SUMMA Regional Seminar: Reflections and lessons learned on Teacher Professional Development in Latin America
November 5th, 2025.
5 de November de 2025
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On Tuesday, November 4, SUMMA, together with UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) Argentina, held a regional seminar entitled “Teacher Professional Development in Latin America: Challenges for Scaling and Systemic Change” in Buenos Aires.
The event, which was held within the work carried out by the Empowering Teachers Initiative (ETI), brought together representatives of international organizations, specialists, and leaders in the field of education to reflect on the conditions, strategies, and opportunities that will strengthen teacher professional development (TPD) in the region.
The day began with welcoming remarks by Rafael Carrasco, Deputy Director of SUMMA; Alejandra Cardini, Acting Head of Office at IIEP UNESCO; and Florencio Ceballos, Senior Specialist at the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) Program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), who highlighted the importance of promoting spaces such as this one, which allow for continued dialogue on the TPD.
In this regard, during his speech, Carrasco highlighted the central role of teachers in improving education systems, stating that “we cannot talk about the well-being and development of our students without talking about the well-being and development of our teachers; they go hand in hand”.
Next, Dante Castillo, Director of Innovative Policies and Practices at SUMMA and ETI Coordinator, gave a brief presentation on the general context of the seminar and introduced the ETI program, its objectives, preliminary findings, and challenges.
This was followed by the first panel of the seminar, “Teacher Professional Development at Scale: Challenges, Possibilities, and Conditions in Latin America,” moderated by Daniel Pinkasz, academic and researcher in Education and Educational Policy at FLACSO Argentina. The session featured a keynote presentation by Freda Wolfenden, Professor of Education and International Development at the Open University and ETI research leader, and panelists Lea Vezub, Professor and Researcher at the Institute for Research in Education Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires; Vannina Trentin, Deputy Coordinator of Training at IIPE UNESCO; and Cora Steinberg, education specialist at UNICEF Argentina.
During the panel discussion, the conditions necessary for designing and implementing sustainable continuing teacher training policies were addressed. Vannina Trentin emphasized that “in teacher policies, we must achieve the goal of teachers playing an active role in policy decision-making processes; implementation and formulation must be part of the same process”. Along these lines, Cora Steinberg pointed out that “public policy must be up to the challenges of education. We cannot think of a teacher, a school, or a context in isolation; we must understand the complexity of the interaction between policy and its implementation”.
The second panel, “Teacher professional development and effective practices for improving literacy,” was held afterwards. This conversation was moderated by Verona Batiuk, Early Childhood Education Specialist at the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), Buenos Aires headquarters, and included a presentation by Rafael Carrasco (SUMMA) and a video from the OECD, as well as contributions from Andrea Brito, Researcher, Teacher, and Academic Director of the Advanced Diploma and Specialization in Reading, Writing, and Education at FLACSO Argentina; Beatriz Diuk, Independent Researcher at CONICET, Specialist in Learning and Reading, and Director of Propuesta DALE!; and Virginia Unamuno, Associate Researcher at CONICET and Professor at the National University of San Martín.
During this conversation, the panelists shared experiences and evidence on pedagogical strategies that strengthen teaching, and reflected on the challenges of literacy in diverse contexts.
The seminar concluded with a summary of the day and closing remarks by Florencio Ceballos (IDRC), who highlighted the main lessons learned and projections from the meeting.
Francesca Bonomelli Carrasco is a Senior Researcher at SUMMA, with a background in project management, public policies, and applied research. She is interested in equity and justice which is reflected in her work and research on education, employment, inequality, migration, and gender issues.
Her previous work experience includes coordinating an educational transformation project in Paraguay, her work as a consultant for UNESCO and the ILO, and her key roles in the Ministry of Education of Chile. Currently, at SUMMA, she focuses on supporting the development of educational policies and connecting research, practice, and educational policy.
She got a master’s degree in international development studies from the University of Amsterdam, she obtained a master’s degree in labor economics for Development from the University of Turin, and her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Chile. All of which provide her with skills, technical tools, and diverse perspectives to contribute to the important work that SUMMA is pushing forward.
Paula Salas
Evaluation Project Coordinator
About Paula Salas
Paula Salas is Coordinator of Evaluation Projects at SUMMA. Her main experience is in educational research and development of assessment instruments. She worked as an analyst at the Measurement Center of the Catholic University (MIDE UC) and for four years at the Department of Psychology of the University of Chile in various research projects, aimed at the development of psychoeducational assessment instruments to support high school students. High School Humanist Scientist and Professional Technician in the process of transition to higher education.
She is a psychologist from the University of Chile and has a master’s degree in Social Research Methods from University College London (UCL).
The day began with welcoming remarks by Rafael Carrasco, Deputy Director of SUMMA; Alejandra Cardini, Acting Head of Office at IIEP UNESCO; and Florencio Ceballos, Senior Specialist at the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) Program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), who highlighted the importance of promoting spaces such as this one, which allow for continued dialogue on the TPD.
This was followed by the first panel of the seminar, “Teacher Professional Development at Scale: Challenges, Possibilities, and Conditions in Latin America,” moderated by Daniel Pinkasz, academic and researcher in Education and Educational Policy at FLACSO Argentina. The session featured a keynote presentation by Freda Wolfenden, Professor of Education and International Development at the Open University and ETI research leader, and panelists Lea Vezub, Professor and Researcher at the Institute for Research in Education Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires; Vannina Trentin, Deputy Coordinator of Training at IIPE UNESCO; and Cora Steinberg, education specialist at UNICEF Argentina.
The second panel, “Teacher professional development and effective practices for improving literacy,” was held afterwards. This conversation was moderated by Verona Batiuk, Early Childhood Education Specialist at the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), Buenos Aires headquarters, and included a presentation by Rafael Carrasco (SUMMA) and a video from the OECD, as well as contributions from Andrea Brito, Researcher, Teacher, and Academic Director of the Advanced Diploma and Specialization in Reading, Writing, and Education at FLACSO Argentina; Beatriz Diuk, Independent Researcher at CONICET, Specialist in Learning and Reading, and Director of Propuesta DALE!; and Virginia Unamuno, Associate Researcher at CONICET and Professor at the National University of San Martín.
