TOWARDS LIFELONG EDUCATION FOR ALL — TEACHERS

1994 5 October, anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO-ILO Recommendation on the Status of Teachers becomes World Teachers’ Day 1996 International Conference on Education, 45th session on the theme ‘Enhancing the Role of Teachers in a Changing World’, IBE, Geneva

... AND THE QUEST FOR AN INTEGRATED TRAINING STRATEGY From the beginning of the 1970s onwards the wealth of studies and experiences accumulated enabled the Organization to identify two complementary approaches as being most apt to respond to quantitative and qualitative requirements, the main aim being to enable the creation of: • Integrated training structures, pre-service training being considered as the first step in a process of continuous training which should carry on throughout a teacher’s career. Training institutes were encouraged to better integrate the three components (academic, professional, practical) and to harmonize the training of several categories of personnel, on the basis of a common core for all. • Training with multiplier effects, continuous training approach, preference being given to supervisory and management staff (inspectors, counsellors, principals of schools and colleges) because of their constant and close contacts with in-service teachers who make up the determining critical mass. It was recognized that the role of school principals was of the utmost importance, as they are continually called upon to lead and counsel the teachers in their schools. These two approaches have been put into practice in a considerable number of workshops, training courses and seminars organized at the regional or sub-regional level. These activities contributed to improving the training of personnel in the countries concerned as well as the training methods.

IMPROVE THE QUALIFICATIONS AND STATUS OF TEACHERS During the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, in increasingly complex and rapidly-changing societies, everybody’s cultural level and capacity to learn had to be enhanced. However, while the key place occupied by teachers is coming to be re-emphasized, their status and professional standing remain underrated. One major initiative has been the launching in Africa of an exercise to assess teacher-training institutions and programmes and to set up UNESCO-Chairs in the educational sciences, which will be particularly concerned with the relevance of teacher-training. UNESCO has also made a consolidated review of trends in pre-service and in-service training of teachers from 1960 to 1985 and a study of the implications of structural adjustment programmes for professional standards among teachers. In addition, it has conducted case studies to evaluate the impact of initial training in the classroom. Another thrust of UNESCO’s programme can be seen in the development of co-operative networking activities and exchanges of experiences gained in teacher education. To this end, UNESCO has maintained regular consultations with the main teachers associations: Education International (EI), the World Confederation of Teachers (WCT) and the World Federation of Teachers Unions (WFTU). Another example is the joint publication in 1993 of the UNESCO-ICET World Directory of Teacher-Training Institutions in conjunction with the International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET). Distance education, which makes it possible for teachers to continue studying without having to leave their teaching posts has become a popular method of upgrading their qualifications.

TRAINING SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN AFRICA The role of the head of a school is of prime importance. Each school is an enterprise whose director must manage available resources in the best possible way, seeing to the organization of teaching in the school, the distribution of pupils, teachers and premises, timetable management, and so on. Training in educational and administrative management has become a key element in improving school achievement. Thus, UNESCO, in co-operation with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation, has launched a regional project for the further training of school principals in Africa. This project has components for the English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries, with specific material such as the Guide to administrative and educational management of schools. As the project is proving successful, other countries, such as Brazil, have launched similar activities.

Lionel Elvin (United Kingdom) Director of the Department of Education, UNESCO, from 1950 to 1956, Professor at the Institute of Education, University of London If, however, there is a pilot training college serving a few pilot schools, how do you go on to generalize the reform through the whole school system? In nearly every educationally underdeveloped country there is some school or college that excites the admiration of reform-minded visitors. But why is its excellent experience not made general? Education on the Move, UNESCO, 1975 Jean Thomas (France) Assistant Director-General, then Deputy Director-General, UNESCO from 1950 to 1960 President of IBE Governing Council from 1969 to 1972 Teachers must therefore be placed in conditions such that they get used to regarding innovation as their concern, a joint undertaking in which they feel involved and responsible, and that, instead of carrying out orders, they become working partners. Education on the Move, UNESCO, 1975 Federico Mayor (Spain) Director-General of UNESCO since 1987 Improving education must go hand in hand with improving the status and the level of professionalism of teachers and the respect that society accords them. Teachers are not only the instrument of education; they are its spirit and its soul. [...] In declaring this World Teachers’ Day, we would like to tell the teachers of the world, at the same moment in time, that we are thankful to them for their hard work and dedication and for the heavy responsibilities they bear in educating the children of today to become the citizens of tomorrow. Proclamation of World Teachers’ Day on 5 October, 44th Session of ICE, UNESCO-IBE, Geneva, 1994

5 OCTOBER World Teachers’ Day The choice of 5 October, the anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO-ILO Recommendation on the Status of Teachers, as World Teachers’ Day, along with the UNESCO Teaching Prize, can be said to represent significant tokens of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development. Teaching today in a rapidly changing world is more demanding and challenging then ever before. Teachers must cope with a variety of situations: shifting social values, technological advances, educational reforms, changes in the family environment, poverty, violence and AIDS. More often than not they face these challenges with insufficient support from the family or the community. World Teachers’ Day is dedicated to those who devote their lives to the belief that learning gives rise to liberty, that edu-cation is the life blood of democracy. The vision of a future where people will live together in harmony, tolerance and mutual respect is not something to dream about, but something to work and struggle for. Teachers are in the forefront of this battle. Adapted from a poster co-designed by UNESCO and Education International, 1996.