Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS, SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS: RECRUITING AND SUPPORTING SOCIETY’S MOST CRUCIAL PROFESSION Public Disclosure Authorized OCTOBER 2021 Public Disclosure Authorized WORLD BANK POLICY APPROACH TO TEACHERS WORLD BANK GROUP TARA BÉTEILLE AND DAVID K. EVANS “Teaching is the profession upon which all other professions depend.” 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS WHY TEACHERS ARE IRREPLACEABLE....................................................................................................................................1 SOME BASIC FACTS ON TEACHERS.........................................................................................................................................3 MAKING TEACHING AN ATTRACTIVE PROFESSION................................................................................................................8 PROVIDING TEACHERS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED BEFORE ENTERING THE CLASSROOM...........................................17 WHAT POLICIES FOR HIRING AND DEPLOYING TEACHERS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE?...........................................................22 WHAT POLICIES CAN HELP SUPPORT AND MOTIVATE TEACHERS THROUGH THEIR CAREERS?.......................................28 HOW CAN EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY HELP TEACHERS TO TEACH EVERY STUDENT EFFECTIVELY?.................................33 CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................................................................36 ENDNOTES..............................................................................................................................................................................39 The authors would like to thank Jaime Saavedra, the World Bank’s Global Director for Education, and Omar Arias, manager of the Global Engagement and Knowledge team in the Education Global Practice, for extensive guidance. We would also like to thank Juan Barón, Mary Breeding, Marcela Gutierrez Bernal, Ezequiel Molina, and Halsey Rogers for inputs and feedback. The five principles discussed in this policy approach draw upon the World Bank’s SABER Framework for Effective Teachers. This is the second edition of this report. The first edition, by the same name, was published in January 2020. World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers WHY TEACHERS ARE IRREPLACEABLE 1 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers FOR MANY STUDENTS, TEACHERS ARE THE ADULTS WITH recognized or rewarded. And in several countries, unpre- pared and poorly trained teachers are expected to teach a WHOM THEY WILL INTERACT THE MOST. complex curriculum, which even they have a weak grasp Successful teachers are likely to be the first role mod- on. Consequently, too many students across the world els that young people encounter outside the home. They meet ineffective teachers every day, every year, as they go teach content, make learning fun, shape students’ atti- through school. Many drop out. These students have spent tudes, exemplify empathy, teach teamwork and respect, the most important part of their brain development years and build student confidence in several ways. Effective having learned little, while countries fail to recognize the teachers prepare students for a world where they must costs of ineffective teachers and the benefits of investing interact with others, adapt quickly to change, and where in teacher performance. success will hinge on knowledge as well as attitudes and behavior. Helping young people develop these skills is a complex task, especially when many come from de- THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE VISION AND KEY PRINCIPLES prived backgrounds. It requires routine human interface GUIDING THE WORLD BANK’S SUPPORT TO COUNTRIES ON with people who combine deep knowledge, a conviction that all students can succeed, and empathy. Successful TEACHERS. The World Bank’s vision is to ensure all children are taught teachers are irreplaceable in this task—and will remain by effective teachers, with education systems supporting irreplaceable in the future. teachers to do their best. Effective teachers are teachers who combine deep content knowledge, high-quality prac- COVID-19-related school closures changed the nature of tices, creativity and empathy to improve student learning interactions between students and teachers around the today and their long-term readiness to learn. The World world. While students in some (mostly higher income) Bank considers it critical to observe the following princi- school systems remained in regular contact with their ples to build cadres of effective teachers in middle and teachers through technology-enabled classes and con- low-income countries: tinued to learn, many did not. As school systems try to re- cover from the pandemic, one thing is clear: content mas- tery, sound pedagogy, strong socio-emotional skills and Principle 1: Make teaching an attractive profession by classroom management skills, while still essential, are improving its status, compensation policies and career not enough. School closures will take place in the future, progression structures if not worldwide, then in individual countries for a variety of reasons. To be effective, teachers must also be able to use Principle 2: Ensure pre-service education includes a technology effectively to ensure learning beyond school strong practicum component and essential digital skills walls, navigate unpredictable circumstances, and be flexi- to ensure teachers are well-equipped to transition and ble based on student needs.2 perform effectively in and beyond the classroom Principle 3: Promote meritocratic selection and effec- TEACHERS ARE SUCCESSFUL WHEN TEACHER POLICIES tive deployment of teachers to ensure that all students ARE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED IN A MANNER THAT have access to good teaching. ATTRACTS HIGH-ABILITY INDIVIDUALS, AND PREPARES, Principle 4: Provide continuous support and motiva- SUPPORTS AND MOTIVATES THEM TO BECOME HIGH- tion, in the form of high-quality in-service profession- PERFORMING TEACHERS. al development and strong school leadership, to allow A handful of countries, such as Finland, Japan and Singa- teachers to continually improve. pore, boast a cadre of successful teachers. In most other countries — low-income, middle-income and high-income Principle 5: Use technology wisely to enhance the ability alike — teacher policies are either ineffective or lack inter- of teachers to reach every student, factoring their areas nal consistency. For instance, in many countries, entry into of strength and development. teacher preparation programs lacks selectivity. Teacher qualifications are also set much lower than other profes- sion. This immediately devalues the complexity of effective teaching. In even more, good teacher performance is not 2 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers SOME BASIC FACTS ON TEACHERS 3 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers THE MOST EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING RELY UPON TEACHERS. For instance, in a review of interventions across low- and middle-income countries, teacher-driven interventions such as structured pedagogy programs raised student language scores by 0.23 standard deviations and math scores by 0.14 standard deviations. This corresponds to approximately nine months and six months of learning respectively. Such programs include lesson plans and training to help teachers deliver new content and materials to students, and sometimes include mentoring and feedback. In contrast, community-based monitoring, centering on information campaigns to increase accountability, raised language scores by only 0.12 standard deviations, while computer-as- sisted learning programs did so by only 0.01 standard deviations. School-based management interventions actually had a small, negative association with test scores. Such interventions decentralize authority to the local level: school leadership, teachers, parents and community members and poor results may be associated with weak implementa- tion and capacity constraints. In short, the interventions with the largest impacts worked through teachers. TABLE 1: THE MOST EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS WORK THROUGH TEACHERS INTERVENTIONS LANGUAGE GAINS (SD UNITS) MATH GAINS (SD UNITS) STRUCTURED PEDAGOGY 0.23 0.14 COMMUNITY-BASED MONITORING 0.12 0.09 COMPUTER-ASSISTED LEARNING 0.01 0.02 SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT -0.01 0.01 Source: Source: etet Snilstveit Snilstveit al. al. 2015. 2015.23 A SUCCESSFUL TEACHER CAN MAKE A MAJOR DIFFERENCE TO A STUDENT’S LEARNING TRAJECTORY.4,5,6,7,8 Going from a low-performing teacher to a high-performing teacher increases stu- FIGURE 1: THE IMPACT OF AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER ON dent learning dramatically. The effect has been measured from more than 0.2 stan- STUDENT LEARNING (SD UNITS) dard deviations in Ecuador to more than 0.9 Moving from a 10th percentile teacher to 90th percentile teacher would increase learning by... standard deviations in India — the equiva- lent of multiple years of business-as-usual 1 schooling (Figure 1).9, 10, 11 In contrast, a me- 0.9 diocre teacher does very little to prepare 0.8 students for success. Effective teachers 0.7 also have a substantial impact on the 0.6 long-term well-being of students, affect- 0.5 ing not only their academic achievement 0.4 and how far they will study, but also their 0.3 income once they enter the labor market.8 0.2 And teaching can be a tool for improving 0.1 equity too: several years of outstanding 0 teaching may in fact offset learning defi- Ecuador US (low) Uganda Pakistan US (high) India cits of disadvantaged students.4,5,12,13 Source: Buhl-Wiggers et al. 2017; Bau and Das 2017. 10,11 4 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers IT IS, HOWEVER, DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY WHO WILL BECOME AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER AND WHO WILL NOT. Most observed characteristics of teachers, such as educational qualifications, pre-service education and experience (beyond the first few years), do not predict how effectively teachers will help students learn, what is often termed the “value-added” that teachers provide. A study looking at the relationship between teacher characteristics and teacher value-added in Pakistan found little relationship between teacher qualifications and teacher value-added in either government or private schools.11 Similarly, in India, a study found little relationship between the qualifications of pri- vate school teachers and teacher value add.14 These findings are in line with the international literature on teach- er value-added, which shows that the link between observable teacher characteristics and teacher value-added is weak.15This is not because qualifications and experience are not critical — they are — but their quality is often too low to influence student learning positively. BUT WE KNOW WHAT EFFECTIVE TEACHERS DO. Effective teachers share certain behaviors and practices. In a study of East Asia’s well-performing education sys- tems — Japan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, and four provinces of China — a few things stand out. First, school systems in these countries ensure teachers have the requisite content knowledge and pedagogical approaches. In Shanghai, teachers come with strong content knowledge across a range of subjects, including English and Math.16 Teachers in Guangdong, China, performed at higher levels on a study assessing multiple dimensions of teaching than did teachers in other countries.17 Next, not only are teachers in these systems prepared with both deep content knowledge and a deep understanding of how students learn, they are able to provide concise and accurate explanations of this content as well as modify explanations based on circumstances. Furthermore, their pedagogical approaches share certain characteristics. For instance, they identify alternative pathways for students to learn content, and they focus on stim- ulating thinking and learning. As COVID-19 has made clear, effective teachers are also flexible, manage unpredictable situations well, and can use technology effectively to reach all students. GETTING CONTENT AND PEDAGOGY RIGHT IS, HOWEVER, JUST ONE PART OF THE JOB. Effective teachers do many other things, which may be difficult to detect until one sees a teacher in action. These tasks include planning and preparation, such as setting instructional goals; managing the classroom environment, by — for instance — establishing a culture for learning; instruction-related tasks, such as checking for student un- derstanding of topics; and professional responsibilities, such as communicating with families.18 If schools must close suddenly and for prolonged periods of time, then effective teachers are able to plan the school day in a manner that restores some semblance of normalcy to student lives, assesses whether learning is taking place remotely, and re- duces the sense of isolation some students might feel. CLEAR, COHERENT, ALIGNED CURRICULA FACILITATE TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS. Teachers need to be adept not only in content and