Interview with Fred van Leeuwen of Education International [Exclusive]
Fred van Leeuwen, Secretary General, Education International
I had the pleasure of talking to Fred van Leeuwen, General Secretary of Education International (EI), a 30-million member federation consisting of the world’s teachers unions and associations. [NB: NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and AFT President Randi Weingarten have seats on the executive board for this organization.]
For the average teacher in North America, we mostly focus on our local union chapter or district locals. The more active participants are familiar with the work of NEA or AFT, but we don’t necessarily hear about EI’s work around the globe. According to van Leeuwen, EI not only works in industrialized nations, but also non-industrialized nations, including countries like Ghana, Mozambique, and South Africa. They’ve prompted governments across the world to invest in teaching.
When I asked him what he meant about investing in teaching, and what were some important factors in transforming teaching, he said resoundingly that the focus has to be on professional space. When schools and teachers are given the autonomy to improve student learning, everyone wins. He cited the recent PISA tests, noting that the highest-performing countries have schools with great learning / working conditions, and cooperation amongst teachers is paramount. I agreed, noting that, as a teacher, the best environments I’ve seen engender collaboration