Teaching Performance Assessment for General Education in the Arab States

Introduction

   Based on the vision of the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education as a reliable regional reference for education quality and excellence, and its mission to provide creative services to enhance the quality of education in Arab countries, a study entitled “Teaching Performance Assessment for General Education in the Arab States ” has been prepared under the supervision of the center. The study aims to create a significant impact through innovative systems, standards, measures, and sustainable regional and international relationships to disseminate knowledge and best educational practices. It also aims to support and prepare high-quality research focused on issues of quality and excellence in education, to meet the needs of Arab countries while responding to the targeted goals and indicators of Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 in the Arab states.

   This concept paper summarizes the study, its appendices, and respective country reports, presenting the current state of Teacher’s Performance Assessment systems (TPAs) in general education in some Arab countries, exploring the best global practices and benchmarks. The paper proposes a teaching performance assessment framework based on international best practices that are suitable for application within the Arab context and its cultural specifics. It highlights the significance of this topic, affirming its rightful place in the spotlight and deserving attention. It emphasizes the importance of its role in actively contributing to the practical implementation of teacher evaluation processes across various Arab Countries. This entails outlining both the prominent and underlying procedures of Arab countries to achieve their primary objectives of enhancing educational outcomes, focused on fostering the student’s growth in cognitive and social aspects, as well as nurturing their personal development.

   In light of the above, the regional workshop is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education in the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is held under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Education, Professor Dr. Reda Hegazy. The workshop’s main purpose is to review the findings of the project study and engage in discussions about the recommendations and proposals to help decision-makers in adopting suitable measures tailored to the unique conditions prevailing in their respective countries, which significantly impact educational policy-making. This aims to strengthen their local systems, leveraging the extensive comparative developmental frameworks that have been thoroughly studied, and the results of which can serve as a reliable foundation for developing policies and evaluation systems for teachers in general education within Arab educational systems, aligning them with the best current global practices.

   The workshop also aims to offer viable solutions for overcoming challenges and introducing new methods, potentially innovative and applicable, which can prove to be beneficial for Arab countries in modernizing their local systems to adapt to the 21st-century changes. Moreover, it will offer comprehensive developmental efforts that lead to increased student achievement, improved knowledge, skills, and experiences, and enhanced performance in various national and international measures, thus reinforcing the efficiency of the Arab human resources in diverse practical aspects of life.

Objective

• 1.Enhance collaboration and promote in-depth discussions among Arab countries at the regional level regarding the standards and mechanisms for evaluating the performance of teachers in general education within their respective educational systems.
• 2. Review the findings of the study conducted by the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, titled “Teaching Performance Assessment for General Education in Arab States,” in the context of international practices. From these insights, establish guidelines that the Ministries of Education and Teacher Training and Development Centers in Arab countries can benefit from to enhance evaluation policies for teaching performance in our Arab educational systems, aligning with the most effective global practices.
• 3. Supporting the efforts of education systems in Arab countries to achieve the fourth goal of the sustainable development goals (SDG4).
• 4. Present a proposed framework for developing the performance evaluation of teachers in general education in Arab countries based on international best practices.

Topics

1.Present visionary and prospective global insights into the development of teaching performance.

2. Review the study’s results on policies and systems for evaluating the performance of teachers in general education in Arab countries in light of international best practices.

3. Highlight leading global practices and trends in international assessments of teaching performance, considering the international best practices, and their impact on educational reform directions.

4. Introduce the framework for developing the performance evaluation of teachers in general education in Arab countries based on international best practices.

Participants

The workshop will bring together numerous thinkers, scholars, experts, researchers, educational decision-makers, academics, teachers, and school principals, as well as representatives from the Ministries of Education, National Committees, and various national and international institutions at different levels. These attendees are involved in various aspects of education, such as teaching, supervision, evaluation, planning, quality assurance, and educational excellence.

Workshop Strategy

The regional workshop will be held over a period of one day, to review the outputs of the study project, “Teaching Performance Assessment for General Education in Arab Countries,” conducted by the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education. The main objective is to a proposed framework for the development of performance evaluation for teachers in general education in Arab countries, drawing from the global best practices, and adapting them to the specific contexts of these countries. The workshop will include high-quality presentations and foster an interactive dialogue, providing ample opportunities for participants to exchange diverse best practices.

The workshop will welcome participants through open invitations, extending to specialists, experts, and interested parties.

Workshop Language

The language of the workshop will be Arabic, and simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided Via ZOOM application.

Organizers

The UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Invited Organizations

1. UNESCO regional centers and offices.

2. Regional and international organizations.

3. Ministries of Education in Arab countries.

4. Universities in Arab countries.

5. National Committees for Education, Culture and Science.

6. Education Assessment bodies in Arab countries.

7. Experts, specialists and interested individuals.

Expected Outcomes

The key expected outcomes of this workshop are:

• Exchange perspectives on the existing landscape of teacher’s performance assessment in general education in the targeted Arab countries.
• Explore and broaden knowledge about best practices (regional and international) in policies and frameworks for teacher’s performance assessment in general education in Arab countries.
• Provide recommendations for educational decision-makers in higher education systems to develop policies and systems for evaluating the performance of teachers in general education in Arab countries based on the best global practices.