pedagogical approaches, they need a strong understanding of the curriculum and learning goals for their discipline. Clear, coherent, and well-disseminated curricula, that are appropri- ately sequenced within and across grades, and that are aligned with learning materials make it easier for teachers to accomplish their goals.17 In too many cases, and especially in low- and middle-income countries, these resources are not available to teachers. Providing teachers with clear learning goals for content that is relevant, and appropriately sequenced for age and grade level free teachers to devote time to planning and executing all the other tasks a good teacher does. Education authorities are well served to ensure teachers have the clear and coherent curricula that promote learning. BEYOND A SMALL SET OF COUNTRIES, TEACHERS DO NOT APPEAR TO HAVE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO BE EFFECTIVE. While measuring teachers’ content knowledge is not straightforward and data are scarce, available studies are not encouraging. In Sub Saharan Africa, the World Bank’s Service Delivery Indicator (SDI) surveys in six countries show that 84 percent of grade 4 teachers have not reached the minimum level of competence.19 In Lao PDR, only 2.4 percent of all teachers had a score of 80 percent or more on a test of Lao language and math, and the average score on a test of pedagogy was 52 percent. A video study conducted in Indonesia that measured subject and pedagogical knowledge 5 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers of math teachers found that nearly 60 percent scored below 50 percent.20,21 In Afghanistan, a detailed study of teacher skills found that teachers fell behind grade-level competencies in numeracy and literacy skills.22 For instance, 56 percent of Grade 4 teachers could not solve a basic algebra problem. In Punjab, Pakistan, a recent study of public schools in three districts in Punjab, Pakistan, found that grade 4 math teachers correctly answered 77 percent of easy and medium difficulty questions from grade 3 and 4 math curricula and 65 percent of the questions from the grade 5 math curriculum.23 To teach grade 4 math well, teachers need to know grade 4 math competencies (and for earlier grades) as well as more advanced competencies from grade 5. In Bihar, India, 25–33 percent of teachers were unable to answer basic questions in math and language.24 For instance, when asked, “If 48 students are enrolled, and 36 are present today, what percentage is absent?”, 36 percent could not answer. THERE ARE EVEN FEWER ASSESSMENTS OF TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS IN LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES – AND THEY PAINT A SOBERING PICTURE. One of the few sources of data on teachers’ pedagogical skills — the World Bank’s SDI survey — suggests large num- bers of teachers do not choose the most effective pedagogy when asked how they would teach. In Sub-Saharan Afri- ca, only a third of teachers answered the pedagogical questions correctly in the best performing countries, Kenya and Tanzania. In the worst performing country, Mozambique, only 15 percent answered the questions correctly. In Afghani- stan, while only 65 percent of teachers could answer questions on number sequence correctly, their students perform considerably worse, suggesting that even if teachers know the content they are unable to impart it to students.22 In Bihar, India, many teachers who had adequate content knowledge were weak in explaining concepts.24 For example, while almost 80 percent of teachers could correctly answer a long division problem (3 digit by 1 digit), only 11 percent of them were able to do all the steps correctly. THE SCHOOLS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW WILL DEPEND UPON TEACHERS BEING FACILITATORS MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. School systems in most countries have a long distance to cover in improving teacher quality today. Unaddressed, these challenges will only multiply as the demands from teachers increase. Teachers will need to empower every stu- dent to realize his or her potential. In the future, the skills that are likely to be valued most will continue to include do- main-specific knowledge, but will also include skills such as agility, creativity, empathy, perseverance, teamwork and focus. These skills cannot be tested easily. Consequently, the role of teachers will need to shift to preparing students for success in life versus merely preparing students for tests. Teachers will need to inculcate a growth mindset in stu- dents, whereby students feel motivated enough to put in the effort and tenacity needed to improve their fortunes. They will need to focus on context mastery versus content mastery, that is, making lessons as relevant to a student’s real world as possible.25 They will need to be better prepared for unpredictable scenarios and prolonged school closures. This means that teachers themselves will need to have a growth mindset and become life-long learners. 6 WHY WE NEED TEACHERS: KEY MESSAGES Most e ective education interventions work through teachers, making teacher policy design and implementation crucial to improve student learning. In well-performing countries, teachers do more than just master subject and pedagogy — they help all students learn how to learn. When schools closed for prolonged periods due to COVID-19, these teachers were able to continue engaging with students and ensure that learning continued. These skills, along with cultivating a growth mindset in students, will be important in schools of the future. In most countries, however, even the basics are not in place, with teachers frequently knowing much less than they need to teach e ectively and assess whether students are learning. Even when they know the content, they are often not able to teach it. This is true regardless of whether the country is low or middle-income. World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers MAKING TEACHING AN ATTRACTIVE PROFESSION 8 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers PROFESSIONS ARE ATTRACTIVE WHEN THEY PAY WELL, tion systems like Shanghai, China and the Republic of Korea than in most European countries, where respon- PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO WORK, BUILD dents also think that students have less respect for INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, AND OFFER LEARNING AND CAREER teachers. This is echoed in surveys elsewhere as well. ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES. EACH OF THESE FACTORS For example, 73 percent of teachers in rural schools in Ghana did not feel that they were respected in the com- IS POLICY-AMENABLE. munity.27 The Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Status In addition to these, job prestige — the social status Index in 2018 reached similar conclusions, with China at gains from being in a particular profession versus an- the top and Brazil at the bottom in terms of teacher sta- other — matters, but can be difficult to influence with tus rankings.30 policy. Prestige serves a sophisticated social function: whether a person’s job is perceived as prestigious or not can have a huge impact on how they are viewed by TEACHERS LIKELY PERCEIVE THEIR PROFESSIONAL others and even themselves. Better pay, conducive work STATUS AS INADEQUATE DUE TO SEVERAL FACTORS, EACH environment, intellectual rigor of the job, learning and career advancement opportunities may add to job pres- AMPLIFYING THE EFFECT OF THE OTHER. States and societies fail to support teachers in many re- tige, but so does job scarcity. Jobs that are scarce are spects, diminishing the professional status of teachers in also more likely to enjoy greater prestige. This creates many ways. Key factors include teacher salaries, lower- a challenge for teaching jobs; rising demand for school- ing of qualifications, poor working conditions, expansion ing inevitably makes such jobs more commonplace than of the teaching force and limited opportunities for learn- scarce. Policy may need to overcompensate for the neg- ing and career advancement. In Bangladesh, Pakistan and ative effects of status decline due to job abundance if Sri Lanka, government teachers are paid less than other it is to attract high-caliber candidates. This section dis- government employees, such as government doctors, cusses challenges and opportunities. engineers and lawyers.23 A study of thirteen Latin Ameri- can countries found that teachers are underpaid relative Teachers professional prestige matters — but to other professionals, while a study of fifteen African teacher policies don’t target this countries found a more mixed picture, with lower month- ly salaries in many countries but higher hourly wages.31,32 STUDENTS LEARN MORE IN COUNTRIES WHERE TEACHING IS Solely looking at the quantity of time worked might not be a good metric for the effort expended in teaching, stress A WELL-REGARDED PROFESSION. levels in teaching, or the impact of effective teaching on Teachers in OECD’s top-performing countries report human capital development relative to other professions. feeling valued as teachers. For instance, in Korea and Top-performing countries, such as Singapore and Japan, Singapore, teaching is a highly valued profession. In recognize the importance of effective teaching, as well as these countries, 68 and 67 percent, respectively, of the difficulty therein, and pay their teachers well against teachers agree that teaching is valued in society. professions such as engineering and law. They also select the top students from a given high-school cohort. This IN MOST COUNTRIES — BOTH WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE gives teaching professional prestige in these countries. OECD — THE TEACHING PROFESSION DOES NOT APPEAR TO Furthermore, teachers often do not have the basics to be effective, such as school supplies and basic infrastruc- ENJOY HIGH STATUS. ture.9 In Latin America, a documented decline in teaching Teachers worldwide believe that teaching no longer en- prestige in recent decades appears to stem not just from joys the high social prestige it did thirty years ago.26,27,28 the massive expansion of schooling — something that Two-thirds of respondents from a global survey across has taken place more recently in other parts of the world, 21 countries (mostly high- and middle-income coun- such as Africa — but also from changes in the female la- tries) judged the social status of teachers to be most bor market. Women who previously only had one clear ca- similar to social workers or librarians; only in China did reer opportunity—teaching— now have many, which is a people compare teachers to doctors. On average, only 27 positive move for society but means that teaching can no percent of respondents believed that students respect- longer count on automatically attracting the most quali- ed teachers.29 Parents are more likely to encourage their fied women in the labor market.26 children to become teachers in top-performing educa- 9 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers TEACHERS THEMSELVES ENGAGE IN BEHAVIOR AND tors such as compensation, career progression, entry criteria and teacher preparation, discussed later in this ACTIVITIES WHICH UNDERMINE THE REPUTATION OF paper, communication strategies can play an important TEACHING. role. A study of teacher status, mostly in OECD coun- Such behavior includes high rates of teacher absence, tries, shows that perceptions of teacher status and fac- little teaching when present, moonlighting as private tors related to improving the status of teachers include tutors and political activity. In Lao PDR, teacher absence building awareness of the complexity and intellectual rates hover at 16 percent. In India, there was little change demands of the job and teachers’ contributions to so- in teacher absence rates in schools over the 10-year pe- ciety.34 England, for instance, used several communica- riod between 2002 and 2012, with 24 percent of teachers tion strategies, including posters to communicate the in government schools absent on average on any given importance of the teaching profession along with the school day. Among the nine countries in sub-Saharan salary scale. The District of Columbia Public Schools Africa participating in the SDI surveys, primary school system uses posters to emphasize the importance of teacher absence rates range from an average of 14 per- teachers, with the tagline: “You don’t need to be famous cent in Nigeria to 43 percent in Mozambique.19 But the to be unforgettable.” rates of teacher absence from class in all nine coun- tries exceed the corresponding rates of absence from In response to the low status of teachers among stu- school by at least 20 percent, and as much as nearly five dents and their families, public schools in Delhi, India, times. This suggests that in many countries teachers are working to change the image of teachers and make may report to work but not be teaching for the required them more accessible to parents and children. To make time. Schools rarely have a system in place for covering teachers and schools more accessible to students and teacher absences from the classroom, so teacher ab- parents, Delhi schools have organized events on Teach- sences mean that little or no learning occurs during that er’s Day (Samvaad, or dialogue) to bring teachers and time. students together to better