21 st Century Teacher Education in the Americas: Horizontal Cooperation and the Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN)

Transcription

1 21 st Century Teacher Education in the Americas: Horizontal Cooperation and the Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The article outlines the Inter-American Teacher Education Network (ITEN), an initiative of the Department of Human Development, Education and Culture of the Organization of American States (OAS). ITEN is a bilingual network of professional leaders in the field of teacher education at all levels and modalities who share knowledge, experience, research and successful practice in the field. ITEN offers a space for interaction for all teachers and teacher education stakeholders in the Americas. ITEN provides a unique opportunity for horizontal cooperation in education (HCE) within the Americas and the Caribbean in the field of teacher education. Taking into account that with about 60 million teachers in the profession, this professional community is the largest in the world and recognizing that teachers play a key role in preparing new generations of youth who will live and interact in a world that is increasingly interconnected and interdependent, ITEN aims to contribute to addressing the pressing need for quality teacher education to assure teachers in the region are competent to promote learning that is relevant to 21st century needs. Through strategic partnerships and alliances with key stakeholders such as Ministries and Secretaries of Education, academia, the private sector, professional associations, unions and civil society organizations, ITEN seeks to become an innovative networking hub for horizontal cooperation in education. ITEN is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the OAS Inter-American Committee on Education, and other partners. INTRODUCTION: HORIZONTAL COOPERATION Horizontal cooperation refers to cooperative activities between and among developed and less developed countries that take place in a non-hierarchical manner. The goal is to develop mechanisms to promote dialogue between educators in partner countries, to learn from each other s experience, and to jointly find solutions to common problems. Based on principles of solidarity and mutual support, the goal of horizontal cooperation is to promote the sharing and transfer of information between countries in similar or different stages of development. Unlike the old concept of vertical cooperation which describes a donor-recipient relationship, the emergence of horizontal cooperation reflects more of a partnership or collaborative relationship. CONVENING ROLE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES In its role as a regional leader, the OAS has actively worked to bring together Member States, private sector and civil society actors to create strategies and forge consensus on development goals. Through its Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) the OAS builds regional capacity by promoting greater access to technical assistance and training opportunities in economic, social, educational, cultural, scientific, and technological fields, as stated in Article

2 94 of the OAS Charter. The OAS is thus well positioned to facilitate transfer of knowledge and relevant experience. With the presence of 34 member states, each with equal status in the Organization, and 65 permanent observers from around the world, and the participation of numerous civil society organizations, the OAS has accumulated a wealth of relevant experience in the course of helping member States address development challenges and strengthening the political dialogue and coordination among cooperation partners for a more efficient participation. Within SEDI, education is one of the areas in which there is considerable potential for horizontal cooperation. Indeed, there are vast opportunities for exchanges of expertise and knowhow among developing countries and emerging middle income countries in the area, some of which have already been initiated. For example, the Office of Education and Culture of SEDI has coordinated a Cooperation Fund for Technical Assistance Missions as part of the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices. This fund is modeled on the OAS Cooperation Fund of the Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL). It serves to support horizontal cooperation and technical assistance between member states of the OAS, primarily by providing travel grants for cooperation activities identified by institutions in member States. It also allows for and promotes collaboration between diverse types of institutions when collaboration addresses context-specific needs effectively. The fund promotes bilateral and multilateral cooperation between governmental institutions of the various OAS member states, for example, between Ministries of Education as well as cooperation between governmental institutions in one country and other types of institutions (for example, non-governmental organizations, universities and private institutions) in another country or countries which are dedicated to promoting a democratic culture through formal and non-formal education inside and outside the schools. In 2009, the Cooperation Fund issued its first call for proposals. Through a competitive process, nine proposals were selected, benefiting 12 countries and directly involving 21 institutions. Twenty missions were conducted between July 2009 and January A final report based on required reporting by beneficiaries indicates that, in many cases, the technical assistance missions resulted in ongoing and deepening cooperation among participating institutions as well as acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills. VIRTUAL NETWORKS AS CATALYSTS FOR HORIZONTAL COOPERATION The international cooperation arena has seen the rise of many online networks in different fields of development. The creation of such networks has been a key feature of horizontal cooperation. Through online networking it is possible and cost-effective to link diverse actors together: professional peers, governments, NGO s, the private sector and international organizations can interact almost immediately and create an enabling environment for horizontal cooperation. The horizontal cooperation mechanism involved in networks is directional and fluid. It is directional in that there are leaders who share their expertise, knowledge and experience and partners who benefit from the exchange. The cooperation is also fluid in that countries can move easily in and out of the leadership and partner roles. For example, while a certain country or 2

