TEACHI NG AND L E A R N IN G IN T E R N AT ION A L SU RV EY

A Teachers’
Guide
to TALIS 2013

A Teachers’
Guide
to TALIS 2013
T E AC HI N G AN D L EA R N IN G IN TER NATIO NA L S URV EY

The skills that students need to contribute effectively to
society are in constant change. Yet, our education systems are
not keeping up with the fast pace of the world around us. Most
schools look much the same today as they did a generation ago,
and teachers themselves are often not developing the practices
and skills necessary to meet the diverse needs of today’s learners…
Recognising that education is the great equaliser in society, the
challenge for all of us is to equip all teachers with the skills and
tools they need to provide effective learning opportunities for
their students.

Angel Gurría
OECD Secretary-General

2

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

Who are our

teachers?
68% are women
91% completed university or other
equivalent higher education

90% completed a teacher education
or training programme

82% are employed full time
and 83% have a permanent contract
88% report that they had participated
in at least one professional development
activity during the 12 months prior to
the survey

This teacher…
Is 43 years old, on average
Has an average of 16 years
of teaching experience
Teaches in a class with 24 students,
on average
Spends an average of 38 hours per
week working

Who are our

school
leaders?
51% are men
96% completed university or
other equivalent higher education

90% completed a teacher education or
training programme, 85% completed a
school administration/principal training
programme, and 78% completed
instructional leadership training

62% are employed full time without
teaching obligations, and
35% are employed full time with
teaching obligations

This school leader…
Is 52 years old, on average
Has an average of 9 years
of experience as a principal
and 21 years of teaching experience
Works in a school with 546 students
and 45 teachers, on average

Profiles based on averages of lower secondary teachers / school leaders in TALIS-participating countries and economies

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

3

What is TALIS?

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is a largescale international survey that focuses on the working conditions of
teachers and the learning environment in schools. TALIS, a collaboration
among participating countries and economies, the OECD, an international
research consortium, social partners and the European Commission, aims to
provide valid, timely and comparable information to help countries review
and define policies for developing a high-quality teaching workforce.
TALIS examines the ways in which teachers’ work is recognised, appraised
and rewarded, and assesses teachers’ participation in professional devel­
opment activities. The study provides insights into teachers’ beliefs about
and attitudes towards teaching, the pedagogical practices that they adopt,
and the factors related to teachers’ sense of self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
TALIS also examines the roles of school leaders and the support they give
their teachers.
The first cycle of TALIS was conducted in 2008 and surveyed teachers
and school leaders of lower secondary education in 24 countries. In 2013,
34 countries and economies participated in TALIS.

4

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

Key features of TALIS 2013
Participating countries and economies
OECD countries: Alberta (Canada), Australia, Chile, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, England (United Kingdom), Estonia, Finland, Flanders (Belgium),
France, Iceland, Israel*, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United
States**.
Partner countries and economies: Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates),
Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus***, Latvia, Malaysia, Romania, Serbia and
Singapore.

* 	The statistical data for Israel are supplied by
and under the responsibility of the relevant
Israeli authorities. The use of such data by
the OECD is without prejudice to the status
of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and
Israeli settlements in the West Bank under
the terms of international law.
** 	Data from the United States are only
included in selected charts in this publication
and are not included in the calculations for
the international average. This is because the
United States did not meet the international
standards for participation rates. However,
U.S. participation rates were sufficiently high
to report the U.S. data independently.

Participants
Lower secondary teachers and leaders of schools in 200 schools per country/
economy were randomly selected (20 teachers and 1 school leader per
school). Some 107 000 lower secondary teachers responded to the survey,
representing more than 4 million teachers in more than 30 participating
countries and economies.

The survey
The survey was conducted between September and December 2012 for
countries in the southern hemisphere and between February and June 2013
for countries in the northern hemisphere.
The questionnaire, which took between 45 and 60 minutes to complete,
either on paper or on line, covered the following issues:

***	Note by Turkey: The information in this
document with reference to “Cyprus”
relates to the southern part of the Island.
There is no single authority representing
both Turkish and Greek Cypriot people on
the Island. Turkey recognises the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Until
a lasting and equitable solution is found
within the context of the United Nations,
Turkey shall preserve its position concerning
the “Cyprus issue”.
 ote by all the European Union Member
N
States of the OECD and the European Union:
The Republic of Cyprus is recognised by all
members of the United Nations with the
exception of Turkey. The information in this
document relates to the area under the
effective control of the Government of the
Republic of Cyprus.

