Azerbaijan Takes Major Leap in Teacher Training Development

BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading educators from around the world gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, Wednesday for the opening of the country's first Azerbaijan Teachers Development Centre, which offers training for local teachers in modern methods of education.

Founded by The European Azerbaijan Society, the centre provides an on-going professional development for teachers with the newest research on how children learn, supporting education across the post-Soviet region.

"This centre is the first of its kind in this country," said Tale Heydarov,  Chairman of TEAS. "We're taking an innovative, novel approach, developing the skills of our teachers by integrating international best practices, thereby bringing the best of education to Azerbaijan.

Bill Martin, a leading U.S. educator and the co-author of a new book entitled "Schools that Deliver," stressed the importance of well-trained teachers in the development of nations.

"Azerbaijan understands something that many countries do not: teachers are the most valuable resource for this country's future," he said. He added that the teachers development centre "is symbolic of how serious Azerbaijan takes the role of teachers for the future of the country."

The centre will train about 3,000 educators a year and has implemented - together with the ECIS (European Council of International Schools) - the International Teachers Certificate programme in Azerbaijan.

The centre has taken the teaching community by storm. Teachers of all ages and varying experiences learn how to successfully engage children in learning and present them with new information. The technological revolution too has impacted the educational landscape across the globe.

Graeme Pollock, a New Zealander who serves as the Director of the Azerbaijan Teachers Development Centre, pointed out the challenges of the former Soviet republic, as the country rebuilt itself over the past quarter century, including the education system.

"Currently the teaching workforce grew up in the Soviet era, so the remnants of the Soviet education practices still prevail among many of them," he said. "Thus, bringing about change in education in Azerbaijan is a very complex process and this centre will leapfrog this development."