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 22 April 2024

    ISTP 2024: Empowering teachers to shape equitable futures

    The 14th International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) is taking place in Singapore, from April 22-24, bringing together education ministers and leaders from education unions across 19 countries.

    ISTP 2024: Empowering teachers to shape equitable futures
  2. Worlds of Education 21 April 2024

    Bringing governments and education unions together

    David Edwards

    For the well-being of students, our communities and our countries, governments must increase investment in public education systems, including quality teacher training and professional development, guarantee labor rights and good working conditions, involve teacher unions in policymaking and trust and respect teachers and their professional expertise.

    Bringing governments and education unions together
  3. Publications

    International Summit of the Teaching Profession 2024: Reimagining Education, Realising Potential

    A Briefing by Education International
    21 April 2024

    From 22 to 24 April 2024, the 14th edition of the International Summit on the Teaching Profession brings together governments and education unions from 19 countries to explore the theme “Reimagining Education, Realising Potential”

    International Summit of the Teaching Profession 2024: Reimagining Education, Realising Potential
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  4. Worlds of Education 17 April 2024

    Education Voices | Improving terms and conditions in higher education through collective bargaining in Denmark

    Tommy Dalegaard Madsen

    Tommy Dalegaard Madsen is the Chairman of DM’s Sectoral Board for Vocational Colleges, Vocational Academies and Maritime Education. DM represents 75,000 academic professionals in Denmark, and it is the most representative trade union in further and higher education. In this interview for Worlds of Education, he shares his perspectives on...

    Education Voices | Improving terms and conditions in higher education through collective bargaining in Denmark
  5. News 8 April 2024

    Uniting to advocate for the UN recommendations, fight fake news and promote peace education

    How can communications and campaigns work support unions in mobilising for increased investment in public education and educators, as well as social justice, human rights and democracy? This was at the heart of discussions during the latest Education International (EI) Communicators’ Network (ComNet) meeting.

    Uniting to advocate for the UN recommendations, fight fake news and promote peace education
  6. News 4 April 2024

    Education international Executive Board: Going public with the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and continued solidarity

    “Just as teachers support us all, it is time to support teachers. Let’s make sure they have the support, recognition, and resources they need to provide quality, relevant education and skills for all.”

    Education international Executive Board: Going public with the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and continued solidarity
  7. News 25 March 2024

    The Education Crisis in Iraq: A Call for Urgent Reforms

    Iraq is currently grappling with a severe education crisis. Despite constitutional provisions and ministerial laws mandating free education at all levels, millions of children are being denied access to education. At the onset of the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)–a Salafi jihadist militant organisation that...

    The Education Crisis in Iraq: A Call for Urgent Reforms
  8. News 20 March 2024

    France: Raise teachers’ salaries and invest more in public education, now!

    Education International (EI) President, Susan Hopgood, expressed the solidarity of the global education trade union movement with French colleagues at the National Congress of the Syndicat National des Enseignements de Second Degré (SNES-FSU). She also stressed that the demands of the SNES-FSU, including its call for the government to invest...

    France: Raise teachers’ salaries and invest more in public education, now!
  9. Worlds of Education 20 March 2024

    The ‘sum total’: Reimagining early childhood care and education through a gender perspective on the profession

    Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, Mathias Urban

    ‘Education’, suggested Austrian psychoanalyst Siegfried Bernfeld in 1925, ‘is the sum total of societal reaction to the fact of ontogenetic development’ (Bernfeld, 1973, 1925). His wide-ranging definition has profound implications as we endeavour to reimagine education for all in the 21st century: education begins at birth (‘ontogenetic development’), education is...

    The ‘sum total’: Reimagining early childhood care and education through a gender perspective on the profession
  10. News 18 March 2024

    Sierra Leone: Teachers mobilise to elevate the profession through the Go Public! Fund Education campaign

    The Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) is on a mission to transform the landscape of education in their country. During a recent two-day Go Public! Fund Education national planning meeting, SLTU leaders rallied around a shared vision: to elevate the status of teachers and secure better working conditions.

    Sierra Leone: Teachers mobilise to elevate the profession through the Go Public! Fund Education campaign
  11. Worlds of Education 7 March 2024

    Our fight for education is a fight for women’s rights

    Susan Hopgood

    The right to education means that every child must have access to free quality education, a well-supported, qualified teacher, and a quality learning environment no matter where they live or come from, no matter their gender, ethnicity, or how much their family earns. This is our mission as education unions...

    Our fight for education is a fight for women’s rights
  12. Worlds of Education 27 February 2024

    Education Voices | Unpacking the High-Level Panel Recommendations

    Manal Hdaife

    Manal Hdaife is a school principal and chair of the Education International Arab Countries Cross Regional Structure Committee, deeply committed to advancing the cause of education in Lebanon. With a career dedicated to promoting teachers' rights and enhancing educational standards, Hdaife has emerged as a key advocate for public education...

    Education Voices | Unpacking the High-Level Panel Recommendations
  13. Worlds of Education 27 February 2024

    Education voices | Elevating the Teacher Profession: High-Level Panel Recommendations explained

    Mike Thiruman

    Mike Thiruman, General Secretary of the Singapore Teachers' Union, embodies a profound dedication to teacher empowerment by enhancing working conditions, advocating for teacher agency, and fostering teacher wellness and growth. As a member of the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, convened by the United Nations, Thiruman's insights are crucial...

    Education voices | Elevating the Teacher Profession: High-Level Panel Recommendations explained
  14. Worlds of Education 26 February 2024

    A call to action: implementing the UN recommendations to raise the status of the teaching profession

    David Edwards

    On February 26, the United Nations High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession launched its 59 recommendations to governments to strengthen the profession and ensure that teachers are valued and respected. The Panel and its broad recommendations are the result of persistent union advocacy. It is incumbent upon Governments to implement...

    A call to action: implementing the UN recommendations to raise the status of the teaching profession
  15. News 6 February 2024

    France: sustained union action against the collapse of public education

    Deep-rooted anger and a firm commitment to public education: this is what French teachers are demonstrating through their week of action and the launch of a joint union petition calling for the ‘knowledge shock’ measures - a series of government measures that are supposed to raise the level of students...

    France: sustained union action against the collapse of public education