Quality Assurance in Teacher Education and Outcomes: A Study of 17 Countries

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between policies related to the recruitment, selection, preparation, and certification of new teachers and (a) the quality of future teachers as measured by their mathematics content and pedagogy content knowledge and (b) student achievement in mathematics at the national level. The study used data collected for the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics, which compared the ways in which 17 countries prepared teachers of mathematics for the primary and secondary levels. A consistent positive association was found between the strength of a country’s quality assurance arrangements and future teachers’ knowledge of mathematics and mathematics pedagogy. Countries with strong policies for assuring the quality of new teachers were also found to be among the strongest performers on international tests of mathematics achievement.

Keywords

accreditation case studies certification/licensure content analysis correlational analysis educational policy mathematics education policy analysis secondary data analysis teacher education/development

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Akiba

Chiu

Shimizu

Liang

(2012). Teacher salary and student achievement: A cross-national analysis of 30 countries. International Journal of Educational Research, 53, 171–181.

Akiba

LeTendre

Scribner

(2007). Teacher quality, opportunity gap, and National achievement in 46 countries. Educational Researcher, 36(7), 369–387.

American Federation of Teachers. (2012). Raising the bar: Aligning and elevating teacher preparation and the teaching profession. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/raisingthebar2012.pdf

Barber

Mourshed

(2007). How the best performing school systems come out on top. London, UK: McKinsey & Co.

Baumert

Kunter

Blum

Brunner

Voss

Jordan

Yi-Miau

(2010). Teachers’ mathematical knowledge, cognitive activation in the classroom, and student progress. American Educational Research Journal, 47(1), 133–180.

Beauchamp

Clarke

Hulme

Murray

(2013). Research and teacher education: The BERA-RSA inquiry. Policy and practice within the United Kingdom. Project report. London, UK: British Educational Research Association.

Blömeke

Kaiser

Lehmann

(Eds.). (2010). TEDS-M 2008: Professional competence and learning opportunities for beginning primary teachers in international comparison. Munster, Germany: Waxman.

Carnoy

Beteille

Brodziak

Loyalka

Luschei

(2009). Teacher education and development study in mathematics (TEDS-M): Do countries paying teachers higher relative salaries have higher student mathematics achievement? Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Student Achievement.

Chevalier

Dolton

McIntosh

(2007). Recruiting and retaining teachers in the UK: An analysis of graduate occupational choice from the 1960s to the 1990s. Economica, 74(293), 69–96.

10.

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. (2013). CAEP accreditation standards; as approved by the CAEP Board of Directors. Washington, DC: Author.

11.

Darling-Hammond

Bransford

(Eds.). (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

12.

Department of Education, Science and Training. (2006). Attitudes to teaching as a career: A synthesis of attitudinal research. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.

13.

Dolton

Marcenaro-Gutierrez

(2011). If you pay peanuts you get monkeys? A cross-country analysis of teacher pay and pupil performance. Economic Policy, 26(65), 5–55.

14.

European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. (2009). Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European higher education area. Helsinki, Finland: Author. Retrieved from http://www.enqa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ESG_3edition-2.pdf

15.

European Commission. (2013). EU performance and first inferences regarding education and training policies in Europe. Brussels, Belgium: Author. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/strategic-framework/doc/pisa2012_en.pdf

16.

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2015). The teaching profession in Europe: Practices, perceptions, and policies. Eurydice report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

17.

Eurydice. (2006). Quality assurance in teacher education in Europe. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.

18.

Feuer

M. J.

Floden

R. E.

Chudowsky

Ahn

(2013). Evaluation of teacher preparation programs: Purposes, methods, and policy options. Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.

19.

Furlong

(2013). Inspecting initial teacher education in England: The work of Ofsted. Paper commissioned for the National Academy of Education project on Evaluation of Teacher Education Programs: Toward a Framework for Innovation. Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.

20.

Goulding

Rowland

Barber

(2002). Does it matter? Primary teacher trainees’ subject knowledge in mathematics. British Educational Research Journal, 28, 689–704.

21.

Hill

H.C.

Rowan

Ball

(2005). Effects of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 42, 371–406.

22.

Hsieh

F-J.

Ling

P-J.

Chao

Wang

T-Y.

(2013). Preparing teachers of mathematics in Chinese Taipei. In Schwille

Ingvarson

Holdgreve-Resendez

(Eds.), TEDS-M encyclopaedia: A guide to teacher education context, structure, and quality assurance in 17 countries (pp. 71–85). Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

23.

Ingersoll

Boonyananta

Fujita

Gang

Kim

E. G.

Lai

K. C.

Wong

A. F. L.

(2007). A comparative study of teacher preparation and qualifications in six nations. Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education.

24.

