Dive Brief:
- U.S. teachers work harder and in more strenuous conditions than their counterparts in other industrialized nations, according to results from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).
- The results were released last week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and also indicate that U.S. teachers have less support and productive professional development.
- Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond wrote an analysis of the results for the Huffington Post, in which she explained that before we can tweak the classroom experience and boost academics, we need to work on what the teaching profession looks like.
Dive Insight:
According to the survey, two-thirds of U.S. educators don't feel like their profession is valued by society. While we may believe those feelings are separate from the classroom, according to the OECD, this sentiment is very much related to student achievement. Finding ways to make teachers feel more valued, that their professional development time is actually meaningful and not just throwing money at the latest fad or consultant with buzzwords, is important.
As Darling-Hammond eloquently explains, "We cannot make major headway in raising student performance and closing the achievement gap until we make progress in closing the teaching gap. That means supporting children equitably outside as well as inside the classroom, creating a profession that is rewarding and well-supported, and designing schools that offer the conditions for both the student and teacher learning that will move American education forward."