• School leadership, including distributed or team leadership
• Teacher training, including professional development and initial teacher
education
• Appraisal of and feedback to teachers
• Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, attitudes and teaching practices, including
student-assessment practices
• Teachers’ reported feelings of self-efficacy, job satisfaction and the climate
in the schools and classrooms in which they work

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

5

T

eachers are at the heart of TALIS. While the survey offers
a wealth of information to education policy makers, it can
also be seen as a global “selfie” by teachers: a snapshot, taken
by teachers themselves, of what they believe, how they work,
and how they feel about the work they do. Even more, through
TALIS results, teachers in one country can gain an understanding of what
their peers elsewhere in their own country and in other countries are doing,
and maybe even be inspired by them.
This publication not only presents the main results of TALIS 2013, it also
takes those findings and, backed by the research literature on education
and the large body of OECD work on education, offers insights and advice to
teachers and school leaders on how they can improve teaching and learning
in their schools. It is both a guide through TALIS and a handbook for building
excellence into teaching.

What do teachers believe about student learning?

Teachers walk into a classroom with an established set of
beliefs on how students learn. These beliefs, developed
in teacher training programmes and/or through teachers’
own classroom experience, shape how teachers teach.
For example, if teachers are convinced that students
learn better when they are encouraged to think through
and solve a problem on their own, before a teacher
intervenes, then they are likely to use more active,
student-centred approaches to teaching and learning,
such as having students work in small groups, or
requiring students to work on a project that takes more
than a week to complete.

Some 93% of teachers report that they believe that
students should be allowed to think of solutions to a
problem themselves before teachers show them the
solution. In Italy, Norway, and Sweden, however, only

between 45% and 59% of teachers agree that students
learn best by trying to solve problems on their own.
TALIS also finds that teachers who report that they
encourage their students to work in small groups
frequently or in all their lessons are more likely to report
that they believe strongly in student-centred learning than
those who never or only occasionally have their students
work in small groups. Nearly half (47%) of the teachers

surveyed, on average, report that they frequently have their
students work in small groups.

6

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

What do teachers do in the classroom?

How teachers’ working hours are regulated by education
authorities varies among countries; it also has an impact
on their actual working hours.
Across the countries and economies that participated
in TALIS, teachers report that they spend an average of

38 hours per week working, ranging from 29 hours
in Chile and Italy to 54 hours in Japan.
> Chart page 9

tasks other than teaching. By contrast, teachers in Alberta

(Canada) report that they spend an average of 26 hours
per week teaching, teachers in Brazil, an average of

25 hours per week teaching, and teachers in Chile and
the United States, an average of 27 hours per week

teaching – which may mean that they have little time for
other tasks, such as lesson planning, marking students’
work, or meeting with students and parents. In addition,
according to their reports, teachers in the United States
and Alberta (Canada) work longer hours, overall, than their

Ideally, teachers should spend most of their working time
with students.

peers in other countries.

of their working hours (an average of 19 hours per

But as every teacher knows, there’s more involved in a
workweek than actual teaching.

to 27 hours in Chile. In most participating countries/

per week planning or preparing lessons (from 5 hours

Teachers surveyed by TALIS report that they spend most
week) teaching. This ranges from 15 hours in Norway
economies, half of the teachers report that they spend

80% or more of their lesson time on teaching and

Teachers report that they spend an average of 7 hours

in Finland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, to

Japanese teachers report spending only 18 hours per

10 hours in Croatia), an average of 5 hours per
week marking students’ work (10 hours in Portugal and
9 hours in Singapore), and an average of 2 hours per

week teaching, which means that they spend considerably

week each on school management, working with parents,

more time than their counterparts in other countries on

and extracurricular activities.

learning.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

7

on average, reports losing “quite a lot of time” due to

Administrative tasks and disciplining disruptive students
also take time away from teaching.

behavioural problems or waiting for students to settle

down. Just over one in four teachers (26%) report

In about half of the TALIS-participating countries/

economies, one in four teachers reports spending at

that there is a lot of disruptive noise in their classrooms.

and administrative tasks. In Brazil, Chile, Malaysia and

The climate in the classroom has a strong impact on how
confident teachers feel about their own ability to teach
and on their overall job satisfaction.

least 30% of lesson time handling classroom disruptions
Singapore, one in four teachers reports spending at

least 40% of lesson time on these tasks.

One in two teachers in Brazil, Malaysia and Singapore
reports spending 15% or more of lesson time on keeping
order in the classroom. In contrast, one in two teachers
in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia,

Poland and Romania reports spending 5% or less of lesson

time on keeping order. Nearly one in three teachers,

TALIS finds that teachers who report that they teach classes
where more than one in ten students are low academic

achievers or have behavioural problems report significantly
less confidence in their teaching abilities (lower selfefficacy) and report less job satisfaction.

