To improve teacher preparation and development worldwide, the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University is partnering with the World Bank Group, the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education for an event addressing the global demand for more highly skilled teachers.
“Educators Shaping Futures: A Global Knowledge Exchange on Teacher Preparation and Development” will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nov. 3-4, 2025.
The World Bank Group estimates that an additional 44 million primary and secondary teachers and 6 million preprimary teachers are needed to reach the goal of full primary and secondary school enrollment worldwide by 2030. To help accomplish this goal, the Educators Shaping Futures event will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders involved in designing, delivering and maintaining the quality of teacher preparation and professional development.
This includes education policymakers, government officials, academic leaders, school and district-level administrators, researchers, the private sector and teachers.
“The response has been very exciting,” said Bhushan Dahal, a doctoral student in the Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. “We are targeting global educators, and the way we are designing the sessions is attracting everyone from high-level policymakers to classroom teachers. Right now, we are consulting with speakers for different sessions, as well as the organizations that will lead and co-lead them, and with people who have expressed interest in joining the event.”
The two-day event will include keynote speeches, presentations, interactive sessions, panel discussions and an exhibition hall. The World Bank’s upcoming report, “From Prospective to Prepared Teacher: A Global Study of Initial Teacher Education,” will be featured, along with other recent research and publications, including the Africa Teachers Report Series published jointly by UNESCO IICBA and the African Union.
“Our team is working hard in the background to bring in globally recognized names, as well as lesser-known voices who have changed education in ways that can inspire others,” Dahal said. “We are intentionally balancing voices from academia, practitioners, think tanks and global learning communities.”
Since launching the project in December 2024, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education has joined as a partner to ensure the event will have a focus on the host country. The collaboration between LSI, the World Bank Group and UNESCO-IICBA is a unique partnership with each bringing valuable experience to the event.
“Partnering with the World Bank and UNESCO on this event provides an exciting opportunity to share FSU’s expertise in teacher education and professional development with governments, non-governmental organizations and technical partners from around the globe.”
—Stephanie Zuilkowski, associate director for research at LSI
The Educators Shaping Futures event aims to facilitate peer-to-peer learning through the sharing of the latest research findings, policy guidance, strategic insights and global experiences related to teacher preparation and continuing professional development. Organizers also hope to create opportunities for policymakers, education experts and researchers to connect and build professional networks focused on teacher preparation and professional development while promoting the implementation of evidence-informed policies that support effective teacher preparation and professional development.
“We want to create the best experience for participants, not just in terms of learning and networking, but also culturally,” Dahal said. “We’ve designed sessions to cover every aspect of teacher preparation and development, so participants will walk away with a rich, comprehensive experience.”
LSI strives to lead the way in creating innovative educational solutions that seamlessly connect theory with practice. Through advanced research, the institute develops industry-leading methods and implementation strategies to enhance systemic learning at all levels and in all environments. For more than five decades, LSI has been committed to driving measurable improvements in the performance of both individuals and organizations.
For more information about the Educators Shaping Futures event, visit lsi.fsu.edu/Educators-Shaping-Futures.