Of course, a certain level of unsat

Of course, a certain level of unsatisfied demand is to be expected; it is only natural that a certain proportion of teachers will, at some time, not feel fully equipped to carry out their work effectively. Nonetheless, the extent of unsatisfied demand appears large, and in some countries the great majority of teachers report that they need more professional development than they receive. The extent to which this undermines the effectiveness of these teachers is difficult to assess; but it is equally difficult to imagine that such deficits are not to some extent detrimental to effective teaching and learning. The cost of providing additional professional development needs to be seen in relation to the cost of not providing it, in terms of lost opportunities for students to learn.

Most professional development is provided free; but in some countries teachers who contribute financially tend to participate in and benefit more from these activities.

Even if there is no country in which the professional development of teachers is completely free, TALIS data indicate that teachers in most countries feel that the level of support they receive, in terms of finance and separately scheduled time in which to undertake development activities, is significant. In the participating countries, an average of around two-thirds of teachers pay nothing for these activities, and a similar proportion receive allocated time. Schools and public authorities clearly make a significant investment in teachers’ professional development (see Figure 2.5).

The fact that a sizeable proportion of teachers underwrite the cost of their professional development is evidence that many teachers are contributing their share of the cost of advancing their career if they cannot find free programs of adequate quality. In fact, the data show that where teachers paid for their own professional development, they tended to participate in more of it: those who paid the full cost took over twice as many teacher-education courses as those who received them for free. This partly reflects the fact that courses that are paid for tend to lead to professional qualifications and are more time-consuming. This suggests that free provision is not necessarily the only way of stimulating participation, at least when teachers are seeking to further their careers and their earnings prospects, such as when they prepare for becoming head teachers, inspectors or teachers at a superior educational level.

Fostering an environment for effective teacher collaboration

Teachers work together relatively rarely; but when they do, they tend also to work well with students.

Teachers can do more, and should be encouraged to do more, to share their expertise and experience systematically in ways that go beyond the mere exchange of information. Teachers report relatively infrequent collaboration with colleagues within the school, beyond a mere exchange of information and ideas; direct professional collaboration to enhance student learning is rarer23. Understanding that collaboration takes time, some countries are providing teachers with some scheduled time or salary supplement to encourage them to engage in such co-operation.

Teachers who exchange ideas and information and co-ordinate their practices with other teachers also report more positive teacher-student relations at their school. Thus, it may be reasonable to encourage teachers’ co-operation in conjunction with improving teacher-student relations, as these are two sides of a positive school culture. Positive teacher-student relations are not only a significant predictor of student achievement, they are also closely related to individual teachers’ job satisfaction (see Figure 2.6). This finding emphasizes the role of teachers’ positive evaluations of the school environment for effective education and teacher well-being. Efforts to improve school climate are particularly important in larger public schools attended by students with low average ability. Several of the East Asian countries provide interesting models for building on professional teacher collaboration to make the most of their top-performing teachers (see

Boxes 1.4 and 1.5 above). 23©OECD2011

Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession: Lessons from Around the World


Chapter 2

Te a ch e r D e v e l o p m e n t , S u p p o r t , C a r e e r s a n d E m p l o y m e n t C o n d i t i o n s


Figure 2.5

Support for professional development


Percentage Types of support received
of teachers
who received Teachers paying none of the costs Received scheduled time Received salary supplement
support


100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 eniaovSl .)(FlBelgium ywaNor Ireland Denmark Australia Estonia Hungary epublicRSlovak Italy Iceland erageav11Summit Lithuania ageAverTALIS Brazil Spain olandP Austria ysiaMala Mexico reaKo
Malta urkeyT Bulgaria tugalPor

Countries are ranked in descending order of percentage of teachers having paid none of the cost of professional development.

Source: OECD, TALIS Table 3.5.



Average days of development taken by teachers according to personal payment level

Days of development Paid no cost Paid some cost Paid all cost


100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Bulgaria Mexico alyIt olandP areKo ywaNor tugalPor Spain ageAverALIST Iceland Brazil erageav11Summit Estonia Hungary (Fl.)Belgium Denmark oveniaSl Malta urkeyT RepublicakSlov Ireland Australia Austria ysiaMala Lithuania

Countries are ranked in descending order of percentage of teachers having paid all of the cost of development they took.
Source: OECD, TALIS Table 3.5a, available on line.

