Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and acronyms
Executive Summary
Raising the attractiveness of a career in schools
Distributing teachers, school leaders and other school staff effectively
Promoting powerful professional learning for school staff
Six policy approaches to support effective working environments in schools
Teachers, school leaders and other school staff matter educationally and financially
The importance of human resource policies
Policy 1: Designing career structures with opportunities for professional growth
Policy 2: Establishing salary scales that attract new entrants and reward growing expertise
Policy 3: Reviewing the staff mix and working time arrangements in schools
Policy 4: Ensuring an effective and equitable distribution of school staff
Policy 5: Adopting a broad vision of initial preparation for teaching and school leadership
Policy 6: Supporting continuing professional learning and collaboration
References
Chapter 1. Why focus on effective human resource policies for schools?
1.1. Teachers, leaders and other school staff matter for student learning and well-being
1.2. Human resource policies shape working and learning environments in schools
1.2.1. Strengthening, recognising and preserving the impact of school staff on students
1.2.2. Supporting collaborative learning, teaching and leadership in schools
1.3. Human resource policies influence effectiveness and efficiency of spending
1.4. Human resource policies need to be carefully designed and implemented
1.5. How this report looks at human resource policies
1.5.1. The evidence base
1.5.2. The importance of context
1.5.3. The structure of this report
Notes
References
Annex 1.A. Towards an international perspective on the mix of staff in schools
A range of staff with different roles and responsibilities work in and with schools supporting student learning and well-being
Professional support staff working in and with schools
Which factors influence the mix of staff and their task profiles in school systems?
Annex 1.B. School staffing frameworks in OECD review countries (ISCED 2), 2018
Austria
Belgium (Flemish Community)
Belgium (French Community)
Chile
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Iceland
Kazakhstan
Lithuania
Mexico
Portugal
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
Uruguay
Chapter 2. Raising the attractiveness of a career in schools
2.1. Entry requirements for teachers and school leaders
2.1.1. Setting high or low entry requirements for the teaching profession
2.1.2. Differences in qualification requirements across levels and sectors
2.1.3. Entry requirements and pathways into school leadership
2.2. Career structures in schools
2.2.1. The structure of teachers’ careers
Vertical progression in the teaching career
Articulating stages of vertical career progression
Aligning teachers’ career stages with professional standards
Criteria and process for career advancement
Duration of appointments
Horizontal diversification in the teaching career
2.2.2. The structure of school leaders’ careers
Recognition of school leaders’ professional status
Opportunities for advancement within and beyond school leadership
2.2.3. Implementing career structure reforms
2.3. Compensation and benefits of school staff
2.3.1. The level of teachers’ salaries
2.3.2. Differentiation and progression of teachers’ salaries
Education-based progression of teachers’ compensation
Task-based differentiation in teachers’ compensation
Performance-based differentiation in teachers’ compensation
Measuring teacher performance
Direct links between performance and compensation
Group-based performance rewards
Indirect links between performance and compensation
2.3.3. Compensation and benefits of school leaders
2.3.4. Compensation of professional support, administrative and maintenance staff in schools
2.3.5. Implementing compensation reforms
Teacher and school leader salaries can be subject to complex governance arrangements
Ensuring stakeholder involvement and teachers’ buy-in
Providing fair arrangements for reform transition periods
2.4. Working conditions in schools
2.4.1. Teachers’ working conditions, working time and teaching hours
Recognition of teachers’ non-teaching tasks
Scope for teaching load adjustments
Accountability and presence at school
Professional autonomy and self-governance
2.4.2. School leaders’ working conditions, task profiles and time use
School leaders’ task profile and autonomy
School leaders’ use of time
2.4.3. Administrative tasks and support
2.5. Policy options
2.5.1. Setting entry and qualification requirements that reflect professional responsibilities and respond to system needs
2.5.2. Creating opportunities for vertical and horizontal advancement in the teaching career
2.5.3. Establishing distinct career structures and salary scales for school leaders, underpinned by clear professional standards
2.5.4. Involving teachers and school leaders in the design and introduction of career structures
2.5.5. Ensuring that salaries are competitive for the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers and school leaders
Ensuring that salaries are commensurate with teachers’ roles and responsibilities
Recognising and encouraging high performance while balancing the risks of extrinsic reward structures
2.5.6. Ensuring that teachers’ and school leaders’ working time reflects the diversity of their tasks
2.5.7. Providing a good balance of autonomy and supports for school staff to collaborate
Notes
References
Chapter 3. Distributing teachers, school leaders and other school staff effectively
3.1. Inequities in the distribution of teachers and school leaders between schools
3.2. Supply of teachers, school leaders and other school staff
3.2.1. Forecasting the need for and supply of teachers
Responsibilities
Processes
3.2.2. Strategies to address specific challenges related to teacher shortages
Long-term strategies
Short-term strategies
3.3. Management and use of resources for school staffing
3.3.1. Responsibilities for managing staff budgets and employment
Which additional staff resources may be available to schools?
