Teacher Unions' Perspective on Teaching and Learning International Survey 2013 Findings

• In Event: 60.050 - Multiple Perspectives on "What the Teaching and Learning International Survey Tells Us"

Abstract

The OECD TALIS survey is the only large-scale international comparative study which assesses teachers’ views on key parameters of education quality – teachers’ beliefs and practices with regard to pedagogy, classroom and school climate and leadership and working conditions. The objective of this session presentation will be to discuss the findings of TALIS from the perspective of social dialogue, where the opinions of those under review are of key importance. Given the high relevance of TALIS data in shaping current teacher policy discourse, it is paramount that the findings represent a shared and balanced picture of the teaching profession and can be owned and used by practitioners in a constructive way to improve education quality.
We base our approach on the concept of teachers’ leadership, which is intrinsically linked with notions of self-efficacy, distributed or shared leadership, professional collaboration, agency and voice (Bangs & Frost, 2012). This implies that teaching practice, in order to be innovative, transformative, and knowledge intensive, has to be constantly informed by research, peer review and feedback and supported by continuous professional development – running contrary to some policies which place greater emphasis on external accountability measures such as high stakes testing. In this regard, TALIS data provide invaluable evidence, supported by other research findings, such as the work of OECD’s Centre for Research and Innovation (CERI) on Innovative Leadership. In addition, our organization will present data collected through our affiliates through surveys and consultancy, to provide a critical perspective on the reported findings of the TALIS 2013 report, allowing us to engage in meaningful debate as well as to problematize some of the issues (Figazzolo, 2013). Our surveys are based on questionnaires filled by unions’ representatives, interviews, and case studies in particular countries.
TALIS’s emphasis on the importance of teachers taking part in school decision-making corresponds with our organization’s perspective that classroom teachers need to feel empowered and have the confidence to lead in their schools whether on pedagogy, the curriculum and its assessment, or on school policies. One of the most disturbing findings in TALIS is that under a third of teachers believe that teaching is valued as a profession by society. However, the data also show that in jurisdictions where the teaching profession is more greatly valued in society, teachers are more likely to have greater time to engage in teamwork and dialogue with colleagues, and these jurisdictions are more likely to have a greater share of top performers on PISA.
The new and immensely valuable evidence in TALIS is that if teachers feel in control of their professional lives in and outside school, and if they have high levels of job satisfaction and self-efficacy, then their belief that society values teaching is much stronger.
These findings have powerful implications for government policy. A valued profession means that people in society most committed to making a positive difference to young people’s lives will want to become teachers. This is probably the most important strategic message from TALIS.

Author

• Guntars Catlaks, Education International