EREA/EREBB New Teachers' Global Network

EREA/EREBB New Teachers Global Network 

This week 50 new and young teachers from Edmund Rice Schools around the world gathered online for the second time, to share experiences, collaborate and celebrate the vocation of teaching. The EREA/EREBB New Teachers Global Network enables news teachers and youth workers in our schools to meet others from across our global network. It involves them meeting (online) four times over three terms, sharing their experiences of being a new teacher/youth worker in the Edmund Rice tradition, sharing ideas and strategies, and hearing from invited Principals/Leaders about their own experiences of beginning teaching.  New teachers were joined by Principals from Australia, India and the United States.

At present there are new and young teachers from Australia, USA, India, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, England, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Argentina and Uruguay who are part of this pilot project. At the end of the project, teachers are invited to pair (or triple) with another teacher/s from across the globe and develop a global learning project that they can do together with their respective students...thus further engaging with the global network.

One of the key aims of the pilot project is to build new teachers' commitment to, and excitement for, teaching in the Edmund Rice Tradition, thus supporting their retention in the profession.  According to UNESCO, retention of new teachers is a key issue across the globe.

"There are several factors causing the shortage of teachers, chief of which is the huge demand for education from a growing school-age population. The shortage of teachers is most acute in Africa and Southern Asia, where enrolment numbers are soaring as a result of demographic change and the efforts to promote greater equality, which means that more girls and women are pursuing an education and, increasingly so, at a higher level. In addition, the profession has difficulty attracting, recruiting and retaining new talent as it suffers from a rather low status and a social standing which does not correspond with the importance attached to the profession. In short, teachers are too few, classrooms are too crowded, and teachers are overworked, demotivated and unsupported." (UNESCO 2025)

 “Was fantastic to be involved in the first ever session and am very much looking forward to the next 12 months of the program.” - Australian New Teacher

“Our new teachers have a real sense of collective excitement about the next meeting and what’s to come. They found the session particularly informative and engaging - especially the global map, the stories of how different schools were established, and the insights into the ongoing growth and evolution of the EREBB network. They also really valued the relational aspect and the opportunity to share practical ideas pertinent to beginning teaching.” - Australian Principal