Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute (LSI) is collaborating with the World Bank Group, UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to host an international event focused on teacher preparation and development. The event, titled “Educators Shaping Futures: A Global Knowledge Exchange on Teacher Preparation and Development,” will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from November 3-4, 2025.
The World Bank Group has reported that reaching universal primary and secondary school enrollment by 2030 will require an additional 44 million primary and secondary teachers as well as 6 million preprimary teachers worldwide. The upcoming conference aims to address this demand by gathering a wide range of participants involved in teacher education—including policymakers, government officials, academic leaders, administrators, researchers, private sector representatives, and teachers.
Bhushan Dahal, a doctoral student at FSU’s Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences commented on the broad appeal of the event: “The response has been very exciting. We are targeting global educators, and the way we are designing the sessions is attracting everyone from high-level policymakers to classroom teachers. Right now, we are consulting with speakers for different sessions, as well as the organizations that will lead and co-lead them, and with people who have expressed interest in joining the event.”
The two-day program will feature keynote speeches, presentations, interactive sessions, panel discussions, and an exhibition hall. One highlight includes a preview of the World Bank’s report “From Prospective to Prepared Teacher: A Global Study of Initial Teacher Education.” Other recent research such as the Africa Teachers Report Series—published jointly by UNESCO IICBA and the African Union—will also be discussed.
Dahal emphasized efforts to include diverse perspectives: “Our team is working hard in the background to bring in globally recognized names, as well as lesser-known voices who have changed education in ways that can inspire others. We are intentionally balancing voices from academia, practitioners, think tanks and global learning communities.”
Since its inception in December 2024, LSI’s project has expanded through partnership with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education to ensure attention to local context. Organizers describe this collaboration among LSI at Florida State University (FSU), World Bank Group and UNESCO-IICBA as unique due to each partner’s distinct experience.
Stephanie Zuilkowski, associate director for research at LSI said: “Partnering with the World Bank and UNESCO on this event provides an exciting opportunity to share FSU’s expertise in teacher education and professional development with governments, non-governmental organizations and technical partners from around the globe.”
The goal of Educators Shaping Futures is peer-to-peer learning through sharing current research findings along with policy guidance related to teacher preparation. Organizers also intend for participants—including policymakers—to form professional networks supporting evidence-informed policies for effective teacher training.
“We want to create the best experience for participants not just in terms of learning and networking but also culturally,” Dahal added. “We’ve designed sessions to cover every aspect of teacher preparation and development so participants will walk away with a rich comprehensive experience.”
LSI has worked for over fifty years developing educational solutions connecting theory with practice through advanced research aimed at improving individual and organizational performance across various environments.
More information about Educators Shaping Futures can be found at lsi.fsu.edu/Educators-Shaping-Futures.
