The Global Teachers Institute
LEAP Schools has been working in partnership with local and international partners to develop a broad platform to increase the number of teachers in South Africa and to develop their competency and consciousness. This has led to the development of the Global Teachers Institute which will officially launch in July 2015.
The Global Teachers Institute is an international organization that delivers teacher training and professional development programs that focus on transformational change.
Mission
The GTI is dedicated to strengthening teacher capacity in South Africa and across the world by changing the way we train teachers. The GTI aims to empower student teachers, current faculty, school leaders, and education organizations globally by refocusing teacher training and professional development on ideas of personal growth and social change.
The GTI Philosophy
The GTI believes that to solve educational inequality, teachers must not only acquire skills, but also confront their deep-seated beliefs about learning, culture, and authority and consider the moral and political questions that are enmeshed within education. In order to truly make a difference, educators must reframe their teaching practice through these beliefs and questions and understand how they influence their work.
In response, GTI programs integrate existing skills-based training with material specifically emphasizing personal growth. Training includes facilitated process meetings, reflection groups, and readings that help educators understand how their practice relates to their personal experiences. This creates a community of practitioners who focus not only on instructional practice, but also on personal transformation and setting a deeper meaning for their work.
The GTI Educator:
- Views personal growth as professional growth
- Actively seeks to develop a higher degree of personal consciousness through formalized training where open, honest engagement serves as the foundation.
- Prioritizes self-awareness, self-reflection, and having difficult conversations about the broader context of educational work.
Aims
- Address the teacher shortage in South Africa by growing a pipeline of teachers trained in transformative teaching practice.
- Provide opportunities and spaces for immediate sharing of “best practices”, thus eliminating unnecessary replication, and making professional development more efficient.
- Create reciprocal partnerships with global programs, schools, and initiatives to build a greater community of practitioners dedicated to integrating personal transformation into educational work.
- Through connecting all our programs, create a cohesive, multi-tiered training cycle that provides the safety, support, and internal strength necessary to engage in this kind of work.
Model
The GTI accomplishes its aims through three focus areas:
Pre-Service Teacher Training – To increase the number of highly trained, qualified, teachers.
In-Service Teacher Professional Development – To improve competencies, performance, and pedagogical understanding of teachers already in the profession.
School and Instructional Leader Training – To equip new school leaders with the necessary leadership and instructional skills to effectively lead schools, departments, and other learning programs.
GTI’s programs enhance training on all three levels, while also structuring all training around personal transformation and social change. The connection of these programs through the GTI allows us to both deepen and scale our impact, influence a greater numbers of educators, and create an efficient cycle of training and professional development.
To read more on the Global Teachers Institute download the information brochure here