TEACHER POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD

Objectives, Rationale, Methodological Approach, and Products May 4, 2010

The World Bank Education Team | Human Development Department 1

This document was produced by the core team of the Teacher Policies Around the World initiative, which includes Emiliana Vegas (Task Team Leader and Sr. Education Economist, The World Bank); Susanna Loeb (Professor, Stanford University School of Education); Pilar Romaguera (Associate Professor, University of Chile’s Department of Industrial Engineering); Agustina Paglayan (Jr. Professional Associate, The World Bank) and Nicole Goldstein (Consultant, The World Bank). The team is grateful to Robin Horn (Manager, Education Team, Human Development Department) and Ariel Fiszbein (Chief Economist, Human Development Department) for continuous guidance and support. Colleagues across The World Bank provided feedback that contributed to improve the initiative. The team is especially grateful for valuable suggestions received from: Elizabeth King (Director, Human Development Department’s Education Unit), Mourad Ezzine (Education Sector Manager, Middle East and North Africa Region), Gary Reid (Lead Public Management Specialist, PRMPS), Jamil Salmi (Lead Education Specialist, HDNED), Halsey Rogers (Sr. Economist, DECRG), Dena Ringold (Sr. Economist, Human Development Department), Christina Djemmal (Operations Officer, MNSHE), Kamel Braham (Sr. Education Specialist, MNSHE), Emilio Porta (Sr. Education Specialist, HDNED), Tomomi Miyajima (Education Specialist, MNSHE), Juliana Guáqueta (Consultant, HDNED), and Attiya Zaidi (Consultant, MNSHD). All remaining errors are the sole responsibility of the authors.

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Table of Contents

1

Introduction and objectives | 4

2

Conceptual framework | 5

2.a

Review of literature and related prior efforts | 5

2.b

Key issues of each teacher policy dimension | 6

2.c

Data collection instrument |18

2.d

From teacher policy documentation to analysis and policy | 24

3

Data collection process | 26

3.a

Applying the data collection instrument: Role of local consultants, Bank Offices and HDNED team | 26

3.a.i

Role of the local consultant | 27

3.a.ii

Role of the Bank Offices | 28

3.a.iii Role of core team in the Education Unit of the World Bank’s Human Development Department (HDNED) | 28 3.a.iv

Timeline | 29

3.b

Data validation and built-in updating process | 29

Products | 32 4.a

Web-based, globally accessible database of teacher policies in a user-friendly format | 32

4.b

Research products|32

References | 34

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1. Introduction and objectives Improving the quality of education is at the center of the World Bank’s development agenda. In both low and middle income countries, the Bank is increasingly engaged – through operational work, policy advice and analytical activities — in supporting efforts to reform education systems. An important aspect of those efforts involves teacher reforms, particularly those that aim to strengthen the competencies of those who choose to enter teaching, retain the most effective teachers, and introduce incentives and accountability mechanisms to raise teaching and learning. While research has documented the important effects of teachers in students’ learning outcomes (Hanushek and Rivkin 2006; Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain 2005; Nye, Konstantopoulos and Hedges 2004; Rockoff 2004), much more research is needed to document policies that are most effective in attracting, retaining, and motivating effective teachers. Countries throughout the world are continuously experimenting with a variety of policies to recruit, train, compensate, and retain teachers. However, little is known about the variation in the specifics of the policies across countries, their effects on teacher quality or student outcomes, or their implications for education finance. The Human Development Department of the World Bank has initiated a work program, Teacher Policies Around the World, that is part of a larger effort by the World Bank’s Human Development Department, called Benchmarking Education Systems for Results, to develop a tool to characterize education systems, policies and programs and document education efficiency and performance indicators across countries. Teacher policies are one among the several system-wide factors that directly influence the delivery of primary and secondary education, and these determine the pool of human resources that, along with parents, will take responsibility to help students develop cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Indeed, a growing body of evidence indicates that teachers play a key role in what, how, and how much students learn. However, it is less clear what exact characteristics of teachers lead to better student learning outcomes. Research has been unable to establish a relationship between easily measurable teacher characteristics, such as years of education and experience, and teacher performance as measured by student learning outcomes. Thus, devising effective policies to improve teaching quality remains a challenge. Increasingly, policy makers in developing countries are struggling with how to design policies that are effective in recruiting highly qualified teachers and motivating them throughout their careers to perform to the best of their ability. While the Bank has ample experience in supporting teacher policy reforms across a variety of developing countries, there is no systematic effort to compile, analyze and synthesize this information to facilitate education policy analysis and decision-making. Teacher Policies Around the World intends to fill this gap by collecting, synthesizing and disseminating comprehensive information on teacher policies in primary and secondary education across different systems. Providing access to comprehensive and comparative information on teacher policies across education systems will enable World Bank staff who work in education as well as policy makers to learn about how other countries 4

address some of the same policy challenges related to teacher management. It will also allow researchers to use this information to analyze to what extent different teacher policies may lead to improved education outcomes. 1 2. Conceptual framework a. Review of literature and related prior efforts To develop the underlying conceptual framework for the initiative, the team first reviewed already existing efforts that characterize and compare teacher policies in different parts of the world. The efforts reviewed include: the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS); Eurydice’s fourvolume, multi-year publication comparing teacher policies across Europe, published between 2002 and 2004; the International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks (INCA) database for European countries; Education Week’s Quality Counts 2008, which has a module on teacher policies in the United States; and a 2006 paper by Susanna Loeb and Luke Miller 2 which also documents and compares the teacher policies across all states in the U.S. The review looked into each of these initiatives’ objectives, the teacher-related issues and topics they covered, their methodology and how it was developed, the way in which data was collected and their sample population. These are summarized in Annex 1. The review of these initiatives enabled the team to identify ten key teacher policy dimensions, which are core to the data collection effort: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Requirements to enter and remain in teaching. Initial teacher preparation. Recruitment and employment. Teachers’ workload and autonomy. Professional development. Compensation: Salary and non-salary benefits. Retirement rules and benefits. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality. Teacher representation and voice. School leadership.

In addition to these teacher policy dimensions, information on the general characteristics of a country’s education system is also necessary to contextualize and facilitate comparison across countries.

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The focus of the initiative is on the design of teacher policies, as opposed to their implementation on the ground. The latter question will be researched in a sample of countries through complementary activities, as it involves a different methodological approach and resources. 2 Institute for Research in Education Policy and Practice, at Stanford University. 5

Figure 1. Conceptual framework to understand teacher policies around the world

10. School leadership 9. Teacher representation and voice

8. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality

1. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching 2. Initial teacher preparation

Teacher effectiveness

7. Retirement rules and benefits

3. Recruitment and employment

4. Teachers’ workload and autonomy

6. Compensation: 5. Professional Salary and non- development salary benefits Overview of the education system

Source: Authors. b. Central issues of each teacher policy dimension 1. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching All countries have some set of statutory requirements to enter the teaching profession, and some also have requirements that need to be fulfilled on a continuous basis to remain in it. Several factors may affect the decision of what is required, including concerns about the quality of teaching; political influence from organized teachers seeking to limit competition; fiscal policies; interest in building the social status of the profession, etc. In general, one can expect that the stricter the requirements, the higher the minimum level of quality but also the smaller the size of the teaching force. Documenting the requirements to enter and remain in teaching therefore provides useful information to understand both a country’s quality of teaching and the existence of teacher shortages or excesses. Documenting these requirements requires addressing the following issues: Who regulates the requirements to enter and remain in the teaching profession?

In most countries, governments have historically regulated the quality of teaching by determining statutory standards or requirements that must be met by any individual aspiring to become a public school teacher. There is a trade-off in the decision of how centrally-determined these requirements should be. On one hand, nationally-determined requirements may lead to more homogeneity in the quality 6

of teaching across geographic regions; easier transfer or mobility of teachers across different jurisdictions; and smoother regulation of the supply of teachers. On the other hand, requirements that are determined at a more decentralized level, such as sub-national or local governments, are more likely to reflect the local labor market conditions, the local needs for specific types of qualifications, and the tacit agreement about what constitutes quality teaching in a particular jurisdiction. Moreover, in some developed countries, governments have recently delegated the responsibility to set the statutory requirements to a non-governmental body that is representative of individuals who belong to the teaching profession. These selfregulatory bodies also exist for the practice of medicine and law in several countries. What are the requirements to become a public school teacher?

The type and number of requirements to become a public school teacher can contribute to understand the quality of the teacher force and the existence of teacher shortages or excess supply. Some countries only have educational requirements, while others also have requirements regarding pre-service practical experience in the classroom; emotional and social competencies; or motivation to become a teacher. Among countries with explicit educational requirements, there is significant variation, with some requiring teacher entrants to have completed only secondary education, and others requiring a four-year tertiary education degree. The type and number of requirements can also give a sense of the extent to which the quality of teaching is controlled relatively more at the entry point rather than once individuals have already entered the profession.

Are there requirements that need to be fulfilled on a continuing basis to remain in the teaching profession?

To understand the composition and quality of the teaching force, it is important to know not only what are the requirements to enter the profession, but also what are the requirements (if any) to remain in it. Requirements to remain in the profession may vary widely, from none at all, to participation in professional development activities, to satisfactory performance in an external evaluation of teacher performance, just to name some examples. The existing requirements may affect the motivation to remain in the profession, the profile of those who remain in it, and perhaps also the skills and knowledge available to teachers.

2. Initial teacher preparation The formal education and practical training that individuals must go through to become public school teachers affect the skills and knowledge they bring into the classroom. In addition, formal education and practical training policies affect the social status of the profession, and the motivation and decision to become a teacher in the first place. Documenting these policies requires addressing the following issues: Who regulates initial teacher education programs?

Regulations may be enacted by national, sub-national or local government authorities. On one hand, they can contribute to assure the quality of teacher education programs, promote consistency between them, and align the teachers’ preparation to the changing needs of society and the economy. On the other hand, regulations may become outdated and difficult to reform, may be too difficult to monitor and enforce, or may hinder the provision of teacher education programs in the first place. Public regulation of initial teacher education programs varies 7

greatly from one country to another, with some states playing a prominent role, and others playing a limited one. What are the education routes available to those who wish to become teachers?

The way in which programs are structured –in particular, the point in time when an individual needs to make the decision to become a teacher–is related to the degree of flexibility to enter the teaching profession. The possible models of initial teacher education may be classified into three. The concurrent model is one in which an individual makes the decision to become a teacher at the time of applying to an education program; subject knowledge and pedagogic skills are taught relatively simultaneously. The consecutive model is one in which an individual does not need to make the decision to become a teacher at the time of applying to an education program; subject knowledge is taught first, usually leading to a tertiary education degree in a subject/discipline, and then there is an option to continue studying to acquire pedagogic skills and become a teacher. The alternative model(s), which includes those that do not fit into the concurrent or consecutive models, seeks to attract talented individuals (usually professionals) into teaching. They typically entail a shorter period of teacher-specific education and training during which individuals develop the qualifications required to become a teacher. In choosing the education routes available to become a teacher, policymakers face a trade-off between providing flexibility for the most talented individuals to enter the teaching profession, while at the same time ensuring that there is not much inequality in the qualifications held by existing teachers.