• Expand their knowledge of

What

teachers
can do

pedagogy in the subjects they
teach; that may free them
to explore the use of active,
student-centred teaching
practices, such as having
students work in small groups
or having them work on projects
that take longer than a week to
complete.
• Engage in some kind of

• Participate in mentoring systems
to enhance co-operation
among colleagues, build trust
and promote a positive school
climate. Co-operation is not only
a way of sharing and comparing
teaching practices, it can also
lead to the development of more
effective responses to student
misbehaviour and disruptions in

activity – whether attending

class.

observing other teachers,
individual or collaborative
research, or mentoring – as
TALIS results show that teachers
who do engage in these types
of activities are more likely to

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

practices.

professional development
workshops and conferences,

8

use student-centred teaching

• Report to the school leader on
daily or weekly inefficiencies,
such as administrative tasks that
might be performed by support
staff or automated, so that more
time can be devoted to teaching.

Average hours spent working and teaching per week
Average number of 60-minute hours teachers report that
they spent on teaching during the most recent complete
calendar week

Total working hours
Hours spent on teaching

Hours per week
0

10

20

30

40

50

0

10

20

30

40

50

United States
Chile
Alberta (Canada)
Brazil
Mexico
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
Estonia
Portugal
Finland
Slovak Republic
England (United Kingdom)
Croatia
Average
Latvia
Flanders (Belgium)
Iceland
Denmark
Korea
Spain
Poland
France
Australia
Bulgaria
Serbia
Israel
Czech Republic
Japan
Sweden
Italy
Singapore
Malaysia
Netherlands
Romania
Norway

Countries are ranked in descending order of hours spent on teaching.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

9

How do school leaders support their teachers?

School principals are the link between teachers, students
and their parents or guardians, the education system
and the wider community. Many also see principals as
contributing to student achievement through their impact
on how the school is organised, on the climate in the
school and, especially, on teachers and teaching. School
leaders can set the tone for teachers by encouraging
teachers to co-operate with each other to develop new
teaching practices and take responsibility for improving
their teaching skills, and by ensuring that teachers feel
responsible for their students’ learning outcomes. These
practices are part of what is known as instructional
leadership, which is considered by many educators to be
the most important of all principals’ tasks.
By encouraging teachers to learn from one another,
principals help teachers to keep their teaching methods
up-to-date and may also help to develop more
collaboration among teachers in their schools.

TALIS finds that an average of 64% of principals report
that they frequently take action to support co-operation
among teachers to develop new teaching practices.
In Chile, Malaysia, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic

and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), between 80% and
98% of principals report that they frequently support
co-operation among their teachers to develop new
practices, while in Denmark, Estonia, Japan, the Netherlands
and Flanders (Belgium), more than 50% of principals

report that they never, rarely or only sometimes do this.
TALIS also finds that when principals exhibit greater
instructional leadership, they are also more likely to
develop a professional development plan for their school

(this relationship was observed in 13 countries), sit in
on classes and observe them as part of a formal teacher
appraisal system (20 countries), and report there is
a high level of mutual respect among colleagues at the

school (19 countries). These principals also tend to
spend more time on curriculum and teaching-related tasks.

• Participate in instructional

What

school
leaders
can do

practice and those that focus

one in five (22%) principals report

on using class time effectively.

that they had never participated

These activities can – and

in instructional training, and 31%

should – include collaboration

report that they had, but only

and mentoring activities within

after becoming a principal.

the school itself. They build

• Give teachers the opportunity
to participate in professional
development activities, both

10

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

those related to improving their

leadership training. More than

trust, encourage co-operation
and promote a positive school
climate.

Teacher co-operation
Percentage of lower secondary teachers who report that they
Exchange and co-ordination for teaching
	Never engage in discussions
about the learning
development of specific
students
	Never exchange teaching
materials with colleagues

Professional collaboration
	Never observe other
teachers’ classes and provide
feedback

	Never work with other
teachers in the school to
ensure common standards
in evaluations for assessing
student progress

 ever engage in joint
N
activities across different
classes and age groups
(e.g. projects)

	Never teach as a team in the
same class

	Never take part in
collaborative professional
learning

	Never attend team
conferences

40

20

0

0

20

40

60

80

20

0

0

20

40

60

80

Spain
Iceland
France
Brazil
Flanders (Belgium)
Portugal
Finland
Croatia
Italy
Israel
Sweden
Mexico
Chile
Alberta (Canada)
United States
Norway
Denmark
Average
Australia
Malaysia
Czech Republic
Bulgaria
Estonia
Netherlands
Serbia
Slovak Republic
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
Singapore
England (United Kingdom)
Poland
Romania
Latvia
Japan
Korea
40

Countries are ranked in descending order of the percentage of teachers who report that they never
observe other teachers’ classes and provide feedback. Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

11

To what extent do teachers participate
in professional development activities?

