It's time for teachers: the societal and political context of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers

The 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers was a revolutionary commitment and, in many respects, an instrument ahead of its time. This article traces the evolution and significance of the 1966 Recommendation across changing historical and geopolitical contexts and examines why its principles remain relevant. It draws on historical records from international organizations as primary sources, complemented by secondary academic sources, to examine its formation at a particular point in time. The article argues that the recommendation successfully built upon preceding movements and brought together previously disconnected perspectives of education as a human right and condition for social and economic development. Emerging amid decolonialisation, the expansion of new education systems, and mounting discourses of human capital, it established international standards for teachers and their professional status, rights and working conditions at a time when the profession was standing at a crossroads. The article concludes by raising critical questions about the status of teachers then, now and in the future, and how teaching can be adequately recognised and supported to sustain quality education worldwide.