The Pearson Foundation/CCSSO International Conference on Education

The Pearson Foundation/CCSSO International Conference on Education brings together an international delegation of education leaders to explore innovative approaches to a single, shared educational issue. This gathering provides participants the opportunity to explore emerging international methods, best practices, and policies with an eye to the ways in which they may apply to their local education contexts.

Each year since 2008, delegates have visited with local educators to learn from the host country’s own challenges and successes; met in small working teams to present and share best practices from their own countries; learned from each other ways in which they can improve their own local efforts; and – as a result of this dialogue – made recommendations that may be shared with their local and global peers about methods, practice, and policy.

Focused specifically on the teaching profession and taking its agenda from the Asia Society’s recently published Improving Teacher Quality Around the World, the fourth annual summit took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - a country whose educational system is recognized in the recent 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as one of the three fastest-improving this decade.

Delegates were joined by CCSSO partners from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the Education Commission of the States (ECS), the National Education Association (NEA), and the Smithsonian. Together, they met officials from the Ministry of Education, visited local schools to learn from students and teachers, and took part in seminars to discuss effective strategies for teacher preparation, evaluation, and professional development.

The conclusions of their investigations will be shared in the coming months under the title Report and Recommendations for Education Policy Leaders from the Pearson Foundation/CCSSO International Conference on the Teaching Profession.

In the meantime, a documentary created together by the Pearson Foundation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) about the recent achievements in the Brazilian educational system can be viewed here. The film is one of a series of such portraits that share the approaches of many “Strong Performers and Successful Reformers” improving their educational systems around the world.

London 2010

In June 2010, the third International Conference on Education was held in London, England, with the goal of exploring this country’s innovations in adapting and applying digital technologies in support of teaching and student learning. CCSSO and Pearson delegates were joined by local education leaders, international experts, and representatives from locations including Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Zambia.

Helsinki 2009

In September 2009, the conference was held in Helsinki, Finland, with the goal of learning from Finland’s own success in preparing its K-12 and university educators to meet the demands of an increasingly interconnected and technologically advanced workforce.
 
Officials from locales including Finland, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe joined a delegation of Chief State School Officers and other education leaders from the United States. Participants explored the educational and cultural drivers that have led to Finland’s educational success while taking part in site visits to local schools and universities.
 
The conclusions of their resulting dialogue were published in the document Report and Recommendations for Education Policy Leaders from the Pearson Foundation/CCSSO International Conference on Teacher Quality and Technological Innovation.

Singapore 2008

In 2008, the inaugural International Conference on Education welcomed educators from thirteen countries and six continents to Singapore with the aim of learning firsthand from the country’s success in science and mathematics.
 
Educators from Brazil, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States visited with local education officials and toured several innovative sites including the Crescent City Girls School and the National Institute of Education – the country’s only teacher training facility.
 
The results of this investigation were published in the document Report and Recommendations for Education Policy Leaders from the Pearson Foundation/CCSSO International Conference on Science and Mathematics Education.