EDUCA, the Annual Congress for Teacher Professional Development, has continuously emphasized the importance of teacher education for more than 10 years. For us, ‘teacher’ is a giver, leader, and a change agent who could strengthen the future of the nation. However, according to several international educational research studies, the value of teachers is decreasing. For instance, OECD 2018 report conducted by Andrea Schleicher on “Valuing our teachers and raising their status: How communities can help”, found that the quality of learning that teachers provide was critical. Teachers were stressed and facing burnouts. Meanwhile, TALIS reported that less than 1/3 of teachers believed that their profession was valuable to society. This is opposite to the belief in countries with quality education. There, people value teachers tremendously. The keys are not only about making the teacher happy and feel positive towards their profession but also about encouraging them to realize their high potential. This helps them keep improving themselves and their practices. Consequently, children will be inspired and their learning skills will be improved.
In 2018, the theme of EDUCA is the Value of Teachers. In this challenging world of digital technology, we aim to help the society realize the importance of the value of teachers and to emphasize the crucial role of the teacher in preparing Thai children to move towards a sustainable future.
