On the afternoon of November 11, the 4th Global Forum for Teacher Professional Development and the Launch Ceremony of the Chinese Version of the First Global Report on Teachers was successfully held at the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre (hereinafter referred to as the Centre). Chaired by Associate Professor Bian Cui of the Centre, the event adopted a combined format of in-person attendance and online live streaming, attracting the enthusiastic participation of over 1,000 teachers and students from universities at home and abroad.
Attendees of the event included Getachew ENGIDA, former Deputy Director-General of UNESCO; Andreas SCHLEICHER, Director of the Directorate for Education and Skills at the OECD; Carlos VARGAS-TAMEZ, Head of the UNESCO Teacher Development Task Force; Hyun Mook LIM, Director of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU); Jordan NAIDOO, former Executive Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP); Dr. Wu Jianbing, former Lead Education Specialist at the World Bank; Zhang Chunliu, Level-2 Researcher of the Teacher Development Division under the Teacher Work Department of the Ministry of Education; Zhou Zuoyu, Director of the UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED); Zheng Haojie, President and Chief Editor of Educational Science Publishing House; Cheng Jieming, Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong; Xiang Shiqing, Researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Jiang Mingjun, Vice President of Shanghai Normal University; Zhang Minxuan, Director of the Centre; Xiao Shengxiong, Director of the International Exchange Division of Shanghai Normal University; and Fan Guorui, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Shanghai Normal University.
During the opening ceremony, Zhang Chunliu, Level-2 Researcher of the Teacher Development Division under the Teacher Work Department of the Ministry of Education, congratulated the publication of the Chinese version of the Global Report on Teachers. He shared the experience and practices of the Chinese government in advancing teacher education, deepening reform of teacher management, and improving teachers' status and benefits, and expressed the hope to enhance international exchanges and cooperation in teacher team building.
Jiang Mingjun, Vice President of Shanghai Normal University, first extended a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of the university. He then introduced the university's characteristics of international opening-up and its efforts in cultivating normal students and teachers with global competence.
Zhang Minxuan, Director of the Centre, not only thanked the old friends who had traveled from afar but also warmly welcomed all the new friends present. Meanwhile, combining the uniqueness of education and his own experience in the teaching profession, he emphasized the importance of mutual exchanges among countries around the world and encouraged students to open their eyes to the world.
Zheng Haojie, President and Chief Editor of Educational Science Publishing House, reviewed the efforts and achievements of the publishing house over the past 30 years in translating and publishing important research reports of UNESCO. He also stated that the publishing house is willing to further deepen cooperation with international organizations such as UNESCO to contribute to the professional development of teachers.
Subsequently, under the witness of all attendees, the Chinese version of the first Global Report on Teachers was officially unveiled and released.
With the release of the first Chinese version of the report, the 4th Global Forum for Teacher Professional Development was officially inaugurated. The forum, themed How to Enhance the Professional Attractiveness of the Teaching Profession, invited renowned domestic and international scholars and experts to conduct in-depth discussions on the opportunities and challenges of global teacher professional development in the new technological ecosystem.
Carlos VARGAS-TAMEZ, Head of the UNESCO Teacher Development Task Force, based on his analysis of the Global Report on Teachers, pointed out that various regions around the world are facing varying degrees of structural teacher shortages and explained the causes of teacher attrition. He also introduced the measures mentioned in the report that different countries and regions have adopted to address teacher shortages.
Professor Zhou Zuoyu, Director of the UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED), delivered a report titled Close the Gap: Teacher Powerhouse and the Roadmap towards Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education in China. He shared three valuable experiences of China in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and realizing inclusive and equitable quality education, namely optimizing top-level design, proactively advancing reform, and attaching importance to digital technology empowering education.
Andreas SCHLEICHER, Director of the Directorate for Education and Skills at the OECD, focused on the theme AI and Teaching Profession. He affirmed the value of AI in empowering teacher professional development, but also pointed out that teachers can only better improve their professional capabilities and job satisfaction if they learn to use AI.
In his report STEM Education: International Development and Current Application, Researcher Xiang Shiqing from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, took the challenges brought by the digital and intelligent era to learners as a starting point. He introduced the concept, connotation, development history, thinking mode, and teaching methods of STEM education, and further proposed that teachers are facing a role transformation from knowledge transmitters to designers of learning activities. Finally, he pointed out that STEM education is not merely science and technology education; it is both a new form or model of science education and a basic education model in the new era.
Jordan NAIDOO, former Executive Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), stated in his report Crisis Sensitive Teacher Policies for Sustainability that against the backdrop of global education systems facing numerous challenges, teachers are the foundation for global sustainable development and the cultivation of global citizens. He also pointed out that teachers should abandon traditional ways of thinking, learn to engage in team-based learning, and embrace technology with an open mindset to adapt to the ever-changing world.
Finally, Cheng Jieming, Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, delivered a report titled AI and Education: What are the real challenges? Through a number of vivid short stories, he triggered attendees' reflections on the essence of education, emphasizing that education is not about cultivating human resources, but about teaching students to adapt to an ever-changing and unpredictable future. He concluded by noting that AI is by no means the only challenge facing education.
The exchanges and sharing at this forum provided valuable international perspectives and experiential insights for strengthening teacher team building. It is believed that the Global Report on Teachers will offer case support and inspiration for global education reform and development. The event not only aroused enthusiastic responses from attendees but also gained attention and coverage from the media.
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