77916 Lebanon SABER Country Report TEACHERS 2010 Policy Goals Status 1. Setting clear expectations for teachers Expectations for both teachers and students are clearly defined, but official time allocations and the use of classroom time may limit effective teaching and learning 2. Attracting the best into teaching Ongoing institutional development, including teacher recruitment and salary payment mechanisms, aims at boosting teacher quality 3. Preparing teachers with useful training and experience New teachers need a strong foundation, including content knowledge and practical experience 4. Matching teachers’ skills with students’ needs There are few incentives in place for teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools or to teach critical shortage subjects 5. Leading teachers with strong principals Limited school principal authority may lead to weak instructional leadership 6. Monitoring teaching and learning Adequate information on student achievement is available to inform teaching and learning 7. Supporting teachers to improve instruction Teacher evaluation results help guide better teaching and learning in classrooms, but they could be used more effectively for professional development 8. Motivating teachers to perform Accountability is weak; performance incentives and sanctions could be strengthened THE WORLD BANK LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Education System at a Glance Around 55 percent of the teaching force is concentrated in the private sector. Of the private sector teaching Lebanon is a small, high-middle-income country with a force, the vast majority (over 86 percent) works in female-dominated teaching force, and plans have been private government-independent schools developed to reform the education system over the next 5-year period. Figure 2. Distribution of teachers in the private sector In 2009, Lebanon spent 1.8 percent of GDP on public education. 1 In the same year, as a percentage of total government expenditure, Lebanon spent 7.2 percent on education. An important challenge for Lebanon is that its best-trained people migrate abroad or have to face low rates of return to schooling domestically. The unemployment rate is estimated at 7.9 percent (2008). Nearly half the unemployed (48.4 percent) are young people aged 15-24. Youth unemployment in Lebanon is estimated to be as high as the average for the Arab region (roughly 26 percent), the highest regional rate in Source: World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010. the world. The Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MoEHE) has put forward a National Education Sector Strategy (NESS) (2010-2015) as the Total enrollment in primary school in the private basic document guiding the strategic direction for the sector is more than double that of the public sector. next 5 years. As part of this process, an Education The largest share (79 percent) of private primary school Sector Development Plan (ESDP) was developed with enrollment is in private, government-independent medium-term priority activities and output indicators schools, and the remainder is in government-dependent associated with them. schools. At the secondary level, enrollment rates in the two sectors are about the same. The secondary level Lebanon’s school system consists of 6 years of primary private sector market comprises only private, education (ages 6-12 years), and 6 years of secondary government-independent schools. education (ages 12-18 years). Basic Education is compulsory until the age of 15. In total, there are Figure 3. Breakdown of students between educational 87,808 teachers in Lebanon. levels and sector Figure 1. Number of teachers by sector 2 Source: World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010. Source: World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010. 1 World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2010. Lebanon should pay close attention to equity in 2 There are 39,376 public school teachers but this also includes 1,070 unpaid volunteer teachers who generally have a religious affiliation. education, which may mirror socio-economic conditions. Poverty is concentrated in the suburbs of SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 2 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 large cities and in remote rural areas especially in the There are 2 teacher unions with a total membership of northern region of Akkar, which has been lagging around 8,000 teachers. The most recent strike occurred behind the rest of the country; in this region, 80 percent in 2007 (1 school day was lost); in 2006, there were two of the population is rural and 63 percent of the families strikes (and 2 school days were lost). are deprived and face serious poverty many of these are Palestinian refugees. 3 Given these socio-economic The Lebanese National Assembly and the Council of differences between regions, it is a source of concern Ministers are responsible for setting teacher policies. that data on student enrollment and teacher The MoEHE implements policies and oversees recruitment levels disaggregated by urban/rural compliance along with the Public Elementary and municipalities are not available. Secondary Schools’ Teachers League, the Teachers’ Syndicate and the Educational Center for Research and In Lebanon, boys are increasingly more disadvantaged Development. The 5 priorities of the ESDP are to be and at risk of drop-out through lower secondary implemented through a number of projects managed by education. For every 100 boys attending primary, there working groups. One of these projects will concentrate are 103 girls (2006-2008). 