The U.S. Department of Education, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Education International (EI), the global federation of teacher unions, will again join U.S.-based education partners—the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Asia Society, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the National Education Association (NEA), public broadcaster WNET and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) — to hold the second International Summit on the Teaching Profession: Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders.

 

Education is recognized around the globe as a driver of economic growth and social change, and it is high-quality teaching that enables students to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the 21st century. At the 2012 Summit, participants will examine how to improve teacher preparation and the development of school leaders to better address the needs and expectations of today's and tomorrow's learning environments. This year's theme, Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders, was chosen based on feedback from many of last year's participants and will build upon the conversation that was started in 2011.

 

The 2012 Summit will again convene education ministers, leaders of national teachers' organizations, and teacher leaders from countries with high-performing and rapidly improving educational systems. Countries and regions invited to participate in 2012 include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, the People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.