de profesores con distintos niveles de éxito.

Se necesitan nuevas vías de investigación para aumentar el conocimiento y la comprensión en torno a la escasez de profesores y las condiciones de trabajo de los docentes en todo el mundo. Comprender cuál es la situación actual es fundamental para identificar diferentes soluciones políticas que puedan abordar los principales problemas a los que se enfrentan los profesores y los responsables políticos. A pesar de las numerosas fuentes, los datos sobre los docentes han sido inadecuados durante mucho tiempo; además, con los cambios fundamentales que se están produciendo en los sistemas educativos y en el marco de una transformación más amplia de la sociedad, se necesitarán nuevos tipos de datos e indicadores para garantizar que los responsables de las políticas educativas dispongan de la información necesaria para tomar decisiones con conocimiento de causa. Algunos de los ámbitos que habrá que desentrañar mejor serán la mejora de los modelos de contratación, cualificación y formación, gestión del profesorado, organización y condiciones de trabajo en el futuro.

Por último, se presentarán algunas vías prometedoras y posibles, identificadas en el IMD, para elevar el estatus de los profesores y sus condiciones de trabajo con vistas a transformar la profesión docente. Se señalarán las necesidades futuras en materia de investigación y el papel de los responsables de los centros escolares para hacer frente a este problema omnipresente. 

Building the Archetype of the Future-ready Faculty

The world has just emerged out of the pandemic; however, we still face many complex challenges and global conflicts. To rise up to the multiplicity of these disruptions, educators must recognise that traditional paradigms will no longer work. Educators need to re-evaluate the “lifespan” of education, as one that necessitates lifelong learning and involves continued collaboration between learners and educators. Crucially, educators need to role-model the dispositions required for education to take place in this new paradigm. First, they must exemplify a lifelong learning spirit where institutes of higher learning are redefined as institutes of continual learning. Second, they need to close the research–innovation–practice divide by connecting and collaborating with industry partners in order to create new value from the research done. Third, they need to lead with real-world experience, away from the proverbial ivory towers of hallowed academic precincts. 1This keynote presents the Archetype of a Future-ready Faculty currently being articulated and implemented at Singapore’s national teacher education institute. Future-ready faculty are envisioned to be role models of professional values, exemplars of lifelong learning mindset and dispositions, designers of innovative and engaging blended learning spaces, experts of interdisciplinary breadth and disciplinary depth, and inspirational mentors. The institute believes in holistic faculty development through adopting a 4-Lives framework 2 viz. life-long, life-wide, life-deep and life-wise development with the underpinning philosophy of building a culture of trust and caring for the well-being of faculty career-long from recruitment to retirement.  Next phase strategies include rolling out professional development programmes that help develop the articulated attributes of the future-ready faculty.

Construir el arquetipo del profesorado preparado para el futuro

El mundo acaba de salir de la pandemia; sin embargo, aún nos enfrentamos a muchos retos complejos y conflictos globales. Para hacer frente a la multiplicidad de estas perturbaciones, los educadores deben reconocer que los paradigmas tradicionales ya no funcionan. Los educadores deben reevaluar el «ciclo vital» de la educación, que requiere un aprendizaje permanente y una colaboración continua entre alumnos y educadores. Es fundamental que los educadores den ejemplo de las disposiciones necesarias para que la educación tenga lugar en este nuevo paradigma. En primer lugar, deben dar ejemplo de un espíritu de aprendizaje permanente en el que los institutos de enseñanza superior se redefinan como institutos de aprendizaje continuo. En segundo lugar, deben cerrar la brecha investigación-innovación-práctica conectando y colaborando con socios industriales para crear nuevo valor a partir de la investigación realizada. En tercer lugar, tienen que liderar con la experiencia del mundo real, lejos de las proverbiales torres de marfil de los sagrados recintos académicos.

En esta ponencia se presenta el arquetipo de profesorado preparado para el futuro que se está articulando y aplicando en el instituto nacional de formación del profesorado de Singapur. Se prevé que el profesorado preparado para el futuro sea un modelo de valores profesionales, un ejemplo de mentalidad y disposición para el aprendizaje permanente, un diseñador de espacios de aprendizaje mixto innovadores y atractivos, un experto en amplitud interdisciplinar y profundidad disciplinar, y un mentor inspirador. El instituto cree en el desarrollo holístico del profesorado mediante la adopción de un marco de cuatro vidas, a saber, el desarrollo a lo largo de toda la vida, a lo ancho de toda la vida, a lo profundo de toda la vida y el desarrollo del estilo de vida, con la filosofía subyacente de construir una cultura de confianza y cuidar del bienestar del profesorado a lo largo de toda su carrera, desde la contratación hasta la jubilación.  Las estrategias de la siguiente fase incluyen la puesta en marcha de programas de desarrollo profesional que ayuden a desarrollar los atributos articulados del profesorado preparado para el futuro.