Results (Vietnamese) 1:

Tất nhiên, một mức nhất định của nhu cầu không hài lòng là để được dự kiến; nó là chỉ tự nhiên rằng một tỷ lệ nhất định của giáo viên sẽ, tại một thời gian, không cảm thấy hoàn toàn được trang bị để thực hiện công việc của họ một cách hiệu quả. Tuy nhiên, mức độ hài lòng nhu cầu xuất hiện lớn, và các quốc gia một số phần tuyệt vời của giáo viên báo cáo rằng họ cần phát triển chuyên nghiệp hơn hơn họ nhận được. Trong phạm vi mà điều này làm giảm hiệu quả của các giáo viên là khó khăn để đánh giá; nhưng cũng rất khó để tưởng tượng rằng thâm hụt như vậy là không để một số phạm vi bất lợi cho hiệu quả giảng dạy và học tập. Chi phí của việc cung cấp bổ sung phát triển chuyên môn cần phải được nhìn thấy trong quan hệ với chi phí không cung cấp cho nó, trong điều khoản của các cơ hội bị mất cho học sinh để tìm hiểu.Phát triển chuyên nghiệp nhất được cung cấp miễn phí; nhưng các quốc gia một số giáo viên đóng góp tài chính có xu hướng để tham gia vào và hưởng lợi nhiều hơn từ các hoạt động này.Ngay cả khi không có không có quốc gia trong đó phát triển chuyên nghiệp của giáo viên là hoàn toàn miễn phí, TALIS dữ liệu chỉ ra rằng các giáo viên trong hầu hết các nước cảm thấy rằng mức độ hỗ trợ họ nhận được, về tài chính và một cách riêng biệt thời gian trong đó để thực hiện các hoạt động phát triển, là đáng kể. Trong các quốc gia tham gia, Trung bình khoảng hai phần ba của giáo viên không phải trả tiền cho các hoạt động, và nhận được một tỷ lệ tương tự như thời gian được phân bổ. Trường học và các cơ quan công cộng rõ ràng làm cho một đầu tư đáng kể trong giáo viên chuyên nghiệp phát triển (xem hình 2,5).The fact that a sizeable proportion of teachers underwrite the cost of their professional development is evidence that many teachers are contributing their share of the cost of advancing their career if they cannot find free programs of adequate quality. In fact, the data show that where teachers paid for their own professional development, they tended to participate in more of it: those who paid the full cost took over twice as many teacher-education courses as those who received them for free. This partly reflects the fact that courses that are paid for tend to lead to professional qualifications and are more time-consuming. This suggests that free provision is not necessarily the only way of stimulating participation, at least when teachers are seeking to further their careers and their earnings prospects, such as when they prepare for becoming head teachers, inspectors or teachers at a superior educational level.Fostering an environment for effective teacher collaborationTeachers work together relatively rarely; but when they do, they tend also to work well with students.Teachers can do more, and should be encouraged to do more, to share their expertise and experience systematically in ways that go beyond the mere exchange of information. Teachers report relatively infrequent collaboration with colleagues within the school, beyond a mere exchange of information and ideas; direct professional collaboration to enhance student learning is rarer23. Understanding that collaboration takes time, some countries are providing teachers with some scheduled time or salary supplement to encourage them to engage in such co-operation.Teachers who exchange ideas and information and co-ordinate their practices with other teachers also report more positive teacher-student relations at their school. Thus, it may be reasonable to encourage teachers’ co-operation in conjunction with improving teacher-student relations, as these are two sides of a positive school culture. Positive teacher-student relations are not only a significant predictor of student achievement, they are also closely related to individual teachers’ job satisfaction (see Figure 2.6). This finding emphasizes the role of teachers’ positive evaluations of the school environment for effective education and teacher well-being. Efforts to improve school climate are particularly important in larger public schools attended by students with low average ability. Several of the East Asian countries provide interesting models for building on professional teacher collaboration to make the most of their top-performing teachers (seeBoxes 1.4 and 1.5 above). 23©OECD2011 Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession: Lessons from Around the World Chapter 2Te a ch e r D e v e l o p m e n t , S u p p o r t , C a r e e r s a n d E m p l o y m e n t C o n d i t i o n sFigure 2.5Support for professional developmentPercentage Types of support received of teachers who received Teachers paying none of the costs Received scheduled time Received salary supplement support 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 eniaovSl .)(FlBelgium ywaNor Ireland Denmark Australia Estonia Hungary epublicRSlovak Italy Iceland erageav11Summit Lithuania ageAverTALIS Brazil Spain olandP Austria ysiaMala Mexico reaKo Malta urkeyT Bulgaria tugalPor Countries are ranked in descending order of percentage of teachers having paid none of the cost of professional development.Source: OECD, TALIS Table 3.5.Average days of development taken by teachers according to personal payment levelDays of development Paid no cost Paid some cost Paid all cost 1009080706050403020100Bulgaria Mexico alyIt olandP areKo ywaNor tugalPor Spain ageAverALIST Iceland Brazil erageav11Summit Estonia Hungary (Fl.)Belgium Denmark oveniaSl Malta urkeyT RepublicakSlov Ireland Australia Austria ysiaMala LithuaniaCountries are ranked in descending order of percentage of teachers having paid all of the cost of development they took.Source: OECD, TALIS Table 3.5a, available on line.