Florida State University researchers will help improve teacher education in Egypt as part of a new project sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Faculty from the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) and the School of Teacher Education at FSU will work with the Education Development Center (EDC) on the Teacher Excellence Initiative, a five-year, $49.5 million project. LSI will receive $2.95 million in funding for its work.
“We are incredibly pleased to join the EDC team in the implementation of this initiative in Egypt,” said Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, an LSI senior research associate and project principal investigator. “The Learning Systems Institute has a long history of engaging with other organizations and universities abroad, and we are excited about the prospect of collaborating with international universities and Egyptian counterparts in person to innovate teacher education programs.”
Ramos-Mattoussi is joined by co-principal investigators Kathleen Clark, professor of Mathematics Education and Director of the School of Teacher Education (STE), leading a team of STE faculty in support of the project, and Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, former LSI director, and professor at the College of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.
“We are incredibly pleased to join the EDC team in the implementation of this initiative in Egypt,” said Dr. Ramos-Mattoussi.
“The Learning Systems Institute has a long history of engaging with other organizations and universities abroad, and we are excited about the prospect of collaborating with international universities and Egyptian counterparts in person to innovate teacher education programs.”
The Teacher Excellence Initiative will support the Government of Egypt in enhancing skills geared at primary school student learning in support of Egypt’s Education 2.0 reform, which aims to transform the country’s education system by emphasizing skills-based learning and by expanding digital learning.
The project aims to improve the quality of teacher education in Egyptian universities so that teachers have the skills to support student learning and advance Egypt’s Education 2.0 reform. Through this program, USAID will establish undergraduate and graduate degree programs for primary-grade teachers at 15 Egyptian public universities, establish
partnerships between U.S. and Egyptian universities, and incorporate education technology in all teaching programs.
Through this initiative, USAID will establish undergraduate and graduate degree programs for primary-grade teachers at 15 Egyptian public universities and develop partnerships between U.S. and Egyptian universities.
Florida State University faculty members will collaborate with other international university partners to support Egyptian universities on a variety of measures to improve teacher education in alignment with current education reforms.
Faculty members from the School of Teacher Education and the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University will work collaboratively with US Universities, Egyptian Universities and other key stakeholders to design a framework for pre-service degree teacher education programs focused on multi/interdisciplinary mathematics, science, reading (Arabic) and English teaching; lead work with American University of Beirut (AUB) to provide technical assistance to develop/revise the four-year program for primary education teachers in the English track; and provide ongoing professional development and support to professors in targeted universities to build their capacity to deliver the four-year degree, post-graduate, and certificate programs. FSU faculty will provide support to faculties of education in Egypt to strengthen pre-service and in-service teaching curriculum in mathematics and English.
The collaboration with AUB, one of the top universities in the Middle East and North Africa, and accredited in the U.S., will not only provide
Egyptian university faculty access to a world-class research university but also access to a deep pool of Arabic-speaking faculty operating in a similar time zone, allowing for real-time, immediate accessibility and communication.
FSU will also host a group of 12 visiting scholars from Egyptian universities over the course of the program, including a study tour to the FSU campus in the Fall of 2023 as part of the project.
“We are proud to have been chosen to work with the Educational Development Center to improve teacher education in Egyptian Universities,” said LSI Director Rabieh Razzouk. “This project is a unique opportunity for LSI to partner with FSU’s School of Teacher Education to implement this critical work that will reach all Egyptian children. Working on the Teacher Excellence Initiative ensures Florida State University will play a vital role in Egypt’s Education 2.0 reform.”
In the past decade, LSI faculty have also worked on USAID-funded education activities in Honduras, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia and Indonesia, as well as U.S. Department of State projects in Indonesia, India, Ukraine, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Pakistan, Egypt, St. Lucia, Grenada and Suriname.
On behalf of the American people, USAID promotes and demonstrates democratic values in more than 80 countries around the globe, and advances a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. In support of America’s foreign policy, the Agency leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises and progress beyond assistance.