The Next Education Workforce

The current default model of schooling treats all learners as identical. It therefore treats all educators as identical. Both the science of learning and the social reality of learners compel us to design for variation of both learners and educators.  We need to operate simultaneously in the dimensions of the individual learner, the educators we surround them with, and the policy and organizational landscape that encourages or inhibits effective innovations.

Our instructional models are overdetermined by the dominant model of schooling we have inherited from the nineteenth century: the one teacher, one classroom model.  This is key. And it’s a theme: The environment in which learners develop affects how they learn. And the environment in which teachers develop affects how they teach. While this seems obvious, we tend to lose sight of just how comprehensively the structure – or grammar – of schooling defines and limits our expectations of what we can do as educators.

For learners: that means understanding the science and biology of learning and developing resources based on that science. We need to solve for the individual learner, not the mass-produced one.

For educators, it means redesigning the education workforce – the actual jobs we ask educators to perform, and therefore how we prepare people for those jobs and how we design professional learning and advancement opportunities throughout their careers. Instead of a system of educator preparation and professional learning that is designed to replicate the same teacher over and over again, we need a system that is designed to produce professionals who complement one another. As far as policy and systems, we are talking only partly about government policy at local, state and national levels. We are also talking about all the systems and structures that impact how we deploy money, people and ideas in the service of learning. A lot of these structures are at the level of the school system or school — or even the classroom or learning space. What needs to happen is the creation of the Next Education Workforce.

Teacher Education in the Scottish Context

 

Global educational challenges, while universal, manifest uniquely according to national contexts and policies. Key themes include an intensified political focus on education, the dominance of neo-liberal agendas, societal complexities, and critical concerns related to sustainability and diversity (UNESCO Global Report on Teachers, 2024; UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, 2024). Of particular concern in teacher education currently are core issues of teacher recruitment, retention and attrition; understanding and developing ‘quality’; teacher conditions; pathways and progression for teacher development and the status of the profession. Each jurisdiction seeks policy responses to address these challenges and ensure high-quality educational outcomes, with the quality of teaching, particularly Initial Teacher Education (ITE), under increased scrutiny. These challenges may present an opportunity to prioritise and invest in teachers, potentially reimagining the future of teacher education.

In Scotland, one such response has been the proposed development of a new national ‘Framework for Teacher Education and Development’ as part of a refreshed vision for the Scottish Strategic Board for Teacher Education (SBTE).  The SBTE is currently part of the educational governance structure which brings together key stakeholders overseeing wider reforms and developments in teacher education. Three key stakeholders, through broader engagement and consultation, have led the development of this proposal: The General Teaching Council for Scotland (with statutory responsibility for Professional Standards and entry to the profession); The Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE is the representative body of University Schools of Education providing teacher education); Education Scotland (the Executive Agency responsible for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education).

The Framework for Teacher Education and Development foregrounds a democratic view of education as a social practice for broader societal good. It emphasises teaching as complex and an intellectual, social and emotional endeavour and the need for career long support and opportunity for teachers to develop the necessary knowledge(s), pedagogical expertise, and criticality. It advocates for teacher preparation and development that is academically, theoretically, and professionally grounded, resisting narrow conceptions of training, delivery and implementation. One essential dimension of the proposal is to bring to fore the need to invest in and focus on teacher development beyond the initial and early career stage, highlighting the centrality of collaboration and the role of university led aspects of teacher development. It is in these spaces of enhancement or enrichment that may enable us to go beyond recruitment and retention and consider opportunity for regeneration.

The focus on what defines quality within education is one of the factors at the heart of some of the challenges we face in teacher education currently.

The 2007 McKinsey report argued that high-quality education systems are those that perform well in international rankings such as the PISA tables. One response to this performativity agenda was eloquently described by Sahlberg (2012) as the Global Education Reform Movement, where countries choose to focus on standardisation, high stakes accountability and corporate management practices in an attempt to improve quality.

On the ground, certainly in England, one significant outcome of this approach to policy making has been a decrease in teachers having professional autonomy and we know professional autonomy is strongly associated with improved job satisfaction and a greater intention to stay in teaching (e.g. NFER, 2020).

We have now seen a similar reductive vision of quality in terms of teacher education. In England quality of Initial Teacher Education is now judged through a focus on a provider’s adherence to very prescriptive national requirements. These requirements and accompanying compliance criteria do not take account of the complexities of the process of becoming a teacher, the different ways in which knowledge and skills are developed or the significant impact of the situated context a beginning teacher is learning in. As in schools, an outcome of this approach is to reduce the autonomy of highly experienced professionals, in this case teacher educators, resulting in disillusion and frustration across the sector.

As we face a growing crisis in recruitment and retention, we have an opportunity to push back against an agenda of compliance and standardisation. It is clear attempts to simplify teaching, and teacher education, is turning people away from the profession.

Brooks (2021) argues a focus on a particular definition of quality in Initial Teacher Education reduces the ‘transformative potential’ of provision . University departments of education have a crucial role to play in arguing for teacher education programmes that embrace the complexities of teaching and transform students into reflective, critical professionals who enjoy the fact there are not simple answers or solutions to working with children and young people.