understand each other’s challenges and concerns both inside and beyond the TEACHERS OFTEN MOONLIGHT AS PRIVATE TUTORS, WHICH classroom. Parent-teacher meetings are also organized on the same day in all Delhi public schools and heavily COMPROMISES THEIR INTEGRITY AS TEACHERS AND publicized to generate interest among parents and cre- DEVALUES THE PROFESSION. ate a culture where schools are perceived as open insti- In Nepal, 32 percent of private school students and 38 tutions, with principals and teachers easily accessible percent of government school students were being tu- to parents. Technology can play a key role in such com- tored by teachers from their school.30 This might reflect munication campaigns, with the rise of social media and perverse incentives, with teachers performing sub-op- electronic communication. timally during regular school hours to create demand for their tutoring services.33 At the same time, teachers These communication strategies may require fine-tun- might also provide tuitions because their salaries are ing. A large-scale effort to attract high school students low. In Cambodia, for instance, teacher salaries are low into the teaching profession in Chile experimented with and often paid late, pushing teachers to provide private different messages. A message emphasizing recent tutoring to increase their income. Teachers are often gains in teacher salaries actually boosted applications used in political work — to the extent this confers power from low-performing students, and a message empha- on them, it could increase their status; but if it deters sizing the satisfaction teachers derive from helping them from teaching, then it could compromise occu- others reduced applications from high-performing stu- pational prestige. Finally, teacher union leaders often dents.35 Any communication strategy should be piloted mobilize teachers to undertake strikes against teacher and tested with the targeted group. reform policies, which add to the sense of a profession that is not interested in performance. Teacher compensation policies are rarely structured to attract or motivate the best SIMPLE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES HOLD PROMISE FOR IMPROVING TEACHER STATUS. While improving teacher status involves addressing fac- 10 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers TEACHER COMPENSATION PACKAGES TYPICALLY COMPRISE ric for the effort expended in teaching. Furthermore, the impact of teaching on human capital accumulation is THREE ELEMENTS — BASE PAY, BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES long-term: an effective teacher teaching forty students — BUT RARELY BONUSES. for thirty years would have made a lasting impact on Teacher compensation packages tend to have the first the lives of 1200 young people. Multiply this number by three, with a small number of education systems adding the number of effective teachers in a country, and the a bonus. Teachers base pay (and subsequent increas- impact on productivity and economic growth is easy to es) is usually based on educational qualifications, ex- see. Quantifying the emotional effort teachers expend perience and education level taught, with base pay in- relative to other professions is difficult; however, if one creasing as qualifications, experience and level taught focuses on stress levels, several studies suggest teach- increase. In general, pre-primary teachers are paid the ing is a highly stressful profession, with teachers often least, while upper secondary are paid the most. In Den- tying with nurses for being the most stressful occupa- mark, Lithuania and Norway, upper secondary teachers tional category.37,38 Several strong education systems, with 15 years of experience earn between 25-30 percent such as Singapore and Japan pay their teachers gener- more than pre-primary teachers with the same experi- ously. ence, while in Finland and the Slovak Republic, they earn 36-50 percent more, and in Mexico, 88 percent more. Ex- ceptions include Iceland and Israel, where a pre-primary ENSURING TEACHER BASE PAY IS COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER teacher earns 5-10 percent more than an upper second- PROFESSIONS IS IMPORTANT FOR TWO REASONS.29 ary teacher.36 First, if teachers are paid in the top 20 percent of the earnings distribution of a country, then it is likely that teaching will attract some of the most able graduates. THE TIME IT TAKES TO PROGRESS THROUGH DIFFERENT Conversely, if teachers are poorly paid, then teaching SALARY LEVELS, AND THE DIFFERENCE IN PAY BETWEEN will attract either the less able, or individuals using ENTRY-LEVEL PAY AND SUBSEQUENT LEVELS, MIGHT BE teaching as a “waiting room” before they get another job. While there will always be individuals who work purely IMPORTANT IN ATTRACTING HIGH-QUALITY CANDIDATES TO for the intrinsic rewards of the job, this is unlikely to be TEACHING. a dominating factor.29 Second, and related to the first, OECD’s most recent Education at a Glance shows that improving teacher pay improves teachers’ standing in a while base pay increases with educational preparation country’s national income distribution and hence the na- (proxied by professional degrees) and experience in all tional status of teaching. The higher the status, the more systems, countries vary significantly in terms of the competitive the applicant pool is likely to be. Of course, time it takes to reach the top of the salary scale and high pay alone will not guarantee student learning, but the amount of the change. For instance, in Greece, Ko- low pay is unlikely to attract high-quality individuals to rea and Israel, lower secondary teachers reach the top teaching and secure the learning gains countries seek. of the salary scale after 35 years of service, whereas in Australia and New Zealand, it takes about 6-8 years. Similarly, salaries at the top of the scale are 104 percent NOT ONLY SHOULD TEACHER PAY BE FAIR ACROSS higher than starting salaries in Israel, but 66 percent OCCUPATIONS, IT SHOULD ALSO BE FAIR ACROSS TYPES OF higher on average for the rest of the OECD.36 TEACHERS DOING THE SAME JOB. In several countries in South Asia and Africa, nonperma- TEACHING EFFECTIVELY IS A DIFFICULT JOB, BUT TEACHER nent teachers — teachers hired for a fixed period of time or whose contracts can be terminated relatively easily PAY DOES NOT ALWAYS REFLECT THAT. — receive lower pay than their counterparts on regular Teaching is a complex job for all the reasons mentioned contract. While expected to perform the same job as previously. Yet, as discussed in the previous section, regular teachers, the bar on their qualifications is lower, teachers are typically paid less than other professionals which explains their lower pay. In reality, given the glut on a monthly basis, but in some education systems, they of teacher-applicants in several countries, those with may work fewer hours, such that their hourly pay may the highest qualifications are chosen for nonpermanent compare well with other professions.32 Looking at the assignments. Their qualifications are similar to regular quantity of time worked might not be a sufficient met- 11 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers teachers; yet, they end up being paid less. This creates make up more than half of total remuneration and tend a sense of unfairness and disenchantment among such to increase even in years when public sector pay does teachers. not increase.23 In Sri Lanka, in addition to basic pay, gov- ernment school teachers receive standard cash bene- INITIAL TEACHER PAY (AND SUBSEQUENT INCREMENTS) fits, such as a flat-rate cost of living adjustment allow- ance and a special allowance.39 In India, take-home pay TEND TO BE BASED ON FACTORS THAT ARE NOT KEY includes basic pay, grade pay, cost of living allowanc- TO IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING — EDUCATIONAL es, rent allowance, city compensatory allowances, and QUALIFICATIONS AND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. sometimes other allowances. Educational qualifications in most low and middle-in- come countries are of low quality, and while they provide TEACHER SALARY INCREASES OR BONUSES BASED ON candidates a qualification, they rarely prepare teach- PERFORMANCE REMAIN THE EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE ers adequately for their jobs (discussed subsequently). Similarly, the years of experience in a teaching job might NORM. have little impact on student learning, if the teacher Traditional teacher salary policies do not have a bonus continues to teach poorly. Using these elements as key component to reward performance or distinguish be- determinants of base pay will therefore have little ef- tween teachers based on performance. Theoretically, fect on attracting the kind of teachers who will improve incentives could work to improve teacher effectiveness student learning. in several ways.40 First, when incentives are aligned with specific behaviors (like regular attendance) and outcomes (for example, improved student test scores), INSTEAD, FOR COUNTRIES TO GET THE MOST FROM THEIR they signal the intention of the education system to hold EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENTS — THE BULK OF WHICH teachers accountable for achieving results. Second, in- GOES TO TEACHER SALARIES — TEACHER BASE PAY (AND centives can motivate teachers to continue to perform well by recognizing their efforts and the results they INCREMENTS) SHOULD RELATE TO FACTORS KNOWN TO achieve. And finally, incentives can influence the profile INFLUENCE STUDENT LEARNING — CONTENT KNOWLEDGE of the teaching profession by creating a performance AND TEACHING ABILITY. orientation. Since these factors are not proxied accurately by most professional degrees, well-designed tests and evalu- IN PRACTICE, LINKING TEACHER PERFORMANCE TO ation by supervisors or peers could help identify how MONETARY BONUSES OR HIGHER SALARIES HAS SHOWN well a teacher performs relative to best practice in the sector, which in turn could be used to determine base MIXED RESULTS.41,42,43 pay. Additionally, teacher base pay (and increments) Meta-analyses of teacher merit pay programs across should be used to compensate teachers for job hard- countries typically find no effect; when they find an ef- ship, including working in difficult areas. Yet, this rarely fect, the size is small. A recent evaluation of merit pay happens. In Rajasthan (India), for instance, teachers in programs in developing countries found that effect urban areas are paid more to adjust for cost of living; but sizes range from a minimum effect of -0.08 SD and a those in remote rural areas are not, despite job hardship. maximum effect of 0.32 SD increase in student test Consequently, it is difficult to attract high-quality can- scores. The median reported effect size is a 0.056 SD didates to the places that need them the most—impov- increase.40,44,45 Furthermore, merit pay programs might erished remote areas. crowd out the type of behavior they are trying to reward by encouraging sub-optimal behavior. One meta-analy- sis found that 27% of all merit pay programs that were BENEFITS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF TEACHERS’ rigorously evaluated reported sub-optimal effects such COMPENSATION PACKAGE, ESPECIALLY FOR TEACHERS ON as cheating or teachers teaching to the test during pro- REGULAR CONTRACT. gram implementation. Furthermore, nearly 55 percent Benefits are important because they can add consid- did not last beyond the evaluation period.40 Of those that erably to the total remuneration. In Bangladesh, allow- continued, only Chile has seen positive and significant ances, such as medical allowance and social benefits, outcomes on student achievement. 