4 However, despite female on professionalization of the teaching force. gender parity in schools, females are strongly disadvantaged in the labor market. Though the Box 1. Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP): 5 enrollment ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary, priority areas in the National Education Strategy and tertiary education are 0.97, 1.10, and 1.16,  Priority 1 Equity in education respectively, and the fertility rate is relatively low, at 2.2 □ Early childhood education births per woman—women’s labor force participation is □ Improving retention and achievement low, at 37 percent compared to the 55 percent average □ Development of infrastructure in other upper middle-income countries.  Priority 2 Quality education for the knowledge economy The public school teaching force is primarily female □ Professionalization of the teaching workforce □ Modernization of school management and evenly distributed across the age brackets. This □ Achievement assessment and curriculum trend appears to remain stable into the near future: in development 2008, 80 percent of teacher education graduates were  Priority 3 Education for social integration women. 5 While males comprise less than a third of the □ Citizenship education total number (30 percent) of teachers, they hold around  Priority 4 Education for economic development 50 percent of school principal positions. Around 42 □ ICT in education percent of public school teachers are under the age of □ National qualification framework 40. The median age is between 45 and 49 years. The  Priority 5 Governance of education □ Institutional development private sector teaching force is relatively younger – around 62 percent of teachers are under the age of 40. Figure 4. Distribution of public school teachers by age and sector The majority (70 percent) of public school teachers holds an open-ended employment status with an average age of 58 years. The remaining 30 percent of teachers are employed under contractual arrangements. In the private sector, 61 percent of teachers hold open-ended positions. Yet, the number of contractual teachers has kept increasing in recent years as no more civil servant positions are available. 3 World Bank, Country Partnership Strategy FY11-FY14. 4 World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2010. 5 Global Education Digest, 2010 8 World Bank, SABER – Teachers, 2010 Source: World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 3 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for teachers which average 180 days per year. Similarly, annual schooling hours in high-performing systems average Advanced  1,090 hours. In Lebanon, there are 960 schooling hours annually (six hours per day) at the primary level, and Expectations for both teachers and students are 800 schooling hours annually (five hours per day) at the clearly defined, but official time allocations and secondary level. In terms of distribution of tasks per the use of classroom time may limit effective week, primary school teachers are required to devote teaching and learning. 18 hours to teaching and 9 hours total to lesson- planning, administrative duties, and other activities. In Clear expectations for teachers and students exist. In secondary schools, teachers devote 14 hours to Lebanon, the MoEHE and the Civil Service Board have teaching and six hours to lesson-planning and policy-setting authority, and have developed the administrative duties. In comparison to teachers in National Education Strategy and the ESDP. One of the high-performing systems – which generally allocate less priority areas is to improve teacher performance than 60 percent of teachers’ working time to teaching, through a national curriculum, designed by MoEHE, that leaving the rest for teachers to fulfill other duties, such sets out the content in detail and informs teachers of as planning or grading – Lebanese primary school required subject content that should be taught to teachers devote around 67 percent of total working students at different grades. In addition, there are time to teaching and secondary school teachers devote established standards of what students must know and 70 percent of their working time to teaching. With a be able to do at each grade level. very low number of overall working hours, it is not surprising that most hours are devoted to teaching; Teachers are guided by clear expectations. Public however, it leaves little time for teachers to fulfill other school teachers’ expectations also have been defined by related duties, such as planning, grading assignments, the MoEHE. Teachers in Lebanon are expected to: select and collaborating with other teachers and school staff their own teaching methods, supervise students, grade in administrative and instructional activities. assessments, integrate difficult student populations, stand in for absent teachers, support other teachers, Figure 5. Teacher working time in hours per year and participate in administrative tasks. Teachers do not (primary), selected systems have authority over certain decisions, such as collaborating on the definition of school plans, school curriculum, or