We must offer teacher education programmes that support teachers to develop a way of being that enables them to be autonomous, highly skilled professionals. Valuing this expertise, and recognising it is not easy to come by, raises the status of the profession and thus its appeal.

This contribution aims to share the purposes and processes associated with the Association of Canadian Deans of Education’s (ACDE) national Accords. In particular, it will provide an overview of the collegial process ACDE has adopted to bring together members from 59 Faculties of Education across Canada in developping consensus-driven Accords in support of our collective goals for Education.

As noted in ACDE’s General Accord (2005/2016/2022), The Association of Canadian Deans of Education/Association canadienne des doyens et doyennes d’éducation (ACDE) [includes] deans, directors, and chairs of Canadian university-based faculties, colleges, schools, and departments of Education committed to pan Canadian leadership in professional and teacher education, educational research, and policy.

Collectively, members of ACDE work in diverse local contexts, representing regional, institutional, and linguistic differences. Because education in Canada is governed within provincial jurisdiction, and recognizing most members also contribute to decanal organizations at their respective provincial or territorial level, ACDE provides a unique space for national dialogue and advocacy among and between Deans of Faculties of Education throughout Canada.

ACDE members agreed, through the General Accord (2022), to act collectively “to provide a meaningful, influential, and positive voice for education in Canada.” As such, our Accords provide a mechanism for formalizing these collective goals and attaching aspirational actions to them. Currently, alongside a limited number of position papers and media statements, the organization holds seven, active, ratified accords.

The purpose of discussing the Accord development process with the GNDE is to share ways in which we undertake the important work of creating convergent conversations as a means of advancing the work of Deans of Education, both as a collective voice for Education in Canada, and in their respective Faculties.

In addition to the process of Accord development, perspectives on mobilizing the ACDE Accords will also be discussed, particularly as relates to our collective ACDE goals of advancing initial teacher education, graduate programming and research in education, and contributing to national discourse on the importance of public education. Participants will be encouraged to consider the ACDE Accords in ways that might prove meaningful to their respective contexts and countries.

Cette communication vise à faire connaître les buts et les processus associés aux accords nationaux de l’Association canadienne des doyens et doyens d’éducation (ACDE). L’exposé donnera notamment un aperçu du processus collégial que l’ACDE a adopté pour permettre à des membres de 59 facultés d’éducation un peu partout au Canada d’élaborer ensemble des Accords consensuels à l’appui de nos objectifs collectifs en matière d’éducation.

Comme il est noté dans l’Accord général (2005/2016/2022) de l’ACDE :
L’Association canadienne des doyens et doyennes d’éducation (ACDE) regroupe des doyens et doyennes, directeurs et directrices, présidents et présidentes de facultés, de collèges, d’écoles et de départements d’éducation au sein des universités canadiennes. Les membres de l’ACDE s’engagent à exercer un leadership pancanadien en matière de formation à l’enseignement et de formation professionnelle, de recherche en éducation et de politiques.

Collectivement, les membres de l’ACDE travaillent dans des contextes locaux divers, représentant des différences régionales, institutionnelles et linguistiques. Étant donné que l'éducation au Canada relève de la compétence provinciale et que la plupart des membres contribuent également à des organisations décanales au niveau de leur province ou territoire respectif, l’ACDE offre aux doyens et doyennes d'éducation dans l'ensemble du Canada un espace unique pour un dialogue et la défense de diverses causes à l’échelle du pays.

Les membres de l’ACDE ont convenu, par le biais de l’Accord général (2022), « de travailler ensemble en vue de continuer à exercer une influence positive et significative dans le secteur de l’éducation au Canada. » Au fond, nos Accords fournissent un mécanisme permettant d’officialiser ces objectifs collectifs et d'y associer des actions ambitieuses. À l'heure actuelle, outre un nombre limité d’énoncés et de déclarations aux médias, l'ACDE est l’auteure de sept accords actifs et ratifiés.

En exposant au GNDE le processus d'élaboration de ces Accords, nous souhaitons vous faire part des moyens que nous mettons en oeuvre pour entreprendre l'importante tâche de créer des conversations convergentes afin de faire progresser le travail des doyens et doyennes d’éducation, tant comme une voix collective au nom de l’éducation au Canada qu’au sein de leurs facultés respectives.

Outre le processus d'élaboration des Accords de l’ACDE, les perspectives quant à la valorisation des Accords de l’ACDE seront également abordées, notamment en ce qui concerne les objectifs collectifs de l’ACDE que sont la promotion de la formation initiale à l’enseignement, des programmes des études aux cycles supérieurs et de la recherche en éducation ainsi que la contribution au discours national sur l'importance de l'éducation publique. Les participants seront encouragés à voir comment les Accords de l’ACDE pourraient s'avérer utiles dans leurs contextes et pays respectifs.