No matter how good initial teacher education is, it cannot
be expected to prepare teachers for all the challenges
they will face during their first job as a teacher. Induction
and mentoring programmes can provide teachers new to
a school or new to teaching with invaluable assistance as
they face their first students.

Some 14% of teachers, on average, report that they
currently serve as mentors for other teachers; but in

19 participating countries and economies, fewer than
one in ten teachers reports that he or she currently
enjoys the support of a mentor.

> Charts pages 14 and 16

TALIS results find that around 75% of teachers work in
schools whose principals report that informal induction
programmes are offered, and the same proportion
work in schools whose principals report that mentoring
programmes are available. In Australia, Malaysia, the
Netherlands, Singapore, England (United Kingdom) and
Flanders (Belgium), formal induction programmes are
virtually universal for all teachers new to a school. While

at least nine out of ten teachers in Australia, Finland,

But for teachers, learning doesn’t stop once teaching
begins. Professional development, at all points in a
teacher’s career, is necessary to keep up with changing
research, tools, practices and students’ needs. And there is
no better way to communicate to students the importance
of lifelong learning than by teachers, themselves, setting
the example of being lifelong learners.

Iceland, Malaysia, Singapore and Flanders (Belgium) are

Nearly nine in ten (88%) teachers report that they had

in schools that offer informal induction activities for new

participated in at least one professional development

teachers, fewer than 40% teachers in Japan and Mexico
work in schools that offer these activities.
But only around one in two teachers reports that he
or she had participated in a formal induction programme.
This indicates a significant difference between the

activity during the 12 months prior to the survey. Some
71% report that they had participated in at least one
course or workshop, 44% report that they had attended
an education conference or seminar, and 37% report that
they had participated in a teacher network.

reported availability of these programmes and teachers’
participation in them.

What

teachers
can do

• Participate in induction

within a school can result in

programmes, mentoring

effective mentoring systems.

programmes and other

Teachers should participate,

professional development

both as mentors and as mentees,

activities when they’re offered.

regardless of their level of work

• If these programmes are not
offered in the school, encourage
school leaders to make them
available. These activities do
not have to be costly or involve
external experts. For example,
collaboration among teachers

12

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

experience. They could also
form or join already established
collaborative research groups
and teacher networks, and/or
simply observe their colleagues
as they teach.

Large proportions of teachers report that they had
participated in professional development activities that
focused on their knowledge and understanding of their

subject (73%) or that focused on their pedagogical skills

But what accounts for the discrepancy between the
availability of professional development activities and
teachers’ participation in them?
TALIS finds that, across participating countries and

in teaching their subject (68%). And in almost all TALIS-

economies, teachers most often cite conflicts with their

participating countries and economies, around nine in

work schedule (51% of teachers) and a lack of incentives

ten teachers report that the professional development

(48%) as barriers to participating in professional

activity that focused on their knowledge and understanding

development activities.

of their subject and on their pedagogical skills had a

At least three out of four teachers in Japan (86%), Korea

moderate or large positive impact on their teaching.

(83%) and Portugal (75%) cite conflicts with their

Some 22% of teachers report that they would like more

work schedule, while large proportions of teachers in Italy

professional development activities related to teaching

(83%), Portugal (85%) and Spain (80%) report a lack

students with special needs (in Brazil, 60% of teachers

of incentives for participating. Some 44% of teachers, on

report so, and in Mexico, 47% of teachers do). Yet only
32% of teachers report that they had participated in such
activities. The second and third most often cited areas for
further learning are related to teaching with information

average, consider professional development activities to be
too expensive.

> Chart page 16

and communication technologies (ICT) (19% of teachers
so report) and to using new technologies in the workplace
(18% of teachers).

> Chart page 15

What

school
leaders
can do

• Offer formal induction
programmes to all new teachers.
• Encourage teachers to participate
in mentoring programmes.
School leaders should give
teachers the time to participate
in these programmes and
arrange pairings of mentors/
mentees who teach the same
subject.
• Give teachers the support
they need to participate in
professional development
activities. Such support can
include paying fees, scheduling

time for training during the
school day, modifying the school
schedule to allow for teamteaching or peer observation
and feedback, and recognising
teachers’ participation in
these activities in front of the
teachers’ colleagues. Creating
opportunities for professional
development activities within
the school or among nearby
schools can be a relatively
inexpensive way of promoting
lifelong learning and fostering
co-operation among teachers.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

13

New teachers’ access to and participation in formal
induction programmes
Percentage of lower secondary teachers who have less than three years of
experience at their school and less than three years of experience as a teacher
who are working in schools whose principal reports that teachers have access
to formal induction programmes, and the percentage of these teachers who
report that they have participated in such programmes1,2