3 institution might take leadership for one topic, that same country could also act as the partner, mostly receiving the cooperation, on a different topic. In sum, technology-enabled networks have the potential to become catalysts to convene multiple stakeholders in any development field and interact to place local issues and challenges on the transnational arena to find solutions through effective and efficient collaborative efforts. THE INTER-AMERICAN TEACHER EDUCATION NETWORK: Horizontal Cooperation in Teacher Education (HCTE) Since the creation of its virtual in 2010, ITEN has been the catalyst for several types of exchanges facilitated with technology. ITEN has been driven by mandates emanating from Ministerial Meetings of Education 1 which root it in strong political foundations within the OAS member States. These exchanges involve three different types of horizontal cooperation in the field of teacher education: (a) shared leadership, (b) knowledge exchange and (c) capacity building. In this framework of horizontal cooperation ITEN offers (1) support and guidance for collaborative higher education projects in multiple contexts, (2) space and tools to foster effective communication among teachers, administrators and other educational stakeholders; and (3) delivery of professional development for teachers and administrators; The two main areas of the ITEN online portal found at are the Virtual Community, which provides a space for interaction and knowledge sharing for all ITEN s stakeholders by providing interactive tools like forums, blogs and multi-media file-sharing and the Professional Development section, which offers online courses for teachers, ITEN: SHARED LEADERSHIP, KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE AND CAPACITY BUILDING Having established a bilingual (English-Spanish) technological platform to host virtual communities, ITEN seeks to promote horizontal cooperation through associations of expert leaders in the teacher education field who are willing to share and transfer knowledge, good practices and experiences to ITEN s communities. ITEN seeks to establish this leadership system by creating communities facilitated by social networking and other online tools. Using these tools, teachers and other key stakeholders can play a key role in preparing young generations that will act in an interconnected and interdependent world. 1 Sixth Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education of the Member States of the Organization of American States, Quito Declaration Article 15: Considering the fundamental role of teachers in education, we reaffirm the commitment to adopt cooperation mechanisms for the development of pre-service education and professional development of teachers that respond to the demands of 21st century education. We entrust the CIE to follow up on this issue through the Inter-American Teacher Educator Network (ITEN), to which we give our full backing. 3

4 Leaders can be from countries at various levels of development. The dynamic in ITEN communities is directional and fluid, fosters the exchange of knowledge, experiences and successful practices and enables capacity building. Capacity building refers to assistance that is provided to partners to develop competencies, infrastructure, and/or policies for general performance upgrades. Educators, policy makers, and other key stakeholders can play key roles in building capacity. Scholars, Think Tanks, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO s), researchers, education experts, unions, etc. can be a part of ITEN to contribute to the teacher education field and work in collaboration with policymakers, schools of education, teacher educators, future teachers and in-service teachers to transfer or co-construct knowledge and work in capacity building. Various teacher education stakeholders, including policymakers, faculty, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers and special interest groups, from different countries and cultures, can network and learn from each other. ITEN s professional development section was created to equip teachers of the Americas with skills that will help to improve the quality of education in their own region and the whole system. Online courses have been developed, and will be developed, by a variety of stakeholders to assist teachers to become competent to deliver relevant and effective 21st century education. Courses will be a key component of the ITEN knowledge exchange system. The professional development courses are and will be directional, fluid and foster the exchange of knowledge, experiences and successful practice. To date, one course has been offered, called Teacher Education for 21st Century Teachers: Concentration in Technology and Collaboration to Enhance the Quality of Education in the Americas. This first course, available in English and in Spanish, is designed to prepare teacher educators from the Americas to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and innovative methodologies in their classroom practice. The course content centers on ICT integration in the curriculum using a constructivist approach, student-centered methodologies, project-based learning and collaborative online projects. The course objectives are aligned with UNESCO s ICT Standards for Teachers and was developed in collaboration with iearn-usa (International Education and Resource Network) for the English version and Fundación Evolución (iearn Argentine national center) for the Spanish version. The two organizations are renowned leaders in the field of ICT and education in the Americas, each with 20 years of experience. A formative evaluation of two pilot editions of the courses showed that faculty and their teachers in training highly valued the knowledge and skills they acquired. Furthermore, they scored highly the chance to have been able to interact and exchange knowledge and experiences with faculty from other countries in their regions. Additionally, ITEN has created a variety of online forums and blogs within the virtual community with the aim of engaging Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in discussion and exchanges of experiences that can lead to improved competencies. For example, in Argentina, a one-toone-laptop SIG has formed its own communities within ITEN. Through these social networking tools, ITEN has built capacity for small and large groups of community members to initiate, develop and promote communities of practice and learning that can collectively explore important topics influencing education in the Americas. 4