choice of textbooks. Teachers do not have adequate time to fulfill their duties. In Lebanon, a statutory definition of working time exists, acting as a common understanding of how teachers’ tasks are determined and remunerated. Teacher working time is defined as the overall number of working hours and thus encompasses teaching, lesson planning and administrative tasks. According to statutory provisions, annual total teachers’ working time for primary school teachers is 960 hours (6 hours per day; 160 days per year). For secondary schools teachers, annual working time is 864 hours (5 hours per day; 160 days per year). Compared to high-performing systems (see Figure 5) where a teacher’s average annual Sources: OECD, Education at a Glance 2009 for Japan, New working time exceeds 1,500 hours, Lebanon’s working Zealand, Denmark, Netherlands, South Korea and United hours are low (making teaching look like a part-time Kingdom; World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010 for Egypt, Chile, Jordan, Djibouti, Lebanon, Yemen and West Bank & profession). In Lebanon, the school year consists of 160 Gaza. days at both the primary and secondary levels. This is 20 days shorter than that of high performing systems, SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 4 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching primary school teachers entered a concurrent training program, and teachers at the secondary level had the Emerging  option of entering either the concurrent or a consecutive training model. The MOEHE has been Ongoing institutional development, including working to introduce the ESDP which, if approved, teacher recruitment and salary payment would introduce new policies for teacher recruitment mechanisms, aims at boosting teacher quality. and would require primary school teachers to have a university degree. Teacher candidates go through a screening process, but it could be expanded to select the most competent. Starting teacher salaries are competitive and are Lebanon is experiencing an over-supply of teachers, equivalent to 150 percent of the country’s GDP per which provides an opportunity to be more selective and capita. This proportion is higher than in some top- raise the bar for entering teachers. While some performing countries. The actual amount of salary paid neighboring countries only screen teacher candidates to newly appointed teachers is based on the civil service based on test scores in the secondary school leaving code, and salaries increase on the basis of seniority; examination (West Bank & Gaza, Jordan, and Yemen), teacher performance is not taken into account. applicants for teacher education programs in Lebanon Compensation packages incorporate several benefits, are admitted based on two criteria: (1) test scores in the including: health care, pension, housing support, and secondary school leaving examination, and (2) transportation. performance in the compulsory entrance examination for teacher education programs. It is encouraged that Lebanon has one of the lowest ratios of students to Lebanon further enhance the screening process by teachers in the Arab region. In 2007, while the regional collecting and analyzing data on candidates (e.g. average student-teacher ratio was 21:1, Lebanon had a number of applicants for initial teacher education 14:1 ratio at the primary level, and 9:1 in secondary. program and background characteristics of admitted This ratio is also substantially lower than the global applicants). Since the quality of pre-service training average primary student-teacher ratio of 25:1 (2007) 6. programs often reflects the characteristics of those who During the past three decades, the number of teachers enter these programs, the selection criteria can has increased by 111 percent, while the number of influence the quality of teacher entrants. In addition, it students has increased by less than 25 percent. is important to include processes that assess other Student-teacher ratios are among the lowest in the important but less measurable qualities of teachers, region: 17:1 at the basic education level (primary) and such as their motivation and inter-personal qualities, 8:1 at the secondary level. Overall, the student-teacher especially since less than half of Lebanese public school ratio in public schools (7:7) is lower than that in private teachers hold a university degree. schools (11:5). Figure 6. Public school teachers’ qualifications – Attractive career opportunities await teacher primary and secondary combined (2008) applicants, but promotions do not necessarily entail salary increases. Teachers can apply to become principals and take other leadership posts, such as lead teachers. These opportunities are partly based on performance evaluations determined by several sources. However, these promotions do not necessarily come with additional salary benefits, which could potentially serve as an extra incentive for capable graduates to choose to become teachers. Source: World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010. Lebanon’s proposed teacher recruitment mechanisms aim to attract well-equipped applicants. Until recently, 6 UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 5 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 7. Teachers’ starting salary as a share of GDP subject matter knowledge and pedagogy teacher per capita, selected countries training. Although