Florida State University researchers will help improve teacher education in Egypt as part of a project sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Faculty from the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) and the School of Teacher Education at FSU will work with the Education Development Center (EDC) on the Teacher Excellence Initiative, a five-year, $49.5 million USAID project.

“We are incredibly pleased to join the EDC team in the implementation of this initiative in Egypt,” said Dr. Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, an LSI senior research associate and project principal investigator. “The Learning Systems Institute has a long history of engaging with other organizations and universities abroad, and we are excited about the prospect of collaborating with international universities and Egyptian counterparts in person to innovate teacher education programs.”

The work will support the Egyptian government’s Education 2.0 program, which aims to transform the country’s education system by emphasizing skills-based learning and an expansion of digital learning.

Through this initiative, USAID will establish undergraduate and graduate degree programs for primary-grade teachers at 15 Egyptian public universities and develop partnerships between U.S. and Egyptian universities.

Florida State faculty members will help with a variety of measures to improve education in the country. Their major task is to design a curriculum for pre-service teacher education programs focused on mathematics and English. They will work with faculty from the American University of Beirut (AUB) to revise a program for primary education English teachers and provide professional development to university professors.

FSU will also host a group of twelve visiting scholars from Egyptian universities over the course of the program, including a study tour to the FSU campus in the Fall of 2023 as part of the project.

“We are proud to have been chosen to work with the Educational Development Center to improve teacher education in Egyptian Universities,” said LSI Director Rabieh Razzouk. “This project is a unique opportunity for LSI to partner with FSU’s School of Teacher Education to implement this critical work that will reach all Egyptian children. Working on the Teacher Excellence Initiative ensures Florida State University will play a vital role in Egypt’s Education 2.0 reform.”

EDC will lead and coordinate all university partner work, combining expertise in early-grade reading, mathematics and science, English as a Second Language (ESL), gender, disability inclusion and social and emotional learning. The American University in Beirut will lead the science and Arabic reading tracks, while FSU will lead on mathematics and English as a foreign language (EFL).

The collaboration with AUB, one of the top universities in the Middle East and North Africa, and accredited in the U.S., will not only provide Egyptian university faculty access to a world-class research university but also access to a deep pool of Arabic-speaking faculty operating in a similar time zone, allowing for real-time, immediate accessibility and communication.

"We look forward to expanding our network of partnerships in Egypt to include colleges of teacher education as we work together to support their efforts to improve Egyptian education," said Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, who will serve as co-principal investigator, bringing his academic leadership, expertise in international development, and a network of higher education institutions in Egypt into the fold. 

Dr. Kathleen Clark, Professor of Mathematics Education and Director of the School of Teacher Education (STE), will serve as co-principal investigator, leading a team of STE faculty in support of the project.

The EDC will lead the TEI team and manage the overall project and provide technical leadership and coordination as well as institutional development leadership. University partners FSU and AUB will collaborate with and mentor Egyptian university partners.