Teachers and the Quality Imperative Teachers and the Quality Imperative for EFAfor EFA

International Task Force on Teachers for EFA6-7 July 2010 Amman, Jordan

Education For All (EFA) goalsEducation For All (EFA) goals

1) Expanding and improving early childhood care and education,

2) Achieving universal primary education,

3) Meeting learning needs of youth and adults,

4) Improving adult literacy by 50%,

5) Achieving gender equality and

6) Ensuring quality in education.

Concept NoteConcept Note “Teachers are the single most important education

resource in any country” (GMR 2010) and are key to meeting the quality imperative in EFA.

Quality imperative for EFA & Teacher challenge in EFA

Quality is multidimensional

We are looking at : Learning outcomes, Relevance of education - development of life skills, citizenship, world of work, Efficient use of resources in educational planning (e.g. educated, professional teacher v/s untrained contractual teachers)

Quality through a teacher lensQuality through a teacher lens

Teachers an important determinant of the quality of learning outcomes, and also one the policy-maker can impact upon.

Teacher-related costs represent the major part of recurrent education spending. There is a direct relation between efficient use of resources for education and the provision of teachers for EFA.

Efficiency also relates to efficient planning and resource allocation for teacher development and support.

Teacher profile, training and support, as well as planning for sufficient teachers for subject areas in accordance to the needs of the job market, are all essential to a relevant education.

Second International Policy Dialogue Forum

The theme: “Providing teachers for EFA: quality matters” with the following objectives:

Objectives of the forum; To share country experiences and practices in relation to the

provision of teachers for EFA having regard to quality issues, and in particular to (i) learning outcomes (ii) relevance of teaching to the socio-economic context and (iii) efficient planning and resource allocation in teacher policy;

To contribute to a heightened awareness of quality issues in national teacher policies and practices; and

To contribute to a better understanding of the role of teachers in promoting quality in education and thereby, keep teachers high on the political agenda.

Equality of educational opportunitiesEquality of educational opportunities

The likelihood that a child can enroll in an educational institution, be supported to learn at high levels, complete and proceed to the next level.

Zone of ‘silent exclusion’ in which children are enrolled in and attending school but are not participating in a learning and teaching process of good quality.

Equality of educational opportunitiesEquality of educational opportunities Equality of Educational Opportunities = Equality of Outcomes

(livelihoods, labour market, options and choices); equality of learning outputs (results tied to curriculum objectives, educational attainment), equality of processes (instructional processes, teacher practices), equality of inputs (including teacher characteristics), equality of access.

Teacher of Quality and Educational Equality Progressive definition: equality of outcomes requires

inequality of supply, positive discrimination, extra efforts to bridge the gap.

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Requirements?Requirements? Required capacities, resources, support:

Financial and human capacity development in teacher education ?

Improved infrastructure for Teacher education Institutions ?

Investments – Adequate and Predictable national and external financing

Required Necessary Conditions:

Assured political will and commitment ?

Teachers with enhanced new knowledge, skills and attitudes to respond to the diverse needs of all learners ?

Teachers with enhanced new knowledge, skills and attitudes to respond to the diverse needs of all learners ?

Revise teacher education curricula and methodologies; and restructure the teachers’ professional development programmes to promote children’s learning ensuring acquisition of life competencies?

School-based teacher development programmes?

Best Practices: n Introduction of school-based teacher development programmes

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How do we get it right?How do we get it right?

Construct of teacher quality and how it should be reconciled with local and national efforts to promote educational equality.

Designers of teacher evaluation systems need to consider their objectives and whether measuring a teachers’ ability to produce equity within the classroom is a prominent concern.

Institutions that prepare teachers and the professional development programs that continue teachers’ educations might also consider innovative mechanisms to enhance teachers’ abilities to work in diverse settings and to more routinely achieve equity within their classrooms.

If we know what works, how do we get it right?

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ConstraintsConstraints

Well-documented constraints to achieving higher rates of access, completion, equity, and performance include :

inadequate financing teacher shortages and high pupil-teacher ratios

produced by centrally managed teacher development and deployment systems;

inadequate supervision and support for schools and ineffective school-community relationships that result from bureaucratic administration; and

low levels of learning and almost negligible time on task, overburdened curricula and inadequate instructional methods and materials.

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Promising Conceptual Shifts to deliver Promising Conceptual Shifts to deliver public education effectively?public education effectively?

Non-governmental actors or private sector as viable providers of public education ? Effective partnerships with communities,teacher unions?Changing the focus of government efforts from providing and supervising inputs to supporting the attainment of learning outcomes ? Broadening the definition of who is required to support learning ?Predetermined levels of education and certification, as well as centralized systems of recruiting, hiring, and deployment v/s e.g recruiting teachers locally who have less education than is traditionally required. Investments in regular support and development for these teachers, rather than in preservice education and training.

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Thank you!Thank you!