University
University of Cologne, Germany
Title of Keynote
Bridging Institutions and Classrooms: The Role of Erasmus+ Teacher Academies in Rethinking Teacher Education
Biography
Dagmar M. Benincasa works at the Centre for Teacher Education (CfTE) at the University of Cologne, Germany, and has been the project coordinator of the Erasmus+ Teacher Academy Teacher Education for a Future in Flux (teff) since 2023. A secondary school language teacher, trained in Germany, Spain and the UK, and university lecturer in teacher education, she is committed to bringing together actors from all phases of teacher education and from diverse international backgrounds to collaboratively advance the field. Her main areas of interest include teacher well-being, cross-phase collaboration in teacher education, digital learning and teaching, and the development of future-oriented learning opportunities for initial and continuing teacher education.
Abstract
The Erasmus+ Teacher Academies have emerged as key platforms for innovation and collaboration in European teacher education. One of their central ambitions is to bridge the persistent gap between theory and practice by integrating diverse voices from the classroom – those of pupils, student teachers, practicing teachers, and teacher educators – into joint learning and development processes across national and institutional boundaries.
Drawing on practical experiences and insights gained from established and newly launched Teacher Academies, this keynote will explore both the potentials and the challenges of these collaborations. It will highlight innovative learning opportunities that have successfully brought classroom perspectives into academic and transnational contexts, while also critically reflecting on structural and organizational barriers that may have limited deeper participation and sustainability.
Focus will be placed on the dynamics and limitations of knowledge and experience transfer across boundaries – from universities to schools and from classroom practice back into academic discourse. It will further discuss the potential of Teacher Academies as “homes” for (future) teachers – as spaces of belonging and professional identity formation within the university context. By tracing how classroom voices have been heard, represented, and transformed within Teacher Academies, the keynote will propose ways forward for similar projects seeking to make teacher education more dialogic, inclusive, and responsive to the lived realities of schools.
