Key characteristics in: Poland 

• Poland has made great progress in education since World War II and occupation.
• Overall reform in 1999, supported and monitored by the European Union, significantly changed education in Poland.
• Education is highly centralized through the Ministry of National Education, with regional administrations responsible for teacher training and professional learning.
• Nonpublic schools receive funding and are required to follow laws and regulations as if they were public schools.
• School communes or districts select head teachers, and schools are run by a pedagogical council employing at least three teachers.
• On average, students scored 501 in reading literacy, math, and science on PISA, higher than the OECD average of 497, third (behind Finland and Ireland) on literacy.
• The difference between high- and low-achieving students on international assessments is 97 points (OECD average is 99 points).
• Poland’s evaluation system features inspectors at the national level and regional, school, and individual teacher appraisals.
• Student standards are expressed as grade-level aims, a core curriculum allowing local autonomy and responsibility, and student assessments carried out by institutions external to schools.
• 90.4% of teachers participated in professional learning in an 18-month period (compared to 89% OECD average) with an average of 26.1 days (compared to OECD average about 15 days).
• Highest participation is in reading professional literature, engaging in informal dialogue with colleagues, and courses and workshops.
• Individual appraisal is related to professional development for 87% of teachers (compared to 64.5% OECD average).
• 42.1% of teachers have a role in school reform (compared to 29.6% OECD average).
• 47.6% have a professional development plan related to appraisal (compared to 37.4% OECD average).
• First-year teachers experience a yearlong internship before being contracted; then they have another internship of two years and nine months before becoming appointed teachers.
• Most schools have a resident specialist in education.
• 43.6% want more professional development (compared to 54.8% OECD average), especially in special education.
• The biggest barrier to more professional learning is cost (51.2%, compared to 28.5% OECD average).

— Lois Brown Easton

Source: OECD, 2009.

Types of Professional Learning Experiences and Level of Estimated Impact

Participation in, Degree of Usefulness of Professional Learning Content

Key characteristics in: Australia 

• Governance of education is decentralized, with federal authority given to states and territories and reform supported through partnerships.
• Student achievement on international assessments is high but has decreased somewhat in the last few years.
• A first-time national curriculum in 2008 is the basis for comprehensive support for implementation provided through the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and other partnership agencies.
• Teacher standards are presented developmentally and include two standards for professional learning.
• More than 95% of teachers participated in professional learning of some kind but averaged only 8.7 days every 18 months (TALIS averages were 89% participation and 15.3 days), most frequently courses and workshops.
• Participation in networks (mostly subject-area) was also high.
• Australia has a strong grassroots system of professional learning called TeachMeet.
• 93.1% of new teachers go through induction; 70.4% have mentors.
• 93.7% participate in informal dialogue with colleagues on teaching.
• 55.2% reported wanting more professional learning; however, the need is lower, generally, than in other countries surveyed by TALIS.
• Highest professional learning needs reported on TALIS are technology and teaching students with special needs.
• Other needs include: teacher use of assessment data, linking teacher evaluation and professional learning, relating grades to the curriculum, aligning teaching standards to student learning objectives, building a coherent system of learning from teacher preparation to career development, keeping coherence among all of the reform initiatives, and implementation of policies at the school levels.
• Barriers to additional professional learning, according to TALIS, include conflict with work schedule and no suitable professional learning.
• Teamwork among students and teachers is common.
• The public largely supports policy, practices, schools, and educators.

— Lois Brown Easton

Source: OECD, 2009.

