Empowered Educators

Discover how high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world Producing highly skilled and committed teachers is not the work of a single innovative school or the aggregation of heroic individuals who succeed against the odds. In high-performing countries, the opportunities for teachers to learn sophisticated practices and continue to improve are embedded systemically in education policies and practices. Empowered Educators describes how this seemingly magical work is done how a number of forward-thinking educational systems create a coherent set of policies designed to ensure quality teaching in all communities. . . and how the results are manifested in practice. Spanning three continents and five countries, Empowered Educators examines seven jurisdictions that have worked to develop comprehensive teaching policy systems: Singapore and Finland, the states of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia, the provinces of Alberta and Ontario in Canada, and the province of Shanghai in China. Renowned education expert Linda Darling-Hammond and a team of esteemed scholars offer lessons learned in a number of areas that shape the teaching force and the work of teachers, shedding unprecedented light on areas such as teacher recruitment, preparation, induction and mentoring, professional learning, career and leadership development, and more. Find out how quality teaching is developed and conducted across the globe Discover a common set of strategies for developing, supporting, and sustaining the ongoing learning and development of teachers and school leaders See how high-performing countries successfully recruit and train educators Understand why the sharing of expertise among teachers and administrators within and across schools is beneficial A fascinating read for researchers, policymakers, administrators, teacher educators, pre-service teachers and leaders, and anyone with an interest in education, this book offers a rare glimpse into the systems that are shaping quality teaching around the world.

Discover how high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the worldProducing highly skilled and committed teachers is not the work of a single innovative school or the aggregation of heroic individuals who succeed against the odds. In high-performing countries, the opportunities for teachers to learn sophisticated practices and continue to improve are embedded systemically in education policies and practices. Empowered Educators describes how this seemingly magical work is done--how a number of forward-thinking educational systems create a coherent set of policies designed to ensure quality teaching in all communities. . . and how the results are manifested in practice.Spanning three continents and five countries, Empowered Educators examines seven jurisdictions that have worked to develop comprehensive teaching policy systems: Singapore and Finland, the states of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia, the provinces of Alberta and Ontario in Canada, and the province of Shanghai in China. Renowned education expert Linda Darling-Hammond and a team of esteemed scholars offer lessons learned in a number of areas that shape the teaching force and the work of teachers, shedding unprecedented light on areas such as teacher recruitment, preparation, induction and mentoring, professional learning, career and leadership development, and more.* Find out how quality teaching is developed and conducted across the globe* Discover a common set of strategies for developing, supporting, and sustaining the ongoing learning and development of teachers and school leaders* See how high-performing countries successfully recruit and train educators* Understand why the sharing of expertise among teachers and administrators within and across schools is beneficialA fascinating read for researchers, policymakers, administrators, teacher educators, pre-service teachers and leaders, and anyone with an interest in education, this book offers a rare glimpse into the systems that are shaping quality teaching around the world.

Foreword vAcknowledgments xiAbout the Sponsoring Organizations xiiiAbout the Lead Authors xvOnline Documents and Videos xviiChapter 1 Teaching Policy Around the World 1What Kinds of Policies Affect Teaching? 3Why Study International Teaching Policy? 5Why Study These Jurisdictions? 8What We Found 12Developing Both Teacher Quality and Teaching Quality 17Organization of This Book 19Chapter 2 Contexts for Teaching and Learning Systems 21Australia 22Canada 26Finland 32Shanghai 36Singapore 43Summary 47Chapter 3 Recruiting and Preparing Profession-Ready Teachers 49Recruiting the Best 50Financial Compensation 50Attractiveness of the Profession 53Selection Practices 55Preparing Professionals 61Preparation That Enables Professional Practice 68Induction 88Lessons Learned 100Chapter 4 Developing High-Quality Teaching 105Incentives and Infrastructure for Learning 107Time and Opportunity for Collaboration 111Curriculum Development and Lesson Study 116Teacher Research 123Teacher-Led Professional Development 127Feedback and Appraisal 132Lessons Learned 146Chapter 5 The Teaching Career and Leadership for the Profession 149Career Pathways 150Opportunities to Lead Professional Learning 163Recruiting and Developing School Leaders 168Lessons Learned 182Chapter 6 Perseverance in the Pursuit of Equity 185Resourcing Student Learning 186Recruiting and Supporting Teachers in High-Needs Schools 193Lessons Learned 208Chapter 7 Global Learning for Ongoing Improvement 211Policy Borrowing: Learning From Success 212New Horizons 224Conclusion 232Appendix A Research Methodology 241Appendix B Qilun Elementary School Lesson Plan 243Appendix C Qibao Teaching Contest Evaluation Form 249References 253Index 271