FAU Egyptian Partnership

 

In 2015, FAU’s Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology (ELRM) joined Balanced Education, Cairo Egypt, to form a partnership, bringing additional expertise in educational leadership and curriculum, as well as new perspectives to the design and delivery of professional development programs.

The partnership began with a commitment to provide professional development for 10,000 public school teachers predicated on the belief that education is a lever for equity. The FAU team rallied behind a vision to improve student learning by building teacher capacity using a teacher-of-teacher model. FAU faculty created a curriculum for a professional development program to prepare teacher leaders from private international schools, who in turn then became the PD facilitators for two cohorts of teachers in experimental public schools across Egypt. Teachers in experimental public schools were targeted as a first step because these schools were perceived as possible vehicles for quality education to advance social mobility opportunities for lower middle class families in Egypt.

Figure 1: Ripples for Creating Positive Change in Egyptian Experimental Public Schools

The partnership has continued with multiple initiatives, including the further development of PD delivered to educators and administrators, as well as projects aimed at bringing professional learning to public school teachers through virtual/digital means. The FAU School Leaders Program and BalancEd has also begun an annual educational conference. The first held in Cairo in May 2022 in collaboration with the International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership (ICPEL).