The United States of Teaching: Key Findings on the Teacher Workforce From the Teaching and Learning International Survey 2013

• In Event: 61.020 - Lessons Learned From the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2013)

Abstract

Purpose: This paper provides an overview of the U.S. results from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), a survey sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and administered in 34 countries and economies to lower secondary teachers and their principals. The themes for TALIS 2013 included school leadership, teacher training and professional development, teacher appraisal and feedback, teacher induction and mentoring, teaching practices, and teacher efficacy and job satisfaction. TALIS 2013 data provide a broad examination of the teaching and learning environments of lower secondary U.S. schools, while also providing the opportunity to compare U.S. teacher experiences to those in the other countries.

Perspective or Theoretical Framework:
The overall objective of TALIS is to provide international indicators and policy-relevant analysis on teachers and teaching to promote better policy decisions. With increased attention on developing and retaining a high quality teacher workforce in the United States and elsewhere, the TALIS data provide an opportunity to dig deeper into a broad range of topics with the added advantage of an international comparative perspective.

Methods Techniques, or Modes of Inquiry:
This study analyzes the TALIS teacher and principal survey data, with a particular focus on U.S. results. The analyses include descriptive statistics and crosstabs highlighting some of the initial findings drawn from TALIS. Some of the topics covered in the paper include the lower secondary teacher workforce characteristics, teacher professional development, teacher collaboration, teacher evaluation and appraisal, and teacher job satisfaction.

Data Sources, Evidence, Objects, or Materials:
TALIS 2013 teacher and principal surveys

Preliminary Results/Discussion:
The results will cover a variety of topics, including the following:
• While 87% of U.S. teachers and 90% of principals report being satisfied with their jobs only 34% of teachers and 49% of principals say they believe the teaching profession is valued.
• U.S. lower secondary education teachers reported relatively long work hours compared to their international peers and are more likely to work in isolation than their international colleagues.
• U.S. lower secondary teachers reported high participation rates in professional development yet indicated that it had less positive impact on their teaching than that reported by their international peers.
The results will cover additional topics and provide an overview of the types of information available and the types of analysis possible using the TALIS 2013 U.S. data.

Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work:
The goal of this study is to increase our understanding of the teaching and learning environment of the lower secondary teacher workforce in the U.S. and other participating TALIS countries. The TALIS 2013 study provides important new data to add to our understanding of many aspects of these teachers’ work environment, allowing us to provide a rich description of the context as well as examining specific topics in greater detail. Comparisons of U.S. results to the international sample may provide insights into policy or practices that might improve the experience of teachers in the U.S. teaching workforce.

Authors

• Gregory A. Strizek, Strategic Analytics, Inc.

• Ebru Erberber, American Institutes for Research