Teachers around the world are increasingly being asked to teach more diverse student populations, including disadvantaged and immigrant students, and students who may not be proficient in the country’s principle language. Investing in teachers’ professionalism is one way that education systems can help teachers face these challenges and, by doing so, ensure that all students receive the high-quality teaching they need to succeed.

This report examines the nature and extent of support for teacher professionalism using the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013, a survey of teachers and principals in 34 countries and economies around the world, with data collected from an additional 4 systems after the original data collection, making a total of 38. Teacher professionalism is conceptualised here as a composite of three domains: 1) a knowledge base, which includes necessary knowledge for teaching (including pre-service and in-service training); 2) autonomy, which is defined as teachers’ decision making over aspects related to their work; and 3) peer networks, which provide opportunities for information exchange and support needed to maintain high standards of teaching. It then measures the extent of teacher professionalism in an education system by calculating the average number of best practices that teachers benefit from across TALIS countries and economies.

This chapter outlines the background of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). It then introduces the goals of this thematic report on teacher professionalism, which has been based on the TALIS 2013 data. It discusses the different forms and aspects of teacher professionalism and the existing literature on the topic. The chapter also introduces the research questions and the methods underlying the current report.

This chapter examines the nature and extent of teacher professionalism in countries and economies participating in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013. The chapter provides an in-depth look at which domains of teacher professionalism tend to be emphasised across countries, what specific practices within each domain are most prevalent, and whether teacher professionalism differs by school level. Additionally, it examines how teacher professionalism differs across countries and economies, investigating which education systems have the highest levels of teacher professionalism overall, which domains systems emphasise, and the various models of professionalism that education systems follow.

This chapter examines the relationship between the status of teaching and key policy-relevant outcomes. In this chapter, four key outcomes are examined, namely: i) perceptions of the status of teaching; ii) satisfaction with current work environment; iii) satisfaction with the teaching profession; and iv) perceptions of self-efficacy. Variations in the relationship between teacher professionalism and teachers’ perceptions and satisfaction are also examined.

This chapter examines differences in teacher professionalism support within an individual country. The analyses focus on differences between high-needs schools – that is, schools where at least 30% of student body belongs to one of the categories: second-language learners, students with special needs, or students that are socio-economically disadvantaged – as compared to low-needs schools with less than 11% of the student body in one of the three high-needs categories. It explores teacher professionalism support patterns within a given country/economy, providing policy makers with the information necessary to target interventions.

This chapter summarises policy implications arising from the findings of this report. It highlights the role of pre-service and in-service professional development, opportunities for deepening peer networks and the value of focusing efforts for teacher professionalism on higher levels of schooling. Recognising substantial variations across education systems, the chapter discusses the need for more research into countryspecific effects of teacher professionalism.