- Summary
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Indicators Part I: Population and School Enrollment
- Indicators Part II: Academic Performance
- Indicators Part III: Contexts for Learning
- Indicator 15: Gender Differences in Students' Attitudes Toward Reading
- Indicator 16: Gender Differences in Students' Attitudes Toward Mathematics
- Indicator 17: Gender Differences in Students' Attitudes Toward Science
- Indicator 18: Fourth-Grade Teachers' Strategies for Assisting Students Having Difficulty Reading
- Indicator 19: Teacher Collaboration in Mathematics Instruction
- Indicator 20: Teacher Professional Development in Mathematics
- Indicator 21: Teacher Professional Development in Science
- Indicator 22: Fourth-Grade Reading Teachers' Career Satisfaction
- Indicators Part IV: Expenditure for Education
- Indicators Part V: Education Returns: Educational Attainment and Income
- List of Tables
- List of Exhibit and Figures
- References
- Appendix A: The Education Systems of the G-20 Countries
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Indicator 22: Fourth-Grade Reading Teachers' Career Satisfaction
G-20 Countries Included: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom (England and Northern Ireland), United States
In all of the participating G-20 countries (except the United States, Italy, and France), at least half of fourth-graders had teachers with high career satisfaction, with a high of 89 percent in Indonesia.
This indicator describes how satisfied fourth-grade teachers are in their current position as a reading teacher. It is based on an index, Teacher Career Satisfaction, formed using data from the PIRLS 2006 and 2011 teacher questionnaires. The index places teachers into one of three categories (high, medium, or low) based on whether they agreed a lot, agreed a little, disagreed a little, or disagreed a lot with the statements described in "Definitions and Methodology" below. The data in this indicator are from all three categories of this index. The indicator also presents changes in career satisfaction between 2006 and 2011.
Across all participating G-20 countries except one, less than 10 percent of fourth-graders had teachers with low career satis-faction in 2011, with percentages ranging from 2 percent in Saudi Arabia to 6 percent in Australia, the United Kingdom (England), and the United States; France was the exception, where 17 percent of students had teachers with low career satisfaction (figure 22-1). Higher levels of career satisfaction were more common. In all of the participating G-20 countries (except the United States, Italy, and France), at least half of fourth-graders had teachers with high career satisfaction, with a high of 89 percent in Indonesia. Australia, Canada, Germany, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom (England and Northern Ireland) were the other countries where the majority of fourth-graders had teachers with high career satisfaction. In the United States, 47 percent of fourth-graders had teachers with high career satisfaction and an equal percentage had teachers with medium career satisfaction. Italy and France were the only countries in which a greater percentage of students had teachers with medium satisfaction than with high career satisfaction (56 vs. 39 percent, respectively in Italy and 59 vs. 25 percent, respectively in France).
Between 2006 and 2011, there was no significant change in the percentage of fourth-graders who had teachers with low career satisfaction across six of the seven G-20 countries that participated in PIRLS in both years (figure 22-2). France was the exception; here, the percentage of students who had teachers with low career satisfaction increased 15 percentage points from 2006 to 2011. The percentage of fourth-graders who had teachers with medium career satisfaction increased in France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom (England), and the United States (by 15, 14, 12, 15, and 23 percentage points, respectively), decreased in Indonesia (by 22 percentage points), and did not measurably change in the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the percentage of fourth-graders with teachers with high career satisfaction increased only in Indonesia (by 22 percentage points), decreased in France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom (England), and the United States (by 29, 16, 13, 15, and 26 percentage points, respectively), and again did not measurably change in the Russian Federation.
The pattern shows that while no measurable change occurred (except in France) among teachers with low career satisfaction (nor among teachers in the Russian Federation in any category), there was a switch in the percentage of students with teachers with medium and high career satisfaction between 2006 and 2011 in most countries. Indonesia was the only country to show a trend toward greater satisfaction, with higher percentages students who had teachers with high career satisfaction in 2011 than in 2006 and smaller percentages who had teachers with medium career satisfaction. Among the five countries that showed a trend toward lower satisfaction, the United States and France had the largest changes. In the United States there was a 26-percentage-point decrease in fourth-graders who had teachers with high career satisfaction (from 73 to 47 percent) and a 23-percentage-point increase in fourth-graders who had teachers with medium career satisfaction (from 24 to 47 percent). In France, there as a 29-percentage-point decrease in fourth-graders who had teachers with high career satisfaction (from 54 to 25 percent) and a 15-percentage-point increase in fourth-graders who had teachers with medium career satisfaction (from 44 to 59 percent).
Definitions and Methodologie
This indicator is based on an index formed using data from the PIRLS 2006 and 2011 fourth-grade teacher questionnaires, which were administered to the teachers of the students sampled for PIRLS. The questionnaire included questions on teachers' background and on their teaching practices in the sampled students' classes. One or two classes were randomly sampled in each school, and teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire for each class they taught that contained sampled students. Thus, if a teacher taught two classes with sampled students, he or she was expected to complete a questionnaire for each of these classes. It should be noted that the fourth-grade teachers do not constitute representative samples of teachers. Rather, they are the teachers for nationally representative samples of fourth-grade students. Thus, the teacher data presented in this indicator were analyzed at the student level.
In PIRLS 2006 and 2011, countries were required to sample students in the grade that corresponded to the end of 4 years of formal schooling, providing that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 9.5 years. As defined by PIRLS, the first year of formal schooling begins with the first year of primary school (ISCED97 level 1), which should mark the beginning of formal instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics. (Note that kindergarten is not counted.) For most countries, the target grade was fourth grade or its national equivalent.
The Teacher Career Satisfaction index measures how satisfie teachers are in their current position as a reading teacher. The index places teachers into one of three categories (high, medium, or low) based on whether they agreed a lot, agreed a little, disagreed a little, or disagreed a lot with the following statements regarding their career satisfaction: (a) I am content with my profession as a teacher; (b) I am satisfied with being a teacher at this school; (c) I had more enthusiasm when I began teaching than I have now; (d) I do important work as a teacher; (e) I plan to continue as a teacher for as long as I can; and (f) I am frustrated as a teacher. The data in this indicator are from all three categories of this index.