“Access to continuous professional development is crucial to us teachers as it allows us to evolve and enhance our performance in classrooms.”
Meet Ahlam Tlaib, a Chemistry teacher at a secondary school in Beit Our El-Foqa, a village west of Ramallah. Ahlam is one of around 2,500 teachers across Palestine who took part in Inclusive Education training provided by UNESCO within the framework of the Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP), funded by Education Cannot Wait.
Ahlam has been in the teaching profession for over 15 years. For her, teaching is one of the most rewarding professions. However, the limited access to continuous professional development and the Palestinian context increase the number of hurdles facing Palestinian teachers.
However, despite the difficulties facing Ahlam and her colleagues, she is determined to continue to enhance the educational experience for her students.
"Through UNESCO’s Inclusive Education training, I was able to take the learnings and practices into my classroom. I am using some of the practices that we learned with my students with disabilities and students with learning difficulties and I have noticed a positive difference in their motivation and attitude in the classroom.”
In accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4, UNESCO aims to help ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all, whilst also advancing lifelong learning in pursuit of a more sustainable and prosperous future.
World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which established guidelines for the rights and duties of teachers, as well as standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.
The global theme for 2023 is “The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage," which aims to put the importance of a dignified and valued teaching profession at the top of the global agenda.
World Teachers' Day is jointly organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF, and Education International (EI).
“Continuous professional development allows us to play our part in the transformation expected in education. We receive training every now and then, but it should be more consistent. Training allows us to learn new teaching methods, techniques, and skills. They also allow for peer-to-peer learning."
“In Palestine, we as teachers face multiple challenges. For instance, we very often find ourselves in positions where we have to try and protect a whole classroom from violent attacks.”