Access
Participation

Percentage of teachers
20

40

60

80

100

20

40

60

80

100

Iceland
Finland
Serbia
Japan
Slovak Republic
Netherlands
Norway
Alberta (Canada)
Flanders (Belgium)
Australia
United States
Croatia
Korea
Average
Chile
Israel
Malaysia
England (United Kingdom)
Romania
Czech Republic
Singapore

Countries are ranked in descending order of the gap between access to and
participation in induction programmes. Countries are not presented in this graph if the
percentage of teachers with less than three years of experience at their school and less
than three years of experience as a teacher is below 5%.
1. Data on access to induction programmes are derived from the principal
questionnaire, while data on participation are derived from the teacher
questionnaire. Teachers were asked about their participation in an induction
programme in their first regular employment as a teacher.
2. Data presented in this graph are for formal induction programmes only, meaning
that they do not consider participation in or access to informal induction activities
that are not part of an induction programme or a general and/or administrative
introduction to the school.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

14

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

Teachers’ needs for professional development
Percentage of lower secondary teachers reporting that
they have a high need for professional development in:

Percentage of teachers
0

5

10

15

20

25

Teaching students with special needs1
ICT skills for teaching
New technologies in the workplace
Student behaviour and classroom management
Teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting
Approaches to individualised learning
Student career guidance and counselling
Student evaluation and assessment practice
Teaching cross-curricular skills
(e.g. problem solving, learning-to-learn)
Approaches to developing cross-occupational
competencies for future work or future studies
Pedagogical competencies in teaching subject field(s)
School management and administration
Knowledge and understanding of the subject field(s)
Knowledge of the curriculum

Items are ranked in descending order of the percentage of teachers reporting that they have a high need for
professional development.
1. “Special needs students” are not well defined internationally but usually cover those for whom a
special learning need has been formally identified because they are mentally, physically or emotionally
disadvantaged. Often, special needs students will be those for whom additional public or private
resources (personnel, material or financial) have been provided to support their education. “Gifted
students” are not considered to have special needs under the definition used here and in other OECD
work. Some teachers perceive all students as unique learners and thus have some special learning needs.
That is why a formal identification is stressed above.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

15

Percentage of teachers working in schools whose principal
reports that mentoring programmes are available for all teachers
in the school

Availability of and participation in mentoring activities
80
Netherlands

70

Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

60

Brazil
Romania
Slovak Republic
Bulgaria
Iceland

50
England (United Kingdom)
Australia

Alberta (Canada)
Korea
Czech Republic
Average
Mexico
Latvia
Poland
Portugal
Croatia United States
Estonia
Spain Norway
Israel
Chile
Flanders (Belgium)
Finland
Denmark
France
Italy Serbia
Sweden

0

10

20

40
Singapore

Malaysia

30

Japan

20
10
0

30

40

50

60

70

Percentage of teachers who report that they currently have an assigned mentor to support them
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

Barriers to participation in professional development
Percentage of lower secondary teachers who “strongly disagree”,
“disagree”, “agree” or “strongly agree” with the following statements:
Strongly agree

Strongly disagree

Percentage of teachers

Agree

Disagree

0

10

20

30

40

Professional development
conflicts with my work schedule
There are no incentives
for participating in such activities
Professional development
is too expensive/unaffordable
There is no relevant professional
development offered
Lack of time due to
family responsibilities
There is a lack of
employer support
Do not have the pre-requisites
(e.g. qualifications, experience, seniority)
Barriers to teachers’ participation in professional development activities are ranked in descending
order of the percentage of teachers who “agree” or “strongly agree” with the statements.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

16

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

50

60

70

80

90

100

To what extent do schools use teacher appraisals?

fewer (49%) report that they receive feedback from

Appraising teachers and providing them with feedback
about their practices recognises and celebrates great
teaching even as it challenges teachers to confront and
address their weaknesses. Constructive and fair teacher
appraisal and feedback have been shown to have a
positive effect on teachers’ job satisfaction and on their
feelings of self-efficacy.

members of the school management team. Meanwhile,

fewer than one in two teachers (42%) reports that he
or she receives feedback from other teachers, and only

29% of teachers report that they receive feedback from
individuals or bodies external to their schools.
Nearly 80% of teachers, on average, report that they

Some 88% of teachers, on average, report that they

receive feedback following some sort of classroom

receive feedback in their school. But in Denmark, Finland,

observation; but fewer than one in two teachers in

Iceland, Italy, Spain and Sweden between 22% and 45%

Finland, Iceland, Italy and Spain reports receiving feedback

of teachers report that they have never received feedback

following a classroom observation. In these countries,

in their current school.

comparatively small proportions of teachers report that

More than one in two teachers (54%, on average) report

they receive any feedback in their school.

receiving feedback from their school principal; slightly

> Chart page 19

• Regard appraisals and feedback

What

teachers
can do

feedback on all aspects of

as tools to improve teaching

teaching, from lesson planning

practices to, in turn, improve

and classroom practice to

student learning.

student evaluation.

