How to internationalize teacher education in Hamburg?

23 March 2022

Photo: UHH, RRZ/MCC, Mentz

Against the backdrop of globalization and migration, future teachers will need to do justice to an educational environment composed of different cultures, languages, and educational backgrounds. From 22 to 25 March 2022, a conference to foster the internationalization of teacher education will take place at Universität Hamburgs Faculty of Education.

The Internationalization of Teacher Education conference aims to strengthen cooperation with individual partner universities and to help build a multilateral network. Fifteen international guests from 7 partner universities and 5 countries, including Brazil and Ghana, will take part. There will also be participants working in research, teaching, and higher education management.

Guests to visit Hamburg schools

The program includes workshops offered by faculty members and international guests and school visits to provide conference attendees with insight into Hamburg’s school system. There will also be a discussion with experts at the Hamburg State Institute of Teacher Training and School Development on the topic of diversity in schools and in teacher education.

The program is being organized jointly and includes several Hamburg institutions involved in teacher education, ensuring that the conference will illuminate the internationalization of teacher education in all of its facets and strengthen cooperation among individual participants. Among other things, the keynote speech by Dr. Rita Panesar on the topic of anti-bias training in teacher education and school development will provide an opportunity for exchange.

“After a long period of digital cooperation, personal exchange with colleagues from a total of 7 partner universities and 5 countries will be especially welcome,” says Dr. Myriam Hummel, head of the International Office in the Faculty of Education. Prof. Dr. Dandy George Dampson from the University of Education Winneba, Ghana added: “This conference is a win for all of us. It will expand cooperation and illuminate working areas in teacher education, literacy, and other pedagogical areas. In the future, we will gain important insights into how we can internationalize and change teacher education.”

New ideas for teacher education in Hamburg

The conference is taking place as part of the Diversity Contexts in Teacher Education (DiCoT) project, which is being funded through the DAAD’s Lehramt.International program, itself funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The project goal is to internationalize the orientation internship in teacher training programs via a combination of international internships and opportunities in Hamburg (“Internationalization@Home”). It is a joint initiative between the Faculty of Education and the Hamburg Center for Teacher Education (ZLH).

Moreover, in the last few years, the Faculty of Education has acquired funding for several projects that foster the internationalization of teacher education and prepare future teachers accordingly. Projects such as the Tricontinental Teacher Training project or the Next Generation Literacies projects (part of the Next Generation Partnerships), will further strengthen cooperation at faculty and university levels while also initiating new cooperation with international partner universities.

See the project website for more information.