Key characteristics in: Brazil

• This formerly decentralized system is centralizing somewhat to enhance quality in municipal and state school systems.
• The most effective policies have been a national curriculum guideline, an assessment system, textbook approval, and data gathering leading to monitoring educational processes.
• Public funding for education is relatively small in terms of GDP (gross domestic product), but the increase in funding in 2008 was the highest for education in OECD countries.
• Secondary education is neither universal nor high quality, with high dropout and repetition rates, and a 41% graduation rate.
• Achievement on international tests is lower than OECD averages, and the gap between highest and lowest performers is wide.
• In some places, a belief that poor children cannot learn still dominates.
• School communities (parents, teachers, students) elect principals.
• Traditional teaching methods prevail, and student engagement is low; considerable time is spent on nonteaching routine items.
• 83% of Brazil’s teachers engaged in professional learning in an 18-month period, an average of 17.3 days per teacher.
• Courses and workshops were the most frequent (80.3%); the least frequent activity was networking (21.9%).
• 73.3% of teachers do not have a formal induction process; 70.0% have not had mentoring.
• 84.4% reported wanting more professional learning (compared to 54.8% OECD average).
• Most want more professional learning on teaching special needs students (63.2%, compared to 31.3% OECD average) and teaching in a multicultural setting (33.2%, compared to 13.9% OECD average).
• The greatest barriers to more professional learning are cost (51%) and conflict with work schedule (57.8%).
• Generally, teachers have a less positive view of the impact of most professional learning than other OECD countries.
• There are no mandated, universal teacher standards or standards for professional learning.
• Teaching is a relatively low-status profession in Brazil.

— Lois Brown Easton

Source: OECD, 2009.

Key characteristics in: Canada (Alberta) 

• The Canadian constitution delegates most of the authority for educational policy and practice to provincial ministries.
• Alberta Education has funding and regulatory functions but is also consultative, working with communities, jurisdictions, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (to which almost all teachers belong, most required to do so), and seven learning consortia across the province.
• Schools follow the Program of Studies, which delineates curriculum, assessment, and achievement standards.
• On international and Canadian assessments, Alberta has scored significantly higher than the averages.
• Alberta has addressed equity actively. The difference between highest- and lowest-scoring students on international achievement tests is lower than the OECD average.
• Reform is strong in Alberta, although funding for one of the most successful reforms, the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement, which sponsored school and district innovation, was cut in April 2013.
• The Teaching Quality Standard establishes quality for teacher preparation programs, beginning teacher programs, and professional learning.
• The Alberta Teachers’ Association and the ministry worked to separate salary negotiations from a focus on student and professional learning.
• Teachers are required to complete a professional growth plan related to the quality standard, school goals, and their own expectations.
• In a limited survey, the Alberta Teachers’ Association noted that teachers have high (44%) to some (49%) autonomy and choice in pursuing growth plan goals.
•  According to the Alberta Teachers’ Association, 89% indicated that it was often evident or consistently evident that professional development supports school improvement goals.
• There’s a strong and supportive environment for professional learning, a culture of high expectations, and a norm of collaboration.

— Lois Brown Easton

Sources: Alberta Teachers’ Association, 2010; OECD Better Life Index: Canada, www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/Canada; Education at a Glance: Canada, 2011, www.oecd.org/edu/eag2011.

Key characteristics in: Chile

• In the 1980s, Chile went from being centralized (in a military regime) to decentralized (with democracy). In 2003, it began recentralizing some reforms in order to equalize opportunity and achieve quality in the system.
• In an attempt to equalize the system, the government subsidized schools through vouchers, creating municipal (public) schools and subsidized private schools (in addition to nonsubsidized private schools, which depend entirely on tuition).
• Inequity resulted because subsidized private schools also charge tuition or fees, which public schools cannot do; also, public schools need to accept all applicants and cannot fire low-performing staff.
• 53% of students were being educated in public schools in 2002, 9% attended private (nonvoucher) schools, and the rest attended private (voucher) schools.
• The 2013 budget shows record-high spending for education, but student (and other) groups are seeking redress for the inequities described above as well as quality schooling.
• The average student score on PISA of 439 is lower than the OECD average of 497.
• The average difference between high and low scorers on international exams is 99 points (similar to the OECD average). Chile performed better than other Latin American countries in reading and was second to one in math.
• In 2003, the ministry and teachers union developed standards for teachers.
• It has been difficult for Chile to attract high-quality teachers.
• Educational reform includes a program to strengthen the teaching profession through initial teacher training and professional learning.
• Professional learning is traditionally subject-oriented, but it may involve scholarships for short-term internships abroad.
• A teacher evaluation system is based on self-evaluation, a portfolio, peer evaluation by an outside evaluator, and a third-party reference report.
• Teachers who do not perform well on the evaluations are offered training, which may not be adequate. Those who perform well are offered rewards, a common incentive.
• Professional development is not of consistent quality.