How selective is entry into a teacher education program?

The selectivity of initial teacher education programs affects the decision to become a teacher. Governments can regulate the admission criteria applied by providers of initial teacher education, and in doing so they face a trade-off. On the one hand, very selective criteria can contribute to recruit the most talented individuals into teaching, and raise the social status of the profession. However, on the other hand, less selective criteria helps to build a socio-culturally diverse pool of teachers, prevent teacher shortages, and facilitate access to the teaching profession which, in many countries, may serve as a mechanism for social mobility. It is important to understand how countries balance the need to attract a sufficient and diverse pool of applicants into teacher education programs, while at the same time attracting the most talented individuals and assuring the quality of teaching.

What educational qualification is acquired upon completion of a teacher education program?

It is important to document the level of qualifications obtained upon graduation from a teacher education program, as this may affect the status of the teaching profession and, in turn, its attractiveness. The level of qualifications acquired is related to the length in years of the education program and to its relative emphasis on theoretical vis-à-vis practical and professional knowledge.

To what extent does the initial preparation of teachers include practical experience?

In some countries, individuals need to undertake a period of practical experience in the classroom in order to become fully-qualified to teach. This practical experience may be part of teacher education programs, or it may be something that teachers need to complete in addition to their teacher education degree. Where practical experience is part of teacher education programs, the institutions in charge of providing such education are likely to organize classroom placements for their 8

students; this usually facilitates completion of the requirements to become fullyqualified to teach. The practical experience in itself may serve as an indication of what to expect in the future, as a teacher, and may therefore affect the decision to enter the teaching profession and the motivation of beginning teachers. 3. Recruitment and employment The profile and effectiveness of those who enter and remain in the teaching profession is affected by the policies and processes in place to attract and recruit individuals into teaching. Recruitment and employment rules in the teaching profession provide incentives for teachers to promote learning among all students and affect the allocation of teaching talent across students, schools and school districts. The quality of teaching is also affected by dismissal policies – these affect an education system’s ability to separate ineffective teachers from the classroom, and they also affect the job stability (and therefore attractiveness) of the teaching profession. Moreover, recruitment, promotion, distribution and dismissal policies affect not only the quality of teaching but also a system’s ability to prevent or manage teacher shortages in certain geographic areas or subjects. Documenting these policies requires an understanding of the following issues: Who hires teachers and who dismisses them? Who decides on the distribution of teachers across public schools?

Formal authority to hire and dismiss teachers can lie in the central government, state government, local government, or directly in schools. This variation in who (or what institution or level of government) has formal authority to hire and dismiss teachers can affect the characteristics of those who decide to apply and remain in teaching. Similarly, decisions related to where a teacher will work – teacher allocation – also have important effects on the pool of teacher entrants and those who remain in the teaching profession.

What incentives exist for teachers to work at hardto-staff schools; teach critical shortage subjects; and take on leadership roles?

Attracting talented teachers to hard-to-staff schools – including, in some countries, schools in rural areas or in others schools in crowded urban slums – is a challenge for most countries. In addition, shortages of teachers who can teach certain subjects, such as mathematics or science, exist in many countries. A key question is to what extent are there incentives to ease these shortages and to compensate teachers for taking on these difficult tasks, or for giving up better-paying opportunities? When these incentives are inadequate, often the least effective teachers end up serving the neediest populations, thus increasing existing inequality in educational opportunities.

What is the age profile of the teaching force?

In a rapidly changing world, the profile of the teaching force should also be changing. However, many countries have rigid barriers to enter teaching and no mandatory retirement age, thus resulting in teaching forces whose age profiles are much older than those of the general population. The age profile of the population can serve as a rough indicator of how mobile and flexible is the teaching profession.

What is the employment status and job stability of

Education systems have various employment mechanisms for teachers, ranging from civil servants to contract teachers. These different employment or contract types can have implications for a teacher’s job security and ability to supplement his/her wages with other activities. Job stability and outside options, in turn, can 9

teachers?

have impacts on the quality of teaching and the attractiveness of the teaching profession.

4. Teachers’ workload and autonomy A clear definition of an employee’s tasks and responsibilities, compatibility between these and the amount of time that the employee is expected to work, consistency between the required tasks and responsibilities and the employee’s educational and professional backgrounds, and the extent to which the work environment constitutes a source of stress or a source of support are all important determinants of job performance and motivation. Documenting teachers’ workload, duties, autonomy, and the general conditions of their work environment can contribute to our understanding of teachers’ performance and motivation. To do this, it is important to address the following issues: How much time are teachers expected to work?

In many countries, there is a generalized perception that teachers work fewer hours than do other professionals. One of the grounds on which this perception is based is the way in which teachers’ working time has been defined historically, including only the amount of time spent in the classroom. This definition of teachers’ working time does not account for the amount of time spent at school but outside the classroom, the time dedicated to professional development, or the time used to plan lessons and grade assignments. In some countries, this misconception about teachers’ working time may have decreased their social recognition, in turn affecting teachers’ motivation. It is important to identify which countries have adjusted the contractual definition of teachers’ working time, to include the amount of time spent working outside the classroom. More broadly, it is important to understand how much time teachers are expected to work, since this is likely to affect their motivation, level of stress, and social recognition.

What tasks are teachers expected to carry out?

Teachers are usually not expected only to teach in classrooms, but they typically hold other responsibilities including supervision of students during breaks or after school, standing in for absent teachers, or providing support to beginning teachers. In some countries, they are also increasingly being required to assume responsibility for administrative or managerial tasks. Teachers’ motivation and performance may be affected by a mismatch between the number of tasks they are expected to complete and the amount of time they are expected to work. Similarly, motivation and performance may be affected by a mismatch between the type of tasks they are assigned and the education and training they have received. Understanding teachers’ motivation and performance requires an understanding of what tasks they are expected to carry out, and whether they have the time and skills to do so.

How much autonomy do teachers have?

Awarding teachers a certain level of autonomy to carry out the tasks they are assigned is desirable for several reasons. Autonomy allows teachers to use their creativity, to innovate, to feel a sense of ownership for their work and thus be more motivated, and it also enables teachers to adapt their teaching methods in order to better address the particular needs of each individual student. At the same time, autonomy needs to be accompanied by appropriate support (e.g., professional development) and resources that enable teachers to put into practice 10

their ideas. Understanding how much autonomy is awarded to teachers, and relating this to the level of support and resources that they can access, may contribute to our understanding of teachers’ motivation and performance. How do school conditions affect teachers’ workload?

Teachers’ workload is not only determined by the stipulations made in their contracts regarding the amount of time to be worked, the tasks to be performed, and the autonomy and support they have, but also by the conditions of the school where they work. For instance, the amount of time required to grade assignments will depend on the pupil/teacher ratio, while the time needed to plan lessons will depend among other things on the availability of teaching materials. The basic infrastructure, hygiene and sanitation conditions of a school can also affect teachers’ perceived workload, by affecting the level of stress encountered at work. Looking at school conditions is therefore important in order to understand teachers’ level of stress and their overall workload.

5. Professional development Professional development and on-the-job support for teachers are an essential component of teacher policies. These policies affect the skills and knowledge available to teachers, the motivation to remain in the teaching profession, and the profile of those who decide to stay. To document professional development policies, it is important to address the following issues: Who provides and funds professional development?

The organization of professional development activities may vary from one country to another. In particular, the provision and funding of professional development, as well as the way its contents are determined, may be more or less decentralized and more or less privatized. Decentralization and privatization in the provision of professional development may foster competition between the institutions that provide these activities, and this may promote an improvement in the quality of services available and in the match between local needs and services offered. However, for quality assurance purposes, a decentralized system may be more difficult to monitor. Also, decentralization in the funding of professional development may leave teachers in the poorest regions at a disadvantage. Finally, when the contents of professional development are determined in a more decentralized manner, these contents may better address the specific needs of teachers, but doing so may hinder the central government’s ability to take advantage of professional development activities to advance national education aims and policies.

What are the professional development rules and policies that apply to public school teachers?

Participation in professional development activities depends, among other things, on (i) the conditions to access these activities and (ii) the incentives to do so. Where participation is compulsory, teachers may be more focused on fulfilling the requirements than on actually taking advantage the opportunities for professional development. On the other hand, where participation is voluntary, teachers may sense that their professional development is not a priority for education policymakers. The provision of incentives for teacher participation in professional development (e.g., salary increases, promotions, reduction in teaching time) may foster participation but for the wrong reasons. Where incentives are not available and participation is voluntary, then participation may be too low, especially in 11

countries where teachers work for many hours. What forms of support are available specifically for beginning teachers?

The learning curve during the first years of teaching is particularly steep. Having support to confront this learning curve in a gradual but steady manner is important to build new teachers’ self-confidence, help them cope with the demands of the profession, and reduce drop-outs.

6. Compensation: Salary and non-salary benefits Compensation, which includes both salary and non-salary benefits, is an important determinant of the attractiveness of the teaching profession, and it likely affects teachers’ motivation and performance. In some cases, compensation policies may also motivate teachers to improve their knowledge or skills, thus further contributing to improve teachers’ performance. To understand the compensation policies in place, it is important to address the following issues: Who determines teachers’ salaries?

The level at which teachers’ salaries are determined tells us of the extent of control residing at different levels of government. Higher levels of government are usually better able to achieve more equitable distribution of resources; however, local levels of government, given sufficient capacity, are usually able to respond more quickly and effectively to local differences and local changes. If the level is too far removed from a school, as is likely to happen in a centralized structure, then there is less room for tailoring salaries and incentives to fit a given context. At the same time, if the level is too close to individual teachers, as is sometimes seen in decentralized structures, it may be less equitable as it is more reliant on the diverse capacity of local actors. In addition, the level at which teacher salaries are determined can affect the level at which teacher unions are organized and their ability to affect the teacher workforce. Finally, the level at which teacher salaries are determined is likely to affect the resources available for teachers’ salaries. Each of the levels is likely to differ in their ability to raise revenues to increase teacher compensation.

What are the salary and non salary rules that determine a teacher’s level of compensation?

A high quality education system is governed by the ability to recruit and retain high quality teachers. A large literature suggests that teacher compensation is an important determinant of whether an individual chooses to go into teaching as a profession. This makes it important to have data that tell us about the criteria used to determine a teacher’s level of compensation. Specifically, the rules determining a teacher’s level of compensation will help us understand the attractiveness of teaching as a career, and the relative attractiveness of different types of teaching jobs; the potential tradeoffs of attracting new teachers and retaining experienced teachers; the effects of salary structures on teachers’ continuous improvement of their knowledge, skills and qualifications; the ease of mobility across teaching jobs; and the effectiveness of different teacher accountability mechanisms.

