OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: remote

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 13-MAY-2025

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

BEFORE APPLYING

Please note : This call for applications is open to Corporate Applicants.

Important: Do not apply via the online career portal. Instead, please submit your bidding proposal and supporting documents by email to uil-learningecosystems@unesco.org with the subject line: ‘Teachers as Lifelong Learners: Curriculum Guidelines’, following the instructions outlined in the \"Application Process\" Section

OVERVIEW OF THE CALL FOR APPLICATION

1. Introduction and background

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serves as a comprehensive guide for United Nations member states to advance in five crucial dimensions: people, prosperity, planet, partnership, and peace, with quality education (SDG 4) highlighted as a key goal to \"ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.\" Lifelong learning, central to sustainable education policies, integrates learning and living across all ages and contexts, requiring a trained, active, and committed teaching workforce. Teachers play a crucial role in providing transformative learning experiences that help learners achieve their full potential and develop lifelong learning capabilities, while continuously reflecting on their practices and adapting to evolving societal changes.

Against this background, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and Shanghai Normal University (SHNU) have launched a project titled \"Teachers as Lifelong Learners: International Research, Policy, and Practice on Lifelong Learning for Teacher Education (2023-2026).\" This initiative aims to generate evidence-based insights into policies and practices that promote the development of teachers as lifelong learners and facilitators of lifelong learning.

Long Description

Phase 1 of the project (2023-2024) focused on conducting a comprehensive literature review and drafting six national case studies (China, Chile, Germany, Qatar, Finland, and South Africa). In addition, two thematic papers on ECCE teachers and adult educators have been drafted. The synthesis report (on teachers as lifelong learners and facilitators of lifelong learning is being developed, based on findings from key documents. The report will provide a comprehensive overview of existing research, policy, and practice, while identifying gaps and strategies to promote lifelong learning of teachers and their role as facilitators of lifelong learning worldwide. Moreover, a webinar series on four core aspects of lifelong learning for teachers will be organised by December 2025 to continue discussing some emerging themes of this research.

Long Description

Based on the key findings of the research studies, including national cases and thematic papers, and in alignment with the objectives of Phase 2 of the project, key resources— policy recommendations, curriculum guidelines, and a monitoring framework, along with relevant training modules —will be developed.

In the context of lifelong learning, curriculum guidelines serve as a roadmap for education institutes and national education departments to plan and design teacher education (pre-service, in-service and continuous professional development) that develop and strengthen lifelong learning competencies and practices.

In this context, UIL is inviting relevant research institutes and centres or/and education consultancy agencies to submit technical proposals to develop global curriculum guidelines and a training module for teacher training and education institutes on promoting teachers’ lifelong learning and their role as facilitators of lifelong learning.

2. Scope of work and objectives

Under the supervision of the Team Leader (TL) of the Quality Learning Ecosystems programme, UIL, the consultancy institute will:

• Review key documents of Phase 1 of the project (synthesis report, national case studies, and thematic papers) and identify key content and themes for the curriculum guidelines and gaps that need to be addressed in the curriculum guidelines;
• Locate, review, and synthesise additional information and resources to enrich the key themes and components of the curriculum guidelines;
• Draft initial outline of the curriculum guidelines with key objectives and different sections including details and/or processes, the importance of lifelong learning (LLL) for teachers, LLL attributes, skills and competencies for preservice as well as inservice teachers, instructional strategies for promoting teachers’ LLL skills and attributes, and strategies for strengthening their role as facilitators of lifelong learning;
  • Consult with selected relevant stakeholders, experts, and government representatives on the draft guidelines at the Shanghai workshop in June/July 2025, and if needed, organise additional online consultation(s), including through the existing UNESCO platforms, e.g. the International Teacher Taskforce;
  • Prepare the full draft of the curriculum guidelines and present them to the global expert group (including the International Teacher Taskforce) for feedback and validation;
  • Improve and finalise the curriculum guidelines for publication and dissemination;
  • Based on the final version of the curriculum guidelines, prepare a draft training module for preservice and inservice teacher educators, comprising several sessions;
  • Improve and finalise the training module based on the feedback from UNESCO and a select group of experts.

    3. Deliverables

    3.1 Brief report on the key themes and components covered in the curriculum guidelines based on the existing project documents, and additional resources (May 23)

    3.2 Initial outline of the curriculum guidelines, with key objectives and different sections (June 16)

    3.3 Presentation of the proposed curriculum guidelines at the Shanghai workshop for feedback (July 11)

    3.4 Full draft of the curriculum guidelines for further feedback and validation (August 25)

    3.5 Final curriculum guidelines (October 13)

    3.6 Draft training module for teacher educators, including sessions and proposed instructional design (October 27)

    3.7 Final training module on the curriculum guidelines (November 17)

    4. Requirements:

    • The curriculum guidelines should be written in English with extensive data and literature to support the proposed recommendations.
    • The curriculum guidelines should be around 60 pages (Times New Roman font, single-spaced, excluding references).
    • The content of each section should be well-connected, with a clear structure and coherent arguments throughout to support the proposed objectives of the curriculum guidelines.
    • The curriculum guidelines should follow the requirements of the manual as outlined in the UIL Style and Referencing Guide.
    • The content of the training module and its sessions is clear, with relevant instructional strategies and assessment tools.
    • All sources should be properly cited, using the Harvard referencing style and by following academic standards, and no copyrights should be violated.

    • Proven record of producing high-quality reports, policy briefs, and educational materials.
    • Good understanding of lifelong learning, adult learning and teacher education, with the ability to design effective policy-oriented materials, including training programmes for teacher policy, training, and development.
    • Experience working across different countries and education systems, with the ability to adapt content to various geographic, cultural, and national contexts.
    • Previous work with UN agencies, international organizations, or governments in education is a strong advantage.

      Long Description