Jaap Scheerens
Presentation at the German Rector’s conference,
Essen, 21 January, 2014
J.Scheerens@utwente.nl



Interesting variations in description and
perceptions of teacher training and
development across EU countries
How important are these variations for
differences in educational performance?
The answer: apparently not very much, but
what is behind this, and how should this
conclusion be further qualified?





Initial teacher training in EUROPE
Results from macro (country) level studies
Micro-level studies addressing teacher
training effects
Continuous Professional Development
Conclusions
Figure A1: Structure of Initial Teacher Training Education for primary and lower
secondary education. Source EU, 2013
Figure A2b: Level and minimum length of initial teacher training for lower
secondary schools Source, EU (2013)
Other relevant descriptive characteristics:


Length of practical training as part of ITT
Relative duration of subject matter mastery
and pedagogy

Descriptive variations obviously do not say anything
about effectiveness, yet, examples from other
countries might inspire effectiveness enhancing
reforms, e.g.
- Thinking about more pedagogy in TT in France
- Practical TT in England
- Introducing any form of teacher appraisal in the
Netherlands
Facet of school
resources
Positive impact
Proportion of teachers
with a third level
qualification
Belgium, Germany,
Switzerland and the United
Kingdom (2000)
---------------Austria, Slovenia (2013)
OECD, 2005, Figure 3.8, PISA, 2000 data, OECD, 2013 table IV 1 12c

ETS (2010): filters used along the teacher
education and development pipeline
Concurrent/
Consecutive
Bachelor/
Master
Number of
selection
methods applied
Finland
Mixed
M, 5 years
4
NL
Mixed
B, 4 years
2
Poland
Mixed
B, 4 years
1
Belgium
Concurrent
B, 4 years
2
Germany
Concurrent
M, 3 ½ year
1
Selective
recruitment
Salary
Multiple
System’s
career paths, control and
bonuses
performance
evaluation
Training
Singapore Top 30%
high
school
Average
Yes
Yes
?
Finland
Top 20%
high
school
Modest
No
No
“rigorous”
Korea
Top 5%
college
entrance
Highest in
the world
?
modest
?


At country level there is no substantial
evidence of a teacher training effect, in terms
of quantity, level, and organization. No
comparable information on TT content.
Apart from the very weak methodology, this
lack of effects is probably due to the limited
variation in teacher training facilities across
countries




Teachers matter, but which changeable
(trainable) teacher characteristics determine
teacher quality?
This is the question of teacher effectiveness
(1), which should not be confused with
teaching effectiveness (2)
Re 1) relatively stable dispositions and
behavioral repertoires
Re 2) manifested processes
In educational research we usually have to do with
naturally occurring variation to make inferences on
the effects of schools and teachers.
 Overall effects of schools or teachers indicate what
it matters whether a student goes to school A or
school B, or is taught by teacher A or B, i.e.
expressed as the amount of total variance in student
achievement “explained” by schools or teachers




School effects are in the order of 8- 10 %,
after adjustment for student background
Teacher effects are in the order of about 15%
(Impression from various studies)
School effects may be seen as containing
teacher effects; Luyten, 1994 found that
about ¾ of the school effect depended on
teacher/subject effects
Literally hundreds of research studies have focused
on the importance of teachers for student
achievement. Two key findings emerge. First,
teachers are very important. No other measured
aspect of schools is nearly as important in
determining student achievement. Second, it has
not been possible to identify any specific
characteristics of teachers that are reliably
related to student outcome. (Hanushek, 2010)

Hattie, (2009, ch.7) reports an overall teacher effect of
d = .35, an effect of teacher training of d = .11, and teacher
subject matter knowledge, d = .09

Walsh (2001) “there is no evidence that school systems
should reward teachers for obtaining master’s degrees
outside a subject area or that teachers should feel
compelled to obtain such degrees. This is a firm conclusion
of the research. Given the inability of formal teacher
preparation to produce measurable results, policymakers
should be skeptical about a strategy for improving teaching
that relies on changes in formal pre-service education”
Wayne and Youngs (2003) “In the case of degrees,
coursework, and certification, findings have been
inconclusive, except in mathematics”
 Goldhaber en Hansen, (2010) “Studies typically find
that less than 10 percent of the variation in teacher
effectiveness can be attributed to readily
observable credentials like degree and experience
levels”
 Walsh (2001) “The teacher attribute found
consistently to be most related to raising student
achievement is verbal ability. ”