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Are there monetary sanctions for teacher absenteeism?

An estimate of the fiscal burden of teacher compensation is important for at least two reasons. First, education spending relative to total state resources tells us both the resources available for improving compensation and the current interest in using national resources to support education. Second, the spending on salaries relative to other education spending again signals the extent of additional resources available for teachers and the current interest in spending available funds on teachers versus other potential education expenditure.

What is the fiscal burden of teacher compensation?

The literature suggests that teacher absenteeism can adversely affect student learning through multiple channels, including disruption of teaching activity and student absence. Several countries suffer from high levels of teacher absenteeism, and it is likely that low-income students suffer the most. This makes it important for us to understand the sanctions that exist in different countries, since then we will be able to learn which sanctions are effective in reducing teacher absenteeism.

7. Retirement rules and benefits Retirement benefits may be an important determinant of the attractiveness of the teaching profession, and they are likely to affect the profile of those who decide to enter and remain in the profession. Retirement policies also affect the age profile of the teaching force, by affecting the incentives to retire earlier on in the career or not. The following are key issues that need to be addressed to understand the retirement rules and benefits that apply to teachers: Who determines teachers’ retirement benefits?

The formal authority to define retirement benefits can influence the ability to retain teachers. In many countries, teachers’ retirement benefits are established in a Teacher Statute or Civil Service Law, and thus they tend to be difficult to change.

What is the scope and structure of retirement benefits?

Retirement benefits are likely to play an important role in retaining teachers. These benefits can represent a meaningful portion of teachers’ total compensation. An attractive retirement package is one way of keeping highly-qualified individuals in teaching, assuming they have alternative opportunities. For instance, a retirement package with a defined policy for employer contribution is likely to make teaching more attractive as a profession than one where there is no contribution by the employer. Further, if there are constraints on the extent to which retirement benefits are transferable across schools, one might expect to see lower teacher turnover. Similarly, retirement structures that provide rewards conditional on meeting certain work requirements may keep teachers in the classroom longer, for good or for bad, or may essentially force retirement of teachers who would prefer to continue to teach.

What is the age structure of the teaching force?

The age structure of the teaching force will tell us what proportion of the teaching force is likely to retire over the next few years. This is important from a fiscal perspective as well as a school/classroom stability perspective. From a fiscal perspective, countries will need to know whether they have sufficient financial provisions to pay for retirement benefits. From a school/classroom stability perspective, they will need to make provisions to attract, recruit and retain new 13

teachers into the teaching force. If a large number of teachers are expected to retire in the near future then we must train and equip new and existing teachers in a manner that ensures a smooth transition. What are the fiscal provisions for pension payments and retirement schemes?

The source of funds available to a government to fund retirement payments is an important indicator of the potential of the government to improve the provisions of the scheme. It is also an indicator of the credibility of retirement schemes. Both of these factors are likely to influence the decision of individuals considering teaching as a career. For instance, if a government plans its teacher retirement payments from tax revenues invested in a previous period, then depending on the instrument invested in and the economic scenario, the returns to the investment could fluctuate. Even if today’s investment outcomes are likely quite different from those that will prevail when a new teacher retires, the knowledge that teacher retirement benefits are funded through investments in risky (or safe) instruments is likely to influence an individual’s decision to enter teaching.

8. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality More than a teacher’s formal qualifications, what ultimately matters is a teacher’s on-the-job effectiveness. Evaluations of teacher performance may provide valuable information about a teacher’s strengths and weaknesses, which can in turn help teachers improve in their work. In addition, evaluations can inform the actions of the school or an external authority with respect to an individual teacher. Actions may range from providing additional support to low-performing teachers, sanctioning teachers who repeatedly exhibit low performance, or rewarding high-performing teachers. The consequences of performance evaluations, as well as the criteria used to assess teachers and the sources of information used to judge how a teacher performs against these criteria, affect the legitimacy, relevant and impact of the evaluation system. To document the evaluation policies in place, it is important to address the following issues: Are public school teachers evaluated on a regular basis?

Teacher performance evaluations are not regularly implemented in every country. This can hinder the legitimacy, relevance and impact of these evaluations. As a starting point, it is important to document if teachers are evaluated on a regular basis. We define regularly as “at least once every five years”.

Who evaluates teachers’ performance?

Teachers may be evaluated by a school authority and/or by an external authority. School authorities may include, for example, the school principal, a lead academic teacher or a group of peer teachers. External evaluations may be conducted by a national, sub-national or local educational authority. It is important to document the number of performance evaluations that teachers are subject to –these may provide useful information to improve job performance, but may also be a source of stress. It is also important to document the government authority level(s) that evaluate teachers, to be able to analyze the consistency between these levels and those that decide on a teacher’s professional development, promotion, dismissal, etc.

What criteria are used to assess

The criteria used to determine teachers’ performance may center on the teaching process, on the outcomes of teaching, on compliance with a set of education 14

teachers’ performance?

policies, or on a combination of any of these. Some teacher performance evaluation systems take into account differences in the contexts in which teachers work, student achievement as a measure of teacher effectiveness, and/or intangible measures of quality, such as student rapport, for example. Knowing how countries deal with these questions, and how they evaluates teachers, will help us better understand what is needed for an effective performance evaluation system. In addition, documenting what criteria are used to evaluate teachers in a specific country will help us analyze the consistency between these and the objectives of the evaluation.

How is information gathered to assess teachers’ performance?

To make a judgment about a teacher’s performance, evaluation may be collected from different sources, including the teacher herself/himself, other teachers, the school principal, students and parents. Information may also be collected through classroom observations. Documenting the level of teacher involvement in the evaluation process may help understand the legitimacy of performance evaluations in a country. Similarly, documenting the different levels of student and parent involvement across countries may contribute to our understanding of the link between performance evaluations and teacher accountability.

For what are the results of teacher performance evaluations used?

The impact of any evaluation is related to its statutory consequences. If the incentives are lined up with the accomplishment of the required standards, then the evaluation could reward good teachers and support or punish bad ones. Consequences may include, for example, increasing the salary of good teachers; reassigning good teachers to students with more learning difficulties, usually accompanying this with a salary increase; providing additional professional development to low-performing teachers; removing low-performing teachers from the classroom; and firing a teacher who repeatedly exhibits poor performance. When the sanctions are credible, teachers may have an incentive to modify their behavior and improve their performance in the first place, in order to avoid a bad performance evaluation.

9. Teacher representation and voice In many countries, teacher unions or other organizations that represent teachers' interests hold sufficient power to affect education policies in general and teacher policies in particular. Understanding collective bargaining in education and its impact on the day-to-day life of schools is critical to designing and implementing reforms that will successfully raise student achievement. However, the evidencebased literature in the area is fairly limited. As a result, there is little basis for a constructive, wellgrounded dialogue about the role of teachers unions in education today. To understand the role played by teacher unions, the power held by teachers as a collective group, and how teacher organizations can be constructively incorporated in the education debate, it is important to address the following issues:

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What labor rights do teachers enjoy?

Are teachers allowed to associate? Are they allowed to strike? Do they have the right to set their employment conditions outside the agreements negotiated by unions?

At what level does collective bargaining for the teaching profession occur?

The level at which collective bargaining takes place affects the relative power of teacher unions, as representative of the teacher employees, vis-à-vis their employers. Other things equal, teacher unions are likely to be more powerful when collective bargaining takes place at the national level than when it takes place at the sub-national or local levels.

What issues are subject to collective bargaining and who is affected by the outcomes of these negotiations?

Collective bargaining may affect a few or many aspects of a teacher’s working conditions. Documenting the issues that are subject to collective bargaining, and the number of teachers who are affected by the outcomes of these negotiations, is important to understand the power held by unions, the institutional setup in which teachers’ working conditions are decided, and the extent to which governments have room outside collective bargaining agreements to foster teacher quality.

What power do teacher organizations have to affect education policies in general?

Teacher organizations may influence not only teachers’ working conditions but also important education policy decisions about the curriculum, length of compulsory education, classroom sizes, school finance and organization, etc. In general, teacher organizations will support policies related to increased provision of education services, because they entail more employment of teachers, more affiliates, and therefore greater power for the organization itself. It is critical to learn how teacher organizations can be incorporated into the decision-making process to support not only these types of policies but also those that seek to improve the quality of education in general, and of teaching in particular. A first step to learn this is to document teacher organizations’ power to influence education policies.

10. School leadership Teacher policies are important determinants of the quality of teaching. However, for both political and economic reasons, it is often difficult to introduce reforms that directly affect teacher quality. Another approach is to promote good teaching through school principals. To document the policies that affect school principals (or school leaders), it is important to address the following issues: What is the recruitment and employment process for school principals?

The requirements for becoming a principal, and the criteria used for their selection, are important indicators of what a school system expects principals to accomplish. The requirements could be of various kinds such as a minimum number of years of professional teaching experience or a minimum number of years of administrative experience. An emphasis on teaching experience, for instance, suggests that principals are expected to be curricular leaders and provide guidance on teaching. Teaching experience might also make it easier for principals to understand teachers’ needs and motivations. Finally, requiring teaching experience for principalship also presents a career path for existing teachers. An emphasis on administrative experience, on the other hand, would suggest a more 16

general-managerial role for a principal, where principals are not expected to provide teaching-related guidance. In such a system, the principal’s area of expertise is not expected to overlap with that of teachers, and each performs a role they are accepted as having a comparative advantage in. Such requirements could also take away a potentially important career goal for many teachers. Is there a performance evaluation system for school principals?

Evaluation and feedback mechanisms can be used to help school principals achieve goals associated with the post; they can be used to reward effective school leaders and also to help identify principals unsuited for the post. It is also important to know who conducts such evaluation and provides feedback; for instance, is it topdown, bottom-up or a combination of the two? Each method is likely to differ regarding the consequences it has for principal accountability and school performance. In a top-down system where evaluations are conducted by a national educational authority, there is the risk that important context specific factors, such as parents’ demands, are not accounted for adequately in the evaluation. Yet, the answer may not be a bottom-up system, such as a village education committee with parental representation, because they may not have the capacity to effectively assess the principal and/or their goals may not align well with the broader goals of the education system.

What are the responsibilities of school principals?

If a school principal is expected to be a school leader, then it is important to understand what types of powers and responsibilities principals in different countries have, and which types of powers and responsibilities make a principal an effective leader. For instance, if a principal has no say in the hiring or firing decision of teachers, then his ability to recruit, build and retain an effective teaching force is restricted. If a principal is required to set standards for the performance of teachers, then it is important for him to be equipped with tools to ensure these standards are met. In the same way, some principals may be expected to deploy resources where he believes they are most needed, while others have little control over resource allocation within schools and have jobs that are more focused on compliance than on organizational management.

How are school principals rewarded for their work? How are principal contracts determined?

