From Preparation to Placement: Strengthening the Supply of Qualified Teachers

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

One of the most pressing challenges for education systems worldwide is ensuring an adequate and equitable supply of qualified teachers. Teachers are the single most important in-school factor influencing student learning outcomes, yet many systems struggle with both the quality of teacher preparation and the distribution of teachers across schools. On one hand, pre-service teacher education programs (PSTE) are the pipeline for producing future teachers, but evidence on what makes these programs effective remains fragmented and underutilized in policy design. On the other, even when well-prepared teachers are available, shortages persist in remote and disadvantaged communities due to the uneven distribution of teachers and the challenges of staffing hard-to-serve areas.
This panel brings together cutting-edge research addressing the teacher supply challenge from three complementary perspectives. First, a systematic review of PSTE programs synthesizes the international evidence base to identify which program components most strongly predict teacher effectiveness, well-being, and professional practices. Second, an innovative field experiment in Peru leverages insights from behavioral economics to test whether “self-persuasion” nudges in teacher selection processes can reduce sorting away from disadvantaged schools. Third, an analysis of higher education expansion in Brazil demonstrates the role of tertiary education policies in shaping the local pipeline of teachers, particularly in underserved areas. Together, these studies speak directly to the central question of how education systems can produce, allocate, and retain the qualified teachers needed to ensure learning for all students.
By combining a systematic review with experimental and quasi-experimental studies, this panel offers a comprehensive perspective on strengthening teacher supply across different stages of the pipeline. The first paper examines pre-service education to identify program features that consistently enhance teacher effectiveness and professional growth. The second tests behavioral interventions in teacher allocation, showing how subtle nudges can influence teacher choices and reduce inequality in access to qualified educators. The third demonstrates how system-level policies—such as the expansion of tertiary education—can expand and diversify the local teacher pipeline, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Taken together, the papers provide actionable insights for policymakers committed to ensuring that every classroom is staffed with well-prepared and motivated teachers, while contributing to global debates on aligning teacher preparation and supply policies with equity and quality goals in education.

Sub Unit

• Teacher Education and the Teaching Profession SIG

Chair

• Tassia de Souza Cruz, FGV EBAPE - Fundação Getulio Vargas

Individual Presentations

• The Giving Advice Effect: Reducing Teacher Sorting Through Self-Persuasion in Peru - Gregory Elacqua, Inter-American Development Bank

• Can Higher Education Expansion Alleviate Teacher Shortages? Evidence from Brazil - Luana Marotta, Inter American Development Bank; Gregory Elacqua, Inter-American Development Bank

Discussant

• Tassia de Souza Cruz, FGV EBAPE - Fundação Getulio Vargas