Missing: teachers
There is a global consensus on the importance of teachers’ role in improving the quality of education and of leaning outcomes. However, the world is currently facing a massive shortage of teachers. According to the UIS, if we are to fulfill our promise and achieve SDG 4, we need to recruit 69 million teachers by 2030.
This gap is even more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries. The greatest teacher shortages are in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 17 million more teachers are needed to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030.
A number of factors contribute to the current high demand for teachers. The rapid expansion of participation in primary and secondary education, population growth and age distribution can explain part of the existence for a teacher shortage. At the same time, the profession does not attract enough candidates due to the deterioration of teachers’ social status caused by low salaries, poor working conditions and a lack of career development options. Those that do join the profession often leave the workforce within the first five years, with estimates ranging from 5% to 50% in some countries.
In some countries, addressing teacher shortages, while at the same time providing universal access to a growing number of children and youth, has meant increasing class sizes. The number of students per teacher in low-income countries was an average of 41 for primary education and 23 for secondary education in 2015, in comparison to 14 and 13 for primary and secondary education, respectively, in high-income countries.
Often countries must resort to filling the teacher gap by hiring teachers on non-permanent contractual arrangements. These ‘contract teachers’ are hired as an emergency measure and do not need to meet the same training and qualification requirements as permanent teachers. Indeed, contract teachers, who tend to be younger and less experienced, receive lower salaries and have limited access to pre-service or in-service training.
Research also shows that the lack of teachers is resulting in an uneven distribution of teachers that is further exacerbating inequalities. For example, schools in rural and remote areas have more difficulties in attracting qualified teachers than their counterparts in urban areas. Teachers who are deployed to remote or rural areas tend to be less experienced on average and often do not speak or understand the local language of the community.
Teacher shortages in hard-to-staff areas are often most severe in specialized subjects, such as maths and science, and when less experienced teachers are deployed to high-needs areas, they often lack the pedagogical skills to work with students with special needs or learning disabilities.
Trained and qualified teachers
Increasing the supply of teachers also poses a problem of a qualitative nature. SDG 4 calls for increasing the supply of ‘trained’ and ‘qualified’ teachers. A qualified teacher is one who receives an academic qualification, while a trained teacher is one who has completed the minimum organized teacher training requirements (whether during pre-service training or in-service).
In some countries, teachers need to have a Master’s Degree in order to teach; in other countries, a high school diploma is sufficient. More importantly, there is a lot of variability in the design of teacher training programs. Teacher training programs can range from 12 months to 4 years. They can include a practical component (e.g., field experience) either concurrently during course work or after all course work is completed.
Practical experiences vary among programs with some lasting a few weeks while others are much longer. Some student teachers may benefit from supervised practice during their field experiences, while others are only allowed to observe a classroom teacher. Often, these variations exist within the same country.
Countries also differ with respect to how teachers become licensed or certified to teach. In some countries, a teacher candidate must pass an exam before receiving a license to teach. In other countries, there is a probationary period, with or without an exam, before a teacher candidate becomes certified. In some countries, a teacher must be re-certified after a number of years; in other countries, a teacher is licensed to teach until retirement.
Regardless of the type of initial training, all countries have a policy that in-service teachers must engage in professional development. Here again, there is lots of variability. Professional development opportunities vary in terms of minimum number of hours required, whether they target specific pedagogical needs, and whether they are offered by private or pubic providers.
Although there is currently a lack of data, such qualitative variations in teacher training and development will undoubtedly affect teacher quality and student learning.
How to strengthen teacher education?
Because the issue of well-trained and qualified teachers is one of the key factors affecting students’ learning outcomes, it calls for scrutinizing the quality and content of pre-service and in-service trainings offered to teachers.
Strengthening teacher education in order to guarantee quality teaching and learning for all calls for policy dialogue between policymakers, practitioners and civil society representatives. Therefore, further to World Teachers’ Day raising awareness to this matter, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 will use its international platform and delve into the question of teacher education during its next Policy Dialogue Forum in November.
Attended by policy-makers, academics, researchers, NGOs, teachers and international organizations, the event will allow a multi-stakeholder approach to the discussions on how to guarantee that the right of all children and youth to be taught by a well-trained and qualified teacher is respected and enforced.
More information:
UNESCO World Teachers’ Day page