• Work with other teachers
to develop a system of peer

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

17

Appraising teachers and offering them feedback on
their work is essential for improving individual teachers’
performance in class; but these practices are only effective
if they are tied to real and meaningful consequences.
TALIS results find that while teacher feedback is related
to changes in job responsibilities for most teachers,

and career advancement for just over one in three
teachers, on average, fewer teachers report that it is linked
to their salary. On average, only one in four teachers

they receive in their school leads to moderate or large
positive changes in their teaching practices: more than one
in two teachers report moderate to large improvements in
their use of student assessments (59%) and in classroom
management practices (56%), and 45% of teachers

report moderate or large improvements in the methods
they use for teaching students with special needs.
However, 43% of teachers, on average across TALISparticipating countries and economies, report that the

reports that the feedback that he or she receives has had

teacher appraisal and feedback system in their school has

a moderate or large positive impact on his or her salary or

little impact on classroom teaching. Slightly more than one

that he or she has received a financial bonus as a result of

in two teachers report that teacher appraisal and feedback

feedback.

is largely undertaken to fulfil administrative requirements.

On average across TALIS-participating countries and

> Chart page 20

economies, 62% of teachers report that the feedback

• Foster a climate in which peer

What

school
leaders
can do

18

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

appraisal, in addition to direct
feedback from the school leader
or school management team,
can take place. Collaborative
exchanges among teachers offer
good opportunities for teachers
to learn about their own practice

and find support for professional
development.
• Help teachers identify their
individual professional
development needs and
incorporate these into the
school’s priorities.

Teachers who report that they have never received feedback
Analysis of students’ test scores

Percentage of lower secondary teachers
who report that they have not received
feedback from certain appraisal practices

Direct classroom observation

Assessment of content knowledge
Percentage of teachers
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Iceland
Finland
Sweden
Flanders (Belgium)
France
Italy
Denmark
Netherlands
Norway
Spain
Australia
Croatia
Alberta (Canada)
United States
Japan
Portugal
Average
Israel
England (United Kingdom)
Chile
Estonia
Serbia
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Mexico
Singapore
Brazil
Korea
Poland
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
Bulgaria
Romania
Latvia
Malaysia

Items are ranked in descending order of the percentage of teachers who report that they
have never received feedback after an analysis of students’ test scores.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.							

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

19

Outcomes of teacher feedback
Percentage of lower secondary teachers who report a “moderate” or “large” positive change
in the following after they receive feedback on their work at their school:1
Percentage of teachers
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Confidence
as a teacher

Personal

Motivation

Job satisfaction
Knowledge and
understanding of
main subject field(s)
Teaching practices

Pedagogical

Student assessments
to improve student
learning
Classroom
management practices
Methods for teaching
students with
special needs
Public recognition

Job responsibilities

Professional

Role in school
development
initiatives
Amount of
professional
development
Likelihood of career
advancement
Salary and/or financial
bonus
0

1. Dots represent the lowest and highest values among participating countries. The middle dot represents the international
average.
Outcomes are ranked in descending order, in each group of outcomes, of the average percentage of teachers who report a
“moderate” or “large” positive change in the selected areas after they receive feedback on their work at their school.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

20

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

Do our teachers feel confident in their ability to teach?

While TALIS doesn’t – and can’t – measure teachers’
effectiveness in the classroom, it does ask teachers to
describe their ability to manage their classes, provide
instruction, and engage their students in learning.
Research has shown that when teachers are more
confident about their own abilities to teach (greater selfefficacy) their students tend to do better in school and are
more motivated to learn, and the teachers, themselves,
tend to use more effective instructional practices, have
greater enthusiasm for, and are more committed to,
teaching, and report greater job satisfaction. Equally,
lower levels of self-efficacy among teachers are related
to more problems with student misbehaviour, pessimism
about student learning, greater job-related stress, and
less job satisfaction.
In the majority of TALIS-participating countries and

In general, the more years of teaching experience, the
greater the sense of self-efficacy.
In most countries, more experienced teachers tend
to report greater self-efficacy: in Denmark, France,
Italy, Japan, Latvia, Singapore, Sweden, Abu Dhabi
(United Arab Emirates), Alberta (Canada) and Flanders
(Belgium), teachers’ sense of self-efficacy is much higher
among those with more than five years of teaching

experience compared to their less-experienced colleagues.