there is an oversupply of teachers, the teaching force is underqualified and there are shortages of teachers in certain subjects and in certain regions. The share of uncertified contract teachers (22 percent) in primary and secondary education has increased while the average age of teachers also Sources: (1) OECD, Education at a Glance 2010 for Jordan, continues to increase. Only 4.2 percent of public school South Korea, Denmark and the Netherlands (2) World Bank, teachers hold a specialized degree and more than half SABER – Teachers 2010 for Lebanon. have less than a university-level qualification. In-class experience is assessed, but teacher knowledge of individual subjects is not examined; Goal 3: Preparing teachers with useful training the criteria for certification could be widened. and experience In order to obtain the qualification as certified Established  teachers, applicants are required to complete in-class teaching experience as part of the training program. In New teachers need a stronger foundation, Lebanon, a minimum experience of 1 year is required, including content knowledge and practical which is in line with current practice in top-performing experience. systems (where the range is 1 -3 years). Nevertheless, only the completion of required coursework and The official accreditation process for pre-service theory-based qualifications are needed for teacher teacher training programs is undergoing important certification. Lebanon may consider expanding the reforms. The Educational Center of Research and criteria for obtaining the teacher license, including Development (ECRD) is responsible for regulating pre- assessment of subject-matter knowledge (both theory service training institutions and for the accreditation of and pedagogy), an in-depth interview assessment, or new primary and secondary school teachers. However, successful performance on an assessment conducted by as of early 2010, the Lebanese University (the single a supervisor based on practical professional experience. public institution for higher learning in Lebanon) In some high-performing countries, prospective developed a new teacher training program that will teachers are required to pass skills test in numeracy, replace the existing curriculum and accreditation literacy, and ICT, or to demonstrate mastery of the requirements. This shift has already started affecting academic content in the areas in which they teach. teacher training applicants, who in this new system have to be university graduates prior to teacher While induction programs are in place, they may be certification. too short to be fully effective. New teachers are required to participate in induction/mentoring While training programs are available for teachers, programs to facilitate a smooth transition into the there are no statutory requirements or official profession. In most high performing systems, induction recommendations for the amount of time that primary programs typically last between 1-2 years. In Lebanon, and secondary teacher education programs devote to the duration of these programs is less than 6 months specific subjects (pedagogy, theory, methods, language, (Figure 8). Research has shown that novel teachers are mathematics, and science). It is important for Lebanon less effective, especially in the first few years. It is at to balance pedagogical theory and teaching methods this critical period that they can benefit most from with subject matter knowledge. As there is positive mentoring and induction support. Lebanon might correlation between student achievement and the consider extending the 6 month program to provide teachers’ subject matter mastery, Lebanon might enough time to effectively support new teachers. consider setting official time allocation requirements for SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 6 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 8. Length of induction programs, selected Figure 9. Incentives for teachers to take up posts in systems hard-to-staff areas, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon Sources: OECD 2005 for Japan and the United Kingdom; World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010 for Chile, Djibouti, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank & Gaza and Egypt. Goal 4: Matching teachers’ skills with students’ needs Latent  There are few incentives in place for teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools or to teach critical shortage subjects. Source: World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010. Limited incentives are on offer to attract teachers to Effective use of incentives may make it appealing for work in hard-to-staff schools. In Lebanon, the central teachers to work in disadvantaged areas and to teach government assigns public school teachers to their in critical shortage subjects. In Lebanon, there are no location of work. However, compared to neighboring as incentives to attract qualified professionals in critical- well as high-performing countries, Lebanon has limited shortage subjects to enter teaching. Moreover, or no official incentives for teachers to work in teachers are compensated equally regardless of the disadvantaged areas. A lack of incentives for teachers to location of service. Lebanon might wish to look into work in hard-to-staff schools can result in having the usage of monetary and non-monetary incentive