In addition to visiting Bett UK, the world’s largest education fair, educators and business leaders who traveled to London with the Bett Brasil organizing committee had the opportunity to visit King’s College, a prestigious British public university. There, they were welcomed by Arthur Galamba, a Brazilian who teaches science at the institution and serves as deputy director of the King’s Brazil Institute, who explained how teacher training works in the country.

The differences begin with the level of the program: in England, teacher training is a one-year graduate program. Another important difference compared to Brazil is the admissions process. Instead of taking an entrance exam, applicants submit their résumés and a statement of purpose, provide two letters of recommendation, and participate in interviews. “Sometimes there are very intelligent people with excellent grades who end up being rejected because they aren’t motivated. The program relies heavily on the students and their participation in discussions. Motivation is essential, ” explained Galamba.

Only one-third of teacher training takes place at the college; the rest takes place in elementary schools. The school that hosts the future teacher must assign a mentor—someone who will monitor their progress and provide feedback after each class they teach. What they learn, both in practice and in theory, is to place the student at the center of the educational process. “Constructivism is very strong here. In virtually every school, you’ll see that students are constantly doing something. The teacher does a lot of preparation before class,” says Galamba.

During the meeting, Galamba took the opportunity to invite everyone to join the STEM Education Hub. Launched in January 2021, it is a nonprofit project that aims to bring together Brazilian and British communities of educators working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). “It’s a decolonial project, whose mission is also to show that Brazil conducts high-quality research,” said the Brazilian professor at King’s College.

Galamba made a point of emphasizing that he highlighted things he believes the British do well, but that what matters most is the exchange of ideas. “There is a lot in the field of education that Brazil can contribute.”

* This content is brought to you by Red Balloon English School in partnership with Bett Brasil. Registration for the conference and accreditation to visit Bett Brasil 2022 are now open. More updates will be shared leading up to the event and will be announced on the website brasil.bettshow.com and the official social media channels @bettbrasil.