Educators Shaping Futures: A Global Knowledge Exchange on Teacher Preparation and Development Begins Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tallahassee, Fla. – Educators Shaping Futures, a global knowledge exchange focused on addressing the shortage of qualified teachers worldwide, will begin on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event aims to raise awareness and build coalitions for change, ensuring teachers everywhere are prepared and supported to succeed in their crucial roles.

Educators Shaping Futures is a joint venture between the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University, the World Bank Group, UNESCO and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education. Policymakers, administrators, researchers, educators and experts will meet for two days to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing to improve teacher preparation and professional development worldwide.

"We are extremely excited to see the hard work of so many dedicated parties becoming a reality next week," said FSU doctoral candidate Bhushan Dahal. "It is estimated that we will need 50 million teachers by the year 2030. To have everyone from high-level policymakers to classroom teachers together is an impactful way to address this challenge."

Organizers are bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders who are involved in designing, delivering and maintaining the quality of teacher preparation and continuous professional development (CPD). This includes education policymakers and government officials responsible for teacher preparation and CPD, in combination with academic leaders, teacher unions, school and district-level administrators, researchers, NGOs, the private sector, initial teacher education professionals and teachers.

"The objective is to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, create opportunities to connect and build professional networks and promote the implementation of evidence-informed policies that support effective teacher preparation and professional development," said Dahal. "More than 350 expressions of interest were received from over 30 countries, including representatives from university faculties of education, government departments, international organizations and NGOs."

To facilitate peer-to-peer learning, organizers and participants will share the latest research findings, policy guidance, strategic insights and global experiences related to teacher preparation and CPD. Organizers also hope to create opportunities for participants to connect and build professional networks focused on teacher preparation and professional development while promoting the implementation of evidence-informed policies that support effective teacher preparation and professional development.

"Our focus was on creating the best experience for participants, not just in terms of learning and networking, but also culturally," said Dahal. "We've designed sessions to cover every aspect of teacher preparation and development so that participants will walk away with a rich, comprehensive experience."

LSI strives to lead the way in creating innovative educational solutions that seamlessly connect theory with practice. Through advanced research, we develop industry-leading methods and implementation strategies to enhance systematic learning at all levels and in all environments. For more than five decades, LSI has been committed to driving measurable improvements in the performance of both individuals and organizations.