What challenges do teaching staff face on a daily basis? Since 1994, World Teachers’ Day has provided an opportunity to reflect on the rights, responsibilities, and essential role of teachers in global education.
In recent years, the education sector has undergone profound transformations influenced by global crises, such as the pandemic, and rapid technological development. Remote teaching has highlighted the need to bridge the digital divide, especially in rural or disadvantaged areas where access to the internet and technology is still limited. Another significant challenge is the lack of qualified teachers, exacerbated by precarious working conditions in many parts of the world.
The UNESCO Global Report of 2024 emphasizes the severity of this shortage and the deterioration of working conditions that hinder the achievement of one of the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda, specifically the fourth, which aims to ensure equitable and inclusive education for all by 2030.
Despite these difficulties, the role of the teacher remains central to collectively building the future by ensuring quality education, guiding new generations, and promoting educational progress. It is essential to invest in policies that promote continuous training and professional development for teaching staff, thereby preparing them to respond to the new needs of a constantly changing education system.
The theme for 2024: valuing teachers’ voices
Based on the experiences and demands of teachers, the theme chosen for the 2024 day is Valuing teacher voices: Towards a new social contract for education.
This theme highlights the importance of listening to and valuing the opinions of teachers, who not only guide students in their growth but also have firsthand knowledge of the significance and challenges within their working contexts.
It is crucial to address the structural challenges faced by teachers and promote a more inclusive dialogue about their role in the education system. Additionally, it is important to integrate teachers’ perspectives into educational policies, ensuring a working environment that supports their professional growth.
EU School: our role in educational innovation
We at CESIE ETS, who have always been committed to promoting equitable and inclusive education, also wanted to actively contribute to the reflection on the role of educators and the challenges they face. On September 26, 2024, we organized the event EU School – School and Europe: for quality, equitable and inclusive education, together with the Danilo Dolci Creative Development Centre in Palermo.
The event aims to offer new training opportunities to teachers and students at all levels, promoting innovation and collaboration between schools and the third sector, emphasizing the importance of a cooperative approach to enhance educational offerings.
Activities of the School Unit
For years, CESIE ETS’s units, particularly the one dedicated to the School, have been operating in the field to promote quality education. Our initiatives stem from a thorough analysis of current social needs and challenges, with the aim of:
- Promoting intercultural dialogue and continuous professional development for teachers, school leaders, and all educational staff through in-person, online, and blended training and mobility experiences;
- Combating educational poverty by promoting quality teaching that respects, values, and capitalizes on individual differences;
- Reducing school drop-out rates by enhancing the educational offerings for students, developing and strengthening transversal and professional skills, providing educational guidance, and facilitating transitions between different levels of education.
For more information about the School Unit and its work, visit the dedicated page at cesie.org/school/ or write to school@cesie.org.
Here are just a few of our initiatives dedicated to teachers and schools.
Discover opportunities for teachers ongoing
CARB – Creative Approach to Resilience and Bravery in Secondary Education
CARB supports secondary school teachers in addressing complex issues such as racism, climate change, and social conflict by providing them with tools to promote an inclusive and democratic school environment. Through the deep democracy methodology, teachers will be able to manage classroom tensions and facilitate open discussions on sensitive topics.
Goal and content: during the training on October 14 and 15, deep democracy experts will introduce new skills for using the CARB toolkit. This toolkit, created specifically to support democratic dialogue and decision-making in the classroom, offers practical resources to improve skills for managing differences and tensions. Teachers will thus become models of active citizenship for their students, helping them develop fundamental life-skills such as listening, self-expression and conflict management.
Learning Outcomes:
- Development of skills to manage differences and tensions in an inclusive and democratic manner;
- Learning deep democracy techniques to facilitate discussions on complex issues such as racism and climate change;
- Strengthening of active citizenship and life skills (listening, self-expression, conflict management) for students.
Mode: Course with deep democracy experts, practical workshops, and use of the CARB toolkit.
When? October 14-15, 2024
Contacts: Luciano Cortese, luciano.cortese@cesie.org
Project factsheet: https://cesie.org/project/carb
Website: https://carb.eu
STEM by STEM – Improving educators’ skills in inclusive STEM lessons creation
STEM by STEM supports teachers in using accessible STEM teaching resources, creating inclusive lessons and providing practical methodologies such as Tinkering and Problem Based Learning (project-based learning). By integrating STEM approaches in schools, students can develop the skills needed to cope with a dynamic and ever-changing employment landscape.
Aim and content: the workshop for teachers will focus on using the STEM by STEM Toolkit, which offers guidelines for adopting the STEM approach in the classroom. In addition, a STEM lesson pack, accessible for free via an online Wiki, with replicable lesson plans will be presented. The project aims to provide teachers and educators with easily implementable STEM teaching resources, contributing to more effective and engaging teaching in the classroom.
Learning Outcomes:
- Development of skills to create inclusive and accessible STEM lessons;
- Learning innovative methodologies such as Tinkering and Problem Based Learning to enhance STEM teaching;
- Ability to support students in developing skills necessary for an ever-evolving job market.
Mode: In-person workshop, with practical and experiential activities on the use of the STEM by STEM resources and teaching methodologies.
When? Date to be defined in the coming weeks.
Contacts: Emna Miled, emna.miled@cesie.org
Project factsheet: https://cesie.org/project/stembystem
Discover innovative resources for quality education
TINKER – an auThentIc learNing and gender inclusive frameworK for tEaching infoRmatics in schools across Europe
TInker promotes the use of an innovative pedagogical framework for teaching and assessing informatics, based on authentic learning and contemporary gender-inclusive practices in primary and lower secondary education. A key objective is to prepare teachers to create authentic learning environments, following approaches that ensure gender inclusion in informatics teaching.
Resources:
- The Desk and Field Research on the needs of gender-inclusive informatics is a useful study for developing inclusive educational tools and improving informatics teaching practices, including manuals for trainers, teacher training courses, digital resources, and eLearning platforms.
For further information:
- Read more about the project.
- Visit: https://tinker-project.eu/
- Contact Suzanne Ott: suzanne.ott@cesie.org
ARISE – Active, Responsible and entrepreneurIal citizenS unitEd in Diversity
ARISE contributes to building an inclusive and prosperous society where students, their families, and the educational community can develop a sense of community and a desire for growth in the contexts they live in, generating economic progress and social cohesion.
Resources:
- Teacher and educational staff manual
- E-learning platform with interactive activities and theoretical sections on developing civic, social, and intercultural skills.
- Toolkit with basic concepts of project design, event organization, and digital skills.
For further information:
- Read more about the project
- Visit: https://arisehashtag.eu/
- Contact Bruna Giunta: bruna.giunta@cesie.org
BOYSLINGO – Enhancement of boys’ language skills through gamified mobile learning
BOYSLINGO provides Italian and English language teachers with useful resources to inspire their teaching practice and support activities based on gamification and the integration of digital tools. The aim is to foster language learning, particularly for male students, who often face challenges in achieving adequate results, especially in developing reading skills.
Resources:
- Manual and a collection of good practices
- App to facilitate language learning in the classroom
- Training course for teachers.
The contributions from students and teachers have enriched the development phase and confirmed the validity of these educational resources. Soon, the Da Vinci-Carducci Institute (PA) will host an event to share their experiences and discuss how to promote equal learning opportunities in interactive and engaging classrooms.
For further information:
- Read more about the project.
- Visit: https://boyslingo.eu/.
- Contact Alice Schirosa: alice.schirosa@cesie.org