5 Another way ITEN has created capacity is by establishing formal partnerships. For example, its first partnership, the organization Teachers without Borders, translated teacher professional resources from English into Spanish for Spanish-speaking educators. A second partnership has been established with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School Of Education to offer mentoring and provide capacity building to school leaders across the Americas by engaging them in critical conversations about contemporary issues in the field of educational leadership as well as in the sharing of ideas, skills, expertise and resources. The UPENN team will also facilitate online events, coordinate blog posting, conceptualize expert forums, themes and ideas for online discussions designed to create and strengthen synergies among and across the Network. BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE NETWORK MODEL ITEN was officially launched during the V Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee of Education held in Guayaquil, Ecuador on November 9-10, The virtual community is also in place and already hosting its first SIGs: The Conectar Igualdad SIG for the one-to-one initiative in Argentina and the Principals SIG led by UPENN. The two general groups for all stakeholders in the teacher education field in the Americas (ITEN AND RIED) are also in place and available at The ITEN Newsletter is distributed once a month to the approximately members who have registered or expressed interest in the ITEN community. In order to come up with a sustainable model for ITEN to support potentially large growth, co-creating a shared management approach with stakeholders is essential for ITEN s expansion in a controlled environment. By establishing an efficient and effective network management system, that is, the administration of the network, including among other things, normative aspects, budget and policies as well as community coordination, the ITEN facilitators are looking to build a model that is also based on horizontal cooperation. An advisory board of experts in teacher education will be convened by the OAS for the next phase of development. ITEN will have a decentralized structure to promote ownership and autonomy for different Special Interest Groups within the virtual community. Each SIG will be moderated by an expert individual or organization. During 2011, efforts will focus on reaching out to further potential partners such as universities, think tanks, Colleges of Education, other international and multilateral organizations, etc, to expand its reach and growth. Some additional organizations that have expressed strong interest in becoming partners are: the World Bank Institute, Fundación Telefónica, the Program for Revitalization of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean PREAL, Editorial El Educador, among other organizations. CONCLUSIONS The Internet and communication technologies have brought profound changes in the way information and knowledge circulates, as well as how people communicate and interact with each other. Platforms that bring groups of people together have enabled the creation of online social networks. Virtual communities emerge in these spaces where members contribute and share knowledge and experiences and everyone can teach and learn. Education is one of the sectors in which the use of virtual communities can foster horizontal cooperation. 5

6 Without thoughtful intervention by international organizations or other entities, the existing knowledge divide between developed and developing countries is likely to be further widened by the new digital divide. To equip students with 21st century skills, teachers need information and communication technology (ICT) skills and appropriate pedagogical techniques for using meaningful innovations in teaching and learning. At the same time, policy-making and policy implementation play a key role in the educational agenda. Knowledge sharing is potentially an effective approach to create incentives for policy change and also to help create effective leadership at the school and classroom levels thus improving student outcomes. A key question is how do we fund, sustain, and expand ITEN and other similar initiatives? We suggest that a viable path toward a sustainable model for ITEN is through the development of a co-created, shared management approach toward the three HCTE types of horizontal cooperation (shared leadership, information exchange, and capacity building). By dividing up responsibilities, more countries and organizations are likely to participate and provide leadership because they have the opportunity to take on small, digestible bites of a much larger project. 6