World Teachers’ Day celebrations in Aotearoa

The New Zealand Teachers Council
NZ National Commission For UNESCO
Media Release
To: All Education Reporters
Date: 26 October 2007

Teaching is a learning profession: World Teachers’ Day celebrations in Aotearoa New Zealand

World Teachers’ Day will be celebrated on 26 October in Aotearoa New Zealand. The theme for this important day is ‘teacher professional learning’, which recognises that teaching is a learning profession. While professional learning generally begins with teacher training, teachers never stop learning. Both in and out of their classrooms and centres, teachers are always looking for new ways to create positive learning environments.

The New Zealand Teachers Council will be celebrating World Teachers’ Day by hosting a conference in Wellington focused on the professional learning of teachers, especially the early years of teaching. The conference will bring together new and experienced teachers from early childhood education, primary and secondary schools as well as teacher educators, teacher unions, education policy makers and researchers.

The conference builds on the Council’s Learning to Teach research on induction and mentoring. One of the key findings of the research was the need to systematically train mentors to address the unevenness in quality of induction programmes across the country.

Peter Lind, Director of the Teachers Council noted that:

“While New Zealand has been seen as a world leader in resourcing support for beginning teachers, it is time to consider the areas where substantial improvements are required.

The research shows that a number of newly qualified teachers are not receiving quality support from a mentor. Trained and skilled mentors, focused on the practice of teaching and learning, are needed to support all early career teachers to fulfil their important role successfully.”

The level of interest in the conference, which was fully subscribed well before registrations closed, illustrates the urgency attached to supporting the early years of teaching by the education sector.

More generally, World Teachers’ Day provides Aotearoa New Zealand with an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the multi-skilled professionals that lead our children and young people in their learning, and to support their ongoing professional learning.

World Teachers day itself is a UNESCO initiative that started in 1994 recognising the 1966 UNESCO / ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.

The New Zealand Teachers Council

The New Zealand Teachers Council is a Crown Entity that was established in 2002 to provide professional leadership in teaching, enhance the professional status of teachers and to contribute to a safe and high quality teaching and learning environment. The Council works, in partnership with teachers and others, to encourage best teaching practice, excellent learning outcomes for students and the maintenance of high professional standards.

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