12 BOX 1: CHILE’S EXPERIENCE WITH PERFORMANCE PAY Chile’s experience shows that deliberate planning � and phasing of reforms can create a conducive environment for monitoring and evaluating teacher � performance and holding teachers accountable for student learning. In the 1990s, Chile implemented a � program that awards a bonus to schools and to all teachers in the school for outperforming other schools on a national student exam. Schools serving students with similar demographic characteristics in similar settings are grouped together. Teachers receive a bonus (not a permanent salary increase) equivalent to 5–7 percent of their annual salary. As much as 90 percent of the bonus award is divided among teachers, and the school director determines how to use the remaining 10 percent. Chile’s program has had a cumulative positive impact on student performance in schools with reasonably good chances of winning the award. The success of Chile’s education reforms and the gradual improvement in student performance are attributed to three important factors: consensus in policy and politics (using large-scale consultations to prioritize education as a political priority and build consensus on long-term proposals for reform); multipronged e orts to improve quality (slow phasing of multiple reforms have had a positive cumulative e ect on quality improvement); and teacher professionalization (including rebuilding teacher morale through incentives and professional development). Source: Breeding and others, 2018; Béteille and others, forthcoming; World Bank 2018 17,23,40 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers THE LOW EFFECT SIZES OF MOST MERIT PAY PROGRAMS most effective. Finally, effective teachers share a sense of purpose in ensuring all children are learning: “I don’t teach MAY DERIVE FROM PROBLEMS WITH DESIGN AND physics,” says Charles Chew, a teacher in Singapore, “I teach IMPLEMENTATION, INCLUDING LACK OF TEACHER BUY-IN. my pupils how to learn physics.”17 Policymakers seeking to While performance pay programs could potentially improve improve the quality of their teaching cadre may want to student learning, many other things also need to be in place. focus efforts on helping teachers build their skills, letting These include matching size and kind of incentive to con- them decide how to solve problems to elicit learning, and text; having good monitoring and evaluation mechanisms building a sense of purpose in teachers by improving the to track changes; built-in considerations for program sus- overall status of teaching. A key point about intrinsic pay tainability and teacher buy-in.40 Merit pay programs tend to being effective: teachers must be paid a fair wage to start be politically contentious, and strongly opposed by teacher with; otherwise their focus will be on the unfairness of the unions. Countries with successful experiences with merit situation and the anxiety of making ends meet. Importantly, pay have been able to garner broad political support for the focusing on intrinsic motivation does not mean discour- program and guard against corruption (see Box 1). aging accountability. Effective education systems support their teachers but also ask a lot from them. MERIT PAY PROGRAMS MAY SOMETIMES NEGLECT INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, WHICH IS IMPORTANT IN COMPLEX JOBS SUCH IN SUMMARY, DESIGNING EFFECTIVE COMPENSATION AS TEACHING. POLICIES WOULD REQUIRE ANSWERING THREE SETS OF Merit pay programs fall in the category of extrinsic reward QUESTIONS48 programs or “carrot and stick approaches.” Such approach- (1) how teacher effectiveness should be measured; (2) what es might work well for standardized tasks or tasks which aspects of effectiveness should influence the different require repetition of a set method and compliance. But they components of salaries (base and bonus); and (3) how chal- may not work well for tasks requiring creativity or prob- lenging and substantial the effectiveness-based awards lem-solving, which require engagement versus compli- should be. The literature suggests teacher effectiveness ance.46,47 Effective teaching, in particular, relies upon con- should be estimated based on multiple sources of infor- tinuous problem-solving, creativity and engagement, since mation such as direct observation of teaching practice and students vary in their learning abilities and trajectories and improvement in student test score. Base salaries should be effective teachers must find a way to help every student. determined by how well a person performs his or her job rel- Carrot and stick approaches may even crowd out intrin- ative to best practice in the sector. This could be measured sic motivation unless designed carefully. One effective through supervisory or peer evaluation. Bonuses should be program evaluated via a randomized evaluation in Andhra determined by how well teachers influence student learn- Pradesh (India) may have achieved its results because ing. Finally, the literature suggests that bonuses should be it also stimulated intrinsic motivation, with the program differentiated (that is, varying dollar amounts based on ef- emphasizing “teacher excellence” rather than focusing on fectiveness); challenging to earn (that is, a threshold not all school and teacher accountability. While methodologies teachers can achieve); and substantial (at least 5 percent for monitoring accountability (for instance, classroom ob- of salary). servation and interviews with head teachers and teachers) were built into the design of the evaluation, these were not Career progression structures are rarely based on emphasized as the primary goal of the incentive program.43 performance INTRINSIC MOTIVATION RELIES UPON MASTERY, AUTONOMY WELL-PERFORMING COUNTRIES ARE ABLE TO ATTRACT AND PURPOSE. HIGHLY-QUALIFIED CANDIDATES INTO TEACHING BECAUSE Teachers in East Asia’s top-performing education systems demonstrate task mastery, being fully prepared to help OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT THROUGH students learn. Furthermore, professional development CAREER LADDERS. opportunities in these countries focus on helping teach- A career ladder establishes an ordered set of job positions ers continuously update their skills, no matter how effec- with increasing responsibility and leadership, assigned tive they are. Teachers are also given autonomy in solving based on teaching merit, with permanent status (versus classroom and other concerns in the manner they deem 14 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers temporary status) and salary.48 Offering teachers attrac- and assume leadership roles in the ministry that focus tive career opportunities can draw the best candidates on curriculum development and evaluation. Levels within into teaching, incentivize them to stay, motivate them to each track are mapped to a range of coordinated experi- perform well and utilize their expertise to improve the per- ences and training to prepare teachers for roles with great- formance of other teachers. In most education systems er responsibility. Movement along each track (or between teachers have the opportunity to seek promotion to the tracks, if teachers choose) is based on an appraisal system position of principal, typically based on years of experience. that uses multiple sources of information to assess teach- Beyond that, career progression opportunities tend to be ers. Singapore’s Enhanced Performance Management Sys- limited. tem is a holistic appraisal tool that involves planning (for teaching goals, innovations in instruction, school improve- ments, and personal and professional development), reg- HIGH-PERFORMING EDUCATION SYSTEMS ALSO OFFER ular support and coaching to the teacher, and an intensive TEACHERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR LATERAL PROMOTIONS TO performance evaluation. The performance evaluation re- OTHER ACADEMIC OR MANAGERIAL POSITIONS. sults in a performance grade that is used, along with other Lateral promotions enable teachers to grow profession- information from the appraisal, to determine promotions, ally, yet remain closely connected to instruction if they movement along the career ladder, and performance bo- choose.49,50 To be effective, career advancement decisions nuses.23 must be linked to systems that monitor and evaluate teacher performance. Additionally, in systems where ca- MOST OTHER COUNTRIES DO NOT HAVE LEGISLATION OR reer advancement structures work well, as in Shanghai, POLICIES IN PLACE FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT.48 China, and Singapore, enhancing teachers’ skills through- Across Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia, promotions are out their careers through professional development and based on qualifications and experience. Sri Lanka is a re- formative assessment is a key component of the teacher cent exception in South Asia, where the career framework performance management system. Shanghai uses the offers mobility across roles associated with the classroom, concept of professional communities to foster collabora- to administrative positions, and to roles involving advisory tion among teachers and encourage peer-to-peer learning or training services or becoming a teacher-educator. How- and accountability. A five-tiered ranking system allows for ever, coordination of teacher career development between professional advancement in teaching careers up to the government institutions is weak, and teachers lack sys- level of “outstanding teachers” for teachers who demon- tematic information on opportunities and about whom to strate superior teaching practices (and who generally have consult. many years of service). Regular evaluations determine pro- motions to a higher rank and are accompanied by salary increases. EFFECTIVE CAREER PROGRESSION STRUCTURES HAVE THREE FEATURES: (1) LEGITIMACY; (2) ACCESSIBILITY AND (3) SINGAPORE’S TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY. CAREER PLAN CONSISTS OF A CAREER FRAMEWORK FOR How career progression structures policies are enacted makes a lot of difference to their success. First, career pro- ADVANCEMENT, AN APPRAISAL SYSTEM, AND A RECOGNITION gression structures must be legitimate. Legitimacy rests AND FINANCIAL COMPENSATION SYSTEM. upon clear and transparent selection processes; meaning- When teachers enter the profession, they can choose one ful tasks being assigned to teachers in the ladder; ongoing of three career tracks based on an initial assessment. The communication with all teachers; and public recognition of teaching track is for teachers who want to remain in the the system. Second, they must be available to all teachers: classroom and aspire to become “Master Teachers” or all teachers should feel they have an opportunity to benefit “Principal Master Teachers” who mentor other teachers, from career ladders if they meet the criteria. Finally, fea- lead curriculum innovation, drive new pedagogies, and so sibility means that supplemental resources are available, on. The leadership track is for teachers who want to move both in the form of additional financial resources to sup- on to leadership positions in the school or Ministry of Edu- plement the income of teachers who rise in the ladder, as cation. The specialist track is for teachers who want to de- well as the availability of professional development oppor- velop deeper knowledge and skills in a specific discipline tunities for such teachers. 15 MAKING TEACHING AN ATTRACTIVE PROFESSION: KEY MESSAGES Higher status for teachers is correlated with better student performance, but improving occupational prestige is challenging. There are no shortcuts. Common mechanisms include teacher compensation policies that resemble those in professions with higher status and creating greater awareness about the di culty of the job. Teacher compensation policies do not reward performance in most countries. Whether or not compensation policies rewarding performance are likely to be e ective depends on whether the main constraints to better teaching lie within the reach of teachers, and if information and management systems would allow such a system to be credible. The specific design of compensation policies will vary across countries, but the underlying principles and goals are the same: providing su cient incentives to attract and retain the best qualified for teaching, while maintaining intrinsic motivation for great teaching. For career progression structures to be e ective, three factors are important: (1) legitimacy, (2) accessibility, and (3) feasibility. Ongoing communication 48 and committed leadership play a key role in making career progression structures successful. World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers PROVIDING TEACHERS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED BEFORE ENTERING THE CLASSROOM 17 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers TEACHERS NEED TO BE PREPARED WITH A WIDE RANGE OF IF WE LOOK AT PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN SKILLS TO BE EFFECTIVE IN THE CLASSROOM. COUNTRIES WHERE TEACHING IS A SOUGHT-AFTER CAREER To perform all the behaviors and tasks discussed pre- AND STUDENT LEARNING IS HIGH, PATTERNS EMERGE.23 viously, teachers must be prepared with both tradition- al and non-traditional skills before they join teaching. FIRST, ENTRY INTO PRE-SERVICE IS HIGHLY SELECTIVE. Traditional skills include content knowledge and sound For instance, becoming a primary school teacher is pedagogy; non-traditional skills include being able to highly competitive in Finland. Selection for primary foster socio-emotional skills, such as empathy and cre- school teacher education happens in two steps: first, ating a growth mindset in students. Teachers must also candidates are selected based on scores in matricula- be able to manage heterogenous learning trajectories, tion exams and out-of-school accomplishment records. as well as use technology to maximize learning gains Next, candidates take a written exam in pedagogy, their for all students. COVID-19 has made the task even hard- social and communication skills are observed in clinical er as teachers must become proficient with distance settings similar to school situations, and top candidates teaching and learning mechanisms. They must be able are interviewed and asked to explain their motivation to use different types of technological aids effectively, to become teachers. About 1 in every 10-12 applicants and improvise when technology is limited or fails. This is is accepted in teacher education programs to become a long and difficult wish list, especially when countries a primary school teacher. In Singapore, the government are some distance from ensuring teachers enter the recruits the top one-third of high school graduates to classroom with the most basic traditional skills. enter teacher education programs and does not require an entrance exam. In Korea, entrants into teacher edu- cation programs are among the top 10 percent of high STRONG PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAMS HELP school graduates. TEACHERS COME PREPARED