I. TALIS at a Glance
With a focus on lower secondary education in both the public and private sectors, TALIS examines important aspects of professional development; teacher beliefs, attitudes and practices; teacher appraisal and feedback; and school leadership in the 23 participating countries. TALIS looks at these factors through the eyes of teachers and school principals. This innovative approach was chosen in order to examine how the intended school and teacher policies of education systems are actually perceived and implemented in schools and classrooms.
II. Key results
TALIS identifies close associations between factors such as a positive school climate, teaching beliefs, co-operation between teachers, teacher job satisfaction, professional development, and the adoption of different teaching techniques.
In a number of countries, the appraisal and feedback which teachers receive is mirrored in the beliefs in their own teaching abilities, in other words, when they receive feedback on their work, the more they trust in their abilities to address teaching challenges
Although the great majority of teachers received some professional development over the previous 18 months, 55% on average reported that they would have liked more.
In Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Ireland and Norway, more than 90% of teachers say they don’t expect any reward for improving the quality of their teaching. Teachers are less pessimistic in Bulgaria and Poland, but still almost half of them see no incentive to improve.
In Estonia, Italy, the Slovak Republic, and Spain, more than 70% of teachers at lower-secondary level work in schools where it was felt that classroom disturbances hinder the teaching process “to some extent” or “a lot”.
On average, 38% of teachers surveyed worked in schools which suffered from a shortage of qualified staff.
For further information:
http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_42980662_1_1_1_1,00.html