The importance of the overall teacher effect
and the lack of solid knowledge on malleable
teacher characteristics suggest a selection
over an ITT and CPD improvement strategy



Some results from TALIS, 2009
Characteristics of CPD in high performing
countries
Some results from micro studies
Teachers’ Professional Development.
Europe in international comparison
J. Scheerens, (ed.)
European Union, 2012
Participation
Percentage of teachers who undertook some professional development in the previous 18 months
%
EU
Non-EU
Averages
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Turkey
Slovak Republic
Denmark
Iceland
Brazil
Italy
Portugal
Norway
Hungary
Bulgaria
TALIS Average
EU (TALIS) Average
Ireland
Belgium (Fl.)
Poland
Mexico
Malaysia
Korea
Estonia
Malta
Lithuania
Austria
Australia
Slovenia
Spain
0
While 89% of teachers report that they had taken part in "structured professional
development activity" over the last 18 months, it is a source of concern that more than
25% of teachers in Denmark, Iceland and the Slovak Republic report they have
participated in no professional development at all during this period (Source: EU 2010).
Participation and perceived impact of professional development activities
Types of professional development
Participation
%
Impact
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Courses and
workshops
Education
conferences and
seminars
Professional
development
network
Individual and
collaborative
research
Mentoring and
peer observation
Observation
visits to other
schools
Qualification
programmes
It is striking how positively teachers view the impact of all development activities.
However, fewest teachers participate in the types of development (qualification
programmes, collaborative research) which they deem to have the highest impact.
More detailed analysis show that experienced impact depends on time spent and
variation in participation.
Duty or
Optional
PD plans
obligatory
Responsibility
for PD
monitoring
Finland
Duty
Not
Not regulated
NL
Optional
Not
Not regulated
Poland
Necessary for
promotion
Compulsory
Local/regulated
Belgium
Duty
Compulsory
Local/Inspection
Germany
Duty
Not
Top/inspection
Mixed results from individual studies and metaanalyses on professional development effects:
 Timperley et al. (2007) cited in Hattie, 2009, p. 120
report an average effect size of d = .66
 Garet et al, (2008) and Garet et al. (2010) report no
significant effects of intensive PD programs
 Lomos et al. (2011) found an overall effect size of d =
.22 for the effects of “professional learning
communities”



Continuous professional development could
be seen as a more flexible lever for enhancing
student performance.
Results from meta-analyses are mixed, but
educationally significant effects from
program evaluation studies appear to be
feasible

Joint effects of teacher composition and
good training practice mean that better
training can easily follow in the wake of
higher selectivity (but what about equity?)

There is likely to be underutilized potential in
making the work of teachers more evidence
based (using the knowledge base of teaching
effectiveness), with initial training and
continuous professional development as
important vehicles to realize this.






Subject matter mastery
Rich repertoire of teaching strategies
Deep understanding of learning and
motivating students
Able to work in highly cooperative ways
Strong skills in technology and use of
technology
Teachers as researchers
Structure and classroom management
e. g. opportunity to learn
Supportive classroom climate
e.g. appropriate expectations
Cognitive activation
e.g. thoughtful discourse

Higher effect sizes for “teacher as activator”,
(direct instruction, meta-cognitive strategies,
feedback) as compared to “teacher as
facilitator” (e.g. inquiry-based teaching,
individualized instruction)

There are important “other” reasons to care
about optimizing teacher training and teacher
professional development than effectiveness:
 modernization (ICT applications)
 coping with new challenges (like inclusive
education)
 improving quality of life, and moral support of
teachers

Align teacher training and development policies
with other “teacher strategies”, including (next to
training and development) recruitment, induction
and working conditions of teachers at large.

Align teacher policies with other levers for
educational improvement, like curriculum strategies
and evaluation and assessment strategies.