The Global Challenges and Opportunities of Teacher Education: Sundry Notes from the African Context

The African challenge in teacher education is underscored by the continent’s (especially sub-Saharan Africa) low tertiary gross enrolment ratios, inadequate teacher training and infrastructure,  quality of interventions, digital divide, policy gaps, and a low research intervention and uptake. UNESCO (2024) notes the continent’s challenges of ‘overcrowded classrooms,’ ‘overburdened teachers,’ ‘understaffed system,’ and understaffed staff, with only a third of the teachers available to meet universal secondary and primary education needs by 2030.  Earlier, UNESCO (2022) had also reported on problems related to demographics, education financing, which ‘weighs heavily on budgets,’ (p.10), equity and inclusiveness, quality, and the challenge with follow-up employment, as top five priorities of education in Africa. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in its Facts and Figures (ITU, 2023) shows that only 37% of Africans use the internet, against a 69% figure for the Arab states, and the world. Related to this, a low technology uptake is seen.

Reports on state intervention on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, have shown mixed results, with the African Union positioning itself through the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA). Interventions of Open Universities, and related institutions, and continuing education providers are noticeable.  Associations, such as the  African Council for Distance Education, other regional bodies and non-governmental organizations have made inputs too. At the international level, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and UNESCO have made major strides in teacher training, resource sharing and benchmarking for teacher upgrade and improvement. While these interventions are notable, the quantity and quality of teacher education provision in Africa still require additional responses from all stakeholders.

Against this background, this paper discusses the African context, and highlights the teacher-related challenges therein. It explores quantity and quality issues in teacher preparation, highlights the strategic initiatives being put in place, and the opportunities and solutions to the observed challenge. It also comments on the mandate of the African Deans of Education Forum, and discusses the organization’s contributions to the promotion, development and pursuit of the teacher education through its conferences and collaborative work with the UNESCO Teacher Task Force.  The paper finally looks at the future of teacher training and concludes on the need to further pursue collaborative partnerships towards finding viable solutions.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 brings global attention to the imperative of a Quality Education for all of humanity. That this Goal remains elusive is itself remarkable given the inherently educative aspects of what it means to be human. SDG4 provides the opportunity for humanity to “cease conceiving of education as mere preparation for later life, and make it the full meaning of the present life” (Dewey, 1967). SDG4 also represents a shift in priorities from the Millennium Development Goals, which focused entirely on the Global South and exclusively on access, literacy and numeracy. SDG4.7, in particular, brings into sharp relief the need to raise a generation of young people with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to work on sustainability, human rights, gender equity, peace and justice, rather than mindlessly skilling them to address those issues at some ambiguous later date. This is indeed progress.

I am keenly interested in ‘activity on the ground’ related to the lofty and worthy principles of SDG4. To that end, I have been working with a non-profit organization World Savvy who hosts community forums around the US on the big question embedded in SDG4; that is, What constitutes a quality education? The audience for these Changemaker Hub events are high school students and their teachers from the region in which these events are hosted. The remarks will center around the intention and rationale for Changemaker Hubs, student voices and responses to a surprisingly novel prompt, and outcomes related to the implementation of these networking events.

During the first half of 2024, World Savvy facilitated three Changemaker Hubs with the support of the Porticus Foundation in Lorain County, Ohio, Saginaw, Michigan, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (in the latter case, co-sponsored by Lehigh University). Students reflected on their current experiences as students in the K-12 system. This process included some quiet writing, some table discussions, and some whole group share-outs with approximately 200 other students. Student voices are captured on word-walls and will be shared in detail during the session to illuminate student voices regarding education and school.

These events are emblematic of the kinds of grounded and meaningful conversations that young people need to be engaged in as we operationalize SDG4 and look ahead to the next iteration of global goals. We intend to create more forums like these and link up these networks with broader, global conversations about the future of Quality Education and how we can support policies, programs and processes to achieve these critical aims.

In the wake of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the advent of AI, and an onslaught of ideas about what teachers should know and be able to do, teacher education programmes struggle to figure out what and how to prepare our teachers for a rapidly changing world. A futures perspective suggests teachers must be ready for any future local, regional and global crises by being technologically savvy and ready to teach, assess and manage students in all spaces - face to face, virtual and hybrid. These concerns are valid. Addressing them is critical for strengthening our capacity to achieve SDG4. We should not, however, allow the bright lights of a technologically driven future to blind us to the reality that for many teachers across the globe, their struggles, their challenges remain quite basic. For millions of their students, very little has changed in terms of equity of access to schooling, let alone access to inclusive and quality education. Teachers are still struggling with how to teach children in desperately poor situations, how to enact curricula that are not relevant to the real learning needs of their students, how to do their jobs with limited resources and how to be quality teachers in contexts that are failing to support their professional needs and practice. Ongoing research by my organization, ICET (International Council of Education for Teaching) and MESHGuides.org has focused on strengthening the role of teacher voice as a critical strategy for planning for a better future. We believe in the development of policies that reflect and are guided by what teachers say about their experiences and by what they recommend for improving the quality of education.  In our Teacher Voice Series webinars and global research project, teachers have shared invaluable ideas and feasible suggestions for improving teaching and learning which should be used by policy makers. Unfortunately, millions of teachers are not encouraged to express their ideas. They are not socialized to have the professional autonomy to advocate for their students or themselves.  This is something that we, who do the work of preparing teachers must redress. I suggest therefore, that a critical component of teacher education must be to teach teachers the skills of advocacy, articulation of their teacher voice and competence for professional autonomy, so they can be active participants in planning for the future and by extension, actively participating in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Solutions for sustainable development in education require efforts both within and on the system. The interplay of space, time, relationships, and embodiment forms a crucial foundation for this work. My national and international projects focus on creating environments where various stakeholders in the education system, across different hierarchical levels, can form new relationships beyond traditional boundaries. Simultaneously, they engage in innovative projects to develop their organizations and the system as a whole.

