Strengthening the foundations of global education

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  • Education experts from around the world gathered to discuss and make recommendations as part of UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4
  • Central topic of the event was the fragmentation of teacher training, and the impact of failing recruitment and retention
  • A report summarising the recommendations made at the summit will be presented to UNESCO as part of the Education 2030 Framework for Action

9 May 2017: At London’s National Liberal Club on Thursday 4 May 2017, education experts from around the world gathered to discuss UNESCO’s Education 2030 Framework for Action, focusing specifically on the impact and improvement of teacher training worldwide.

Delegates included spokespeople from the OECD, MirandaNet, The Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education (ITTE), and UNESCO, who were joined by representatives from education companies, associations, and universities from around the world, aiming to develop a collaborative plan for improving global education.

Issues at hand included: the impact of poverty upon teaching and learning, including the statistic that 263 million children worldwide are currently out of school; the fragmentation of teacher training and the need to help teachers to understand their impact on young people’s lives; the importance of metrics and measurements in all aspects of education; and promoting quality and inclusion through a framework of aspiration, access and achievement.

Throughout the day, breakout sessions allowed delegates from various institutions, companies and associations to map out a plan of action that includes all areas of education and how they can, in the words of Professor Brian Hudson from the World Education Research Association, “work relentlessly for the sake of all learners”.

Gary Brace, Vice Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO, said: “Pedagogy, or the relationship between teaching, learning and culture, is the central enabler of the Education 2030 targets. We are working to put together an international framework of indicators to measure student engagement, peer collaboration, assessment processes, and teacher education, so that we can gather constructive data for schools to move forward.”

Professor Christina Preston, founder of MirandaNet, continued: “In the landscape of education today, we should look to communities of practice for guidance. As governments continue to cut education budgets, the more we need to work collaboratively in order to move forward.”

Companies that collaborated in support of the event included Iris Connect, Gaia Technologies, SAGE Publishing and Just2easy, all of which are MirandaNet associates.