In many countries, school principals are subject to different compensation rules than are classroom teachers. These differences may result in incentives for improved performance and/or to remain in teaching for many years in order to be promoted to a principal post. In addition, the types of contracts available to principals and the decision-making authority over how principals are selected and appointed to schools can be important factors in the quality of school principals.

11. Quantitative data Quantitative data about the education system as a whole, and about each of the ten teacher policy dimensions, is important to complement questions on laws and regulations with a sense of what is actually occurring on the ground. For this reason, many questions in this section are directed toward assessing to what extent the “in law” rules guiding the teaching profession are reflected in practice. For example, the requirements to enter the teaching profession in a country may be very strict, but in 17

reality, it may well be the case that only a minor proportion of public school teachers fulfill these requirements. A more accurate picture of what occurs on the ground and how policies are implemented could be obtained by administering school-level surveys in a representative sample of schools. However, doing this in all the countries is extremely costly and is beyond the scope of this activity. Obtaining quantitative data is a second-best, yet much more feasible, alternative to document how teacher policies are implemented and what are the characteristics of the teaching force around the world. In addition, the World Bank is involved in a series of complementary activities that collect school-level information on the impact of education policies, including Amin, Das and Goldstein (2008), facilities surveys, and country-level work on teacher governance. While Teacher Policies Around the World focuses on collecting information on policies, follow-up surveys at the school level could be carried out in specific countries in order to explore how teacher policies impact teachers at the school level. 12. Overview of the education system Collecting information about the general characteristics of the education system is important to understand the context in which teacher policies are embedded. This information will be useful in understanding a country’s teacher policies within a broader perspective, and will facilitate comparison across countries. The key issues that are particularly relevant to contextualize teacher policies include: • •

• • •

The institutional arrangements that are in place for the setting, implementation and oversight of teacher policies. The structure of the education system, including the phases of education and their duration; the types of schools that exist; the number of schools, teachers and students; the geographic distribution of schools; the length of the school day and school year. The structure of the curriculum and the level at which it is defined. The experience with standardized assessments of student learning, including through national and sub-national assessments and through participation in international assessments. Recent reforms and additional information that may be relevant to describe the overall features of the education system.

c. Data collection instrument To collect information from each country and education system on each of the ten policy dimensions, a set of questionnaires were developed to be administered among key informants in each system. Table 1 describes the general structure of the data collection instrument, including the number of pages and questions in each section. Table 2 presents some sample questions from each of the teacher policy dimension sections that compose the data collection instrument.

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Table 1: Structure of the data collection instrument Section 1. Overview of the education system 2. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching 3. Initial teacher preparation 4. Recruitment and employment 5. Teachers’ workload and autonomy 6. Professional development 7. Compensation: Salary and non-salary benefits 8. Retirement rules and benefits 9. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality 10. Teacher representation and voice 11. School leadership 12. Quantitative data TOTAL

Number of pages

Number of questions

13 10 13 15 13 13 12 8 16 12 15 21 161

20 10 19 29 17 13 14 15 30 16 15 50 248

Table 2. Sample of questions in each teacher policy dimension Teacher policy dimension Requirements to enter and remain in teaching

Initial teacher preparation

Key questions and sample of specific questions Who regulates the requirements to enter and remain in the teaching profession? • Do laws or regulations assign responsibility to a public authority to set the requirements to enter and remain in the teaching profession? • In practice, who sets the requirements to enter and remain in the teaching profession? What are the requirements to become a public school teacher? • Are there statutory requirements to become a public school teacher at the primary education level? At the secondary education level? • If yes, what are the statutory requirements? • In practice, how many teachers meet these requirements? Are there requirements that need to be fulfilled on a continuing basis to remain in the teaching profession? • Are there requirements that need to be fulfilled on a continuing basis to retain recognition as a public school teacher at the primary education level? At the secondary education level? • If yes, what are the requirements and with what frequency must they be fulfilled? Who regulates initial teacher education programs? • Do laws or regulations assign responsibility to a public authority to set the formal education and practical training requirements that individual must fulfill to become public school teachers? (e.g., to a national, sub-national or local education authority). • Do laws or regulations assign responsibility to a public authority to set the regulations that apply to initial teacher education programs? • Is accreditation of initial teacher education programs required? What are the education routes available to those who wish to become teachers? • What model(s) of initial teacher education exist? (e.g., concurrent model, consecutive model, alternative model). How selective is entry into a teacher education program? • According to laws or regulations, what criteria must/can be used to select what applicants are admitted into initial teacher education programs? (e.g., performance in secondary 19

Teacher policy dimension

Employment and recruitment

Teachers’ workload and autonomy

Key questions and sample of specific questions education, results in a compulsory school leaving examination, results in a compulsory tertiary education entrance examination, results of an interview). What educational qualification is acquired upon completion of a teacher education program? • Among those who pursue an education program to become a primary education teacher, what level of qualifications is obtained upon graduation from this program? (e.g., below ISCED 4A, ISCED 4A, ISCED 5B, ISCED 5A, above ISCED 5A). How about among those who pursue a program to become a secondary education teacher? • Are there statutory requirements or official recommendations for the amount of time that education programs preparing primary/secondary education teachers should devote to the teaching of language, math and science? To what extent does the initial preparation of teachers include practical experience? • Is practical professional experience a compulsory part of the formal education and training required to become a public school teacher? • How much time must be devoted to practical professional experience as part of the formal education and training required to become a teacher? Who hires teachers and who dismisses them? Who decides on the distribution of teachers across public schools? • According to laws or regulations, who has the ultimate authority to hire/promote/dismiss a public school teacher? • According to laws or regulations, who has the ultimate authority to decide the specific public school in which an individual teacher must work? What incentives exist for teachers to work at hard-to-staff schools; teach critical shortage subjects; and take on leadership roles? • Are there incentives for public school teachers to (a) work in hard-to-staff schools; (b) teach critical shortage subjects; (c) take on leadership roles? • If yes, what incentives exist for teachers who take on these jobs? (e.g., better chances of promotion, higher basic salary, monetary bonus, scholarships, housing support, travel benefits, food and beverage benefits). Are public school teachers allowed to work as private tutors? • Indicate the percentage of public school teachers who have outside jobs as tutors What is the age profile of the teaching force? • Indicate the number of public school teachers by age group. What is the employment status and job stability of teachers? • What types of employment contracts are available to those who teach in public schools? (e.g., open-ended, fixed-term, contract teachers). How many individuals are employed under each type? • What criteria are used to make a decision on whether or not to grant a public school teacher an open-ended appointment? (e.g., years of teaching experience, employment status, educational qualifications, performance on the job, age, gender, ethnic/cultural background, subject taught). • Under which circumstances can employers dismiss public school open-ended teachers? (e.g., absenteeism, misconduct, incompetence or poor performance). How much time are teachers expected to work? • What is recognized as work in the statutory definition of “working time” for public school teachers? (e.g., time devote to teaching, time spent in school premises, time devoted to lesson planning and grading). • What is the statutory amount of working time for public school teachers? (in hours per year or hours per week). • Are public school teachers paid for overtime work? 20

Teacher policy dimension

Professional development

Compensation: Salary and non-salary benefits

Key questions and sample of specific questions What tasks are teachers expected to carry out? • Do laws or regulations stipulate the tasks that public school teachers are expected to carry out? • If yes, what are these tasks for teacher at the primary education level? (e.g. teach, supervise students, grade assessments, integrate difficult student populations, stand in for absent teachers, mentor or support other teachers, participate in administrative tasks, collaborate on the school plan, design the curriculum, take part in the internal evaluation activities of the school). How about at the secondary education level? How much autonomy do teachers have? • According to laws or regulations, what level of autonomy do public school teachers have regarding the (a) contents of the compulsory elements of the curriculum; (b) contents of the curriculum for optional subjects; (c) choice of teaching methods; (d) choice of textbooks; (e) criteria for internal assessment of students; (f) decision on whether a student should repeat a grade? (e.g., full autonomy, limited autonomy, no autonomy). How do school conditions affect teachers’ workload? • According to laws or regulations, is a public authority responsible for monitoring the basic infrastructure, hygiene and sanitation (BIHS) conditions of public schools? • In practice, does a public authority regularly monitor the basic infrastructure, hygiene and sanitation conditions of public schools? If yes, what percentage of public schools are in compliance with BIHS standards? • What is the average pupil-teacher ratio? Who provides and funds professional development? • According to laws or regulations, who is responsible for the provision of professional development for public school teachers? (e.g., a national/sub-national/local educational authority, schools, teacher organizations or teacher unions, private institutions). • In practice, who provides professional development for public school teachers? • According to laws and regulations, who is responsible for providing funds for professional development? (e.g., a national/sub-national/local educational authority, schools, teacher organizations or teacher unions, individual teachers). What are the professional development rules and policies that apply to public school teachers? • Is participation in professional development compulsory for open-ended public school teachers to remain in the profession? • Are there statutory requirements or official recommendations for the amount of time that public school teachers should devote to professional development activities? If yes, what is the required/recommended time? • What is considered professional development for public school teachers? (e.g., courses, collaborative work-time with teachers of the same school, collaborative work-time through teacher or school networks) What forms of support are available for beginning teachers? • Are beginning teachers working in a public school required to participate in an induction and/or mentoring program? • If yes, what is the required length of the mandatory induction and/or mentoring program? Who determines teachers’ salaries? • According to laws or regulations, who has the ultimate authority to set public school teachers’ salaries? (e.g., a national/sub-national/local educational authority, schools). • According to laws or regulations, who has the ultimate authority to set public school teachers’ non-salary benefits? (e.g., a national/sub-national/local educational authority, schools). What are the salary and non salary rules that determine a teacher’s level of compensation? 21

Teacher policy dimension

Key questions and sample of specific questions • What factors are taken into consideration by the salary schedule that is applied to public school teachers? (e.g., years of teaching experience, educational attainment, professional development, performance evaluation, subject taught, type of school where they teach, rural/urban location of the school). • What are the mandatory/optional components of a public school teacher’s compensation package? (e.g., basic salary, monetary bonus for teaching in hard-to-staff schools, monetary bonus for good performance, monetary bonus for teaching difficult student populations, monetary bonus for teaching a specific subject, monetary bonus for teaching at specific grades/levels, monetary bonus for obtaining additional qualifications, payment for overtime, payment for extra responsibilities, health benefits, life and/or accident insurance, scholarships, housing support, travel benefits, food and beverage benefits, paid annual leave, paid sick leave, paid maternity/paternity leave). Are there monetary sanctions for teacher absenteeism? • According to laws or regulations, must a public school teacher’s compensation package be reduced when the teacher is absent from school without valid cause and/or without previous notification?

