Schools with more freedom in hiring tend to see fewer teacher
shortages in disadvantaged areas, according to a new OECD PISA
report.
Effective Teacher
Policies: Insights from PISA analyses the PISA global
education survey to show how countries can improve the quality
and equity of education by ensuring that high-quality teaching
benefits all students. The report includes analyses of the first
PISA survey of teachers, who provided information about their
jobs, careers, and school leaders.
On average across countries and economies that participated in
PISA 2006 and PISA 2015, giving schools more responsibility to
hire teachers appeared to lead to improvements in student
achievement, while reducing their responsibility tended to worsen
results. School leaders with more freedom to adapt teachers’
responsibilities, working conditions and pay are also better able
to attract the most talented teachers to the most challenging
classrooms.
“In most countries, a student’s or school’s postal code still
remains one of the best predictors of education success,” said
Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills,
launching the report in Madrid. “This evidence shows that
countries can redress inequities in opportunities if they assign
high-quality teachers, and not just more teachers, to the most
challenging schools. Teacher policies have a critical role to
play in delivering a future for millions who currently may
struggle to have one.”
School leaders warned in the survey that the lack of qualified
teachers is a major barrier to overcoming disadvantage and
improving learning. Most countries and economies compensated
disadvantaged schools with smaller classes and/or lower
student/teacher ratios. However, in more than a third of
countries and economies, teachers in the most disadvantaged
schools were less qualified or less experienced than those in the
most advantaged schools.
Gaps in student performance related to socio-economic status were
wider in countries where disadvantaged schools employed fewer
qualified and experienced teachers than advantaged schools. More
can be done during initial training and through mentoring and
professional development to equip teachers with the skills needed
to work in disadvantaged schools, according to the report.
Teacher policies in high-performing systems shared three common
traits:a mandatory and extended period of practical classroom
training before starting a career; opportunities for in-service
professional development, such as workshops organised by the
school; and teacher-appraisal mechanisms with a strong focus on
teachers’ continuous development.
The report also revealed that on average across OECD countries,
4.2% of 15-year-olds aspired to become teachers – a much higher
proportion than the current share of teachers in the population
(2.4%). While in all countries girls were more likely to expect a
career in teaching than boys, students’ expectations of a
teaching career were more gender-balanced in countries with
higher teachers’ salaries.
A separate report, Teachers in Ibero-America:
Insights from PISA and TALIS, evaluates the region’s
teaching profession. It says that countries need to invest more
in their existing schools and teachers, enlisting their
commitment to reform and supporting their improvement.
Effective Teacher Policies: Insights from
PISA is available at www.oecd.org/pisa/effective-teacher-policies-9789264301603-en.htm
Teachers in Ibero-America: Insights from PISA and
TALIS is available at www.oecd.org/pisa/Teachers-in-Ibero-America-Insights-from-PISA-and-TALIS.pdf
