Learning Systems Institute and School of Teacher Education to collaborate on ‘Education 2.0’ project in Egypt

Newswise — Florida State University researchers will help improve teacher education in Egypt as part of a new project sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Faculty from the Learning Systems Institute (LSI) and the School of Teacher Education at FSU will work with the Education Development Center (EDC) on the Teacher Excellence Initiative, a five-year, $49.5 million project. LSI will receive $2.95 million in funding for its work.

“We are incredibly pleased to join the EDC team in the implementation of this initiative in Egypt,” said Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, an LSI senior research associate and project principal investigator. “The Learning Systems Institute has a long history of engaging with other organizations and universities abroad, and we are excited about the prospect of collaborating with international universities and Egyptian counterparts in person to innovate teacher education programs.”

The work will support the Egyptian government’s Education 2.0 program, which aims to transform the country’s education system by emphasizing skills-based learning and by expanding digital learning.

Through this initiative, USAID will establish undergraduate and graduate degree programs for primary-grade teachers at 15 Egyptian public universities and develop partnerships between U.S. and Egyptian universities.

Florida State faculty members will help with a variety of measures to improve education in the country. Their major task is to design a curriculum for pre-service teacher education programs focused on mathematics and English. They will work with faculty from the American University of Beirut to revise a program for primary education English teachers and provide professional development to university professors.

FSU will also host a group of 12 visiting scholars from Egyptian universities over the course of the program, including a study tour to the FSU campus in the Fall of 2023 as part of the project.

“We are proud to have been chosen to work with the Educational Development Center to improve teacher education in Egyptian Universities,” said LSI Director Rabieh Razzouk. “This project is a unique opportunity for LSI to partner with FSU’s School of Teacher Education to implement this critical work that will reach all Egyptian children. Working on the Teacher Excellence Initiative ensures Florida State University will play a vital role in Egypt’s Education 2.0 reform.”

EDC will lead and coordinate all university partner work, combining expertise in early-grade reading, mathematics and science, English, gender, disability inclusion and social and emotional learning. The American University in Beirut will lead the science and Arabic reading tracks, while FSU will lead on mathematics and English.

The collaboration with AUB, one of the top universities in the Middle East and North Africa, and accredited in the U.S., will not only provide Egyptian university faculty access to a world-class research university but also access to a deep pool of Arabic-speaking faculty operating in a similar time zone, allowing for real-time, immediate accessibility and communication.

In the past decade, LSI faculty have also worked on USAID-funded education activities in Honduras, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia and Indonesia, as well as U.S. Department of State projects in Indonesia, India, Ukraine, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Pakistan, Egypt, St. Lucia, Grenada and Suriname.

On behalf of the American people, USAID promotes and demonstrates democratic values in more than 80 countries around the globe, and advances a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. In support of America’s foreign policy, the Agency leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises and progress beyond assistance.