We conducted multiple analyses that essentially show that all the teacher quality indicators except mathematics major are significantly and positively associated with national achievement. Simply put, in countries where higher percentages of eighth graders were taught by fully certified teachers, any teachers with a mathematics education major, or teachers with at least 3 years of teaching experience, students achieved significantly higher national average mathematics score than in other countries. Our data confirmed the importance of providing a qualified teaching workforce for a nation's children.
However, these data do not take into consideration changes in recent policy and how these will affect instruction. While the intent of policy changes in both the U.
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For example, we note that in systems where teacher learning opportunities, combined with more equal educational resource allocations, are high, differential access to certified teachers does not create a large achievement gap E. However, in the United States, where the teacher qualification gap is likely to be accompanied by gaps in teachers' access to instructional resources and professional development opportunities, the impact of the gap in opportunity to be taught by qualified teachers is likely to be further enhanced, thereby increasing the achievement gap.
Changes in national patterns of work assignment, funding and educational focus threaten to erode the positive effects of the movement to improve access to qualified teachers. Unintended Policy Consequences The focus on teacher qualifications has lead to a global focus on subject matter proficiency and a narrowing of the focus of the teacher's work in many nations. Instead of the kind of generalist ideals of a quality teacher outlined above in the example from Australia, teachers in many nations are now expected to "just teach.
In nations around the world, politicians have called for more wide-ranging reforms to give children access to high quality teachers. But, the data we examined show the magnitude of the problem facing many nations. It isn't enough to recruit more teachers; nations have to assure that teachers are distributed equally within national boundaries. Nations can successfully address this issue in a variety of ways. Both centralized and decentralized countries have used policy tools to improve access for children.
- Being Legally Blind: Observations for Parents of Visually Impaired Children.
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But, a reliance on limited accountability systems does not work. In fact, the access in gap in the U. Before nations attempt to emulate U. These nations have achieved both a high level of quality and an equitable distribution of qualified teachers - critical steps in assuring a high quality education for all children. Access to Qualified Teachers Source: Teaching Force in Global Context.
New York, Teachers College Press. Mathematics Instruction From an International Perspective. Teacher Turnover and Teacher Shortages: American Educational Research Journal, 38, 3: Educating Hearts and Minds. New York, Cambridge University Press.
Paris, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Education in Contemporary Japan: Learning to go to school in Japan.
Berkeley, University of California Press. Education reform in Japan: A case of immobilist policies. Learning to Teach in Two Cultures. New York, Garland Publishing.
Local Encounters with Global Forces in Mongolia. New York, Palgrave Macmillan. We have designed CRN's English site to bring together people concerned about children and to offer a forum for innovative interdisciplinary discussion.
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Teacher quality and teacher qualifications are a global issue, and nations are rushing to implement policies to improve "teacher quality. In both the U. Policy makers may be implementing policies that decrease the quality of education - essentially undercutting aspects of national systems that already serve children well. Nations need to pay attention to a broader definition of teacher quality if they are to adequately serve all children in their nation.
A capacity to respond appropriately to students, individually and collectively, and to the context, through their teaching practice. A refusal to let anything get in the way of their own or their students' learning, and what they perceive as needing to be addressed. In Japan, by contrast, teachers are doing all of these things consistently in the context of their actual classrooms. The frequency of this happening in the U.
At the end of the chapter, the authors provide recommendations for U. They base their recommendations on their research into mentoring and professional development and how to best impact teacher growth. Their first recommendation is for states or schools to develop a professional development map of activities along a professional continuum.
The second recommendation is to require induction and mentoring of new teachers, a required amount of professional development and to financially support these programs. The third recommendation is for schools to require a reduced workload for new teachers and to embed professional development into the regular school day.
The authors argue that this time is critical to helping teachers improve and would allow them more time to observe veteran teachers and collaborate with colleagues around instruction, materials and curriculum.
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It seems that this argument could be taken a step further and should not just apply to new teachers. Veteran teachers would also benefit from embedded professional development, time to observe their colleagues and time to discuss, collaborate and plan together. By observing teaching approaches and student responses and work, teachers learn what promotes student learning. When their lessons are observed by other teachers, they can receive objective feedback on their instructional approach, teaching materials, and how their approach enhances student learning.
These learning opportunities through lesson observation can also promote shared understanding of their instructional goals and effective methods, and a sense of community focused on professional learning.