For most Quebecers, a quality, publicly-funded, accessible education is an expectation, but at home and abroad the definition of quality is increasingly being pushed aside in favour of balanced budgets, standardized testing, and privatization.
As a new premier takes office, the province’s education systems are under threat, and it begins with teachers and their ability to deliver high quality education to students. In Quebec alone, $600 million in budget cuts over the past five to six years have ballooned class sizes, increasing the pressure on teachers at the expense of students. In First-Nations’ communities across the country, education is in dire need of reform and funding to ensure students have equal opportunities and adequate learning resources. And in regions across Canada, cutbacks and standardized testing are threatening quality.
However, these are not only Quebec and Canadian issues, but international ones that target quality education worldwide.
This is why, with public education worldwide in crisis, from May 27 – 30 the Unite for Quality Education Conference will bring together global leaders in education to address, and tackle the biggest challenges facing education today.
The Centrale des syndicats du Québec(CSQ) is hosting the event of Education International(EI), the voice of 30 million teachers and other education employees worldwide through its 400 affiliated organizations in more than 170 countries and territories.The Unite for Quality Education Campaign stresses a global focus on education in order to achieve: universal and free access to quality teachers; modern teaching tools and resources; and supportive and safe environments for teaching and learning.
Education International launched its Global Action Year in Paris and New York on 4 October 2013, an initiative which EI and its member organizations are calling for the achievement of the highest quality of education for all in each country. The campaign will run until October 5, World Teachers Day 2014, when campaign leaders meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to stress that education must be the foundation of a post-2015 development agenda.
The event will bring together representatives of EI member organizations and education partners, including OECD, UNESCO, GEFI, GCE and other UN agencies and civil society organizations.
Notable speakers:
Louise Chabot, President, (CSQ) Canada
Lise Bastien, Director, First Nations Education Council (FNEC) Canada
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) USA
Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association (NEA) USA
Pasi Sahlberg, Visiting Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Director General, CIMO/Finland
Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer, Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
Further information is available on the Conference website here.