In these disruptive times characterized by rapid technological advancements, linear planning is no longer feasible. Therefore, my theory of change is rooted in the approach of embracing the emerging future. For instance, I have contributed to the establishment of the Austrian Leadership Academy, the founding of the School of Education at the University of Innsbruck, and the creation of a European Doctorate in Teacher Education in collaboration with five universities. During the panel discussion, some of the insights from these initiatives will be shared.

Australia’s teacher education journey: A liminal space.

Initial teacher education in Australia is under intense scrutiny, driven by the imperatives of the national and international teacher shortage crisis accompanied by uncomfortable declines in school student achievement. This is despite a decade of intense reform in initial teacher education, which has demanded: additional non-academic requirements for entry to ITE; administering the Literary and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE); compliance with a series of program standards detailing content; and demonstrating classroom readiness through the Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA), as a final hurdle, alongside mandatory volumes of learning and consistent professional experience time allocation. There has been little evidence which, if any, of these reforms have added to the quality of initial teacher education.  Nevertheless, initial teacher education continues to be the target of calls for greater reform. It is just over a year since the release of the report Strong Beginnings: Report of the Teacher Education Expert Panel, that produced 14 recommendations across four domains: strengthening ITE programs to deliver confident, effective beginning teachers (which is mostly about embedding core content); strengthening the link between performance and funding of ITE programs (which is mostly about reporting and data); improving the quality of practical experiences in teaching; and improving access to postgraduate initial teacher education for mid-career entrants. Most of these recommendations are now at the implementation phase.  Concomitantly, teacher regulatory authorities have relaxed nationally agreed standards across most jurisdictions to provide permission for student teachers to teach prior to completing their program of study, and in some instances of fast-tracking graduates, provisional registration is provided for graduates of programs that do not meet accreditation standards. This presentation provides a glimpse into the nature of the Australian teacher workforce and the challenges that characterise it now and for the future, drawing on a new data source that, for the first time, provides extensive insights into the nature of teachers and their work.  The presentation then considers the initial teacher education reform journey and points to teacher education being in a liminal, submissive state, creating both the potential for transformation, and the risk of retrogression.

Dead ideas, missing ideas, and enduring idea(l)s: Perspectives for seeing teacher education with fresh eyes

The events of the past three years, dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have had an indelible effect on just about every aspect of our lives, especially teaching and learning for our children.

It is not surprising then that just about everyone, including educators themselves, has jumped into the conversation about improving teaching and teachers, which in turn means re-imagining teacher preparation. Internationally, teacher development has become a central focus. There is a renewed call for teachers to be equipped with the knowledges and skills demanded by the “new normal.” Teacher educators are re-tackling the question of what teachers should know and be able to do in the face of current imperatives—digital divides and numerous inequities, vast economic upheaval, racism and social unrest, political disorder, and more. At the same time, teacher preparation must also be forward looking, nurturing teachers who are ready to support students who can navigate the unknown and create a better and more inclusive future.

This keynote offers three perspectives teacher educators can use, regardless of their unique contexts, to examine the familiar, that is teacher education as they know (and do) it, in order to imagine the strange—teacher education as it might possibly be. To ignite re-thinking, she suggests teacher educators look for: 1) Dead ideas—cherished practices and givens that may have long outlived their utility but remain cemented in place and so block fresh thinking; 2) Missing ideas—content, viewpoints, actions, histories or narratives that should be front and center in teacher preparation but are either absent or marginalized and therefore perpetuate the status quo; and 3) Unrealized ideas and ideals—goals and intentions we highlight as important and strive to enact, when in reality our talk and walk as teacher educators remain far apart. Undoubtedly, envisioning the future of teacher education is a weighty and complicated challenge. But it is a challenge we can as a profession undertake if we can un-see the taken-for-granted, ask new questions, and re-commit to our aspirations to transform education.

Ideas muertas, ideas ausentes e ideas/ideales perdurables: Perspectivas para ver la formación del profesorado con nuevos ojos

Los acontecimientos de los últimos tres años, dominados por la pandemia de
COVID-19, han tenido un efecto indeleble en casi todos los aspectos de nuestras vidas, especialmente en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de nuestros hijos.

