In education too, policy makers hav

In education too, policy makers have often concluded that top-down initiatives alone were insufficient to achieve deep and lasting changes in practice because reforms focused on aspects that were too distant from the instructional core of teaching and learning; because reforms assumed that teachers would know how to do things they actually didn’t know how to do; because too many conflicting reforms asked teachers to do too many things simultaneously; or because teachers and schools did not buy in to the reform strategy. Over the past decade, many education systems have granted significantly more discretion to school heads and school faculties,12 something that teachers often refer to as a factor contributing to the attractiveness of the teaching profession, and something that PISa shows to be closely related to school performance, when combined with appropriate accountability arrangements.13 Finland (see Box 1.3) and Ontario (see Box 4.4) provide examples of how formerly centralized systems have shifted emphasis towards:

• improving the act of teaching;

• giving careful and detailed attention to implementation, along with opportunities for teachers to practice new ideas and learn from their colleagues;

• developing an integrated strategy and set of expectations for both teachers and students; and

• securing support from teachers and unions for the reforms.

In some countries, great discretion is given to the faculty, as a whole, and its individual members. In others, more discretion is given to schools that are doing well and less to those that might be struggling. In some countries, the school head is little more than the lead teacher; in others, the authorities continue to look to the school head to set the direction and manage the faculty.

Results from PISA suggest that an emphasis on professional responsibility at the frontline does not conflict with the establishment of centralized standards and assessments; rather, these go hand-in-hand15.

Recruitment measures can be adapted to bring in teachers from a wider range of backgrounds.

Countries are also trying to attract different types of people into teaching, not just to overcome shortages, but also to broaden the range of teachers’ backgrounds and experiences. This includes promoting the benefits of a teaching career to groups who are often under-represented among teacher ranks, such as males and those from minority backgrounds.

The following are some examples of interesting techniques various countries use to do so:

• Opening the teaching profession to individuals with relevant experience outside education, not just in vocational programs (whose teachers are required to have industrial experience in some countries).

• Recognizing the skills and experience gained outside education and reflecting those in starting salaries.

• Enabling appropriately qualified entrants, including mature student teacher trainees, to start working and earning a salary before acquiring teacher education qualifications.

• Offering more flexible approaches to teacher education that provide opportunities for part-time study

and distance learning, and that give credits for relevant qualifications and experience. Such alternative pathways into teaching can be particularly appealing to under-represented groups, such as males and those from minority backgrounds. 12©OECD2011

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


Chapter 1

R e c r u i t m e n t a n d I n i t i a l P r e p a r a t i o n o f Te a ch e r s


Teachers are paid less than most college graduates, but selective incentives, flexibly applied, can use scarce resources to help attract teachers where needed.

Teachers’ salaries increased in real terms between 1996 and 2008 in virtually all OECD countries, but tend to remain below those of other graduates (see Figure 1.0). Statutory salaries for teachers with 15 years of experience are, on average, below 80% of full-time earnings for 25-64-year-olds with tertiary education, and 60% or below in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Slovenia and the United States.16 At the same time, other aspects of teachers’ employment conditions, such as vacations, relative job security and pensions, are often more generous than in other occupations. OECD research suggests that where teachers’ salaries are low relative to professions requiring similar qualifications, teacher supply appears to be quite price-elastic: for a given percentage increase in teachers’ relative salaries, the supply of potential teachers increases by a greater percentage. In countries where teachers’ salaries are already relatively high, teacher supply tends to be less elastic: a given percentage rise in salary produces a lower percentage increase in supply.17

Figure 1.1
Ratio Teacher salaries relative to workers with college degrees

1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0 ealandZNew Australia (Fl.)Belgium landScot r.)(FBelgium France Netherlands Austria Greece wayNor Estonia Poland ywaNor atesStUnited alyIt eniaSlov Hungary Iceland epublicRCzech
Spain Germany Finland edenSw Denmark England aKore tugalrPo

Countries are ranked in descending order of the ratio of salary after 15 years of experience/minimum training to earnings for full-time full-year workers with tertiary education aged 25 to 64 (latest available year).