least qualified teachers working in schools serving the programs to attract qualified teachers in these subject most disadvantaged students and may contribute to shortage areas. In general, uniform salaries and further inequality in teaching quality and learning conditions are likely to result in an oversupply in some outcomes. In Lebanon, this problem is further areas and shortages in others. Some countries compounded by the fact that contract teachers (22 incorporate incentives for shortage subjects (e.g. percent of whom are uncertified) may be more likely to physics, biology and mathematics) to attract qualified be placed in hard-to-staff schools. individuals into teaching, who may have considered entering other professions related to their subject areas Critical shortages in some regions and specific subject (e.g. engineering, medicine). Also, some systems use areas are identified, but more information is required incentives to attract teachers to take up posts in remote to explore possible solutions. The ESDP identifies or disadvantaged areas. significant shortages of qualified teachers in some regions and specific subjects. Nevertheless, data on these subjects is unavailable. In order to ensure an equitable supply of skilled teachers throughout the nation and in every subject area, better information is needed to address regional and subject-specific teacher shortages. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 7 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 10. Incentives for teachers to take up posts in than regular teachers. 7 In addition to a higher base hard-to-staff areas salary, principals are evaluated regularly by the Inspection Board (within the MoEHE); General Director of the Education Sector (within the MoEHE) and positive results in this evaluation can result in monetary bonuses. While performance evaluation does not result in a salary increase or monetary bonus for regular teachers, school principals seem to have good incentives to perform well in their position. Principals in Lebanon do not have much authority over teacher management. School principals’ responsibilities include managing the distribution of time during school hours, overall evaluation of school’s performance, and responding to requests from both local and national educational authorities. Principals have limited authority over dismissal of teachers, evaluation of teachers’ performance, time allocation, and provision of guidance for curriculum and teaching- Sources: OECD, Teachers Matter 2005 for Australia, Finland, related tasks. Furthermore, principals do not have a say Ireland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Sweden, Belgium, nor make the final decision over teacher hiring, Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland; World Bank, SABER – promotion, or pay. The MoEHE, in collaboration with Teachers 2010 for Chile, Egypt, Yemen, Djibouti, Lebanon and the Lebanese University, has developed new job West Bank & Gaza. descriptions for public school principals which have been compiled into a legislative document and sent to Goal 5: Leading teachers ‘with strong the Cabinet of Ministers for which approval is pending. principals It is worthwhile for Lebanon to consider introducing increased decision-making authority over school issues. Established  Given that school principals are often the closest observers of individual teachers at work, as well as in Limited school principal authority may lead to direct contact with parents and local communities, weak instructional leadership. having the authority to make decisions adapted to the needs and demands of the school may contribute to The selection process of school principals balances raising school quality. experience and content knowledge. In Lebanon, candidates for school principal positions are expected to have five or more years of professional teaching experience and meet the following criteria: (a) pass a written test; (b) fulfill satisfactory performance in a supervised internship; and (c) participate in an induction/mentoring program for newly appointed school principals. Principals’ salaries are higher than those of regular teachers. Public school principals’ average salaries are 60 percent higher than those of regular teachers, equivalent to more than 200 percent of Lebanon’s GDP per capita. When comparing the full compensation package, including salary and non-salary benefits, school principals earn approximately 30 percent more 7 World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 8 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 11. Principals’ decision-making role in hiring and (Grade 12), when students are 17-18 years old. These firing – country comparison assessments are bi-annual and census-based (i.e. they evaluate all students, and not simply on a sample basis). Students can indeed be tracked over time, but scores are not comparable from year to year. Regular evaluations allow tracking student learning over time, and student test scores can be linked to individual teacher information, which facilitates evaluation of teacher performance based on student outcomes. Teacher evaluations are conducted regularly. In Lebanon, teacher evaluations come under the direct responsibility of the MoEHE, specifically the Educational Center of Research and Development. By law, internally-administered teacher performance evaluations are to be conducted