TO TEACH AND MANAGE CLASSROOMS. SECOND, EFFECTIVE PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION CURRICULA A good pre-service education program is the first step CONTAIN AN EXTENSIVE PRACTICAL TEACHING COMPONENT, toward equipping teacher-candidates with the content, pedagogical, technological, and managerial skills they CLOSELY LINKED TO WHAT HAPPENS IN SCHOOLS. need for becoming effective teachers. That is how it is In Finland, Korea, and Shanghai, a practicum comprising with other professions. For instance, one cannot be a at least a six-month classroom teaching component is pilot without being well-trained beforehand. Ironically, required for primary and secondary levels. The practicum however, the quantitative evidence on the causal im- follows a period of rigorous classroom-based training, pact of pre-service education on a teacher’s ability to and allows teacher candidates to learn to apply peda- improve student learning is inconclusive. Most econo- gogical skills, gain skills in classroom management and metric analyses find relatively little impact of a teach- improve based on feedback. Combining well-structured er’s pre-service education on student learning; further- classroom sessions with practical training acquires more, there is limited consensus on which factors in special significance as teachers increasingly have to pre-service education affect student learning more.51 teach groups of students at very different learning lev- Uncertainty regarding the effects of teacher pre-service els; without first-hand experience and immediate feed- education comes largely from methodological challeng- back during pre-service programs, teachers are likely to es :52 teachers’ abilities coming into training are correlat- arrive unprepared to teach. Top-performing countries, ed with the training programs they enter, and both may such as Singapore, also integrate technology into the be correlated with the schools they are sent teach in and pre-service curriculum in multiple ways, from using their students’ results. All these connections pose diffi- technology for teaching language to volleyball to the culties in isolating the impact of pre-service training. sciences.53 18 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers THIRD, PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE CLOSELY This is often also true of those institutes that are affiliat- ed with universities such as colleges of teacher education. LINKED WITH UNIVERSITIES IN HIGH PERFORMING The programs are isolated, lack well-defined professional EDUCATION SYSTEMS. standards, have low visibility, and do not benefit from new This allows the curriculum to be informed by the latest knowledge generated in universities. A fall-out of this is research in learning and other fields, while also pro- that the institutional capacity to prepare teacher educa- viding pre-service education a status similar to other tors is insufficient. The programs are general and not able undergraduate programs. In Shanghai, China, Shanghai to address specific needs to develop subject experts. There Normal University prepares 60–70 percent of Shanghai is no policy for professional development for teacher edu- teachers. In Singapore, the National Institute of Educa- cators.54 tion prepares all teachers in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and schools. If a new teacher A further concern in most countries, given the low se- needs extra support, the National Institute of Education lectivity of pre-service education programs, is that gets immediate feedback from the schools and can teacher-candidates come from the same low-quality adjust its trainings. This assumes a well-functioning schools where they will be heading to teach. There is lit- higher education system. Finally, pre-service education tle in the design of pre-service programs to help remediate programs in all these countries are tightly regulated by the academic deficiencies teacher-candidates bring with the government. At the primary level, they are generally them, many of who come from poor school systems, as provided by the government as well. they train to become teachers. WHEN COMPARING THE TEACHER PRE-SERVICE EDUCATION WHILE TOP-PERFORMING COUNTRIES HAVE PRE-SERVICE LANDSCAPE IN WELL-PERFORMING EDUCATION SYSTEMS PROGRAMS THAT LAST AT LEAST TWO YEARS, A MORE WITH THOSE IN MOST LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME FEASIBLE SOLUTION FOR OTHER COUNTRIES MIGHT BE TO COUNTRIES, MOST OF THE PRE-CONDITIONS ARE NOT IN COMBINE A SHORTER PRE-SERVICE PROGRAM WITH MORE PLACE IN THE LATTER. INTENSIVE IN-SERVICE TRAINING. First, pre-service education programs are not selective. In For instance, Teach for America and its sister programs most countries, there are no entrance tests nor systematic globally rely on a short-duration pre-service program com- processes for entry into such programs. To put it bluntly, bined with continuous in-service training. Studies based on just about anyone can join a pre-service program. Second, test score data for Togo and Guinea find that while teach- the curriculum of pre-service education programs is di- ers need some pre-service training, a short training course vorced from the goals of school education as well as the of four to six months could prove as effective as longer realities of classroom practice. At both the elementary and pre-service programs when combined with additional secondary level, the curriculum is fragmented and outdat- support to teachers during the first year on the job and the ed, and does not address subject knowledge adequately. recruitment of candidates with good general education.56 New developments in specific subjects are not incorpo- rated. The focus is on general methods of teaching such as lecture, classroom discussion, question and answer, ADULT LEARNING OFFERS IMPORTANT INSIGHTS INTO HOW and memorization. Student teachers do not learn pedago- BEST TO EDUCATE TEACHERS. gy skills.54,55 Practice teaching in classrooms, for instance, Research into how to most effectively help adults to learn lasts no more than a few weeks and provides only piece- reveals several key principles.57 Some of the most relevant meal experiences of a fully functioning teacher. to training teachers are that adults require more practice to make principles stick in long-term memory than chil- Third, unlike in well-performing countries, pre-service ed- dren. Evidence from in-service teacher professional de- ucation colleges are typically stand-alone, not benefiting velopment reinforces that programs with more opportuni- from the latest research on teaching or links with other de- ties to practice tend to be more effective.58 Furthermore, partments. In some cases, universities have departments adults learn better when asked to draw on their experience of education. But for the vast majority, teacher education and when they can see the immediate usefulness of the is located outside the realm of higher education, with skills they are learning. These principles point to more most institutes located outside of university campuses.55 practical, less theoretical teacher preparation. Even if 19 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers teacher-candidates might strive to achieve goals to help students learn when they become teachers, these may get thwarted because of unanticipated challenges. Tools from the behavioral literature on adult learning might help teachers overcome such roadblocks and make progress toward their goal. For instance, a large literature suggests that when adults make if-then plans that specify an antici- pated critical situation and then link to a suitable response, this helps them achieve their goals.59 ICTS AND PROPERLY DEVELOPED MULTIMEDIA MATERIALS CAN ALSO ENHANCE THE INITIAL PREPARATION OF TEACHERS. ICTs provide good training materials, facilitating simula- tions, capturing and analyzing practice-teaching, bringing world experience into the training institution, and training potential teachers in the use of technologies for teaching/ learning. COVID-19 has made clear that the more teach- ers are familiar with ICT, and improvising as necessary, the more effective they are likely to be. 20 PREPARING TEACHERS: KEY MESSAGES Countries with high-performing education systems — such as Finland and Singapore — train their teachers well before they enter the classroom. In countries where teaching is a sought-after career, entry into pre-service training is selective. E ective pre-service education curricula contain an extensive practical teaching component, closely linked to what happens in schools. They also prepare teacher-candidates to use ICT e ectively in teaching. World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers WHAT POLICIES FOR HIRING AND DEPLOYING TEACHERS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE? 22 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers POLICY MAKERS COMMONLY COMPLAIN THAT THEY to have highly selective professions: a small fraction of those who desire to become teachers have the capaci- ARE UNABLE TO HIRE THE BEST STUDENTS TO BECOME ty to do so. At the University of Helsinki in Finland, only TEACHERS. one out of every ten to twelve students who applies to Comparing the reading and mathematics scores of high enter the teacher program is granted entrance (about 8 school students who profess plans to become teach- percent).61 In Singapore, only one of eight applicants to ers versus those who plan to become engineers reveals teacher education programs is admitted.62 Many coun- that prospective teachers tend to perform worse in both tries allow a higher number of students to study educa- subjects (Figure 2). Improving the status of the teaching tion and then select only a fraction to become publicly profession — discussed previously — is key to encour- employed teachers. Regardless, careful selection of the aging better candidates to enter the profession. best candidates among those who would be teachers is essential. IMPROVED CONDITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL STATUS ENCOURAGE BOTH LOW- AND HIGH-QUALITY CANDIDATES TO MANY EDUCATION SYSTEMS HAVE NON-MERITOCRATIC ENTER THE TEACHING PROFESSION. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING TEACHERS. As working conditions improve, more candidates with Up until ten years ago, many teachers in Mexico had the potential to be excellent teachers will apply to become right to decide who would get their job when they re- teachers. But so will candidates with the potential to tired.64 The result was often a selection of candidates be poor teachers, who are just as likely to be attract- of low ability.65 In many African nations, the dramat- ed by greater prestige and better working conditions. ic expansion of education in the last two decades has In Indonesia, a major increase in salaries was followed resulted in the hiring of many nonpermanent teachers, by a five-fold increase in students training to be teach- including community teachers or even parents. These ers.60 Because good conditions invite all kinds of candi- teachers tend to have fewer qualifications and fewer dates, countries with excellent education systems tend benefits. As of 2014, the percentage of nonpermanent FIGURE 2: PISA 2015 SCORES FOR PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES AND ECONOMIES, BY SUBJECT AND SELF-IDENTIFIED PROSPECTIVE OCCUPATION a. Mathematics b. Reading 600 600 500 500 Score Score 400 400 300 300 Prospective engineers Prospective teachers 63 Source: World Development Report 2018. 