Retirement rules and benefits

Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality

What is the fiscal burden of teacher compensation? • What is the average total compensation package of public school teachers, including salary and non-salary benefits? • What is the total wage bill for public school teachers, excluding non-salary benefits? • What is the total wage bill for public school teachers, including non-salary benefits? • During the last fiscal year, for how many months were the wages of public school teachers not paid on time? Who determines teachers’ retirement benefits? • According to laws or regulations, who has the ultimate authority to set public school teachers’ retirement benefits? (e.g., a national/sub-national/local educational authority, schools). What is the scope and structure of retirement benefits? • Are public school teachers entitled to receive a pension when they retire from the teaching profession? • What type of retirement income program covers public school teachers? (e.g., defined contribution system, defined benefit system, a choice of either, a combination of both). • Are retired public school teachers eligible for health benefits? What is the age structure of the teaching force? • At what age do public school teachers become eligible for retirement? • Are any incentives awarded to retired individuals and/or to those who are eligible for retirement, so that they will return to (or remain in) the teaching profession? • What proportion of currently employed teachers is older than the eligible age for retirement? What are the fiscal provisions for pension payments and retirement schemes? • How does the government obtain funding for public school teachers' retirement system? Are public school teachers evaluated on a regular basis? • Do official laws or regulations assign responsibility to a public authority to set performance goals or standards for public school teachers? • Do official laws or regulations assign responsibility to a public authority to evaluate the performance of public school teachers? • How often are teachers evaluated? Who evaluates teachers’ performance? 22

Teacher policy dimension

Teacher representation and voice

School leadership

Key questions and sample of specific questions • Are public school teachers evaluated regularly for their performance by (a) national; (b) subnational; (c) local; and (d) school authorities? If so, how often? What criteria are used to assess teachers’ performance? • What criteria must/can be used by the school to assess a public school teacher’s performance (e.g., teacher attendance/absenteeism, knowledge of subject matter, compliance with the curriculum, teaching methods, use of homework in the classroom, student assessment methods, teacher-student interactions, students’ academic achievement, students’ socio-emotional development, teacher-parent interactions)? How is information gathered to assess teachers’ performance? • What sources of information must/can be used by evaluators to assess a public school teacher’s performance? (e.g., self-assessment by the teacher, assessment by the school principal/ colleagues/ students/ parents). For what are the results of teacher performance evaluations used? • For what purpose are the results of the teacher performance evaluation conducted by the school used? (e.g., decision on the type of professional development activities that the teacher should participate in, inform classroom practice, promotion/salary/dismissal decisions). • Can a public school teacher contest the outcomes of the performance evaluation? What labor rights do teachers enjoy? • Do public school teachers have the legal right to join a teacher association? • Do public school teachers have the legal right to join a teacher association that represents their interests during collective bargaining? Is it mandatory to join a teacher association? • Does the legal right to strike exist? • What proportion of teachers are members of a teacher association? At what level does collective bargaining for the teaching profession occur? • At what level does collective bargaining occur? • What public school teachers are affected by the outcomes of collective bargaining? What issues are subject to collective bargaining and who is affected by the outcomes of these negotiations? • What aspects of a public school teacher's workload are affected by collective bargaining? • What aspects of teaching are affected by collective bargaining? What is the recruitment and employment process for school principals? • According to laws or regulations, what is required to become a public school principal? (e.g., a minimum number of years of professional teaching/administrative experience, a specific educational qualification, completion of specific courses, passing a written test, satisfactory performance in a supervised internship, participation in an induction/mentoring program). • Is a specific type of license or certification required to become a school principal, different from the license/certification for teachers? • According to official laws and regulation, who is ultimately responsible for hiring public school principals? • Are monetary incentives awarded to public school principals based on performance? Is there a performance evaluation system for school principals? • Are public school principals evaluated regularly for their performance? What are the responsibilities of school principals? • Do laws or regulations specify the responsibilities of public school principals? • According to laws and regulations, what are the responsibilities of public school principals? (e.g., hire/dismiss/evaluate teachers, evaluate the school’s performance, manage the school’s financial/human/physical resources, manage the distribution of time during school hours, provide guidance for curriculum and teaching-related tasks). 23

Teacher policy dimension

Key questions and sample of specific questions How are school principals rewarded for their work? How are principal contracts determined? • Is there a salary schedule for public school principals different from the one that applies to public school teachers? • What is average annual salary of public school principals, excluding non-salary benefits? • What is the average total compensation package of public school principals, including salary and non-salary benefits?

d. From teacher policy documentation to analysis and policy guidance In addition to documenting in detail the different components or dimensions of teacher policy systems, an important contribution of Teacher Policies Around the World will be to carry out analytical work to provide guidance to policy makers in order to strengthen teacher policy systems. To this end, the data collected from each education system on the 10 teacher policy dimensions described above will be analyzed to determine, for each specific education system, the extent to which teacher policies contribute to achieve the following policy goals: (i) a strong pool of teacher entrants; (ii) a strong pool of school leaders; (iii) opportunities and information for teachers’ continuous improvement; (iv) an effective system of accountability and consequences; (v) alignment among the different teacher policy dimensions and between teacher policies and the overall education system; and (vi) equity in the distribution of teacher quality. In addition to reporting the extent to which each education system’s teacher policies are more or less conducive to achieving the six policy goals discussed above, the initiative will synthesize trends and patterns as they relate to three important areas: (i) the structure of the teacher labor market; (ii) the level of decision-making authority over key teacher policies; and (iii) general characteristics of the education system. In what follows, we briefly discuss the six policy goals that teacher policy systems should strive to achieve in order to attract, retain, and motivate effective teachers and to ensure that they are distributed equitably across schools. i.

Strength of teacher entrants

Policies that affect the quality of those who enter the teaching profession are those policies that contribute to make the profession more attractive to potential entrants and more selective in allowing entry to the most qualified among potential candidates. Specifically, these policies include: the extent to which teaching is well remunerated, both in terms of salary as well as non-salary benefits, relative to other professions; the extent to which working conditions are attractive; and the degree of selectivity built in the system to select the best among those who apply to become teachers. ii.

Strength of school leaders

Policies that affect the quality of school leadership include policies that enable strong individuals to take on school leadership positions. As in the case of teacher entrants, these policies include compensation (salary and non-salary-benefits); working conditions, including autonomy over key decisions at the 24

school level; and the degree to which the system selects for these positions individuals who have demonstrated strong leadership skills. iii.

Opportunities and information for teachers’ continuous improvement

Strengthening teaching and learning requires providing teachers with ample opportunities and information to improve what they know and are able to do. In this sense, several policies can contribute to generate adequate information and opportunities for teachers to improve their work, including: the quality of professional development opportunities; the extent to which beginning teachers are supported through opportunities to develop; and the degree to which internal and external evaluations of student learning and teacher performance are used for informing teaching practice. iv.

An effective system of accountability and consequences

Much research has focused on what are effective incentives for teachers, including systems that hold teachers accountable for their performance by rewarding (or sanctioning) individual teachers for different levels of performance. While the jury is still out in terms of the types of incentives that are most effective for teachers, in this section we will include policies that indicate a minimum degree of accountability, such as (i) whether teacher compensation is determined in any way by what teachers do and/or how they perform; and (ii) evidence of the existence of sanctions to teachers who are extreme under-performers. v.

Alignment among the different teacher policy dimensions and between teacher policies and the overall education system

The design of the initiative Teacher Policies Around the World relies on the notion that in order to raise teaching quality and student learning outcomes, teacher policies need to be understood comprehensively. This is because internal consistency and alignment among all teacher policy dimensions as well as between teacher policies and the education system as a whole are important factors in improving teaching and learning. Therefore, in this section, an analysis of the extent to which various teacher policies are aligned, internally as well as with respect to the education system as a whole, is an important component of TPAW. Policies that should be in alignment include: existence of standards for teachers and those of initial teacher education and professional development curricula; consistency between initial teacher education and PD curricula and tasks required of teachers; consistency between teacher standards and learning standards for students; and the existence of accreditation of initial teacher education programs to ensure that standards are met. vi.

Equity in the distribution of teacher quality

An important issue in ensuring education quality for all students is the distribution of teacher quality across schools. Education systems can be more or less purposeful in distributing teachers in order to ensure that, for example, not all beginning teachers serve those students who are in most need. Moreover, in many countries, there are challenges to staffing some schools – such as those located in rural and remote areas or school serving disadvantaged populations. To reduce inequities in education 25

quality, teacher policies should include incentives (monetary and other) to attract qualified teachers to teach in hard-to-staff schools.

3. Data collection process Given its presence throughout the developing world, The World Bank is in an advantageous position to collect data on policies across countries. The Bank has country offices in a majority of developing countries and in a group of developed countries as well. Thus, it is possible to reach a majority of countries. The local office can play an important role in the selection of a local consultant to lead the data collection effort in a specific country. This consultant should be knowledgeable about the education sector in his/her country and have access to key education stakeholders. He or she will also receive training and support from the Teacher Policies Around the World core team throughout the data collection process. In section (a) below, we discuss more in detail the scope of work and expectations for the role of the local consultant, local World Bank offices, and the core team in the World Bank Headquarters. A key feature of this effort is that its main focus is on an education system’s teacher policy framework, as represented in its laws and regulations. While the instrument includes several questions related to how these laws and regulations are implemented in practice, a thorough assessment of the impact on the ground of teacher policies and regulations is beyond the scope of this activity. The reason is that doing so would entail carrying out surveys of representative samples of teachers in each education system, and the costs would make the effort impracticable to reach a majority of countries. However, as mentioned above, the quantitative data collected shall give us a sense of whether policies are working as they are supposed to. In addition, in a small sample of countries throughout the world, the Bank is engaged in collecting school-level data and surveys of representative samples of teachers to assess the extent to which teacher policies affect teaching quality and teacher performance. This related study will enable to do more in-depth analyses of the relationship between teacher policies and teaching quality. 3 a. Applying the data collection instrument: Role of local consultants, Bank Offices and HDNED team The local consultant’s role and responsibility in the data collection process, as well as the support he/she should expect to receive from both the local Bank Office and the HDNED team, are detailed in the Terms of Reference (ToRs) included in Annex 2. In this section, we summarize the main points of the ToRs.