twice a year by the school principal and local educational authorities; however, in practice, teachers are internally evaluated on an annual basis. In addition, teachers are assessed once a year in an externally administered evaluation. In internal and external teacher performance evaluations, the sources of information for assessing teacher performance include input from principals, parents and colleagues, a self-appraisal by the teacher Sources: OECD, 2008 – PISA 2006 for Denmark, Ireland, himself/herself and classroom observation. Student Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovenia, Switzerland, United achievement, teacher attendance, subject matter Kingdom and the United States; World Bank, SABER – knowledge, teaching methods, compliance with the Teachers 2010 for Chile, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, curriculum and use of homework to reinforce West Bank & Gaza and Yemen assignments in the classroom are considered in either internal or external evaluations. Teacher under-performance is rarely reported. In the Goal 6: Monitoring teaching and learning last year, there were no reports of teachers who failed Established  to achieve a satisfactory performance. In addition, limited data management systems are in place, so that Adequate information on student achievement is comparisons cannot be drawn between the available to inform teaching and learning. performance of teachers at different schools and across time. Strengthening these data management systems to Lebanon has a national assessment system that may allow for tracking information on teachers over time inform teaching and learning. Lebanon is keen on could facilitate teacher management, enabling policy evaluating students’ learning outcomes and has been decisions to be made through reasoned justification. participating in international assessments of student performance. The country has been a regular participant in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and is scheduled to participate in the TIMSS 2011. In addition, the government has implemented national assessments of student learning with students tested at ages 14-15 years old, and at the level of Third Year Secondary SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 9 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 12. Sources of Information for teacher could be utilized to support teachers in other ways, for performance evaluations instance through the allocation of professional development opportunities and supervisor support. Professional development might enable teachers to develop their skills throughout their careers. The Educational Center of Research and Development provides teacher professional development funded by the MoEHE. Until relatively recently, there were not many professional development opportunities available in Lebanon. The creation of Teacher Resource Centers with the support of the British Council and the French Cooperation Agency has improved the situation. These Centers are offering external support to schools and professional development to teachers that appear to be triggering lots of interest and demand. While there are no data on participation rates – or on their impact on Sources: OECD, TALIS 2010 for Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and South Korea; World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010 changing behaviors in the classroom – reports from for Chile, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, Mexico, West Bank Directors of these Centers point to the fact that it is & Gaza and Yemen. mostly contractual teachers who attend these courses. Taken as whole, teacher professional development in Lebanon includes traditional activities, such as workshops, conferences, and seminars, as well as other Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve methods such as qualification programs, instruction mentoring/peer reviews, participation in teacher and school networks, and observation visits to other Emerging  schools. While these opportunities exist, there is no minimum amount of time required to teachers for Teacher evaluation results help guide better professional development. teaching and learning in classrooms, but they could be used more effectively for professional As teachers in Lebanon are not required to take part in development. professional development, they might be prioritizing their immediate work agenda and not realizing the Information from teacher performance evaluations potential benefits from professional development. can enable teachers to improve in the classroom. The Similarly, as principals do not have to ensure that their results are used to provide feedback to teachers on teachers comply with time requirements, they may not their classroom instructional practices, but they are be allocating sufficient hours for these development seldom used to identify professional development programs. Lebanon may consider establishing official activities. In Lebanon, teacher performance is not fully regulations to require that teachers participate in captured and therefore can hardly be linked to professional development and thus ensure that all performance appraisal. As a result, teachers do not teachers in Lebanon are able to have opportunities to receive appropriate recognition for their work and improve their teaching practices. limited teacher support is based on