23 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers teachers in Madagascar was 87 percent; in Cameroon or both — did not go on to learn more.68 As we showed in 2011, it was 83 percent.19 In Indonesia, recruitment of above, meritocratic hiring still helps students, even if teachers has historically been a way for politicians to the tests are not highly predictive. But this underlines gain political support in the education system, although a larger trend, that identifying who will come be a great recent reforms have made that more difficult.66 Political teacher can be extremely difficult. In the United States selection of teachers means that candidates are select- — where data and information systems tend to be of ed on characteristics that may have no relationship to higher quality than in many low- and middle-income their ability to teach. countries – the accumulated evidence suggests that school systems have “very little ability” to identify effec- MERITOCRATIC SELECTION OF TEACHERS YIELDS BETTER tive teachers at the time of hiring.15 Most characteristics that are potentially observed by employers are not sys- LEARNING OUTCOMES EVEN WHEN THE QUALITY OF tematically correlated with subsequent teacher effec- ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS MEANS ONE CANNOT PREDICT WHO tiveness. As a result, measuring the additional learning WILL BE A GOOD TEACHER WITH CERTAINTY. that students gain from a given teachers, that is, the val- In Mexico, selecting teachers through the use of a stan- ue added in the first year or so and then making a more dardized test resulted in substantial improvements in permanent employment decision can be an effective student learning. But strikingly, the test itself does not way of ensuring the most effective candidates make it effectively predict teacher effectiveness. How to rec- into the permanent corps of teachers.15 Of course, this oncile these two facts? The former, non-meritocratic depends on effective measurement of teacher value system of teacher selection drew a high proportion of added. Adding a probationary period but without any way low-performing candidates, whereas the meritocrat- of evaluating teachers will help weed out only the most ic system draws a much wider array of candidates.65 egregious of hires. One practical proposal to implement Even if the meritocratic selection process is imperfect this — in India — is to frame the probationary period as — and it is indeed difficult to predict teacher effective- a three- to five-year apprenticeship, where teacher ap- ness — simply having a meritocratic process draws a prentices can gain performance-linked credit towards a better sample of teachers. In a related experience, the permanent hire over the course of the apprenticeship.69 municipality of Sobral in northern Brazil has student A variation on this proposal would be to incorporate this learning outcomes comparable to those in high-income probationary period into the pre-service training, if that countries, far outstripping the national average. One key includes substantial pratical teaching opportunities. It factor was replacing the selection of school principals is important to note that any such system of measur- by political means with a meritocratic process, includ- ing teacher effectiveness will be imperfect. It is import- ing a written exam, group activities, and interviews. ant to have a system that will treat teacher candidates This resulted in the replacement of two-thirds of exist- fairly, providing them with effective support to improve ing school directors, and the impact was striking.67 The but the cost to students of retaining a low-perform- parallel to teacher selection is clear. Many countries — ing teacher is high and — since teachers often stay in Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, India, Mexico, their positions for many years — revisited across many Pakistan, Peru, and some parts of Brazil — have moved classes of students. The highest priority of an education to incorporate a test in their hiring practices.68 In the system is to ensure that its students learn, and that re- future, systems may do more to incorporate social and quires effective teachers. emotional skills in teachers in the hiring process, such as grit. EVEN AFTER A PROBATIONARY PERIOD, EDUCATION SYSTEMS MUST BE ABLE TO DISMISS INEFFECTIVE TEACHERS WHO DO BECAUSE PREDICTING TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS IS NOT IMPROVE AFTER RECEIVING EFFECTIVE SUPPORT. DIFFICULT, PROBATIONARY PERIODS ARE CRUCIAL. An attractive element of the teaching profession is job In Mexico, the test did not predict teacher effectiveness. security. But job security does not mean that teachers Likewise, in Ecuador, teachers are selected through should not have to discharge their duties effectively. In use of the combination of a test and a demonstration many countries, teachers retain their posts despite hav- class. Students whose teachers performed better in the ing little mastery of the content they are to teach and selection process — the test, the demonstration class, with high rates of absenteeism.70 Of course, teachers 24 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers who do not know the content should not be hired in the wish to teach in some types of schools. In Peru, 95 per- first place, and absenteeism may have multiple caus- cent of school vacancies that received zero teacher ap- es, including requests by school and district leadership plications were in rural areas.76 In a system where pay for teachers to carry out non-school functions. Teach- depends only on seniority, as is true for several school ers who are not performing to standards should receive systems, school location is important because it en- support and opportunities to improve. But with all of that hances or alters a teacher’s working and living condi- in place, systems must retain the ability to dismiss inef- tions. Absent effective and well-enforced deployment fective teachers. In the United States (Washington, DC), rules, teachers often find a way to get to the school of a program provided support to low-performing teachers their choice and remain there. Consequently, some types but ultimately dismissed them if they failed to improve. of schools — typically schools with greater numbers of Dismissing low-performing teachers and replacing disadvantaged students — face teacher shortages. them improved student learning sizeably.71 Furthermore, just introducing the possibility of dismissal had two ad- School systems use an array of tools to attract teacher ditional impacts: many low-performing teachers vol- candidates to hard-to-staff areas — and to encourage untarily retired from the profession, and teachers who them to stay there.77 Some of these include financial remained significantly improved their performance.72 incentives, a faster track towards promotion, addition- The balance between giving teachers time to improve al training, or subsidized housing.78,79 The most com- and dismissing ineffective teachers will depend on the monly evaluated programs involve financial incentives. school system. If there are few candidates with which to Most simply focus on getting teachers to hard-to-staff replace low-performing teachers, then education sys- schools. In São Paulo, Brazil, a wage premium of 24 to 36 tems will want to invest relatively more in improvement. percent for teachers in schools in high-poverty neigh- In areas with many potential candidates, a system will borhoods reduced teacher turnover by 16 percent.80 want to invest more in replacement — after providing In the Gambia and Zambia, a bonus for rural teachers teachers with support and an opportunity to improve. also boosted supply.79,81 Other policies have sought spe- cifically to increase the supply of the best teachers. In FAIR, EFFICIENT, AND TRANSPARENT TEACHER DEPLOYMENT Chile, the Chilean Pedagogical Excellence Assignment gives a bonus to excellent teachers, and the incentive is POLICIES ARE CRUCIAL FOR ENSURING THAT CHILDREN IN significantly higher if teachers work in schools that are HARD-TO-STAFF AREAS ALSO RECEIVE QUALITY EDUCATION. disadvantaged. The award increase retention of talented In many countries, teacher recruitment is centralized: teachers in disadvantaged schools.82 it takes place at the national or sub-national level, not at the school level. In those cases, teacher deploy- While financial incentives have often been effective at ment practices are often unsystematic or opaque. As boosting supply or increasing retention in rural or oth- a result, some schools — typically those that are poor- er hard-to-staff schools, they may not be sufficient—at ly-resourced or in difficult-to-reach areas — have few- the levels affordable by education systems—to close er teachers (or fewer qualified teachers), while other the gap. One modeling exercise informed by focus group schools have a surplus of better qualified teachers. For interviews in a hard-to-staff area of the United States example, in Ghana only 40 percent of the variation in (Alaska) suggested that salaries would have to be dou- teacher staffing at schools across the country can be ble to fully staff schools.83 Furthermore, short-term fi- explained by variation in the numbers of students en- nancial incentives (such as signing bonuses) may not rolled.19 In Chile, teachers in low socio-economic status result in teachers remaining in schools after the re- schools have lower quality pre-service education on av- quired conditions of their contract.84 As a result, educa- erage, and teachers in rural schools tend to score worse tion systems will need to (and do, in practice) employ on an array of quality measures.73,74 Similar patterns multiple strategies to address this challenge. emerge in the United States.75 Other strategies to recruit and retain teachers in hard- The mismatch between teacher supply and demand in to-staff schools are actively used, despite having fewer schools arises for at least two reasons. First, systems evaluations. Several countries in Latin America offer may fail when it comes to calculating teacher need at faster routes to promotion.26 For other strategies, such the school level. Second, teachers themselves may not as providing housing, researchers have conducted sur- 25 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers veys of how candidates value different incentives. For example, in Kenya and Tanzania, respondents were invited to compare salary bonuses to other materi- al, non-monetary incentives (like housing, bicycles, or mattresses). But these kinds of hypotheticals can pose challenges when faced with realities, as exemplified in Malawi, where rural teachers actually living in provid- ed housing were much less motivated by it than urban teachers who imagined it, perhaps because the actual housing was of low quality.85 Financial and material incentives are not the only way forward. School systems with fair and transpar- ent teacher deployment policies, such as South Korea or Karnataka (India), have succeeded in ensuring all schools have the teachers they need. Key characteris- tics of their deployment policies include: (1) mandatory service in disadvantaged areas for a certain period of time; (2) periodic rotation to new schools; (3) incentives for working in hard-to-staff areas; and (4) transparen- cy in the allocation process. For instance, in Karnataka, all new teachers are required to work for five years in a hard-to-staff posting. Postings are categorized as Zone A, B and C, with C being the hardest to staff. Teachers accumulate points depending on how long they have served in different zones, with Zone C points weighing the most. Teachers with the most points have greater choice in selecting schools in future rotations. The exact modality will depend upon the specific rea- sons that teachers avoid hard-to-staff schools in a given country, as well as the financial resources an education system can bring to bear. One thing is clear: well-de- fined and transparent deployment rules are a pre-req- uisite for ensuring equitable distribution of teachers to schools while also meeting teachers’ needs. 26 EFFECTIVE PERSONNEL POLICIES: KEY MESSAGES Meritocratic selection of teachers yields better learning outcomes, even when the system cannot predict teacher e ectiveness perfectly. Probationary periods are crucial to allow teachers to learn and prove themselves. Fair, e cient, and transparent teacher deployment policies are essential to ensure all schools have adequate numbers of e ective teachers. Education systems must be able to dismiss ine ective teachers who do not improve despite receiving e ective support. World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers WHAT POLICIES CAN HELP SUPPORT AND MOTIVATE TEACHERS THROUGH THEIR CAREERS? 28 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers MANY TEACHERS CAN IMPROVE IF PROVIDED WITH ONGOING States tended to be much smaller when implemented at scale relative to the results of small, pilot programs.58 TRAINING AND SUPPORT. In fact, the majority of large-scale programs to support Although it is true that on average, teachers tend not teachers are not evaluated in any formal way, so their to dramatically improve after their first few years of effectiveness in helping teachers to improve student experience, a number of teacher professional develop- learning is unknown. However, examining the key ele- ment programs have helped teachers to improve stu- ments of large-scale teacher support programs and dent learning. In South Africa, a program that provided comparing them to programs that we know are effec- teachers with regular coaching improved the teach- tive provides suggestive evidence for whether these ers’ practices in the classroom and raised student test programs are likely to be effective. Researchers recent- scores significantly.86 This is consistent with evidence ly gathered information on the key components of the from many programs in the United States that coach- teacher professional development programs covering ing teachers can translate into significantly improved the most teachers in 14 countries around the world. student test scores.87 A program that provided teachers Relative to those that have been evaluated and found with literacy training in Uganda — along with materials to be effective, national programs are far less likely to for students — dramatically improved students’ reading have any link to career opportunities, such as salary or and writing.88 A program that trained teachers to evalu- promotion. National programs are less likely to include ate their students’ level of performance and adapt their any follow-up visits with teachers in their classrooms, teaching accordingly led to strong literacy gains in Li- and they are less likely to include practice with other beria.87 All these examples — and many more — demon- teachers as part of the training. In short, many of the strate that teachers have the capacity to improve. characteristics that mark the most effective programs are missing in national programs.58 This lack of effec- EFFECTIVE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT tiveness is not just a phenomenon of low- and mid- PROGRAMS HAVE CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS IN COMMON. dle-income countries: