Provinces and territories gearing up to host the 5th International Summit on the Teaching Profession

TORONTO, Feb. 18, 2015 /CNW/ - Provinces and territories are hard at work on preparations for the 5^th International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP 2015), to be held this March 29 and 30 in Banff, Alberta.

ISTP has emerged as one of the most important forums in the world for dialogue on education transformation. Held annually, it brings together education ministers and leaders of teachers' unions and associations from countries and regions with high-performing and rapidly improving education systems to discuss education policy and practice and the teaching profession. Individual teachers, education experts, and a variety of Canadian education stakeholders will also be in attendance.

This is the very first time that the summit will be held in Canada. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), and The Learning Partnership are hosting the event in partnership with OECD and Education International.

"Provincial and territorial ministers of education are delighted to be hosting ISTP 2015," said Gordon Dirks, Chair of CMEC and Minister of Education for Alberta. "Canada is one of the top-performing countries in the world, as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We have a lot to share with the world about how to achieve academic excellence in a diverse society. And we have a lot to learn from other countries about how to make our education systems even better."

Implementing Highly Effective Teacher Policy and Practice – The 2015 International Summit on the Teaching Profession will focus on three interrelated topics: developing and promoting effective leadership among principals, teachers, and administrators; strengthening teachers' sense of effectiveness or "self-efficacy"; and encouraging innovation in the 21^st-century classroom.

Sessions by education data and policy experts, including Julie Bélanger, Linda Darling-Hammond, Julie Desjardins, Michael Fullan, Xavier Prats Monné, and Andreas Schleicher, will provide internationally comparative data and analysis to support the discussions among ministers and union leaders and enrich the general conversation among all participants.

Canadian delegates will be meeting one day before the summit for an exchange on a variety of issues in Canadian education, including the needs of Aboriginal students, equity for all learners, continuous improvement in teaching and learning, and the impact of innovation on learning.

CMEC and The Learning Partnership are pleased to acknowledge the financial support of ISTP 2015 sponsors: Samsung, Pearson Canada, SMART Technologies, TD Bank Group, and Deloitte. For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Michael Cooper, The Learning Partnership, at 416-440-5127 or [email protected].

About CMEC

Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.

SOURCE Council of Ministers of Education, Canada

Colin Bailey, Director, Communications, Cell: 416-938-1911, Tel.: [phone], ext. 259, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @CCMEC