performance. Linking evaluation results to teacher development may help to improve teaching quality. All professionals can constantly improve, and teachers are no exception. The current system treats high- and low-performing teachers equally in terms of compensation or other non-monetary treatment. Teacher evaluation results SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 10 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 13. Number of required days of professional from their classrooms or dismissed from the school, nor development per year, selected countries are they given special support. To enhance teachers’ motivation for good performance, Lebanon may look to Jordan for policy guidance: the Queen Rania Award for Excellent Teachers introduced in 2005 provides 25 high- performing teachers with monetary bonuses. While performance evaluations do not directly result in promotional opportunities, a consistently strong record may be helpful if a teacher applies to become a supervisor or a principal. Only one distinction – professional development opportunities – is offered to high-performing teachers. Given the restricted set of incentives offered, it is important for Lebanon to explore alternatives to motivate strong teacher performance. There is no probationary period prior to awarding Sources: OECD, Creating Effective Teaching and Learning open-ended status. While the first years of teaching are Environments: First Results from TALIS 2009 for Netherlands, among the best available predictors of a teacher’s Mexico, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, Slovenia, United States and Australia; World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010 for Egypt, performance later on in their career, Lebanon does not Djibouti and West Bank & Gaza. Notes: (1) The number of use this period to weed out the lowest-performing required days was calculated by dividing the total number of teachers. Once a teacher has an open-ended annual hours by number of daily working hours. (2)These appointment, weak results in the performance figures refer only to secondary school teachers. evaluation process may not be used to dismiss ineffective teachers. In fact, based on the evaluation process, it appears to be difficult to identify low- Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform performers and high-performers. Lebanon may look to Latent  the experience of other countries in setting policies to remove chronically low-performing teachers. The Accountability is weak; performance incentives benefits of doing so are twofold: first, such mechanisms and sanctions could be strengthened. protect students from the detrimental and lasting effects of having poor teachers; second, they can give While there are some mechanisms in place to hold teachers a clear incentive to work hard in order to avoid teachers accountable, their enforceability is limited. them. The criteria for teacher dismissals in Lebanon include: absenteeism, misconduct, and child abuse (physical and/or sexual). Consequences of repeated unauthorized absence may include both salary deductions and dismissal. In Lebanon, as long as teachers avoid misconduct, they do not have to fulfill continuing requirements to remain qualified as teachers. Teachers are offered few financial incentives or opportunities for public recognition to reward strong performance. Performance-related pay and monetary bonuses for good performance for individual teachers or by school are not available in Lebanon. Also, poor- performing teachers will not necessarily be removed SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 11 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 Figure 14. Legal regulations for dismissal and probationary periods Sources: OECD, TALIS 2010 for Australia; Belgium, Japan and South Korea; World Bank, SABER – Teachers 2010 for Chile, Djibouti Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank & Gaza and Yemen. Acknowledgements This report was prepared in 2011 by the SABER- Teachers Team, which included Lisa Kaufman, Nicole Goldstein, and Alejandro Ganimian and was led by Emiliana Vegas (Lead Economist, HDNED). The team would also like to thank Ahmed Dewidar for his assistance with data collection. Finally, the report also benefited from the collaboration of Kamel Braham and Tomomi Miyajima. Information and analysis is based on the data and SABER-Teachers conceptual model used in 2010-2011. SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 12 LEBANON | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT | 2010 www.worldbank.org/education/saber The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education policies and institutions, with the aim of helping countries systematically strengthen their education systems. SABER evaluates the quality of education policies against evidence-based global standards, using new diagnostic tools and detailed policy data. The SABER country reports give all parties with a stake in educational results—from administrators, teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people—an accessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of their country's education system are oriented toward ensuring that all children and youth learn. This report focuses specifically on teacher policy. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. THE WORLD BANK SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 13