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

  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
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  6. 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?
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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.
  11. News 15 February 2017

    Finland: new oath for teachers introduced by union

    The teachers’ union, Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö, has introduced a new oath for teachers to take. The oath outlines principles of the profession and underscores the value of their work.

    Finland: new oath for teachers introduced by union
  12. News 14 February 2017

    Dutch government asked to explain backing of for-profit education

    Dutch socialist party MPs have asked their Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development to take a stance on its support of Bridge International Academies, one of the world’s biggest and most questioned edubusinesses.

    Dutch government asked to explain backing of for-profit education
  13. News 14 December 2016

    Global education community reacts to latest PISA report

    The release of the OECD’s 2015 PISA report has the education community around the world abuzz, and Education International’s affiliates and partners have shared their wide spectrum of views in response.

    Global education community reacts to latest PISA report
  14. News 18 November 2016

    ResNet Africa: Collaboration on tools for quality research

    Researchers and union leaders at Education International’s Research Network Africa learnt how to use online tools and develop in-depth approaches to qualitative interviews during dynamic and practical skill-focused sessions.

    ResNet Africa: Collaboration on tools for quality research
  16. News 13 May 2016

    Union renewal for positive and improved collective bargaining

    New ways for education unions to shape learning and working conditions, develop and enact policy, and enhance professional knowledge and professional learning were outlined at the 12th Education International Research Network.

    Union renewal for positive and improved collective bargaining
  17. News 12 May 2016

    Act globally, research locally

    Education researchers gathered at the 12th Research Network highlighted the need to collect evidence at global and regional levels linked to teachers’ working conditions and the negative impact of privatisation in education.

    Act globally, research locally
  18. Publications

    Value-added measurement or modelling

    Tore Bernt Sorensen
    13 April 2016

    This discussion paper reviews the policy instrument of value-added measurement or modelling (VAM) and the implications the instrument has for teaching and learning in a global context. VAM is based on the assumption that it is possible to create adequately complex statistical models that capture the essential and universal factors...

    Value-added measurement or modelling
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