Ingvarson

(2016). Attracting the best and brightest. Journal of Professional Learning, Semester 2, 1–5. Retrieved from http://cpl.asn.au/journal/semester-2-2016/attracting-the-best-and-brightest

25.

Ingvarson

Elliott

Kleinhenz

McKenzie

(2006). Teacher education accreditation: A review of national and international trends and practices. Canberra, Australia: Teaching Australia, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.

26.

Ingvarson

Schwille

Tatto

Rowley

Peck

Senk

(2013). An analysis of teacher education context, structure, and quality-assurance arrangements in TEDS-M countries: Findings from the IEA teacher education and development study in mathematics. Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

27.

Kang

Hong

(2008). Achieving excellence in teacher workforce and equity in learning opportunities in South Korea. Educational Researcher, 37(4), 200–207.

28.

(1999). Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics: Teachers’ understanding of fundamental mathematics in China and the United States. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

29.

Mourshed

Chijioke

Barber

(2010). How the world’s most improved school systems come out on top. London, UK: McKinsey & Co.

30.

Mullis

I. V. S.

Martin

M. O.

Foy

Arora

(2012). TIMSS 2011 international results in mathematics. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College. Retrieved from http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2011/downloads/T11_IR_Mathematics_FullBook.pdf

31.

National Academy of Education. (2009). Education policy white paper on time for learning ( Rowan

, Ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

32.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2005). Teachers matter: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers. Paris, France: Author.

33.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2011). Strong performers and successful reformers: Lessons from PISA for the United States. Paris, France: Author.

34.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013). Lessons from PISA 2012 for the United States: Strong performers and successful reformers in education. Paris, France: Author. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264207585-en

35.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2014). PISA 2012 results: What students know and can do. Student performance in mathematics, reading and science (Vol. 1, rev. ed.). Paris, France: Author. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-volume-i.htm

36.

Sahlberg

(2011). Developing effective teachers and school leaders: The case of Finland. In Darling-Hammond

Rothman

(Eds.), Teacher and leader effectiveness in high-performing education systems (pp. 13–22). Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

37.

Schleicher

(2013). Lessons from PISA outcomes, OECD Observer, 297(Q4).

38.

Schleicher

(2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century: Lessons from around the world. Paris, France: OECD. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/site/eduistp2012/49850576.pdf

39.

Schleicher

(2014). Equity, excellence and inclusiveness in education: Policy lessons from around the world. International Summit on the Teaching Profession. Paris, France: OECD. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264214033-en

40.

Schmidt

(2014). PISA and TIMSS: A distinction without a difference? Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute. Retrieved from http://www.shankerinstitute.org/print/2688

41.

Schwille

Ingvarson

Holdgreve-Resendez

(Eds.). (2013). TEDS-M encyclopaedia: A guide to teacher education context, structure, and quality assurance in 17 countries. Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

42.

Tatto

M. T.

(2013). The Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M): Policy, practice, and readiness to teach primary and secondary mathematics in 17 countries. Technical report. Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

43.

Tatto

M. T.

Schwille

Senk

S. L.

Ingvarson

Rowley

Peck

Bankov

Rodriguez

Reckase

(2012). Policy, practice, and readiness to teach primary and secondary mathematics in 17 countries: Findings from the IEA Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M). Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

44.

Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group. (2014). Action now: Classroom ready teachers. Canberra, Australia: Australian government, Department of Education.

45.

Thorpe

(2014). Residency: Can it transform teaching the way it did medicine? Phi Delta Kappan, 96(1), 36–40.

46.

Tucker

M. S.

(Ed.). (2012). Surpassing Shanghai. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

47.

Wang

Coleman

Coley

Phelps

(2003). Preparing teachers around the world. Princeton, NJ: ETS.

48.

Wilson

Youngs

(2005). Research on accountability processes in teacher education. In Cochran-Smith

Zeichner

(Eds.), Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education (pp. 591–644). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

49.

Wong

K. Y.

Lim-Teo

S. K.

Lee

N. H.

Boey

K. L.

Koh

Dindyl

. . . Cheng

L. P.

(2013). Preparing teachers of mathematics in Singapore. In Schwille

Ingvarson

Holdgreve-Resendez

(Eds.), TEDS-M encyclopaedia: A guide to teacher education context, structure, and quality assurance in 17 countries (pp.193–207). Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

50.

(2010). Comparing the similarities and differences of PISA 2003 and TIMSS (OECD Education Working Papers, No. 32). Paris, France: OECD Publishing.

51.

Youngs

Grogan

(2013). United States of America (USA). In Schwille

Ingvarson

Holdgreve-Resendez

(Eds.), TEDS-M encyclopaedia: A guide to teacher education context, structure, and quality assurance in 17 countries (pp. 255–272). Amsterdam, Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.