A recent study in three large They tend to include a face-to-face component, they are public school systems within the United States found subject-specific, they are linked to some sort of profes- that many resources go into teacher professional devel- sional incentives (such as opportunity for promotion), opment, but to little effect.92 Improving teacher skills on they include practice with other teachers, and they in- the job is crucial, but not all teacher professional devel- clude follow-up visits in the teachers own classroom. opment is created equal. These principles are derived from comparing 33 teacher professional development programs in low- and mid- A PROVEN WAY TO HELP TEACHERS EFFECTIVELY REACH dle-income countries that were evaluated closely, all with student learning outcomes, and comparing those STUDENTS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY REACH STUDENTS programs with the largest student learning gains and AT THE LEVEL THAT STUDENTS ARE CURRENTLY AT, USING those with the smallest gains.89 A CLASS OF INTERVENTIONS KNOWN AS “TEACHING AT THE RIGHT LEVEL.” MOST LARGE-SCALE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL Teachers often do not teach students at their current DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS IN PLACE TODAY DO NOT HAVE level of learning for at least two reasons. First, many countries have extremely ambitious curricula, such that THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS. the majority of students quickly fall behind in school. Many teacher professional development programs have Yet teachers are pressured to teach the curricula, such disappointing impacts on student learning. A large-scale that few students are actually following the grade-level teacher training program in China yielded no results on material in some schools. As Figure 3 shows — using student learning, likely due to being too theoretical and data from students in India (New Delhi) — in Grade 6, passive.90 Some are even counterproductive. A training the students in the top 25 percent in mathematics are program designed to help teachers of high school math only at Grade 4 level. So a teacher teaching Grade 6 con- students to implement active learning techniques in tent will leave behind even the best students. By Grade Costa Rica resulted in significantly lower learning than 9, the top students are only at Grade 5 level, four years in classrooms where teachers were not trained.91 Even behind the curriculum. Second, a single classroom will the promising teacher coaching results from the United 29 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers them to grade level. Strategies such as streamlining the FIGURE 3: MANY STUDENTS ARE BEHIND curriculum and separating students into small ability groups will be especially important in recovering learn- GRADE-LEVEL, AND A SINGLE CLASSROOM MAY ing loss. INCLUDE CHILDREN AT VARYING LEVELS OF PROVIDING TEACHERS WITH HIGHLY STRUCTURED LESSON LEARNING. PLANS CAN IMPROVE LEARNING. Assessed grade-level performance of students relative to enrolled In environments where many teachers lack sufficient grade. New Delhi, India (2015) content knowledge and pedagogical ability, providing such plans can be an effective way to help students a. Mathematics b. Language achieve basic literacy and numeracy skills. These can 9 9 range from guides that teachers can rely on but also have the freedom to deviate from according to circum- 8 8 stances to strictly scripted lessons that teachers read Grade-level performance Grade-level performance off tablets. Experience across 13 low- and middle-in- 7 7 come countries shows that providing these guides — along with training to use them — leads to significant 6 6 learning gains equivalent to an additional half year of learning.96 Evidence from similar interventions — often 5 5 classed under the heading of “direct instruction” — in high-income countries confirms those positive learning 4 4 impacts.98 3 6 7 8 9 3 6 7 8 9 IT IS POSSIBLE TO IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE TEACHER Enrolled grade Enrolled grade SUPPORT AT SCALE. Implementing effective teacher programs at scale is a Expected performance 75th percentile challenge. Programs that work well at the pilot stage Average assessed performance 25th percentile often do not translate to effective nationwide programs Source: World Development Report 2018, using data from Muralidharan, for a variety of reasons — maintaining the same quali- Singh, and Ganimian (2017).6 3 , 97 ty of implementers and of supervision at scale can be a challenge, as can the ability to make course corrections when the program is not working as planned.99 In Kenya, include students at widely varying levels of knowledge. the program of providing teachers with structured les- In that same Grade 9 classroom, the bottom 25 percent son plans — a loose script — together with training and of students are at Grade 3 level. So even a teacher who materials to help them implement those plans, led to departs from the curriculum in order to reach students significant gains both at the pilot stage and scaled to at their level of knowledge must contend with teaching the national level.100 In the Kenya experience, the pro- students at the Grade 5, Grade 4, and Grade 3 levels of gram used existing school inspectors as coaches, pro- knowledge, all at the same time, no easy feat. Teaching viding additional structure to responsibilities that were at the right level may include reading camps carried out already part of their job description. Helping profession- during school holidays, the provision of remedial teach- als to do their existing jobs more effectively may work ing and learning materials, or grouping students by abil- better at scale than creating brand-new structures, ity instead of age, whether for an hour a day or some when possible. other portion of the day or year.93,94,95 TECHNOLOGY CAN COMPLEMENT TEACHER PERFORMANCE, Given the uncertainty on school openings and closures due to COVID-19, teachers will need even more sup- BUT IT SELDOM IS EFFECTIVE AT REPLACING IT. port to identify at-risk students based on assessments, In recent decades, some efforts to circumvent teach- mitigate factors that encourage student exit, and bring ers, for example, by simply providing laptops directly to students, have not resulted in significant learning gains. 30 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers However, technology does have a role to play in helping closed and when they open can help teachers come teachers to be their best. In Brazil, low-cost coaching together. Structured peer-support groups are low-cost delivered to the teacher coordinators in schools — help- and can help teachers deal with drastic changes. Social ing them to support teachers more effectively — led to media can play a key role in building collegial support, modest but low-cost improvements in student learn- as with Facebook/WhatsApp teacher/school groups in ing.101 An effective but costly pilot in providing on-site Kenya, South Africa and Pakistan (in process), as would coaching to teachers in South Africa led to an experi- engaging teacher unions/professional groups to dis- ment with virtual coaching via tablet, which had simi- cuss strategies for teacher recovery. Interventions, such larly sized effects on teacher effectiveness to on-site as HealthyMinds@Work in Mexico, can help teachers coaching.86,102 cultivate important aspects of well-being using simple exercises drawing upon the latest findings in neurosci- SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE CRUCIAL TO SUPPORTING ence, psychology and traditional contemplative per- spectives.111 TEACHERS. Professionals of all types work most effectively when under the supervision of good managers. Across coun- TEACHERS SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR PART tries, better management in schools is associated with IN STUDENT LEARNING, BUT TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY better student learning outcomes.103 Within education MECHANISMS INCLUDE A WIDE ARRAY OF INSTRUMENTS. systems, schools in Uganda and in India back up this Teachers are a crucial part of the learning process, relationship: schools with better management deliver and it is reasonable that they should be accountable better student learning.104,105 In effective schools, prin- for their role in that process. But teachers work within cipals play a role in pedagogical leadership in addition systems, and accountability needs to flow throughout to their administrative role. They help teachers to set the system, including from administrators, school prin- goals and expectations based on student assessments, cipals, and teachers.112 Furthermore, teacher account- assist in evaluating teaching, and ensure an organized, ability includes a wide array of instruments. Like most supportive environment.106 Merit-based principal hir- professionals, teachers place value on the respect of ing — as the high-performing city of Sobral in northern their supervisors and colleagues. Teacher accountabil- Brazil has done and as Peru has implemented — can ity can include outcome-based programs — such as have positive impacts on teacher performance and sub- pay-for-performance — but it can also include rule- sequent teacher performance.107 Furthermore, efforts to based accountability, wherein teachers are required to train existing principals — in Jamaica, Madagascar, and fulfill certain duties, and professional accountability, the United States — show that it is possible to improve where teachers receive support and are evaluated by the performance of the existing stock of principals, at their peers and supervisors.113 least to some degree.108,109,110 Relatively small learning gains from improving the skills of principals can add up Effective systems that do institutionalize pay-for-per- to large impacts across many students. formance, such as the municipality of Sobral in Brazil, do so in the context of many other supports for teachers. The uncertainty on school openings and closures due In the case of Sobral, rewards go not only to teachers but to COVID-19 has put added mental stress on teachers. also to principals, pedagogical coordinators, and to the As schools reopen, teachers might feel stressed by the school as a whole.114 Regardless, pay-for-performance is prospect of getting infected, the loss of their own skills just one tool in a much wider teacher accountability and — given that many may not have participated in routine support toolkit. refresher trainings — as well as the skills of their stu- dents. Furthermore, reintegration into schools may be characterized by periods of intermittent closures or multiple shifts to maintain social distancing norms. To cope with stress, teacher and management team cul- ture – especially at the school level – may need to be strengthened as teams can plan addressing challeng- es together. Regular communication while schools are 31 SUPPORTING TEACHERS: KEY MESSAGES Many teachers can improve if provided with ongoing training and support, potentially leveraging technology to do so. Providing teachers with highly structured lesson plans can be an e ective way to help students achieve basic literacy and numeracy skills. Hiring school principals based on merit and giving them both the skills to provide leadership and the tools to better manage their administrative duties enhances the e ectiveness of teachers. World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers HOW CAN EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY HELP TEACHERS TO TEACH EVERY STUDENT EFFECTIVELY? 