Developing Master Teachers with the Global Teachers Institute

Founding Story

The Global Teachers Institute (GTI) is a teacher development network of educators, schools, and organisations committed to developing high-quality teachers through school-based initial teacher education programmes, international exchanges, and collaborative platforms. 

Though officially launched in 2017, the GTI’s story began almost a decade earlier at the LEAP Science & Maths School. In 2008, the school’s staff began experimenting with alternative methods for training teachers, focusing on developing educators who are reflective, empathetic, and socially responsible skilled instructors.

A partnership with Teach With Africa (TWA), a US-based non-profit that facilitated an exchange of teaching practices between African and US educators, further enriched the GTI’s vision. Key individuals like John Gilmour, Executive Director at LEAP Science & Maths Schools, and Margie and Larry Schlenoff at TWA played important roles in laying the foundation for what would become the Global Teachers Institute. 

By 2017, the organisation had expanded its operations beyond LEAP, setting up Cape Town and Johannesburg offices and preparing to bring its Future Leaders Programme to government schools.

Addressing the Teacher Shortage Crisis

The education system in Africa faces a looming crisis: over 50% of teachers are over 50 years old, with approximately 40,000 educators expected to retire annually from 2025. African universities can only produce 15,000 to 25,000 new teacher graduates each year—far short of what is needed. Traditional teacher training programmes have also been criticised for valuing technical skills over the personal dimensions of teaching, resulting in educators who may be skilled in content delivery but lack the reflective capacity to create holistic learning environments.

The GTI addresses this through a unique teacher training model; they function as a teacher training institution without owning a single campus. Instead, the GTI uses existing schools as learning sites, where student-teachers can gain hands-on experience while working towards their qualifications.

Programmes and Initiatives

The GTI’s flagship project is the Future Leaders Programme (FLP), a school-based, pre-service teacher internship. Interns, also known as Future Leaders, are placed in primary and secondary schools where they receive mentorship, professional development, and practical teaching experience, all while studying through distance learning. This approach ensures that future educators simultaneously learn theory while developing crucial classroom skills in real-time.

The GTI’s programme is supported by FLiP (Future Leaders Information Portal), a data-driven system created by David Jacobs, Managing Director at Digital Inventions Consulting, that allows the organisation to monitor the progress of interns and mentors across various measurable indicators. This enables early intervention for struggling students, ensures consistent processes, and allows evidence-based decision-making to continually refine the programme. The subject matter experts for the system are Hassiena Marriott, Executive Director, and Tania Ham, Head of Education at the GTI.

In addition to the Future Leaders Programme, the GTI runs a number of other teacher-focused initiatives:

1. GTI Axis Summit: An annual gathering of educators from across the globe where experienced and novice practitioners share knowledge and engage in discussions to improve teaching practices.

2. TWA Fellowship Programme: This exchange programme between teachers in South Africa and San Francisco facilitates mutual learning and collaboration.

GTI takes a comprehensive approach to teacher education, aiming to build a community of educators dedicated to establishing fair, inclusive, and equitable learning environments. Through their dedication to excellence both in and out of the classroom, GTI is significantly impacting the future of teacher professional development in Africa by developing reflective, empathetic, socially responsible master educators.

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Global Teachers Institute is part of the 2024 Injini Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Program.