UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Given the rapid global changes in technology, climate and social circumstances, teacher preparation and professional development education need to be constantly changing, according to a Penn State College of Education professor.
Gerald LeTendre, H.L. Batschelet Chair of Education (educational leadership), is serving as a juror for the 2023-24 UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development, which is accepting applications until Oct. 31.
“The goal of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize is to promote the improvement of teaching and learning quality by identifying projects that have the potential for transnational improvement in the performance and effectiveness of teachers,” LeTendre said.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. The Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development was created in 2008 to support the improvement of teaching and learning quality in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education, which is one of UNESCO’s priorities.
Awarded every two years, the prize is supported by the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance (Hamdan Foundation). Eligible nominees include international or national governmental or non-governmental organizations, or educational or research institutions active in the field of teaching and learning. The winners are selected by an international jury composed of five distinguished professionals chosen for their high-level of knowledge and experience in teacher-related issues.
The prize amounts to $300,000, which is equally divided between three winners whose projects have been running for at least three years and have documented success in improving teacher performance and effectiveness.
According to LeTendre, who has previously consulted with UNESCO on teacher professional development, the projects are evaluated in terms of how they might “re-shape the institution of schooling and create sustainable, systemic reform that is not limited to a single national context.” The jurors have identified five key factors — innovation; excellence; representation; sustainability and replicability; and the inclusion of teachers — that are essential for these reforms to succeed.
“What we’re really looking for is innovation,” LeTendre said. “For example, projects that position teachers as researchers and activists within their own community.”
As an example of a previous winner, LeTendre mentioned the program Appendre en Paix, Eduquer sans Violence / Learn in Peace, Teach without Violence, which “advocates a shift to peace promotion/anti-violence that re-centers the work/focus of teachers away from traditional subject matter.” In Pennsylvania, he said, faculty members may want to consider nominating projects in which they have worked closely with local community members “to think about how teacher professional development can be tailored to the local area in order to better support schools and the community.”