Professional Development: Curriculum
From APEC HRDWG Wiki
Teacher quality is an important aspect of any education system and although debate exists as to what exactly constitutes a teacher quality indicator, most observers agree that teacher professional development is one element that relates to the quality or effectiveness of the teacher. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is administered to 4th and 8th grade students across various APEC economies to test student curriculum-based knowledge. The TIMSS also administers a teacher questionnaire to the teachers of the students surveyed. This questionnaire includes many items related to teacher quality, such as teacher professional development. Although not all APEC economies participate in the TIMSS, the data that is available allows for a comparison of various factors across participating APEC economies. The rest of this page contains information on teacher professional development in Mathematics curriculum of those teachers surveyed during the 2007 TIMSS in the selected participating APEC economies.
For other information on teacher quality, please visit the Teacher Quality Portal page.
Summary
According to the international average 40% of 4th grade Mathematics teachers participate in Professional Development in Mathematics curriculum, but according to the average of the selected APEC economies, 61% of the 4th grade Mathematics teachers in those economies participate in this type of Professional Development. The only economy where less than half of the teachers do participate in curriculum development is Japan with 16% and 50% of the 4th grade Math teachers in Singapore participate in this type of Professional Development. The highest percent of participation in the selected economies was found in New Zealand at 78% of their 4th grade teachers.
For 8th grade Mathematics teachers, more than half internationally and on average in the selected economies do participtae in Professional Development in Mathematics curriculum. In fact, in most of the selected economies more 8th grade than 4th grade Math teachers participated in this type of Professional Development with the highest percent of participation found in Chinese Taipei with 84%. Japan and the Republic of Korea are the only economies in which less than half of 8th grade teachers participate in Professional Development of curriculum, but even in Japan, more 8th grade than 4th grade teachers do participate in this type of development.
(Not all of the same economies are included in both graphs because of data availability)
Chart 1. Percentage of 4th Grade Math Teachers Participation in Professional Development in Mathematics Curriculum
Chart 2. Percentage of 8th Grade Math Teachers Participation in Professional Development in Mathematics Curriculum
Chart 3. Percentage of 4th Grade Science Teachers Participation in Professional Development in Science Curriculum
Chart 4. Percentage of 8th Grade Science Teachers Participation in Professional Development in Science Curriculum
