International

History and Purpose

Project Overseas (PO) is a joint endeavour of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), participating Member organizations of CTF, and many of CTF’s overseas partner organizations. The purpose of Project Overseas is to improve the quality of education in Canada and the developing countries in which we work. Although the primary focus of PO is teacher professional development, the primary goal is improved teaching and learning for students around the world. Working towards quality public Education for All (EFA) is the driving force behind all aspects of CTF’s International Cooperation Programs.

For over forty-five years, Canadian teachers like you have been committed to making a difference in the professional lives of teachers, and the education of students in developing countries through PO. The first initiative took place in Nigeria, in 1962, when Canadian teachers Clark MacDonald and Ruth (Penny) Banks volunteered to offer In-service programs in English Language Arts. As a Canadian teacher involved with PO, you are responsible for providing professional development to under or untrained teachers through an In-service program offered by one of CTF’s overseas partner organizations. You are also expected to share what you have learned upon return in Canadian schools and communities.

Over 1,900 Canadian teachers have been involved in Project Overseas since it began in 1962.

 

Canadian teachers who volunteer with Project Overseas work alongside experienced teachers from host organizations in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Together, as co-tutors, you offer classroom instruction to other teachers in a wide range of subject areas (from literacy to computers); workshops exploring HIV/AIDS, Gender Equality and facilitation skills; and you provide general support and mentoring. In the coming months you will help plan and deliver In-service programs in response to the subject recommendations and requests of the host organization. (From time to time, we have also offered programs in the Middle East, in Jordan.)

With many teachers throughout the developing world receiving little or no training before becoming teachers, the need for PO is as real today as it was in 1962. As Kevin Gabbert (ATA, PO Participant to Guyana in 2004) observed:

Canadian teachers would have difficulty imagining the conditions under which these teachers work. Project Overseas’ workshops are the only training that many teachers ever receive. Most finish formal schooling at age 17 and often teach at the very schools they graduated from the year before. One newly appointed head master I met was 17 and had only six months’ teaching experience.

As noted, the purpose of PO is to improve the quality of education at home and abroad. Class sizes in much of the developing world are staggering; a conservative estimate indicates 50 students per class as the average class size. At that rate, if even half of the teachers who have participated in PO In-service programs improved their teaching, at least 1.4 million students have benefited since 1962. The ripple effect is also striking in Canada. For example, PO participants in any given year average daily contact with well over 4,000 Canadian students and approximately 1,500 teacher colleagues. Many are often members of active community groups. As a result, PO participants help to heighten the awareness of many thousand Canadians regarding the living, working, and learning conditions that exist in the developing world. Teachers helping teachers and teachers improving learning – that is what PO is all about.