Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

PART 1: SALARY RELATIVITIES
27
Table 2: Summary of Country Case Studies of Teacher Labor Markets
Country Main Characteristics of Teacher Main Characteristics of Teacher- Salaries of Teachers and Mathematics- Indicators of Mathematics
Labor Force Education System Oriented Professionals Compared Teacher Supply
Australia
The teaching force has become
increasingly feminized and older. The
achievement levels of new entrants to the
profession are declining. More than 30%
of teachers teach in private schools.
The system is highly decentralized among
states and territories. Most teachers
receive a Bachelor’s degree in education
or in non-education plus a teaching
degree.
Male teachers earn less than all other
professionals and much less than those in
mathematics-oriented professions. Female
teachers do better in relative terms but still
earn less than science professionals. Not
much change occurred over the period
1996–2001.
Fewer mathematics and science graduates
entering teacher-education programs or
teaching directly. Seventy percent of middle/
high school mathematics teachers have
mathematics or mathematics education
degrees. Large mathematics teacher
shortages forecast, particularly in rural areas.
Botswana
Bulgaria
The teaching force is highly feminized and
stable at the primary level, and is rapidly
increasing at the secondary level, where
teachers are increasingly Batswana, and
increasingly certified.
Despite the declining status of the
teaching profession, teaching is still
seen as a good fallback profession in a
high unemployment economy. Declining
absolute student enrollment is evident in
both primary and secondary education.
Teachers supplement their income with
other jobs.
The teacher-education system is highly
centralized and has separate requirements
for primary and secondary teaching
certificates. Secondary teachers specialize
in subject matter.
Teachers are trained in autonomous
universities, with requirements set in a very
general way by central government. All
teachers have a university education, with
some exceptions. Hiring is done by school
principals with the municipalities providing
an approval process.
Women teachers are paid as much or more
than scientists with tertiary degrees. Male
teachers are paid well, but not as much as
scientists.
Female teachers’ salaries, but not males’,
were relatively high in 1995 compared
to salaries of engineers/technicians.
All teachers lost ground to competing
mathematics-oriented professions between
1995 and 2001.
Recruitment and hiring is highly centralized in
the Ministry of Education. No special effort to
recruit mathematics and science teachers.
Mathematics preparation is still of high
quality in secondary schools. Declining
enrollment in schools means there should be
no shortage despite growing gap between
teacher salaries and salaries for other
mathematics-oriented professionals.
Chile
There has been a continuous increase in
number of teachers because of expansion
of secondary schooling and shift from
half-day to full-day school. Teaching force is
70% female; the percentage is even higher
in basic education. More than half of all
teachers are members of the union; almost
all are in the public schools. Almost 50%
of teachers teach in private schools and
have independent contracts. Public school
teachers are much older than private.
Ninety percent of teachers have a
university degree. Teacher education
is highly decentralized in autonomous
universities, and student teachers pay for
their education. Grades 5 to 8 teachers
train as primary school teachers, and do
not need to have a degree in a subject
area.
In 1996, both male and female teachers
earned much less than engineers, but
this changed by 2003, with male teachers
earning about the same as engineers and
scientists, and female teachers earning
as much or more than scientists and
engineers.
Despite greatly increased teacher salaries
in the 1990s, and improved quality of
applicants to teacher-education programs,
poor preparation in subject matter for basiceducation
teachers remains an important
problem.
Chinese Taipei About 68% of primary and 60% of
secondary teachers are female. Slight
reduction in number of K–12 students,
but the government is also reducing class
size, so number of teachers is increasing
somewhat.
Secondary school teacher education
students attend four-year normal
universities; primary student teachers
attend teachers’ colleges. Can also
be trained in universities in schools of
education. Admission to teacher-education
programs is very competitive. Few teachers
have a Master’s degree.
Teachers are well paid. Female teachers
with a Bachelor’s degree earn about the
same as scientists and non-scientists.
Male teachers earn somewhat less than
competing professionals. Both male and
female teachers made gains relative to
others between 1997 and 2004.
Large supply of science and technology
graduates (one-half of recent college
graduates are in science and technology).
More than sufficient candidates for teacher
education; in recent years, the government
has severely reduced the number of students
in teacher-education programs.