33 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY WORKS BEST WHEN IT stan and South Africa, teachers receive these guides on tablets. This can allow active updates and even analysis COMPLEMENTS TEACHERS RATHER THAN SEEKS TO of the teaching process.119 SUBSTITUTE FOR THEM. Efforts to simply provide students directly with technol- ogy—such as the One Laptop per Child program—have TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP BUILD EFFECTIVE COMMUNITIES OF largely been ineffective.115 But employing technology in TEACHING PRACTICE, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF CRISIS. conjunction with the efforts of teachers can be an es- Most professionals benefit from the opportunity for col- sential tool to help students learn in the twenty-first laboration with others in their field. Teaching can feel century: the COVID-19 crisis has brought this fact into like a solitary profession, and this was heightened in sharp relief.116 When education systems stop seeing ed- 2020 when many countries closed schools for extended ucation technology as a cure-all for their learning cri- periods of time due to COVID-19, even as some teachers ses but rather deploy it strategically to address specif- engaged students by phone or other means. Technology ic challenges in each aspect of the teaching-learning enables virtual collaboration. Even in lower income en- process discussed above, then ed-tech can achieve its vironments, teachers often have access to smartphones full potential. But to work effectively, this deployment and apps like WhatsApp: a survey of secondary school requires partnership with and buy-in from teachers. teachers in Tanzania found that most had smartphones and most used WhatsApp.120 Teachers in many coun- tries—from Kenya to Turkey to Hong Kong—have estab- COMPLEMENT TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND lished Facebook or WhatsApp groups where they share PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS WITH TECHNOLOGY. pedagogical tips or ask each other for clarification on One challenge that many education systems face is that content issues.116 Education systems can encourage teachers lack full mastery of content they need to teach these groups and use pedagogical coordinators to boost and of the pedagogical skills needed to teach it.70 Tech- the quality of content when appropriate. nology can provide easy and quick access to both con- tent and pedagogical resources at any time, anywhere, relative to traditional brick and mortar structures. For TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP WITH TEACHER DEPLOYMENT AND example, the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa MANAGEMENT. initiative provides open-source courses and materials Education systems can use technology to improve the on pedagogical approaches teachers can use to im- consistency and transparency of teacher manage- prove their instruction in literacy, numeracy, science, art, ment systems. For example, the government of Malawi and other subjects. Science educators in Ghana, Zam- launched an initiative to use geospatial coordinates of bia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda developed the science schools across the country combined with teacher data resources, adapted to the relevant curricula.117 Alterna- to establish a rule-based teacher allocation system, so tively, tools initially developed in high-income countries, that the number of teachers more consistently lines up like Khan Academy, Coursera or Wikiversity may be in- with the needs of students.19 The state of Karnataka (in corporated into professional development curricula to India) also uses a technology-enabled system for teach- help teachers upgrade their content knowledge, with the er deployment, as do other systems.121 Effective technol- additional benefit of modeling how to teach challenging ogy systems can help monitor how long teachers have topics. In the United States, some school systems have been in different postings, where the greatest needs are, implemented programs of “micro-credentialing,” which and more. help teachers master sub-topics within their field and receive professional recognition for it.118 Likewise, technology can play a crucial role in both monitoring and supporting teachers. For example, sim- Detailed lesson guides can also help teachers with less ple regular phone calls to teachers, along with students pedagogical knowledge and content mastery, especially and village leaders, boosted student learning outcomes for early grade skills such as literacy and numeracy.96 in Niger.122 Technology can also facilitate the establish- The guides can nudge teachers who might otherwise ment of mechanisms so that teachers can highlight rely on pure lecture to engage students, as well as pro- challenges (such as delayed pay or missing benefits) and vide step-by-step guidance in implementing literacy and seek solutions in the education system – i.e., grievance numeracy instruction. In some countries, such as Paki- redressal mechanisms. One effective example of that, in 34 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers a high-income country, involved call centers in the New ant. Likewise, if teachers lack internet connectivity, then York City (in the U.S.) where operators were empowered online resources will not help them: science teachers in to help teachers find the answers they needed.123 Ghana highlighted that online materials seemed useful but that the cost of internet access proved prohibitive.117 WHEN SCHOOLS CLOSE IN A CRISIS, EDUCATION Teachers also need to buy into the value of the technolo- TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP TEACHERS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT gy, seeing its potential to benefit them in their teaching. STUDENTS. A program implemented in NGO schools in India used During the COVID-19 pandemic, school systems around cameras to monitor teacher attendance and boosted the world closed their doors for months at a time. In student learning, but when a related program was im- higher income environments, teachers conducted vir- plemented in government-run health centers, workers tual school using programs like Zoom or Google Class- rejected and even damaged the monitoring technology. room to hold classes while students participated from 127,128 No education technology will be effective if teach- home. Despite virtual learning options, learning losses ers reject it. have been concentrated among lower income students, likely those with less stable internet access (among THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW IF THE TECHNOLOGY IS WORKING IS other factors), highlighting that technology can only be effective if teachers and students can access it in a TO TEST IT. supportive learning environment.124 Thus, while technol- Educational innovations are successes or failures based ogy has been crucial to help teachers connect with stu- on the results they deliver. As systems innovate with us- dents during the pandemic, extra attention is required to ing technology to help teachers and students to reach ensure that crises don’t exacerbate learning gaps. their potential, rigorous systems of evaluation must be in place over time. In South Africa, the government test- In countries with less widespread internet access, ed virtual coaching, where a teacher coach would com- teachers sometimes reached out to students to provide municate with teachers via tablet rather than in-person, tutoring calls. These efforts had mixed success, with as compared to traditional, in-person coaching. After benefits to student learning in Botswana and Bangla- one year, the two programs performed similarly.102 But desh but not in Kenya or Sierra Leone.125 In Sierra Leone, two years later, as students had graduated to more ad- public school teachers were less likely to make the vanced skills, the effectiveness of in-person coaching tutoring calls then their private school counterparts.126 far outstripped virtual coaching. Over time, teachers These results signal that while there is promise in using accessed the tablets less and less frequently, again technology to help teachers connect with students in a underscoring that technology can only work if teachers crisis, there is much left to learn in how to effectively see its value and use it regularly.129 Only careful evalua- implement and manage these initiatives. tion revealed this pattern. Many education technology interventions—especially hardware interventions, fo- cused on distributing technology—have failed, leading THESE STRATEGIES WILL ONLY WORK IF SYSTEMS INVEST to costly waste in education systems with no resources NOT ONLY IN THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT ALSO IN THE TRAINING, to spare.97 Testing for effectiveness is essential to help SUPPORT, MONITORING, AND MAINTENANCE TO MAKE teachers to reach students more effectively with tech- nology. TECHNOLOGY WORK. Storage rooms in schools around the world are littered with broken tablets and non-functioning computers. Even more striking, at times education systems have functioning technology that is barely used because it is not integrated into the curriculum against which teach- ers and students are judged or because teachers have not received sufficient, effective training to incorpo- rate the technology into their daily practice. A one-day training seminar will likely not be enough; routine use of technology and regular updating of skills will be import- 35 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers CONCLUSION 36 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers EFFECTIVE TEACHERS ARE CRUCIAL TO STUDENT provide practical pre-service training, and continuous- ly support their teachers to help them reach their full PERFORMANCE, AND EDUCATION SYSTEMS CAN AND MUST potential. Exactly how these principles are applied will HELP TEACHERS TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL. vary from context to context. In Table 2, we outline cer- While there is certainly more to learn, extensive evidence tain principles that may vary between low-income, mid- both from high-income countries and from low- and dle-income, and countries affected by fragile, conflict, middle-income countries demonstrates key principles and violence affected countries. Ultimately, no policies that apply in a wide array of environments. Fundamen- have greater potential to improve the quality of educa- tally, good education systems ensure that teaching is an tion than policies that make teachers more effective. attractive profession, use effective personnel policies, TABLE 2: PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PRACTICE ACROSS CONTEXTS OBJECTIVE PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PRACTICE ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES AND COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY CONFLICT Make teaching Improve occupational prestige using communications strategies Ensure salaries reach teachers on time attractive Peg salaries to competing professions Provide job security to reliable, effective teachers Use career progression structures effectively Improve Incorporate tests of subject knowledge and pedagogical ability Where data systems do not allow for extensive testing, personnel into the hiring process still include meritocratic elements in the hiring process policies Use probationary periods to identify and retain the most effective Recognize good teachers even when test-based value teachers added is not possible Recognize, promote, and reward effective teachers In refugee settings, allow teachers who have migrated Use a fair and transparent process to allocate teachers where they to update their credentials and teach are needed most Adopt meritocratic hiring system for teachers and school leaders Prepare Ensure that teachers have content mastery Ensure that teachers at least have knowledge of the teachers for Provide teachers with practical pedagogical skills content they are supposed to teach school Focus teacher preparation on practical skills Train teachers to manage classrooms effectively, including classrooms with students at varied learning levels Ensure teachers are fluent with basic technologies for Train teachers to become proficient with distance education and distance learning ensure students learn remotely Support Introduce high-quality teacher professional development that is Provide intensive teacher professional development in teachers in tailored, practical, focused and ongoing. that is tailored, practical, focused and ongoing. school Provide teachers with structured lesson guides Highly structured lesson guides can be particularly Introduce regular teacher coaching, potentially leveraging valuable in environments where teachers have limited technology to do so educational background themselves Provide teachers with continuous support to reduce stress, Set up structured peer-support groups to reduce especially during emergencies. Possible mechanisms include mental stress and provide professional support during regular communication with school leadership teams, structured emergencies peer-support groups, and well-being interventions 37 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers ENDNOTES 1 Darling-Hammond L. School’s In with Dan Schwartz and Denise Pope: Improving education across America with guest Linda Darling-Hammond. 2018. https://ed.stanford.edu/news/teaching-profession-which-all-other-professions-depend-lin- da-darling-hammond-transforming. 2 Saavedra Chanduvi J, Aedo Inostroza MC, Arias Diaz OS, Pushparatnam A, Gutierrez Bernal M, Rogers FH. Realizing the Future of Learning: From Learning Poverty to Learning for Everyone, Everywhere. 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Experimental Evidence on Teacher Professional Development and Student Learning in South Africa. 2021 https://riseprogramme.org/ publications/can-virtual-replace-person-coaching-experimental-evidence-teacher-professional. 43 World Bank Global Platform for Successful Teachers THE WORLD BANK WILL USE THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES TO BUILD CADRES OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN MIDDLE AND LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES: PRINCIPLE 1: Make teaching an attractive profession by improving its status, compensation policies and career progression structures 01 05 02 THE PRINCIPLE 5: Use technology wisely PRINCIPLE 2: Ensure pre-service education to enhance the ability of teachers to 5 PRINCIPLES includes a strong practicum component and reach every student, factoring their essential digital skills to ensure teachers areas of strength and development. are well-equipped to transition and perform e ectively in and beyond the classroom. 04 03 PRINCIPLE 4: Provide continuous support and PRINCIPLE 3: Promote meritocratic selection and motivation, in the form of high-quality in-service e ective deployment of teachers to ensure that professional development and strong school all students have access to good teaching. leadership, to allow teachers to continually improve. WORLD BANK GLOBAL PLATFORM FOR SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/teachers WORLD BANK GROUP #SuccessfulTeachers 44