Training Programme for University Teachers from Erbil (Kurdistan Region, Iraq) at FAU as part of the project “Teacher Education and Society: Potentials and Innovations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq”
As part of the project “Teacher Education and Society: Potentials and Innovations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq”, covered by funds from the DAAD provided by the Federal Foreign Office (Germany), a 14-day stay of 21 delegation members from Kurdistan, northern Iraq took place from July 7th to July 21st. Delegates included a total of 18 representatives of the College of Basic Education of the Salahaddin University-Erbil (SUH), including the dean of the College of Basic Education and two vice presidents. Furthermore, the deans of the University of Sulaimani and the University of Duhok as well as a representative of the Ministry of Education of the Kurdistan Region were present during the stay.
The project addresses current problems of teacher education, taking into account the current political, social and economic situation in the Kurdistan region, and contributes to the modernization of teacher education and teacher training in the region through the development of two innovative thematic fields of action (Diversity Education including Human Rights Education, and Entrepreneurship Education). During the stay, the BA modules in Diversity Education and Entrepreneurship Education, implemented in recent years at the College of Basic Education of the SUH, were further developed and two new modules for continuing education of in-service teachers in the thematic areas of Diversity Education and Entrepreneurship Education were drawn up. In addition, the delegation members were able to foster their skills in research and teaching as well as in Diversity Education and Entrepreneurship Education by participating in workshops and consultations with FAU researchers and experts. The workshops were organized by the Chair of Diversity Education and International Educational Research (Prof. Dr. Anatoli Rakhkochkine), the Professorship for Teaching Economics and Law (Prof. Dr. Holger Arndt) and the dedicated team of the Center for Higher Education (FBZHL) of the FAU. In order to ensure the connection of theory and practice within the scope of the stay, a full-time school visit took place at the Ohm-Gymnasium in Erlangen. The delegation members had the opportunity to gain insights into the practice, especially regarding the use of digital media in class, to deepen their knowledge and to interact with interested teachers and students.
In the area of Third Mission, the project also focuses on the establishment of a regional network of internship schools and other cooperation partners as well as regional cooperation for the modernization of teaching and research in teacher education in the Kurdistan region. Against the background of this goal, preliminary work was done, and discussions were held at a meeting to build the network and promote cooperation between universities and the Ministry of Education in the field of teacher education. The project team is already looking forward to the further stay of representatives of the SUH at the FAU in November 2019.