No es de extrañar, pues, que casi todo el mundo, incluidos los propios educadores, se haya lanzado a la conversación sobre la mejora de la enseñanza y de los profesores, lo que a su vez significa reimaginar la preparación del profesorado. A escala internacional, la formación del profesorado se ha convertido en un tema central. Hay un llamamiento renovado para que los profesores estén equipados con los conocimientos y habilidades que exige la «nueva normalidad». Los formadores de docentes están volviendo a abordar la cuestión de lo que los profesores deben saber y ser capaces de hacer frente a los imperativos actuales: las brechas digitales y las numerosas desigualdades, la gran agitación económica, el racismo y el malestar social, el desorden político, y mucho más. Al mismo tiempo, la preparación del profesorado también debe mirar hacia el futuro, formando profesores que estén preparados para ayudar a los estudiantes a navegar por lo desconocido y crear un futuro mejor y más inclusivo.

Esta presentación ofrece tres perspectivas que los formadores de docentes pueden utilizar, independientemente de sus contextos particulares, para examinar lo familiar, es decir, la formación del profesorado tal y como la conocen (y la hacen), con el fin de imaginar lo extraño: la formación del profesorado tal y como podría ser. Para iniciar el replanteamiento, sugiere que los formadores de docentes busquen: 1) Ideas muertas: prácticas y obviedades arraigadas que pueden haber dejado de ser útiles hace tiempo, pero que permanecen arraigadas y, por lo tanto, bloquean el pensamiento nuevo; 2) Ideas ausentes: contenidos, puntos de vista, acciones, historias o relatos que deberían ocupar un lugar central en la preparación de los docentes, pero que están ausentes o marginados y, por lo tanto, perpetúan el statu quo; y 3) Ideas e ideales no realizados: objetivos e intenciones que destacamos como importantes y que nos esforzamos por poner en práctica, cuando en realidad, nuestro discurso y nuestras acciones como formadores de docentes están muy alejados. Sin duda, imaginar el futuro de la formación del profesorado es un reto pesado y complicado. Pero es un reto que podemos asumir como profesión si somos capaces de dejar de ver lo que se da por sentado, plantearnos nuevas preguntas y volver a comprometernos con nuestras aspiraciones de transformar la educación.

Examining Innovation in a Period of Extreme Disruption

Education is the foundation of democracies. An educated population is the basis for an engaged citizenry. Therefore, how governments invest in education matters.

Historically, teacher education/educator preparation worldwide has been under consistent scrutiny by national and international entities. Given the foundational role of education to uplift every learner, and the impact of education on economic growth and societal advancement, governments have a logical interest in the quality of education and those preparing to be educators. Yet a global shortage of teachers is hindering access to education, with a projected deficit of 44 million teachers to achieve primary and secondary universal education by 2030. The result is overcrowded classrooms, diminished teaching quality, and limited learning opportunities, especially in underserved communities (International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030).

Societal polarization and divisive and violence-spurring political wranglings, a resurgence of anti-minority violence with rollbacks in civil rights, global migration and anti-immigrant sentiments, large-scale workers strikes, new censorship and book-banning laws seeking to punish- K-12 teachers and college faculty and curtail their teaching—all happening while two large wars are being waged in Eastern Europe and the Middle East that are adding to the volatility nationally and globally—influence the current policy context for teacher education (Gangone & Fenwick, 2023).

Among Western nations, recent UK Labour Party wins and French political struggles between the far right and other parties have yet to settle government interests in education. In the US, education is no longer a bi-partisan effort, and Republicans rally against the “educated elite.” State legislative censoring of K-12 and higher education now includes teacher education, where in Florida, House Bill 1291 “prohibits teacher preparation programs from indoctrinating prospective teachers by teaching distorted versions of significant historical events, and prevents the infusion of identity politics in teaching methods and prohibits instructing that theories such as systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in America’s institutions.” The Republican Party’s “Project 2025” would “jeopardize access to an adequate education for millions of low-income students and students with disabilities” (Ed Week, 22 July 2024).

In Learning is Scotland’s Future? (2023) Chapman and Donaldson identify existing barriers to the progress of educational change and improvement in Scotland, which can be applied beyond the Scottish context:

1. National policies that unintentionally encourage schools to narrow educational experiences.
2. Administrative structures that limit the freedom of practitioners to experiment.
3. Fragmentation within education systems that inhibit opportunities for sharing expertise; and
4. Cultures and structures that discourage the sharing of expertise.

The worldwide shortage of teachers has exacerbated the behavior of policymakers and others as they seek to “fix” what is perceived as “broken” in the preparation of teachers. Yet “the history of educational innovation and change cautions against top down, delivery oriented models of change. Such mechanistic attempts to improve outcomes fail to catalyse significant, sustained success” (Chapman and Donaldson, 2024).

In Teacher Education in Crisis: The State, The Market and the Universities in England, Viv Ellis warns against what he calls “the state’s authoritarian interventions” (Ellis, 2024, p. 213) into initial teacher education (ITE) and goes on to describe four design principles and four guiding questions for Teacher Development 3.0:

1. Plan for a life-long teaching profession.
2. Put schools and teachers at the heart of their communities.
3. See education as cultural and societal development; and
4. Provide a continuum of learning (Ellis, 2024)

There are innovative teacher education and teaching models emerging globally. However, the work to innovate is often met with a policy “backlash,” at times authoritarian in nature, that threatens efforts to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education . . . for all” and one wonders whether UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) can be achieved. This keynote will examine the tensions between global and national efforts to innovate during a period of extreme disruption.

