Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession. Lessons from around the world

Abstract

Andreas Schleicher, Head of the Indicators and Analysis Division, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, France. 
Email: andreas.schleicher@oecd.org  Address: 2, rue André Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.

This is the first chapter of the OECD report. International experience is used to identify the methods to attract qualified graduates into the teaching force and to ensure high-quality initial teacher education.

Different approaches towards recruitment are described. Special emphasis is placed on the comprehensive approach to identifying and nurturing teaching talent in young people from secondary school graduating classes developed in Singapore.

The author determines both financial incentives proposed by educational systems in different countries to attract qualified graduates into the teaching force and policies seeking to improve the profession’s general status and competitive position in the job market. Building stronger links between the schools and the community can help to enhance the status of teaching.

It is discussed how to supply attractive forms of employment that balance flexibility with job security and grant sufficient authority for schools to manage and deploy their human resources. The author provides the example of Finland where teachers are engaged in education reform. It is explained why top-down initiatives alone are insufficient to achieve deep and lasting changes in practice.

Well-structured and well-resourced selection processes and programs of induction that ensure that the best candidates get the available jobs are critical. The author specifies recruitment measures to bring in teachers from a wider range of backgrounds.

Methods to better ensure high-quality initial teacher education in different countries are identified.