With debate about the ideal class size still raging in many
countries, TALIS finds that, when it comes to teachers’
self-efficacy, it’s not the number of students but the
kinds of students in their classes that has the strongest
impact on teachers’ feelings of self-confidence.

economies, between 80% and 92% of teachers, on

Class size seems to have only a minimal impact on teaching

average, answer survey questions in a way that suggests

efficacy in just a few countries. But in many TALIS-

that they have high levels of self-efficacy. Teachers in

participating countries and economies, teachers who report

the Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, Norway and Spain,

that they teach classes where more than one in ten

however, report less self-efficacy than average in several

students are low academic achievers or have behavioural

areas of their practice.

problems also report significantly lower levels of selfefficacy.
TALIS results also show that, in many countries, the lower
levels of self-efficacy that teachers report when they teach
classes with larger proportions of low achievers or students
with behavioural problems stem largely from the fact that
they have to spend more time keeping order in the class –
and thus, necessarily, less time actually teaching.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

21

The quality of the relationships teachers have with their
colleagues and their students also affects their selfconfidence.
In all TALIS-participating countries, when teachers report
more positive relationships with students and collaborative
relationships with other teachers, they also report

In 14 of the TALIS-participating countries, teachers who

significantly higher levels of self-efficacy. In fact, in many

report that they had participated in a formal induction

countries, the association with self-efficacy is stronger

programme also report higher levels of self-efficacy; but

with teacher-teacher relations than with teacher-student

in France, teachers who report that they had participated

relations.

in such programmes report lower levels of self-efficacy.

Indeed, TALIS results show that good interpersonal
relations in school can at least partly offset the negative
impact on teachers’ sense of self-efficacy of teaching
classes with significant proportions of low-achievers or
students with behavioural problems.
In Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Romania, Serbia,
Spain and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), the strength
of the association between self-efficacy and teaching
more low-achievers is weaker or no longer significant
when teachers have good working relationships with their
colleagues and students. In Australia, Croatia, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain,
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and England (United
Kingdom), the association between self-efficacy and
teaching more students with behavioural problems is also
weaker when teachers have good working relationships in
school.

In Chile, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Norway, the
relationship between self-efficacy and participation in a
formal induction programme is moderately strong, while it
is particularly strong in Poland.
While participating in a mentoring system does not seem to
be consistently related to greater self-efficacy, acting as a
mentor tends to be related to higher levels of self-efficacy
than being mentored. This relationship is particularly strong
in France, Japan and Korea, where teachers who report
that they are mentors to their colleagues also report much
higher levels of self-efficacy.

TALIS finds that teachers who collaborate more with their
colleagues – teaching jointly in the same class, observing
and providing feedback on each other’s classes, engaging
in joint activities across different classes and age groups,
and taking part in collaborative professional learning –
report a greater sense of self-efficacy.

When teachers have a say in how their school functions,
they also tend to express higher levels of self-efficacy.

In most countries, the association between teachers’

In 20 countries, teachers who agree that staff at their

Indeed, the association between teachers’ self-efficacy

school are given opportunities to participate in decision
making report greater self-efficacy.

22

Being well-prepared for teaching by participating in
professional development activities, particularly those
that focus on classroom management, instruction, and
student engagement with learning, also has a positive
impact on teachers’ self-efficacy.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

self-efficacy and most collaborative activities is positive.
and participating in collaborative professional learning
activities is strong, particularly in Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia,
Finland, Israel and Korea.

Teachers’ self-efficacy and professional collaboration

Teach as a team in the same class
 Observe other teachers’ classes
and provide feedback

Low
self-efficacy

 Engage in joint activities across different
classes and age groups
Take part in collaborative professional learning

High
self-efficacy

Never
Once a year or less
2-4 times a year
5-10 times a year
1-3 times a month
Once a week or more

Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

23

Do our teachers derive satisfaction
from their daily work, and from being teachers?

While more than nine out of ten (91%) teachers across
TALIS-participating countries and economies report that,
overall, they are satisfied with their jobs, and nearly eight
in ten (78%) report that, if they had to make the decision
again, they’d still choose to become teachers, fewer than
one in three teachers believes that teaching is a valued
profession in society. This perception can have a chilling
effect on recruiting and retaining high-quality candidates
for the teaching profession; but it is not immutable: in
all but one TALIS country, teachers who participate more
in decision making in their school are also more likely to
report that society values the teaching profession.
In Croatia, France, the Slovak Republic, Spain and Sweden,
fewer than one in ten teachers believes that teaching
is a valued profession. By contrast, in Korea, Malaysia,
Singapore and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), at least

two out of three teachers report that they believe

their society values teaching as a profession.

the amount of time they have to spend managing
unmotivated or disruptive students.
However, TALIS also finds that, in these cases, the negative
impact of these students’ behaviour on teachers’ job
satisfaction can be mitigated when teachers have good
relations with their colleagues and students.
In fact, TALIS results show that having good relations with
students has a stronger impact on teachers’ job satisfaction
than having good relations with other teachers.