3

This activity is being financed with resources from the Governance Partnership Facility, a Trust-Fund initiative founded in December 2008 by the Norwegian and Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) to help the World Bank deliver on its commitment to governance and anticorruption work in developing countries. 26

i. Role of the local consultant The local consultant will be instrumental in the data collection process. The activities to the carried out by the local consultant include, in chronological order: 1. Identify local educational experts who have deep knowledge about teacher policies in the country, and who are willing and able to be interviewed by the local consultant. Identifying experts in the different teacher policy dimensions requires the consultant to have a certain level of knowledge, experience and professional network in the education sector. 2. Conduct in-person interviews to educational experts, using the data collection instrument produced by the Human Development Department’s Education Team of The World Bank. Given the depth of knowledge required of education experts, each expert will likely be able to provide answers on one or two teacher policy dimensions (i.e., one or two sections of the data collection instrument). For example, someone who has detailed knowledge about initial teacher preparation policies may also have detailed knowledge about professional development policies, but may not be as cognizant of the laws and regulations pertaining to the retirement benefits available to teachers. In addition, it is desirable to interview more than one individual for each teacher policy dimension. Having answers from different respondents about the same question provides a first mechanism to assess the validity of the data collected. Conducting inperson interviews, as opposed to sending the data collection instrument for fill-in and submission via email, also provides a mechanism for validating the data, as it allows the local consultant to observe the expert’s conviction as he provides responses to each question. 3. Obtain copies of all the laws and regulations related to the topics covered by the data collection instrument (requirements to enter and remain in the teaching profession; initial teacher preparation; recruitment and employment; teachers’ workload and autonomy; professional development; compensation (salary and non-salary benefits); retirement rules and benefits; monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality; teacher representation and collective bargaining; and school leadership). These documents include teacher statutes, education laws, etc. 4. Validate the responses provided by the interviewees, checking their responses against the legal documentation collected (see Section b for more details about the validation of responses). Given the level of responsibility entrusted to the local consultant, two main mechanisms will be put in place to support him/her and provide incentives for the consultant to deliver the highest quality of work. First, as indicated in the Terms of Reference, the local consultant will be required to read the Manual for the Interviewer, produced by the core team at the World Bank. This manual will provide guidance on how to administer the data collection instrument. In addition, the core team in the World Bank will provide on-demand support (through an online helpdesk)to consultants who require additional guidance before or during the data collection process. A short test measuring the understanding of the data collection instrument, and based on the contents of the Manual, will need to be passed before a consultant can begin to conduct any interviews. Second, a list of local consultants’ names and contact information, and the country in which each of them collected data, will be published online. This 27

mechanism, used by the Doing Business team, provides a form of reward to the local consultant, while at the same time holding him/her accountable for the quality of the work delivered. To select an appropriate consultant for each country, recruitment criteria have been established (Annex 2), and the collaboration of the Bank offices in identifying a suitably qualified person shall also be crucial. The local consultant should have in-depth knowledge and prior work experience in the country’s education sector; local language proficiency and fluency in English; and access to a professional network in the education sector. These qualifications should enable him/her to identify local educational experts who have deep knowledge about teacher policies in the country, and who are willing and able to be interviewed by the local consultant during the data collection process. The estimated cost of the local consultant’s work ranges between US$1,000 and US$3,000. This includes 10 to 15 days of work at a daily fee of US$100-200. ii. Role of the Bank Offices The implementation of the data collection instrument requires coordination with, and support from, the Bank’s Country and Regional Offices. The Bank Offices will be particularly important to (i) identify a local consultant who has the appropriate qualifications to carry out the activities outlined above; (ii) process the local consultant’s contract; and (iii) help the local consultant contact the educational experts and make arrangements for the interviews. In addition, the Bank Offices may help the local consultants identify some of these educational experts in the first place, although this ultimately remains a responsibility of the local consultant. iii. Role of core team in the Education Unit of the World Bank’s Human Development Department (HDNED) The HDNED team will analyze the data collected, produce country-specific and comparative reports, and disseminate the data and related products through a user-friendly website. Section 0 provides greater detail about the products and dissemination strategies. In addition, HDNED will support the data collection, by providing initial training options for the local consultant to learn how to administer the data collection instrument, and addressing any instrumentrelated questions or concerns raised by the consultant during the data collection process. 1. Initial training The team will offer two types of initial training: (i) a written Manual for the Interviewer (already available to all consultants) and (ii) direct training and support, either in-person or via telephone and/or video-conferencing. In order to ensure that prior to the application of the data collection instrument in the field the local consultant has adequate understanding of its goals and the concepts used, local consultants will be asked to participate in a short assessment.

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2. Ongoing support The HDNED will also provide on-demand support to local consultants, to address any questions or concerns that may arise during the implementation of the data collection instrument. In addition, once the consultant has submitted the set of responses, the HDNED team will check for completeness and consistency across answers. The HDNED team may contact the local consultant to discuss any incomplete or missing answers and any inconsistencies in the answers provided to different questions. iv. Timeline The entire data collection process –which includes the identification and hiring of a local consultant, the consultant’s work time, and the review of the responses submitted- is expected to take between 6 and 8 weeks. A list of the steps involved and the estimated time for their completion is provided in Figure 2. Figure 2. Data collection process timeline 2-3 weeks

2-3 weeks

2 weeks

Identification and hiring of a local consultant by the Bank Task Team Leader and local office staff

Consultant’s work (initial training, identification of respondents, interviews, gathering of laws and regulations).

Core team reviews data and follows up with local consultant where necessary

b. Data validation and built-in updating process Several activities have been built-in in order to validate the data in the consultant’s terms of reference. The consultant will rely on the advice and information provided by targeted local experts, academics, government officials, lawyers and other education professionals, and shall administer the survey using the interview protocol and manual to multiple respondents during face-to-face interactions. 4 The consultant will administer each dimension to around five respondents to ensure that there is consistency and accuracy across the answers. The consultant will be advised to seek out more respondents especially for dimensions with fewest informants and for the countries with least reliable information. A detailed record of the respondents and their contact details will be kept for later verification efforts and, should the core team need to make contact with the individual respondents personally. At the beginning of every section, contact information of a respondent must be filled in the mandatory textfields. Failure to do this will stop the consultant from physically proceeding any further, as the PDF file becomes locked. This requirement also ensures that the data will not only highlight the teacher policies, and perhaps obstacles to service delivery, but also identify their source and point to what might be reformed according to expert opinion. The data collected will also be subjected to numerous tests for

4

In some ways when a respondent is faced with a local consultant, usually a citizen of that country, greater trust in the interviewer- interviewee relationship might naturally ensue, although this is a highly subjective interpretation.

29

robustness, with clarifying answers against databases. 5 While the Doing Business survey is administered on average to more than 8,000 local informants, 6 the data that Teacher Policies Around the World aims to collect may not necessarily require as many respondents given its narrower focus on specific teacher policies. The methodology employed will be transparent using factual information about the content of laws and regulations and also the administering consultant should allow for multiple interactions with local respondents to clarify potential misinterpretations of questions. While the consultant is paid for his/her services, it is recognized that other forms of reward optimize performance, and might act as a further inducement to ensuring data validity. As mentioned previously, a list of local consultants’ names and contact information, and the country in which each of them collected data, will be published online. Moreover, once the training is completed, the consultant will be asked to sign a legally binding declaration whereby he/she acknowledges and understands his/her role in the data collection process. Data updates and revisions. All collected data and supporting documentation shall be published on the project website. The Teacher Policies Around the World website will allow government officials and other knowledgeable individuals to submit pertinent information to ensure that the data accurately reflect reality and are as up-to-date as possible. Revisions will be assisted by the fact that the data collection will be repeated periodically. This will provide a comparable time series for research. Limitations. As mentioned previously, the data collection is limited in a number of ways. First, the data collection effort focuses exclusively on the public schooling system. Second, data might also not be representative of teacher policies in sub-national systems. In order to address this issue, sub-national studies will be carried out, which shall highlight the varying policies across different regions of a country. Certain measures, may involve a subjective element of judgment: in order to avoid this – legal documents will be used as much as possible to back up all responses. Finally, the focus is on legal and regulatory frameworks that determine teacher policies, as opposed to how these are experienced by teachers in schools throughout the country and, perhaps more importantly, their impact on teaching quality and student learning outcomes. However, complementary research will be carried out to address these questions in a smaller set of countries. Internal validations. The instrument is fully secure and no changes to the questions can be made by the consultants and other such respondents. The survey itself in the PDF format contains validations. A typical user cannot override the hidden validations and the tool-tip instructions within the instrument. For instance, many questions restrict possible answers to just numeric forms and a limited number of 5

The responses, particularly quantitative ones, are checked against a number of different sources: The World Development Report, The World Bank’s EdStats and UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS). Given that, dimension rankings and weighted averages will not form part of Teacher Policies Around the World, some aspects of data validation – will be simplified. The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) in a 2007 report on Doing Business stated that, “the database was too dependent on a small number of informants and the number and diversity of informants should be increased and their information validated more systematically. An increase in the informant base will require a systematic vetting process. Yet it remains insufficiently transparent about the number and types of informants for each indicator in a country, the adjustments staff make to the information supplied by informants, and the changes made to previously published data. It does not adequately point out the possibilities of errors and biases.” Available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTDOIBUS/Resources/db_chap5.pdf: Accessed on February 17, 2010. 6 Available at: http://www.doingbusiness.org/MethodologySurveys/MethodologyNote.aspx. Accessed on February 17, 2010.

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characters. Figure 6 shows an example of the latter: question 5 from the Overview section ensures that the consultant can only respond in years with a maximum of four characters in the textbox. This is to ensure consistency in the data collected across teacher policy issues. Figure 3. A sample question where hidden validations and tool-tip instructions have been applied, asking the consultant to “specify [the] answer in years only, and limit [the] answer to 4 characters”

Linkages. Certain questions within the instrument are linked. The instrument contains bookmarks which direct the consultant administering the instrument to the linked questions. This reduces the possibility of filling out contradictory and incomplete answers. In addition, the consultant will have undergone a training exercise and assessment after studying the guiding manual to ensure that he/she understands the structure – the linkage of questions and the content of the instrument as well as what kind of answers are required. Figure 4. A sample set of questions from the Overview section where bookmarks have been inserted to direct the consultant to the linked questions

31

4. Products a. Web-based, globally accessible database of teacher policies in a user-friendly format A key aim of Teacher Policies Around the World is to produce datasets that large and diverse audience groups can easily access, understand and utilize for their tailored needs. The datasets will be broken down into a number of different output channels. As one of the professed aims of Teacher Policies Around the World is to allow as many users as possible to view the product, the main arena to host the datasets collected from the countries surveyed is a website: a website allows for a number of different output channels and can be accessed by a global audience. The target audiences of this website are students, researchers and academics, policy-makers, government officials, World Bank staff and the general public. A release calendar will be shown on the front-page of the site to alert visitors as to when more data and related features will go live. The data. A major aspect of the website is of course the data itself. In order to enable the user to access selected data for his/her needs, a feature allows for the selection of one or all dimensions of the instrument (the quantitative section will no longer appear as a separate section as such questions will be incorporated within the relevant policy dimensions) along with either an individual country, a selection of specified countries, countries within a particular geographical region, countries categorized by income group, or all such countries. Once the user has selected the desired dimension(s) and country / countries, the database behind the website generates an excel file of the data, enabling the user to manipulate the datasets for his/her own requirements. Such a selection of tools enables the user to select specific data for individual needs, while allowing for cross-country and cross-dimensional comparability. Graphical analysis tool. As part of the comparability process across countries, regions and dimensions, a graphical analysis tool allows for the customization of graphics and charts in seconds. Visual presentation of information. In order to cater to viewers who prefer to see data in an image form, a map of the world will be produced for a quick and easy snapshot that enables visual comparisons between countries and regions to be made. b. Research products Country notes, Country profiles, Dimension presentation. The database behind the website will be programmed to allow the user to download research papers. Such papers can be produced for the different regions, for each individual country, as well as short case-study based publications on a specific dimension of the questionnaire for a particular country and/or countries. These papers might eventually include both analysis and policy recommendations. Individual country profiles will also be showcased on the front page of the website, but the user will be able to access these through different channels on the website.