Source: OECD, Education at a Glance 2010, Table 3.1 (continued).


Nevertheless, the large size of the teaching workforce means that to raise salaries across-the-board by even a few percentage points is very costly. Furthermore, the teacher labor market is diverse, and teacher recruitment difficulties vary by type of school, subject specialization, and region. Also, in many countries the problems of teacher shortages and high turnover of staff are felt most acutely in schools that are already disadvantaged. Some countries are therefore targeting larger salary increases to schools with particular needs or teacher groups in short supply (see Chapter 3 below). For example, some targeted policy initiatives aim to attract teachers in subjects such as mathematics, science, technology, and vocational subjects.

Fee waivers, scholarships and forgivable loans are some of the financial incentives being provided to attract such people into teacher education; and salary bonuses and recognition of work experience are provided for those who already have the types of qualifications that are in short supply. Some countries provide substantial salary allowances for teaching in difficult areas, transportation assistance for teachers in remote areas, or bonuses for teachers with skills in short supply to help ensure that all schools are staffed with teachers of similar quality.

Also worthy of attention are non-salary strategies, such as lower class contact times or smaller classes, for
schools in difficult areas or that have particular educational needs.
13©OECD2011

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


Chapter 1

R e c r u i t m e n t a n d I n i t i a l P r e p a r a t i o n o f Te a c h e r s


The best potential candidates need access to good teaching jobs.

All this said, policies to encourage more people to enter teaching are unlikely to pay off if high-quality candidates find it hard to gain teaching posts. The best candidates, who are likely to have good job prospects outside teaching, may not be willing to wait in a lengthy queue or endure a succession of short-term teaching assignments in difficult schools. Well-structured and -resourced selection processes and programs of induction that ensure that the best candidates get the available jobs are therefore critical. Reducing the weight given to seniority in ranking applicants for teaching vacancies can also help reduce the risk that new teachers will be disproportionately assigned to difficult schools.

Ensuring high-quality initial teacher education

High-performing countries have found ways of educating teachers to become more effective and play an active role in reform.

Initial teacher education varies significantly across countries, and it is beyond the scope of this report to assess related policies and practices. However, OECD research has identified some principles that are worth noting18:

• Education systems benefit from clear and concise profiles of what teachers are expected to know and be able to do in specific subject areas. Such profiles can guide initial teacher education, teacher certification, teachers’ on-going evaluation, professional development and career advancement, and also help assess the extent to which these different elements are effective. The profiles can reflect the school’s learning objectives and profession-wide understanding of what counts as accomplished teaching (see also Box 3.2).

• Many countries have moved their initial teacher education programs towards a model based less on academic preparation and more on preparing professionals in school settings, with an appropriate balance between theory and practice. In these programs, teachers get into classrooms earlier, spend more time there and get more and better support in the process. This can include both extensive course work on how to teach – with a strong emphasis on using research based on state-of-the-art practice – and more than a year teaching in a designated school, associated with the university, during which time the teacher is expected to develop and pilot innovative practices and undertake research on learning and teaching.

• More flexible structures of initial teacher education can be effective in opening up new routes into the teaching career, without com

Results (Vietnamese) 1:

In education too, policy makers have often concluded that top-down initiatives alone were insufficient to achieve deep and lasting changes in practice because reforms focused on aspects that were too distant from the instructional core of teaching and learning; because reforms assumed that teachers would know how to do things they actually didn’t know how to do; because too many conflicting reforms asked teachers to do too many things simultaneously; or because teachers and schools did not buy in to the reform strategy. Over the past decade, many education systems have granted significantly more discretion to school heads and school faculties,12 something that teachers often refer to as a factor contributing to the attractiveness of the teaching profession, and something that PISa shows to be closely related to school performance, when combined with appropriate accountability arrangements.13 Finland (see Box 1.3) and Ontario (see Box 4.4) provide examples of how formerly centralized systems have shifted emphasis towards:• improving the act of teaching; • giving careful and detailed attention to implementation, along with opportunities for teachers to practice new ideas and learn from their colleagues; • developing an integrated strategy and set of expectations for both teachers and students; and • securing support from teachers and unions for the reforms. In some countries, great discretion is given to the faculty, as a whole, and its individual members. In others, more discretion is given to schools that are doing well and less to those that might be struggling. In some countries, the school head is little more than the lead teacher; in others, the authorities continue to look to the school head to set the direction and manage the faculty.Results from PISA suggest that an emphasis on professional responsibility at the frontline does not conflict with the establishment of centralized standards and assessments; rather, these go hand-in-hand15.Recruitment measures can be adapted to bring in teachers from a wider range of backgrounds.Countries are also trying to attract different types of people into teaching, not just to overcome shortages, but also to broaden the range of teachers’ backgrounds and experiences. This includes promoting the benefits of a teaching career to groups who are often under-represented among teacher ranks, such as males and those from minority backgrounds.The following are some examples of interesting techniques various countries use to do so:• Opening the teaching profession to individuals with relevant experience outside education, not just in vocational programs (whose teachers are required to have industrial experience in some countries). • Recognizing the skills and experience gained outside education and reflecting those in starting salaries. • Cho phép một cách thích hợp đủ điều kiện diện, bao gồm cả học viên trưởng thành sinh viên giáo viên, để bắt đầu làm việc và kiếm một mức lương trước khi có được giáo viên giáo dục bằng cấp. • Cung cấp linh hoạt hơn phương pháp tiếp cận để giáo viên giáo dục cung cấp cơ hội cho việc bán thời gian học tập và đào tạo từ xa, và rằng cho tín chỉ cho văn bằng có liên quan và kinh nghiệm. Những con đường thay thế vào giảng dạy có thể đặc biệt hấp dẫn để dưới đại diện nhóm, chẳng hạn như nam giới và những người từ nguồn gốc dân tộc thiểu số. 12 © OECD2011 Xây dựng một nghề nghiệp giảng dạy chất lượng cao: bài học từ toàn thế giới Chương 1R e c là bạn tôi t m e n t n một d tôi n tôi t tôi một l P r e p một r một t tôi o n o f Te ch e r sGiáo viên được trả ít hơn hầu hết các sinh viên tốt nghiệp đại học, nhưng ưu đãi chọn lọc, áp dụng linh hoạt, có thể sử dụng nguồn lực khan hiếm để giúp thu hút giáo viên khi cần thiết.Teachers’ salaries increased in real terms between 1996 and 2008 in virtually all OECD countries, but tend to remain below those of other graduates (see Figure 1.0). Statutory salaries for teachers with 15 years of experience are, on average, below 80% of full-time earnings for 25-64-year-olds with tertiary education, and 60% or below in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Slovenia and the United States.16 At the same time, other aspects of teachers’ employment conditions, such as vacations, relative job security and pensions, are often more generous than in other occupations. OECD research suggests that where teachers’ salaries are low relative to professions requiring similar qualifications, teacher supply appears to be quite price-elastic: for a given percentage increase in teachers’ relative salaries, the supply of potential teachers increases by a greater percentage. In countries where teachers’ salaries are already relatively high, teacher supply tends to be less elastic: a given percentage rise in salary produces a lower percentage increase in supply.17 Figure 1.1 Ratio Teacher salaries relative to workers with college degrees 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 ealandZNew Australia (Fl.)Belgium landScot r.)