An Analysis of Teacher Education Context, Structure, and Quality-Assurance Arrangements in TEDS-M Countries
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A AN ND QU An Analysis of A LYSIS OF TE LYSIS A Teacher Education LI T The Teacher Education and Development Study (TEDS-M) is the first crossnational Y-ASSUR Context, Structure, study to examine the mathematics preparation of future teachers for both primary and secondary school levels. The study, conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), and Quality-Assurance A CHER collected data from representative samples of future teachers and their educators. A During the 55 years of its activities, IEA has conducted over 30 comparative research NCE ARR Arrangements in studies focusing on educational policies, practices, and outcomes in various school subjects in more than 80 countries around the world. TEDS-M is the first IEA project E DUC to address tertiary education. TEDS-M Countries A The study’s key research questions focused on the relationships between teacher at NGEMEN education policies, institutional practices, and the mathematics and pedagogy knowledge of future teachers at the end of their preservice education. Seventeen ION Findings from the IEA countries participated in TEDS-M. Data were gathered from approximately 22,000 C future teachers from 750 programs in about 500 teacher education institutions. ON Teacher Education and Teaching staff within these programs were also surveyed. They included close to T TEDS S IN T 5,000 mathematicians, mathematics educators, and general pedagogy educators. T Development Study in EX This report presents various characteristics of teacher education systems. It shows T Mathematics (TEDS-M) , that, of the TEDS-M participating countries, those where future teachers have EDS St greater knowledge of mathematics and mathematics teaching pedagogy are also RUC - those that place greatest emphasis on policies directed toward accomplishing the M following: enabling the teaching profession to compete for high-ability secondary C T OUN school graduates; balancing teacher demand and supply; ensuring a rigorous URE, system of assessment/accreditation of teacher education programs; and setting high standards for entry to the profession (i.e., gaining registration licensing) after T graduation. These results are consistent with teacher education policy discussions RIES occurring nationally and internationally about the most successful processes for assuring teacher quality. The results also provide information useful for policymakers in their endeavors to improve policy and practice relating to preparing teachers of mathematics. This report is the fourth publication arising out of the TEDS-M project. The three preceding reports focused on the TEDS-M conceptual framework, findings from the future teachers’ and their educators’ surveys, and teacher salaries within the context of student achievement. IEA will also publish a teacher education encyclopedia and a technical report. The TEDS-M publications are complemented by the TEDS-M Lawrence Ingvarson John Schwille database (and its associated user guide), which contains the study’s international Maria Teresa Tatto Glenn Rowley findings and so offers opportunity for secondary analysis of this information. Ray Peck Sharon L. Senk 1 An Analysis of Teacher Education Context, Structure, and Quality- Assurance Arrangements in TEDS-M Countries 2 AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN TEDS-M COUNTRIES 3 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 (TEDS-M) Lawrence Ingvarson, John Schwille, Maria Teresa Tatto, Glenn Rowley, Ray Peck, and Sharon L. Senk Australian Council for Educational Research Michigan State University 4 AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN TEDS-M COUNTRIES Copyright © 2013 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recoding, or otherwise without permission in writing from the copyright holder. ISBN/EAN: 978-90-79549-21-4 Copies of An Analysis of Teacher Education Context, Structure, and Quality-Assurance Arrangements in TEDS-M Countries can be obtained from: IEA Secretariat Herengracht 487 1017 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands Telephone: +31 20 625 3625 Fax: + 31 20 420 7136 Email: [email protected] Website: www.iea.nl Copyedited by Paula Wagemaker Editorial Services, Oturehua, Central Otago, New Zealand Design and production by Becky Bliss Design and Production, Wellington, New Zealand Printed by MultiCopy Netherlands b.v. 5 Foreword The IEA Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) represents the first ever large-scale international study of the preparation of primary and lower-secondary teachers. The study investigated the pedagogical and subject- specific knowledge that future primary and lower-secondary school teachers acquire during their mathematics teacher education. It also examined variations in teacher education programs within and across countries. TEDS-M was carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an independent, international cooperative of national research agencies. For over 50 years, the association has conducted large- scale comparative studies of educational achievement and reported on key aspects of education systems and processes. TEDS-M gathered data in 2008 from approximately 22,000 future teachers from 750 programs in about 500 teacher education institutions in 17 countries. Teaching staff within these programs (close to 5,000 mathematics and general pedagogy educators) were also surveyed. The study identified striking differences within and across countries in the knowledge that future teachers have of school mathematics and how to teach it. The study also showed that, in almost all countries, the majority of future teachers surveyed saw mathematics as a process of enquiry that is best learned through active student involvement. This belief was held most widely by future teachers with relatively greater knowledge of mathematics content and pedagogy. These conclusions are just a few of those drawn from the results presented in the first TEDS-M report published in 2012, which focused on the future teachers’ data. This current report, in portraying various characteristics of teacher education systems, aids interpretation of the individual student-level results and provides information useful for policymakers as they endeavor to increase teacher quality. The report’s major results show that countries where future teachers have greater knowledge of mathematics and mathematics teaching pedagogy place greatest emphasis on policies that enable the teaching profession to compete for high-ability secondary school graduates, balance teacher demand and supply, ensure a rigorous system of assessment/accreditation of teacher education programs, and set high standards for entry to the profession (i.e., gaining registration licensing) after graduation. These results are consistent with teacher education policy discussions occurring nationally and internationally about the most successful processes for assuring teacher quality. Such policies typically start with those designed to make teaching an attractive career and to ensure the quality of entrants to teacher education programs. They continue on to those focused on developing and implementing strong quality-assurance mechanisms throughout the teacher education cycle. International studies such as TEDS-M would not be possible without the dedication, skill, cooperation, and support of a large number of individuals, institutions, and organizations from around the world. Referring to the list of acknowledgments on the next pages of this volume, I would like to thank all of them and especially the international study centers at Michigan State University in the United States and the 6 AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN TEDS-M COUNTRIES Australian Council of Educational Research, as well as the national teams headed by the national research coordinators in the participating countries. They are the people who manage and execute the study at the national level. This study also would not have been possible without the participation of many future teachers, their educators, and the policymakers within the participating countries. The education world benefits from their commitment. I would also like to thank the study’s funders. A project of this size is not possible without considerable financial contribution. TEDS-M was supported by the US National Science Foundation, IEA, and the ministries of education and many other organizations in all participating countries. Dr Hans Wagemaker Executive Director, IEA 7 Acknowledgements Introduction TEDS-M is the result of the collaborative effort of scholars and institutions to study the mathematics preparation of future primary and lower-secondary teachers. The study’s success is due to the efforts of a great many people. The key contributors among this group are listed below. Credit is due to the country national research centers, to the coordinators of the teacher education programs in the TEDS-M samples, and to the future teachers and teacher educators who made the collection of data possible. The willingness of so many future teachers and instructors to participate is very gratifying, especially given that participation