Saudi Arabia’s Tatweer Company for Educational Services (T4EDU) in conjunction with Pearson, the world’s largest learning company, has announced the wider rollout of the Saudi Math and Science Teacher Development Programme.

The programme will see ultimately 500 educators from across the Saudi Arabia take part in a Master Trainer Training Programme across three levels of learning: Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced. Foundation level training will take place in November and December, with further levels planned in 2015.

The 500 master trainers will then go on to provide professional development training to over 100,000 primary and secondary teachers across the country, building Saudi teachers’ pedagogical skills and knowledge in the mathematics and science fields.

The Math and Science Teacher Development Programme forms part of the Saudi Government’s wider education reforms being implemented by T4EDU as part of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Public Education Project, a large scale project that will shape the future of education across the country.

The links between strong capabilities in the Science, Mathematics, Technology and Engineering fields at a national level, and a country’s economic performance are well documented. A Policy Brief from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states that “Scientific advances and technological change are key drivers of recent economic performance. The ability to create, distribute and exploit knowledge has become a major source of competitive advantage, wealth creation and improvements to quality of life”.

Dr Mohammed AlZaghibi, chief executive officer of T4EDU, said: “Fundamental to the Saudi’s goal of achieving a diversified, knowledge-based economy will be fostering a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) proficient workforce, and motivating our current generation of learners to seek a Stem based career. It is this group of students which will be Saudi Arabia’s innovators, inventors and creators of tomorrow.

“It is therefore of critical importance that we recruit and train enough talented and passionate teachers in the mathematics and science disciplines to make this vision a reality. By building capacity amongst 100,000 of Saudi’s math and science teachers, the Math and Science Teacher Development Programme has the scale to make a real difference to the quality of Stem education being taught in the Kingdom, and build a positive future for the country as a whole”.

Karim Daoud, Managing Director for Pearson in the Middle East says countries around the world are increasingly recognising the important role mathematics and science educators play in equipping learners for the demands of a modern workforce.

He said: “As the world becomes increasingly technological, scientific progress becomes even more significant in driving innovation-led growth. What we have seen through important policy movements in the USA and other countries is a realisation that the industries of the 21st Century will rely more and more on those workers with a highly skilled Stem education. It is imperative therefore that our education systems, from the curriculums used to the pedagogical practices employed, place upmost importance on math and science instruction, and deliver these subjects in a way that engages learners and inspires them to seek a career in these fields.” – TradeArabia News Service