— Lois Brown Easton

Sources: OECD Better Life Index: Chile, www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/chile; Education at a Glance: Chile 2012, www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012.htm.

Key characteristics in: Japan 

• Japan’s centralized system is administered by the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture and Technology through prefectural and municipal boards.
• 33.6% of total expenditure for education comes from private sources, largely through tuition to private schools.
• High school attendance is optional, but 98% of all students enter high school and more than 90% graduate.
• In 1998, the system changed its focus from rote learning and extensive testing to creativity, independence, and social skills.
• Shortly afterward, student achievement on international tests declined, and the system instituted longer class hours and a demanding curriculum.
• Japanese students routinely score high on international assessments.
• The average middle school class size is 33 (compared to OECD average of 23.7 students).
• At high schools, teaching time with students is about 23% less than the average in other OECD countries.
• Teaching methods focus on collaboration among students and adults.
• Teaching is a highly respected career with more openings than applicants.
• School evaluation is prized over individual teacher appraisal and helps to promote collaboration and shared practice.
• Professional learning such as lesson study is embedded in the school day, continuous, focused on classroom practice, and often pairs senior with learning teachers.
• Schools have a high level of autonomy in professional learning.
• Professional development usually refers to courses taken outside the school (also called training or inservice).
• Extensive induction training features 60 days on campus and 30 days off.
• After 10 years, teachers engage in additional, required training. Some prefectures also require training at the 5th and 15th years of teaching.
• 30 hours (some mandated) are also required every 10 years but can include professional learning within schools.
• There are no standards for professional development.

— Lois Brown Easton

Sources: OECD Better Life Index: Japan, www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/japan; Education at a Glance: Japan 2011, www.oecd.org/edu/eag2011.

Key characteristics in: Korea 

• Korea has a centralized system, with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology providing funding, policy direction, programs, and support to provincial educational agencies that oversee schools.
• 42.6% of funding for education comes from private sources (compared to 81.3% OECD average).
• Teaching is a high-status, secure career, with many more adults applying for openings than there are positions.
• Average student scores on PISA are higher than the OECD average and one of the highest in the OECD.
• The average difference between low-achieving and high-achieving students is 82 points, lower than OECD’s average of 99 points.
• A comprehensive evaluation system includes system, school, and teacher appraisal tied to student assessments and other measures.
• 92% of middle school teachers participated in some form of professional learning during an 18-month period (compared to 89% OECD average) for an average number of 30 days per person (compared to OECD average of 18 days).
• 85% participated in courses or workshops and 90% in informal dialogue with colleagues. Participation in observations was high at 66.8% (compared to 28% OECD average).
• Only 24.3% had scheduled time for professional learning (compared to 62.8% OECD average).
• 58.2% wanted more professional learning (compared to 54.8% OECD average). The highest need was in student counseling (41.5%, compared to 16.7% OECD average).
• The lowest need was wanting help with multicultural teaching (10.4%, compared to 13.9% OECD average).
• The chief barrier to more professional learning was conflict with work schedule (73.3%, compared to 46.8% OECD average).
• There are no public standards for professional learning; the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology accredits programs that are offered through municipalities.
• School-based professional learning opportunities appear to be limited.

— Lois Brown Easton

Source: OECD, 2009.