Examinar la innovación en un periodo de extrema perturbación

La educación es la base de las democracias. Una población instruida es la base de una ciudadanía comprometida. Por lo tanto, la forma en que los gobiernos invierten en educación es importante.

Históricamente, la formación del profesorado y la preparación de los educadores en todo el mundo ha estado sometida a un constante escrutinio por parte de entidades nacionales e internacionales. Dado el papel fundamental que desempeña la educación en la mejora de todos los alumnos, y el impacto de la educación en el crecimiento económico y el avance de la sociedad, los gobiernos tienen un interés lógico en la calidad de la educación y en las personans que se preparan para ser educadores. Sin embargo, la escasez mundial de docentes está obstaculizando el acceso a la educación, con un déficit previsto de 44 millones de profesores para lograr la educación primaria y secundaria universal en 2030. El resultado son aulas abarrotadas, una menor calidad de la enseñanza y oportunidades de aprendizaje limitadas, especialmente en las comunidades desatendidas (Equipo Internacional de Trabajo sobre Docentes para la Educación 2030; en inglés: International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030).

La polarización social y las disputas políticas que fomentan la división y la violencia, un resurgimiento de la violencia contra las minorías y con retrocesos  en los derechos civiles, la migración mundial y los sentimientos antiinmigración, las huelgas de trabajadores a gran escala, las nuevas leyes de censura y prohibición de libros que pretenden castigar a los profesores de primaria y secundaria y a los profesores universitarios y restringir su labor docente - todo ello mientras se libran dos grandes guerras en Europa del Este y Oriente Próximo que se suman a la volatilidad nacional y mundial - influyen en el contexto político actual de la formación del profesorado (Gangone y Fenwick, 2023).

Entre las naciones occidentales, las recientes victorias del Partido Laborista en el Reino Unido y las luchas políticas francesas entre la extrema derecha y otros partidos aún no han resuelto los intereses gubernamentales en materia de educación. En EE.UU., la educación ya no es un esfuerzo bipartidista, y los republicanos se alzan contra la «élite educada». La censura legislativa estatal de la educación K-12 y superior incluye ahora la formación del profesorado, donde en Florida, el proyecto de ley 1291 de la Cámara de Representantes «prohíbe que los programas de preparación del profesorado adoctrinen a los futuros maestros enseñando versiones distorsionadas de acontecimientos históricos significativos, e impide la infusión de la política de identidad en los métodos de enseñanza y prohíbe instruir que teorías como el racismo sistémico, el sexismo, la opresión y el privilegio son inherentes a las instituciones de Estados Unidos.» El «Proyecto 2025» del Partido Republicano «pondría en peligro el acceso a una educación adecuada para millones de estudiantes de bajos ingresos y estudiantes con discapacidades» (Ed Week, el 22 de julio de 2024).

En Learning is Scotland's Future? (2023) Chapman y Donaldson identifican las barreras existentes para el progreso del cambio y la mejora educativa en Escocia, que pueden aplicarse más allá del contexto escocés:

1. Políticas nacionales que fomentan involuntariamente que las escuelas reduzcan las experiencias educativas.
2. Estructuras administrativas que limitan la libertad de los profesionales para experimentar.
3. La fragmentación de los sistemas educativos, que inhibe las oportunidades de compartir experiencias.
4. Culturas y estructuras que desalientan el intercambio de conocimientos.

La escasez de profesores en todo el mundo ha exacerbado el comportamiento de los responsables políticos y de otras instancias, que tratan de «arreglar» lo que se percibe como «roto» en la preparación de los docentes. Sin embargo, «la historia de la innovación educativa y del cambio educativo advierte contra los modelos de cambio descendentes y orientados a la entrega. Estos intentos mecanicistas de mejorar los resultados no consiguen catalizar un éxito significativo y sostenido» (Chapman y Donaldson, 2024).

En La formación del profesorado en crisis: The State, The Market and the Universities in England (en inglés: Teacher Education in Crisis: The State, The Market and the Universities in England), Viv Ellis advierte contra lo que denomina «las intervenciones autoritarias del Estado» (Ellis, 2024, p. 213) en la formación inicial del profesorado y pasa a describir cuatro principios de diseño y cuatro preguntas orientadoras para el Desarrollo del Profesorado 3.0:

1. Planificar una profesión docente para toda la vida.
2. Situar a las escuelas y a los profesores en el centro de sus comunidades.
3. Considerar la educación como desarrollo cultural y de la sociedad.
4. Proporcionar un aprendizaje continuo (Ellis, 2024).