3.3.2. Steering the use of resources for school staffing decisions
The role of regulations for staffing levels and mix
The role of funding mechanisms for staffing levels and mix
Nature of funding allocation for school staff
Basis for determining funding allocation
3.3.3. Planning and managing schools’ staffing levels and mix in line with available resources and emerging needs
Predictability and flexibility in funding allocations
Adjustments of staffing levels to changing student enrolment
Contract conditions and working time arrangements
Matching staff resources and mix with school needs
3.4. Staff selection into particular schools and positions
3.4.1. Teachers
Who is responsible for the selection of teachers?
Which procedures and criteria are used for the selection of teachers?
3.4.2. School leaders
Who is responsible for the selection of school leaders?
Which procedures and criteria are used for the selection of school leaders?
3.4.3. Matching staff with schools and students
Identifying effective teachers at the point of hiring and matching teachers with schools’ and students’ needs
Safeguarding transparency and fairness in recruitment
Filling teaching positions in time
3.4.4. Towards an equitable distribution of teaching staff
Designing recruitment criteria and processes
Shaping staff preferences
3.5. Staff allocation within schools
3.5.1. Matching teachers and students within schools
How are teachers assigned within schools?
Classroom assignments as a political process that is influenced through internal and external pressures
Grade reassignments, looping, specialisation and departmentalisation
3.5.2. Handling staff absences within schools
What is the impact of staff absences on schools and students, and how do schools ensure continued learning?
3.6. Policy options
3.6.1. Monitoring demand and supply of teachers, school leaders and other school staff to identify and address imbalances
3.6.2. Managing resources for school staffing
Adjusting staffing levels to changing needs
Reviewing the mix of staff and their use of time in schools
3.6.3. Matching staff with schools and students
Collaborating for the effective recruitment of teachers and school leaders, and ensuring fairness and transparency in recruitment processes
3.6.4. Working towards equity in the distribution of staff across schools
Ensuring equitable and transparent resource allocations for school staffing
Reviewing regulations and criteria for recruitment, allocation and transfers
Providing incentives for teachers and school leaders to work in high-need areas
3.6.5. Preparing school leaders for effective staff assignments within schools
Notes
References
Chapter 4. Promoting powerful professional learning for school staff
4.1. Initial teacher preparation
4.1.1. Understanding initial teacher preparation as a complex system and as part of a continuum
4.1.2. Linking initial teacher education to practice in schools
Teachers often enter the profession having experienced minimal classroom-based learning opportunities
Links between initial teacher education programmes and schools can be improved
Teacher education programmes do often not yet sufficiently prepare teachers for the diverse backgrounds of their students
Students with an immigrant or ethnic minority background
Students from rural communities
Students with special educational needs (SEN)
Alternative pathways offer an accelerated route into teaching but the quality of preparation in these routes is uncertain
4.1.3. Induction and mentoring
Access to and participation in induction vary widely
4.2. Teachers’ continuing professional learning
4.2.1. Understanding professional learning as a coherent process
4.2.2. Continuing learning opportunities
Access and motivation
Provision, content and quality assurance
4.2.3. Team learning and collaboration
4.2.4. Internal and external knowledge development
4.2.5. Evaluation and appraisal
Staff evaluation systems often fail to resolve tensions between multiple purposes
The successful implementation of staff evaluation systems has proved a barrier
Time and capacity constraints
Measurement constraints
Cultural, normative and political constraints
4.3. Developing leadership for inquiry, dialogue and learning
4.3.1. School principals are faced with a wide variety of professional responsibilities, but there are shortcomings in preparing them for their role
4.3.2. More knowledge about preparation and support for middle leadership roles and teacher leaders is required
4.3.3. School principals and other leaders often lack sufficient ongoing support and relevant development opportunities throughout their career
4.4. Policy options
4.4.1. Initial preparation
Designing preparation requirements to ensure candidates have extensive opportunities for situated learning in primary and/or secondary school settings
Investing in teacher and school leader residency programmes
Mandating or strongly incentivising induction programmes for new or new-to-school teachers and leaders
Creating formalised roles for early career coaches with rigorous selection processes and supporting curricula geared to adult learners
4.4.2. Continuing professional learning
Creating supports for schools to develop coherent learning goals and designing embedded learning opportunities directed towards these goals
Supporting schools to contextualise adult learning goals to the specific community they serve
Identifying opportunities to create and support school-based learning teams
Investing in high-quality, individualised coaching for teachers and school leaders
Investing in digital progress monitoring tools to permit schools to capture teaching and learning strategies that work, and those that do not
4.4.3. Evaluation and appraisal
Investing in resources to train evaluators and distributing responsibilities
Using the appraisal process to reflect meaningful differences in skill and effectiveness of teachers and school leaders
Using multiple measures, including observations, classroom or school processes, student outcomes and surveys, to conduct holistic appraisal
Linking results of the appraisal process to professional development with stakes focussed on developmental plans
Notes
References
Annex A. List of tables available on line
Annex B. Glossary
Annex A. List of tables available on line
Annex B. Glossary
Annex C. How the School Resources Review was conducted