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In depth research articles and publications. Finally, in-depth research will be carried out to explore the relationships between different aspects of teacher policies and their relationships to education system outcomes. This research will be published in multiple outlets and forms, ranging from working papers, academic journals, and books.

33

References

Amin, Samia, Jishnu Das, and Markus Goldstein (eds.). 2008. Are You Being Served? New Tools for Measuring Service Delivery. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Education Week. 2008. Quality Counts 2008: Tapping into Teaching. Available from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2008/01/10/index.html?intc=ml Eurydice. 2002a. Initial training and transition to working life, Volume 1. In The teaching profession in Europe: Profile, trends and concerns. General lower secondary education. Eurydice. 2002b. Supply and demand, Volume 2. In The teaching profession in Europe: Profile, trends and concerns. General lower secondary education. Eurydice. 2003. Working conditions and pay, Volume 3. In The teaching profession in Europe: Profile, trends and concerns. General lower secondary education. Eurydice. 2004. Keeping teaching attractive for the 21st century, Volume 4. In The teaching profession in Europe: Profile, trends and concerns. General lower secondary education. International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks (INCA). Comparative tables available from: http://www.inca.org.uk/comparative_tables.html Goldhaber, Dan and Jane Hannaway, eds. 2009. Creating a New Teaching Profession. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Hanushek, Eric A. and Steven G. Rivkin. 2006. “Teacher Quality.” In Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 2, edited by Eric A. Hanushek and Finis Welch (1051-78). Amsterdam: Elsevier. Loeb, Susanna and Luke Miller. 2006. A Review of State Teacher Policies: What are they, What are their effects, and What are their Implications for School Finance? Getting Down to Facts Project. Stanford University, Institute for Research in Education Policy and Practice. Available from: http://irepp.stanford.edu/documents/GDF/STUDIES/11-Loeb-CATeacherPolicy/11-LoebMiller(3-07).pdf Nye, Barbara, Spyros Konstantopoulos, and Larry V. Hedges. 2004. “How Large are Teacher Effects?” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 26(3): 237-57. Rivkin, Steven G., Eric A. Hanushek, and John F. Kain. “Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement.” Econometrica 73(2): 417-58. Rockoff, Jonah. 2004. “The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Data.” American Economic Review 94(2): 247-52.

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OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Available from: http://www.oecd.org/document/0/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_38052160_1_1_1_1,00.html The World Bank. 2009. Human Resources Management Diagnostic Instruments. Actionable Governance Indicators initiative. Available from: http://intranet.worldbank.org/WBSITE/INTRANET/SECTORS/PUBLICSECTORANDGOVERNANCE/0 ,,contentMDK:21637392~menuPK:285748~pagePK:210082~piPK:254376~theSitePK:285742,00. html

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Annex 1 – Summary of previous related initiatives TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) Objectives

Issues & topics it covers

Methodology development Data collection

Sample population

Relevant link

• • • •

To understand the teaching and learning environments inside schools. To contrast teaching and learning environments within and between countries. To inform countries in the development of their policies for teachers, teaching and learning. School leadership and management: - Principals’ approach to leadership and management (based on activities that are performed or not), with special attention given to the degree of instructional leadership. - Influence of different leadership and management approaches on the school environment (professional degree of cooperation and collaboration between teachers, level of teacher morale and job satisfaction, student-teacher relations). - Influence of internal/ external evaluation on leadership and management. • Performance evaluation of teachers, and its feedback and consequences: - Internal/ external evaluation: how teachers’ work is appraised, how they receive feedback on their work, how frequently this occurs, who is involved in the process and what the outcomes are. - Degree to which evaluation processes are motivated by administrative, accountability or professional development aims. - Influence of different evaluation systems on the school environment. - Influence of different evaluation systems on teaching practices. • Professional development: - Amount and type of professional development undertaken. - Support provided, and barriers encountered, for undertaking professional development. - Impact of different forms of professional development on teachers’ work. - Types of development needs that teachers feel they have. - Systems of induction and mentoring for new teachers. • Teaching practices, activities, beliefs and attitudes: - Profiles of teaching practices (for example, focus on direction from the teacher vs. more open-ended approach). - Picture of teachers’ beliefs about teaching. - Correlation between teachers’ practices/ beliefs and the school environment. - Correlation between teachers’ practices/ beliefs and their professional activities (professional development, collaboration). • Survey questionnaires were developed by an expert group that was put together by the OECD. The questionnaires were discussed with teacher representative bodies before being implemented. • Surveys teachers of lower secondary education and their principals. • Separate questionnaires for teachers and principals. • Each questionnaire takes 45 minutes to complete, and can also be completed online. • Includes not only teachers but also school principals. • Participating schools are selected at random and, within them, participating teachers are selected at random. For each country, 200 schools and 20 teachers within those schools. • Conducted in 24 OECD countries in four continents during 2007-2008 (first report by mid-2009); other countries may join later on. http://www.oecd.org/document/0/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_38052160_1_1_1_1,00.html 36

LOEB & MILLER, A Review of State Teacher Policies Objectives

• •

Issues & topics it covers

•

•

• •

•

• •

•

To describe and compare teacher policies across states in the U.S. To inform California policymakers about teacher policies’ effect on teacher quality and student outcomes, and their implications for school finance. Pre-service training policies: - Accreditation requirements for teacher preparation programs regarding minimum subject matter coursework and field and clinical experiences. - Measures by which governments hold the programs accountable for the quality of the teacher candidates they train. Licensure and certification policies: - Authority (functions and degree of autonomy) of State professional standards boards for teacher licensure regulation development. - Required teacher assessments for initial licensure. - Second-stage license requirements (availability of certificates and assessment requirements to obtain one). - Alternative routes to certification. - State implementation of NCLB’s Highly Qualified Teacher definition. Tenure policies: - Detail of processes through which teachers transition from probationary to non-probationary status, and due process rights (tenure requirements, reasons for termination or dismissal, and appeal process). Professional development policies: - Requirements, approval and funding for professional development. - Induction & Mentoring programs – State minimum requirements for beginning teacher induction and mentoring programs. - Teacher performance evaluations. Recruitment, retention and assignment incentives policies: - Tuition support. - Loan assumption. - Salary bonuses. - Housing assistance. - Incentives to complete the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards (NBPTS) certification process. Salary structure policies: - Minimum salary schedules. - Output-based pay structures such as career ladders, merit pay, and pay-for-performance programs. Teacher association policies: - Teachers’ collective bargaining rights (policy type, scope of representation, salary schedule, permission to strike). - Right-to-work laws. Teacher retirement policies: - Detail of the teacher retirement systems (system management, membership in the system, mandatory contribution rates, service requirements for vesting and benefits, calculation of retirement benefits, health insurance coverage). 37

LOEB & MILLER, A Review of State Teacher Policies Methodology development Data collection

Sample population Relevant link

• • • • • • • •

The researchers conducted a review of research on teacher policies and used state statutes and regulations as the primary source of data, supplementing this information with external information. The report also provides a brief overview of the teacher labor market in California. State statutes and regulations. NASDTEC’s Knowledge database. Education Week’s Quality Counts 2005. Individual State websites. State policy summaries by the Education Commission of the States. The 50 states of the U.S. plus the District of Columbia.

http://irepp.stanford.edu/documents/GDF/STUDIES/11-Loeb-CATeacherPolicy/11-Loeb-Miller(3-07).pdf

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QUALITY COUNTS 2008, Tapping into Teaching (Education Week) Objectives

Issues & topics it covers

Methodology development

• •

To characterize, track, compare and rank the quality of education provided in the 50 states of the U.S. plus the District of Columbia. To inform researchers, legislators, policymakers and practitioners regarding states’ efforts and success to improve the quality of education. Topics covered in the Teaching Profession module: • Accountability for quality: - Initial licensure requirements for all prospective teachers. - Discouraging out-of-field teaching for all schools. - Evaluation of teacher performance. - Accountability for effectiveness of teacher education programs. - Data systems to monitor quality. • Incentives and allocation: - Reducing entry and transfer barriers. - Teacher salaries. - Incentives for teacher leadership and performance. - Monitoring the distribution of teaching talent. - Managing the allocation of teaching talent. • Building and supporting capacity: - Support for beginning teachers. - Professional development. - School leadership. - School working conditions. Some relevant topics are also covered by the Standards, Assessment and Accountability module. In particular, this module looks into the existence of state resources and/or guides for educators that elaborate on the official academic standards documents, and state provision of formative assessments or item banks linked to state standards. • In 2006, after a decade of producing Quality Counts, Education Week decided to take a hiatus from grading states on their efforts to improve public education. The 2008 report reintroduces state grades but with several key differences. First, it grades states on their performance as well as on their policy efforts. Second, it grades states on their efforts to better align policies across the various levels of education. Third, it introduces a greatly revised set of indicators on the teaching profession. • In the past, the Teaching Profession module graded states on their efforts to improve teaching based largely on their role as a gatekeeper, by determining which institutions can prepare teachers and setting the standards for who can earn a teaching license. The 2008 module continues to look at these issues, but it also grades states on their efforts in three areas related to advancing human capital development in education: accountability for quality; incentives to attract talented people into teaching and keep them there, and allocate talent equitably across schools and districts; and initiatives to build and support effective teaching, both during the early stages of a teacher’s career and through ongoing professional development and positive working conditions. • The new Teaching Profession module is the result of a one-year revision of the latest and best thinking from the field, led by the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center. • The grades awarded to states regarding their teaching-profession-related efforts, are largely based on non-numerical measures showing whether a state has implemented a particular policy/ program or not. The overall score represents the percent of tracked 39

QUALITY COUNTS 2008, Tapping into Teaching (Education Week)

Data collection

• •

• •

Sample population Relevant link

•

teacher policies that the state has implemented. A state that has enacted all tracked teacher policies would receive a perfect score of 100 points. To obtain the overall score, the three main topics within the module (accountability for quality, incentives and allocation, and building and supporting capacity) are equally weighted. The EPE Research Center sent surveys to the chief state school officers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia public schools. The surveys were distributed in August 2007. Respondents were asked to answer the questions and provide appropriate documentation to verify that the reported policies were in place at the time of the survey or for the 2007-08 school year. Such documentation could include state statutes, administrative rules, or Web links for information available online. To check the accuracy of the information, as well as to check that consistent standards were applied across the states, the EPE Research Center evaluated each state’s responses and documentary evidence over an 11-week period. That process often included discussions with the respondents. In the absence of documentation, the center did not award credit. On November 2007, the EPE Research Center sent each chief of state school officer a completed survey indicating the state’s initial responses and the final determinations by the center based on the available documentation. Officials in the state were asked to review the final answers and supply corrections/ changes that could be supported by additional documentation. The 50 states of the U.S. plus the District of Columbia, with a focus on public education in those states.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2008/01/10/index.html 2008 Indicators available at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/01/04/17sources.h26.html?print=1 http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/01/10/18execsum.h27.html?r=683472133 http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/01/10/18overview.h27.html

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EURYDICE, A Review of State Teacher Policies Objectives Issues & topics it covers

• •

To characterize and compare teacher policies across European countries. Teacher Education for Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Education: - Curriculum. - Foreign languages. - ICT. - Initial teacher education. - In-service training. - Level of qualification. - Organization & Structure. - Reading. - Specialist teachers.