(FBelgium France Netherlands Austria Greece wayNor Estonia Poland ywaNor atesStUnited alyIt eniaSlov Hungary Iceland epublicRCzech Spain Germany Finland edenSw Denmark England aKore tugalrPo Countries are ranked in descending order of the ratio of salary after 15 years of experience/minimum training to earnings for full-time full-year workers with tertiary education aged 25 to 64 (latest available year).Source: OECD, Education at a Glance 2010, Table 3.1 (continued).Nevertheless, the large size of the teaching workforce means that to raise salaries across-the-board by even a few percentage points is very costly. Furthermore, the teacher labor market is diverse, and teacher recruitment difficulties vary by type of school, subject specialization, and region. Also, in many countries the problems of teacher shortages and high turnover of staff are felt most acutely in schools that are already disadvantaged. Some countries are therefore targeting larger salary increases to schools with particular needs or teacher groups in short supply (see Chapter 3 below). For example, some targeted policy initiatives aim to attract teachers in subjects such as mathematics, science, technology, and vocational subjects.Fee waivers, scholarships and forgivable loans are some of the financial incentives being provided to attract such people into teacher education; and salary bonuses and recognition of work experience are provided for those who already have the types of qualifications that are in short supply. Some countries provide substantial salary allowances for teaching in difficult areas, transportation assistance for teachers in remote areas, or bonuses for teachers with skills in short supply to help ensure that all schools are staffed with teachers of similar quality.Also worthy of attention are non-salary strategies, such as lower class contact times or smaller classes, forschools in difficult areas or that have particular educational needs.13©OECD2011 Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession: Lessons from Around the World Chapter 1R e c r u i t m e n t a n d I n i t i a l P r e p a r a t i o n o f Te a c h e r sThe best potential candidates need access to good teaching jobs.Tất cả điều này nói rằng, các chính sách khuyến khích nhiều người hơn để nhập giảng dạy ít có khả năng trả hết nếu ứng cử viên chất lượng cao tìm thấy nó khó để đạt được giảng dạy bài viết. Các ứng cử viên tốt nhất, những người có khả năng để có triển vọng công việc tốt bên ngoài giảng dạy, có thể không sẵn sàng chờ đợi trong một hàng đợi dài hoặc chịu đựng một loạt các bài tập giảng dạy ngắn hạn trong các trường học khó khăn. Cơ cấu tốt và - Ensur quá trình lựa chọn và chương trình của cảm ứng mà đảm bảo rằng các ứng cử viên tốt nhất có được việc làm có sẵn do đó rất quan trọng. Giảm trọng lượng cho thâm niên trong xếp hạng ứng viên cho vị trí giảng dạy cũng có thể giúp giảm nguy cơ các giáo viên mới sẽ được disproportionately gán cho các trường học khó khăn.Đảm bảo chất lượng cao ban đầu giáo dục giáo viênHiệu suất cao quốc gia đã tìm thấy cách của giáo dục giáo viên để trở thành hiệu quả hơn và đóng một vai trò tích cực trong cải cách.Ban đầu giáo viên giáo dục thay đổi đáng kể các quốc gia, và nó là vượt ra ngoài phạm vi của báo cáo này để đánh giá liên quan chính sách và thực tiễn. Tuy nhiên, OECD nghiên cứu đã xác định một số nguyên tắc có giá trị noting18:• Education systems benefit from clear and concise profiles of what teachers are expected to know and be able to do in specific subject areas. Such profiles can guide initial teacher education, teacher certification, teachers’ on-going evaluation, professional development and career advancement, and also help assess the extent to which these different elements are effective. The profiles can reflect the school’s learning objectives and profession-wide understanding of what counts as accomplished teaching (see also Box 3.2). • Many countries have moved their initial teacher education programs towards a model based less on academic preparation and more on preparing professionals in school settings, with an appropriate balance between theory and practice. In these programs, teachers get into classrooms earlier, spend more time there and get more and better support in the process. This can include both extensive course work on how to teach – with a strong emphasis on using research based on state-of-the-art practice – and more than a year teaching in a designated school, associated with the university, during which time the teacher is expected to develop and pilot innovative practices and undertake research on learning and teaching. • More flexible structures of initial teacher education can be effective in opening up new routes into the teaching career, without com