International Experience

This report summarizes key elements of new leadership structures in England resulting from recent reforms that have distributed leadership responsibilities across administrators and teachers. Teacher leaders or “middle leaders” are accountable for leading teams of teachers and students, usually determined by subject or grade level. As curriculum experts, they offer instructional support to teachers and are granted autonomies within their areas of focus. 

This paper explores recent reforms undertaken in the English school system to restructure its leadership development system. The new system includes three levels of leaders, including a layer of “middle leaders”—teachers who take responsibility for teaching and leading their peers in a set grade level, grade cluster, or subject area.

Working on the basis that great teachers are fundamental to successful student outcomes, this book examines the practices of successful teachers in two countries, the United States and China; highlights successful practices from both countries; and reflects on ways in which the East and West have much to learn from each other. The book includes chapters focused on a range of topics, including instructional practice and classroom organization and management, and a chapter-by-chapter study guide to encourage thoughtful reflection.

 

This publication reports the results of the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) of 100,000 teachers and leaders in 34 countries and economies. To inform efforts to recruit, retain, and develop teachers worldwide, the survey examines how teachers are recognized, evaluated, and rewarded. The report includes a summary of findings and recommendations for teachers and leaders on areas of improvement, including school leadership, teacher appraisal and feedback, school climate, professional development and teaching practices.

This report, published by the Asia Society, examines the strategies used to develop and support strong teaching and school leadership workforces in three very different contexts: Melbourne, Australia; Singapore; and Toronto, Canada. The report contains a cross-city analysis and three in-depth case studies examining each of the cities. Best practices identified across these cities include a shared emphasis on systemic approaches, strong recruitment initiatives, increasingly thoughtful preparation and mentoring, purposeful support for ongoing learning, and proactive leadership development.

This report—published by the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education—provides a set of case studies that examines best practices for cultivating teacher and leader effectiveness from around the globe, honing in on Finland; Ontario, Canada; and Singapore. The areas featured in this report have well-developed and effective systems in place for recruiting, preparing, developing, and retaining teachers and school leaders.

In this report, McKinsey examines 25 school systems around the world, including the 10 best performing, to drill down on what matters most in the systems. It found that attracting the right people to become teachers, properly developing them into effective instructors, and ensuring that the system is modeled to deliver the best possible instruction to every child are key elements to the top-performing school systems. 

The complete recipe for Singapore’s educational success is not public, but one element stands out: the development and thorough use of performance-linked “competencies” to measure, reward, and develop teacher performance. This report by Public Impact explores Singapore’s successful teacher evaluation and development system—recognized by its education leadership and teachers as effective and fair.