•

Teachers in primary and secondary education: - Age. - Employment and status. - Gender. - Responsibilities. - Retirement. - Salaries. - Subject division. - Support. - Team planning. - Working time.

Methodology development

• • •

Data collection

• • • •

Most of the data was collected by Eurydice based on a review of existing policies and country-specific legislation and regulations. Some statistics were provided by Eurostat. Other statistics (the ones that measure issues in terms of “proportion of students in the fourth year of primary education) were obtained from the PIRLS 2001 database. Review of country laws, statutes and regulations. Already existing data in the Eurostat database. Already existing data in the PIRLS 2001 database. European countries.

Sample population Relevant link

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/Eurydice http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/Overview/OverviewByIndicator

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INCA (International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Internet Archive) Objectives

• • •

Issues & topics it covers

• •

• •

•

•

•

Methodology

•

To build, maintain, update and develop an accurately researched and ready-to-use resource of “country archives” comprising descriptions of government policy on the aims, organization and control, and structure of the education system, on the curriculum and assessment frameworks, and on the initial teacher training systems in mainstream and special education across countries. To provide comparative tables, thematic probes and thematic studies in specific areas of interest. To provide detailed information on specific areas to enable the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in England to evaluate the English National Curriculum and assessment frameworks. To help QCA analyze the outcomes of international comparisons. Steps to becoming a primary school teacher: - Length of training. - Type of training available: Consecutive (a program of professional education training is undertaken once an undergraduate degree has been obtained); Concurrent (teacher training is combined with a degree which results in the award of a Bachelor of Education degree or similar); Combined (a joint degree in education and a specific subject). - On the job training. - Probationary period. - Registration necessary Steps to becoming a lower secondary school teacher: - Same indicators as in previous bullet. Special educational needs teacher training: - Specialist initial teacher training. - Post qualification specialization. - Special needs education part of initial teacher training. Recruitment incentives to encourage individuals to train as teachers (defined as the payment of course tuition fees by the government): - Primary education: all subjects; shortage subjects. - Compulsory secondary education: all subjects; shortage subjects. Organizing bodies responsible for initial teacher training: - Types of bodies: National Ministry, Federal Ministry, Statutory body (a body independent from government which was established by legislation); Non-departmental public body (a body set up, sometimes under statute, to carry out specific functions on behalf of government; although non-departmental public bodies are government funded, they are not government departments or part of government departments); Local authority (regional education HQs, the local arm of the Ministry of Education). - Responsibilities considered: Standards for teaching qualification; Teacher training curriculum/ guidance standards; Registration agency. Organization of teaching: - Minimum teaching time per week (in hours). - Length of teaching periods. The archive is funded by the QCA in England and managed and updated by the International Information Unit at the National 42

INCA (International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Internet Archive) development

Data collection

Sample population

Relevant link

Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The project, which began in 1996, seeks to inform curriculum and assessment policies and practices in England, and therefore the concepts and categories used are distinctively related to the curriculum and assessment framework in England. • The initial teacher training modules were incorporated in 2004-2005, and are funded by Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). • Review of legislation as it affects the education provided in schools and to the 3-19 age range. • The data is sometimes complemented by additional information from contacts in Ministries and agencies in the countries concerned. • Since the inception of the project (in 1996), the data on all countries is regularly reviewed and updated. The data was most recently updated in July 2008. • 20 countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and Wales. Information for South Africa has recently been prepared for addition and is currently being validated. • Policies that affect education provided in schools and to the 3-19 age range. http://www.inca.org.uk http://www.inca.org.uk/INCA_comparative_tables_July_2008.pdf

43

GARY REID, Actionable Governance Indicators about Human Resource Management (The World Bank) Objectives

•

• Issues & topics it covers

•

•

To diagnose the extent to which developing countries achieve the following six core objectives of civil service management: - Attract and retain required human capital. - Fiscally sustainable wage bill. - Depoliticized, meritocratic civil service management. - Performance-focusing civil service management. - Ethical behavior by civil servants. - Effective working relationships with other cadres. To diagnose the extent to which developing countries are able to quantify their achievement of these core objectives of civil service management. Institutional arrangements (the legal framework and in-practice features such as rules, procedures and assignment of responsibility). - Civil service legal framework. - Due process protection (i.e., the rules that requires various checks on the exercise of human resource management authority, in order to reduce the odds of arbitrary exercise of that authority. They can include, among other things, ex-ante clearances required for particular human resource management actions; ex-post oversight of human resource management practices, and redress mechanisms). - Civil service management objectives. - Division of responsibility and authority. - Remuneration policies and practices. - Non-remuneration policies and practices. - Wage bill and establishment control. - Recruitment and selection. - Promotions and transfers procedures and practices. - Disciplinary procedures and practices. - Redress (i.e., adjudicating challenges to particular civil service management actions, in which the complainant claims that the particular civil service management action violated one or more requirements of the civil service management). - Code of ethics and asset declaration. - Performance objectives. - Performance appraisal. - Promotions. - Performance-related pay practices. - Stability of the highest ranking civil servant. - Working relations between cadres. Organizational capacities (skills of employees and the functions and authority they have). - Policy-setting agents’ capacity (where capacity means that employees have officially recognized legal status; well-defined roles, responsibilities and authority, and adequate human/ financial/ information resources). - Oversight agents’ capacity. - Management agents’ capacity. 44

GARY REID, Actionable Governance Indicators about Human Resource Management (The World Bank) - Redress agents’ capacity. Human Resource Management system performance (the extent to which core HRM objectives are achieved). - Attracting and retaining staff with needed skills. - Depoliticized, meritocratic civil service management. - Performance appraisal practices and their consequences. - Absenteeism. - Ethical behavior with civil servants. - Working relationships with other cadres. • Developed by a group of World Bank experts in public sector governance, led by Gary Reid (World Bank). It took 1.5 years to develop the methodology. • The methodology recognizes the difference between “in practice” and “in law” answers. • Review of legislation and other official documents. • Structured interviews with civil servants, and subjective assessment by those conducting these interviews about what answers were the most reliable ones. In each country, interviews were conducted by two individuals (a World Bank person who is knowledgeable about the country and language, a local consultant with sector-specific knowledge) during two weeks. Questions were sent to interviewees in advance. Every interview requires 4 to 8 hours to be completed, but a given individual is interviewed several times to avoid overwhelming him/her and to allow him/her to look for information to respond to the interview questions. Another four weeks are used to analyze the data and write the report. Piloted in seven countries of three different regions (Peru, Paraguay and Guatemala in Latin America and the Caribbean; Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan in Europe and Central Asia; Tanzania and Ghana in Africa). Each of the three main topics is analyzed at four levels of government: - Total public administration: Entire budget-financed public administration, exclusive of state-owned enterprises. - Central public administration: Central government budget-financed public administration, exclusive of state-owned enterprises, excluding de-concentrated central public administration. - De-concentrated public administration: - Sub-national public administration. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ECan93OIqhAYzE4_2f_2fv96aA_3d_3d https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=GIQXkiW6AivRemevmx5Gog_3d_3d https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=mV51IhmJh8foAd2crguC6g_3d_3d •

Methodology development Data collection

Sample population

Relevant link

45

Annex 2 – Terms of Reference for the local consultant

Terms of Reference:

Local consultant to support The World Bank’s Teacher Policies Around the World initiative

Name of Consultant:

[name of consultant here]

Duration of Contract

[period of contract here]

Objectives: [name of consultant here] will work in [name of city here], [name of country here] to document the country’s teacher policies. Background: The World Bank’s Education Team within the Human Development Network (HDNED) is leading the Teacher Policies Around the World initiative. The aim of the initiative is to collect, analyze and disseminate comparable data about national and sub-national teacher policies in developed and developing countries. Policymakers, educational leaders and researchers will have access to the data collected through a userfriendly website, accessible to the general public. This will enable users to make their own diagnosis about the state of teacher policies in their countries, learn about other countries’ policies, and make informed decisions about teacher policy reform. Access to these data will also enable users to conduct analyses that contribute to our understanding of how teacher policies affect teacher quality and student learning. Activities: [name of consultant here] will work under the guidance of [name of point of contact in HDNED here] (HDNED). The activities to be carried out by the consultant include to: 5. Read and study the Manual for the Interviewer produced by HDNED. A short test will be administered, to assess whether the consultant’s knowledge and understanding of the data collection instrument. The consultant must pass this test before beginning to conduct any interviews (see point 4). [name of point of contact in HDNED here] will be available for consultations and guidance throughout the extension of the contract, including for questions related to the data collection instrument. 6. Identify local stakeholders who have expert knowledge about teacher policies in the country. 7. Contact these stakeholders and arrange a time when they can be interviewed. To do this, the consultant may request support from the Bank’s local office. 8. Conduct interviews to local stakeholders, using the data collection instrument produced by The World Bank. Where necessary, the consultant will follow-up with the interviewees to obtain additional responses, so that the only missing answers are those for which the country has no data. 9. Obtain copies of the appropriate documentation, as indicated in the data collection instrument. This includes all the laws and regulations that pertain to teacher policies, such as those that regulate the requirements to enter and remain in the teaching profession; initial teacher 46

preparation; recruitment and employment; teachers’ workload and autonomy; professional development; compensation (salary and non-salary benefits); retirement rules and benefits; monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality; teacher representation and collective bargaining; and school leadership. It also includes the salary schedule that is used to determine public school teachers’ salaries. 10. Validate the responses provided by the interviewees, checking their responses against the legal documentation collected. Products: As a product for this consultancy, [name of consultant here] will deliver: 1. One completed data collection instrument. 2. All the documentation (laws, regulations, salary schedules, etc.) which supports the responses. Qualifications: In-depth knowledge and prior work experience in the education sector of [name of country here]; local language proficiency and fluency in English; and having access to a professional network in the education sector are all required. Understanding of education terminology and basic education indicators is desirable. Payment: The consultant will work for a maximum of [10-15] days during the period [period of contract here]. The daily net fee to be paid for this work is of [insert daily fee here]. The Bank will reimburse the consultant for any travel expenses incurred as part of this consultancy. Direct supervisor: [Insert name here] Task Team Leader: Emiliana Vegas

47