The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is
an international, large- scale survey of teachers, school leaders and the l earning
environment in schools. This note presents findings based on the reports of
lower secondary teachers and their school leaders in mainstream public and
private schools.
Who are today’s principals and teachers and the students
in their classrooms?
• Teaching was the first -choice career for 59% of teachers
in the United States and for 67% in OECD countries and economies participating
in TALIS. In terms of why they joined the profession, at least 97% of teachers in
the United States cite the opportunity to influence children’s development or contribute
to society as a major motivation.
• In the United States, teachers are, on average, 43 years old,
which is close to the average age of teachers across OECD countries and
economies participating in TALIS (44 years old). Furthermore, 31% of teachers
in the United States are aged 50 and above (OECD average 34%). This means that the
United States will have to renew about one out of three members of its teaching
workforce over the next 15 years or so.
• The United States has one of the youngest workforce of principals
among TALIS participating countries and economies , as principals are, on
average, 48 years old, which is lower than the average age of principal s
across OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS (52 years old).
• The United States also has one of the highest shares of principals
under the age of 40 years, with more than 20% of principals in this age group. Furthermore,
only 17% of principals in the United States are aged 60 and above, compared to
20% on average across the OECD.
• Information about the gender distribution of the teacher
and principal workforces makes it possible to gauge the degree of gender imbalance
in the teaching p rofession and of gender disparities in the scope for promotion
to leadership positions. In the United States, only 48% of principals are women,
compared to 66% of teachers. This can be benchmarked against the OECD averages
of 47% of women among school leaders and 68% among teachers.
• In terms of
classroom environments, relations between students and teachers are positive
overall, with 95% of teachers in the United States agreeing that students and
teachers usually get on well with each other. However, 27% of principals report
regular acts of intimidation or bullying among their students
What practices are teachers using in the classroom?
• During a typical lesson, teachers spend 79% of classroom
time on actual teaching and learning, on average in the United States, which is
not significantly different from the OECD average of 78%. In the past five to
ten years, classroom time spent on actual teaching and learning has decreased
in about half of the countries and economies participating in TALIS 2 .
• One of the critical issues emerging in the U nited States is
the difference in classroom time spent on actual teaching and learning between
schools with different socio -economic compositions . In schools with high concentrations
of students from socio- economically disadv antaged backgrounds, teachers report
spending less time on actual teaching and learning (a difference of 8 percentage
points) as compared to that reported by teachers in schools with low concentrations
of students from socio -economically disadvantaged back grounds. It is noteworthy
that more than 40% of teachers in the United States teach in classes with a high
concentration of students from socio- economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Among the range of instructional practices TALIS asks teachers
about, t hose aimed at enhancing classroom management and clarity of
instruction are widely applied in the United States, as well as across the OECD
countries and economies participating in TALIS. For instance, in the United
States, 57% of teachers report frequentl y calming students who are disruptive
(OECD average 65%) and 88% report frequently explaining how new and old topics
are related (OECD average 84%).
• Practices involving student cognitive activation, which
are known to be important for student learning, are less widespread, with about
half of teachers using these methods across the OECD. Specifically, in the United
States, 46% of teachers report frequently asking students to decide on their own
procedures for solving complex tasks, which is similar to the OE CD average
(45% ).
• In the United States, 85% of teachers routinely assess
their students’ progress by observing them and providing immediate feedback (OECD
average 79%), at the same time 82% of teachers report administering their own assessments
to their s tudents (OECD average 77%) and 37% of teachers frequently let
students evaluate their own progress (OECD average 41%).
• Overall, a vast majority of teachers and school leaders
view their colleagues as open to change and their schools as places that have
the capacity to adopt innovative practices. In the United States, 84% 1 The
estimate for the United States is not significant y different from the OECD
average (14%).
• During their initial education and training, 84% of teachers
in the United States were instructed on subject content, pedagogy and classroom
practice – a share that is higher than the average of OECD countries and
economies participating in TALIS (79%).
• Overall, induction
and mentoring for teachers is more prevalent in the United States as compared
to other countries and economies participating in TALIS. • 61% of teachers report
having partici pated in some kind of formal or informal induction when they joined
their current school, compared to 42% of teachers across OECD countries and economies
participating in TALIS.
• While school principals across the OECD generally consider
mentoring to be important for teachers’ work and students’ performance, 22% of
novice teachers (with up to 5 years of experience) have an assigned mentor. In
the United States, this share amounts to 39%.
• On average across the OECD, school leaders usually have a
higher level of educational attainment than teachers. However, only half of
them complete a training course or programme for principals at least once
before taking up their position as principal.
• Instructional leadership training for school leaders is
more common in the United States as compared to other OECD countries. Only 4%
of school leaders have never received any training in instructional leadership
in the United States, which is significantly lower than the OECD average (17%).
Additionally, 90% of school leaders in the United States have completed an
instructional leadership program me or course before taking up duty, as
compared to 54% on average across the OECD. Formal training in school
administration for school leaders in the United States is similar to the average
level observed for the OECD, as 13% of school leaders report never having received
training in this area.
No comments:
Post a Comment