Education Workforce: Supporting Impactful Classrooms — Setting the Agenda for 2026 

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As 2026 kicks off, the newly rebranded Education Workforce: Supporting Impactful Classrooms Special Interest Group (SIG)—formerly the Teacher Professional Development SIG—is setting the tone for a year of vibrant engagement. We hope this renewed focus will spark action, catalyse collaboration, and deepen our collective impact.

Through conversations with members in 2025, it became clear that teacher professional development can no longer be considered in isolation. To fully understand its potential and impact—and to take a more strategic approach—we need to think holistically about the education workforce. This includes school leaders and middle-tier officers, initial teacher training, and the full teacher lifecycle.

As a result, we have renamed the SIG Education Workforce: Supporting Impactful Classrooms (EWF), and we are excited to share an ambitious plan for member engagement and exchange throughout 2026.

 

What is a SIG?

Building Evidence in Education (BE²) members have created several Special Interest Groups (SIGs) across a wide range of education topics. SIGs are member-led, member-driven platforms for knowledge exchange and collaboration on shared priorities. Contact BE2 [be2_admin@building-evidence-in-education.org] to find out more. Their aim is to strengthen coordination among stakeholders working on similar challenges.

If you are interested in joining this SIG on the education workforce, please contact the BE2 Secretariat [be2_admin@building-evidence-in-education.org] to connect you with Deborah Kimathi from the Learning Generation Initiative or Barbara Tournier from UNESCO IIEP. Participation offers an opportunity to learn from others’ work, share experiences, and explore potential partnerships.

 

Our First Convening

We hope to hold our first meeting on February 24th at 13:00 GMT/16:00 EAT. Reach out on email if you’d like to join us! This session will serve as a re-grouping moment—an opportunity to connect, set our agenda for the year, agree on our shared purpose, and consider who else we would like to invite into the conversation.

 

In the meantime, here’s what we are proposing:

  • A space for learning and exchange. The SIG should foster open dialogue where members can share their work, challenges, and priorities—sparking connections and collaboration along the way. At the recent ADEA Triennale in Ghana, it was noted that “Partnership is the new leadership.” Creating space for collective learning is one of the most powerful ways to nurture such partnerships.
  • Opportunities for deep dives into key themes and contexts. The SIG will continue to host sessions that bring together implementers, researchers, and policymakers to explore what works, where gaps remain, and what support and collaboration are needed to advance progress on SDG 4 and beyond.
  • Shared leadership. The SIG will be shaped by many voices. Members will be invited to lead or co-lead sessions, ensuring that each organisation can bring its unique expertise and experience to the fore.

 

Proposed Themes for 2026

We see several critical themes emerging for joint exploration in 2026:

  • Global teacher workforce shortages and wellbeing. UNESCO’s 2026 Global Report on Teachers underscores how persistent teacher shortages undermine education quality and learning outcomes. The report highlights professional development and stronger support structures as essential for improving teacher wellbeing and retention.
  • AI and technology reshaping workforce roles and skills. The OECD Digital Education Outlook 2026 points to growing use of generative AI in both instruction and administrative processes, with significant implications for teacher roles and required competencies.
  • Effective teaching at scale. Structured pedagogy and “coaching plus materials” packages are increasingly seen as high-impact investments. Evidence from UNICEF and peer platforms frames structured pedagogy as a coherent package—student materials, teacher guides, aligned training, and ongoing support. The Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP), co-hosted by the World Bank, UNICEF, USAID, and FCDO, highlights such approaches as among the most cost-effective “Smart Buys” for improving learning outcomes at scale in LMICs.
  • School leadership and the middle tier. Global School Leaders (GSL), alongside UNESCO GEM Report have elevated school leadership as a critical system lever across the Global South. At the same time, the middle tier is increasingly recognised as the linchpin connecting policy and practice with evidence from UNESCO IIEP and The Learning Generation Initiative demonstrating their role in improving education outcomes.
  • Teachers with Disabilities: A missing link for inclusive education.  The Learning Generation Initiative, in collaboration with CANDER and Prof Nidhi Singal, recently published a research synthesis for the What Works Hub for Global Education, to review existing research, incorporate the voices or teachers and understand to what extent teachers with disabilities are included in policy

 

Please let us know what else is on your radar and which themes you believe should be prioritised for 2026. We look forward to a year of shared learning, meaningful exchange, and collective impact.