> Chart page 25
TALIS results show that teachers in most participating
countries report greater job satisfaction when they
receive feedback about classroom management and
when they are appraised by at least two evaluators. TALIS
also finds that teachers who believe that appraisal and
feedback have an impact on their teaching practices also
report greater job satisfaction.
In Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico,

Not surprisingly, TALIS finds that, as with the sense of
self-efficacy, teachers who report that they teach classes
with large proportions of low-achievers or students with
behavioural problems also report less job satisfaction.
And, as with teachers’ self-confidence in their teaching
abilities, much, if not all, of teachers’ dissatisfaction in
the face of such challenging classrooms stems from

What

teachers
can do

Norway, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Abu Dhabi (United
Arab Emirates) and England (United Kingdom), the
relationship between job satisfaction and teachers’
perception that feedback influences their classroom
practice is strong. By contrast, in all TALIS-participating
countries and economies, when teachers perceive that
appraisal and feedback are only administrative exercises,
their job satisfaction plummets.

• Be open to working together with

when there are large numbers

colleagues and school leaders.

of students with behavioural

If formal collaborative activities

problems in class.

aren’t already established, take
the initiative to create them.
• Consider team teaching as a

24

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

• Take advantage of professional
development opportunities,
especially if they are provided

way of approaching classroom

in the school and involve

management, particularly

colleagues.

Teachers’ job satisfaction and class composition
Low job
satisfaction

Class size (number of students)

High job
satisfaction

Low job
satisfaction

Students with behavioural problems

High job
satisfaction

15 or fewer
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-35
36 or more

None
1% to 10%
11% to 30%
31% or more

Note: Data on class size and students with behavioural problems are reported by teachers
and refer to a randomly chosen class they currently teach.
Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

25

As for most professionals, teachers derive the most
satisfaction from their work when they feel that they are
treated as professionals, when their opinions are sought
and valued, and when they feel they have a say in how
they work.
TALIS finds that, across all participating countries, when

Similarly, when teachers work closely with their
colleagues, whether teaching or learning together, job
satisfaction increases substantially.
As with teacher self-efficacy, the strongest association
between job satisfaction and collaboration with colleagues
involves participating in collaborative professional learning

teachers report that they are given opportunities to

activities. This relationship is observed in 2 out of 3

participate in decision making at school they also report

participating countries/economies. In Brazil and Chile, this

higher job satisfaction.

association appears to be exceptionally strong.

> Chart page 27

• Develop meaningful appraisal

What

school
leaders
can do

• Provide opportunities and

and feedback systems that are

support to build relationships

linked to teachers’ practice and,

within the school. This support

ultimately, to improving teaching

could be in the form of a physical

and learning.

space where teachers can meet

• Give teachers a say in how the
school is managed. Teachers
who report that they are given
opportunities to participate
in decision making at school

or by setting aside time away
from class or administrative
work to allow teachers to meet
and develop relationships with
students or colleagues.

also report higher levels of

• Encourage collaboration among

job satisfaction in all TALIS-

teachers. TALIS data show that

participating countries and, in

teachers benefit from collaboration

most countries, a greater sense

with their colleagues, whether

of self-efficacy. Teachers are

in professional development

on the “front lines” of learning,

activities or team teaching.

and so may have a better idea

While collaboration may require

than school leaders of how the

adjustments to teachers’

curriculum is actually translated

schedules, the benefits to teachers’

in class and how students are

practices – and to teachers’

performing.

morale – are likely to outweigh any
administrative inconveniences.

26

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

Teachers’ job satisfaction and professional collaboration

Teach as a team in the same class
 Observe other teachers’ classes
and provide feedback

Low job
satisfaction

 Engage in joint activities across different
classes and age groups
Take part in collaborative professional learning

High job
satisfaction

Never
Once a year or less
2-4 times a year
5-10 times a year
1-3 times a month
Once a week or more

Source: OECD, TALIS 2013 Database.

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

27

Consult TALIS 2013 Results: An International Perspective on Teaching and Learning on line at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264196261-en.
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Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org and do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments
employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries.
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delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
© OECD 2014
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28

OECD A Teachers’ guide TO TALIS

For further information please visit our website:
www.oecd.org/talis
or contact us at:
talis@oecd.org