En todo el mundo están surgiendo modelos innovadores de formación del profesorado y de enseñanza. Sin embargo, el trabajo para innovar a menudo se enfrenta a una «reacción» política, a veces de naturaleza autoritaria, que amenaza los esfuerzos para «garantizar una educación de calidad inclusiva y equitativa... para todos» y uno se pregunta si se puede lograr el Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 4 (ODS4) de la UNESCO (en inglés: UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4)). En esta presentación se examinarán las tensiones entre los esfuerzos mundiales y nacionales para innovar durante un periodo de perturbación extrema.

The Canadian education system is recognized for its high quality and equitable access.   In the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted in 2022, Canadian students performed notably well, particularly in mathematics, where they were among the top performers.

Education in Canada is primarily the responsibility of thirteen provincial and territorial governments, leading to curriculum variations throughout the country as there is no national governing authority and no national curriculum. There are approximately 350 school districts in Canada.  Each district is led by its CEO with administrative support from other senior leaders. CASSA is the only national association representing over 1200 senior leaders. CASSA’s vision is equity and excellence for each learner (www.cassa-acgcs.ca)

The curriculum is designed to be comprehensive, covering core subjects such as mathematics, sciences, languages, social studies, and physical education, along with the arts. In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, as well as digital literacy, to prepare students for the evolving job market. It is recognized that student mental health and well-being are essential for students to achieve academic success. Schools offer various support services to cater to diverse learning needs and promote a safe, inclusive environment.

Indigenous education is another priority, aiming to integrate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into the curriculum, rectify historical inequities, and support Indigenous students' success. Indigenous education is another priority, aiming to integrate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into the curriculum, rectify historical inequities, and support Indigenous students' success.  Another recent educational emphasis in some provinces is ensuring students understanding of climate change and its impact on the environment.

The Council of Ministers of Education Canada includes the thirteen ministers from the provinces and territories.  Its mission is to provide intergovernmental forums for education ministers to collaborate and share educational priorities.  Its strategic plan includes the following goals: competitive advantage, equity and inclusion, Indigenous Education, and Mental Health and Well-being.  Other priorities include access to education, quality of education, gender equality, skills development, education in emergencies, inclusive education, global citizenship education, strengthening education systems, partnerships and collaboration, and monitoring and evaluation.  These priorities reflect Canada’s commitment to supporting sustainable development and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), which aims to ensure inclusive education and equitable quality education and promote learning opportunities for all.

The international Confederation of Principals is the only group that brings together school leadership associations from across the world. Hence as a global ‘association of associations’ it has a unique perspective on trends and issues in worldwide education.

Drawing on these perspectives my presentation will focus on:

1. The worldwide shortage of both teachers and leaders
2. The pressures and challenges that are reducing the attractiveness of both teaching and leadership
3. The challenge of sustainability for both teachers and leaders: how do we persuade those we recruit to remain in post and in the profession for 5-10    years?
4. Initiatives on health and well-being and why they need to be used more widely
5. Practical solutions being developed by ICP members around the world.

AASA, the School Superintendents Association, was founded in 1865. As the premier association for school system leaders, AASA serves as the national voice for public education and district leadership on Capitol Hill. A professional community of more than 10,000 educational leaders, AASA and its members are committed to providing high-quality public education to all students. AASA develops and supports school system leaders through the national exchange of ideas; access to professional learning, publications, and resources; and opportunities to champion initiatives to help transform the future of public education.

AASA’s mission is to advocate for equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education and develops and supports school system leaders. The work of the organization reflects the mission statement as we continue to focus on advocacy at the federal level to insure equitable access for all students – urban, suburban, rural, or frontier – regardless of race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status.

To ensure each child has access to equitable, rigorous, and relevant educational opportunities, the AASA Leadership Network is committed to supporting a pipeline of diverse school superintendents and educational leaders as they refine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for highly effective leadership. We offer current and aspiring superintendents a variety of professional development opportunities for certifications, academies, and cohorts and consortia to connect educational leaders to the professional learning, leadership development, relationships, and partnerships they need to ensure a long career of impact.

AASA’s annual conference, the National Conference on Education (NCE), is the premier professional development and networking event for school superintendents and administrators. This annual meeting allows educators to hear from educational thought leaders who are championing our nation’s school systems and take-home new ideas and approaches to invigorate your own district. With more than 4,000 superintendents attending, participants can form an industry network to leverage for improving equity, student outcomes, district performance and so much more.

Within this scaffolding AASA also focuses on making sure that students in schools are ready and able to learn. AASA has long focused on the health and wellbeing of students, including, but not limited to hunger and nutrition, asthma, allergy, sexual health/HIV/STI/pregnancy prevention, mental health, school safety, and school disciple. AASA is often called upon to partner with other organizations who value the perspective of school leaders. Current partners include organizations like the National Parent Teacher Association (family engagement), the American Academy of Pediatrics (substance use), the School Based Health Alliance (increasing access to health care in schools).

Participants will learn about AASA’s most recent initiatives as US schools head back to school for the 2024-2025 school year. This will include ongoing Covid recovery, school avoidance, staffing shortages at all levels, and the pending fiscal cliff districts are facing from the end of federal pandemic support.