Samoa SABER Country Report TEACHERS 2014 100101 Policy Goals Status 1. Setting Clear Expectations for Teachers Established There are clear expectations for what students should learn and what teachers zzz| should teach in Samoa. In addition, teachers are expected to evaluate and improve their abilities and are given time to do so. 2. Attracting the Best into Teaching Established While opportunities for career growth may help attract aspiring teachers, it is zzz| unclear whether schools have attractive working conditions. 3. Preparing Teachers with Useful Training and Experience Established While integrating substantial practical professional experience into pre-service zzz| training may help prepare teachers, providing a deeper knowledge of content and how to research and experiment with new teaching methods could create more effective teachers. 4. Matching Teachers’ Skills with Students’ Needs Established By offering incentives for teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools and zzz| fellowships to attract teachers to subjects with a shortage of teachers, the system is more likely to ensure that it has teachers who can address student needs. 5. Leading Teachers with Strong Principals Emerging Principals are expected to support teachers in improving instruction, but do not zz|| receive any formal training. Requiring principals to have ongoing training in effective teaching methods and evaluation could empower them to improve learning outcomes in their schools. 6. Monitoring Teaching and Learning Established All teachers are evaluated every three years by inspectors; in addition, zzz| principals are required to conduct ongoing evaluations. Evaluations are designed to provide constructive feedback and improve teaching practice. 7. Supporting Teachers to Improve Instruction Latent Teachers are not required to complete any continuing professional z||| development training, and no policies ensure that professional development activities are collaborative and focused on improving instruction. 8. Motivating Teachers to Perform Established Teacher performance can influence their promotions and appointment zzz| decisions. They can also be dismissed for poor performance, child abuse, and other misconduct. THE WORLD BANK SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 This information is compiled in a comparative database. Overview of SABER-Teachers Interested stakeholders can access the database for detailed information organized into relevant categories There is increasing interest across the globe in attracting, that describe how different education systems manage retaining, developing, and motivating great teachers. their teaching force, as well as for copies of supporting Student achievement has been found to correlate with documents. The full database is available at the SABER economic and social progress (Hanushek and website. Woessmann 2007, 2009; Pritchett and Viarengo 2009; Campante and Glaeser 2009), and teachers are key: recent studies have shown that teacher quality is the Box 1. Teacher Policy Areas for Data Collection main school-based predictor of student achievement and 1. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching that several consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset the learning deficits of disadvantaged students 2. Initial teacher education (Hanushek and Rivkin 2010; Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain 3. Recruitment and employment 2005; Nye and Hedges 2004; Rockoff 2004; Park and Hannum 2001; Sanders and Rivers 1996). However, 4. Teachers’ workload and autonomy formulating appropriate teacher policies to ensure that 5. Professional development every classroom has a motivated, supported, and 6. Compensation (salary and non-salary benefits) competent teacher remains a challenge. This is largely because the evidence on the impacts of many teacher 7. Retirement rules and benefits policies remains insufficient and scattered; the impact of 8. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality many reforms depends on specific design features; and teacher policies can have very different impacts, 9. Teacher representation and voice depending on the context and other existing education 10. School leadership policies. To offer informed policy guidance, SABER-Teachers SABER-Teachers aims to help fill this gap by collecting, analyzes these data to assess how well each system’s analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating teacher policies promote student achievement, based comprehensive information on teacher policies in on the global evidence to date. Specifically, SABER- primary and secondary education systems around the Teachers assesses each education system’s progress in world. SABER-Teachers is a core component of SABER achieving eight teacher policy goals (box 2). (Systems Approach for Better Education Results), an initiative of the World Bank’s Education Global Practice. SABER collects information about different education Box 2. Teacher Policy Goals for Evaluation systems’ policy domains, analyzes it to identify common 1. Setting clear expectations for teachers challenges and promising solutions, and makes it widely available to inform countries’ decisions on where and 2. Attracting the best into teaching how to invest in order to improve education quality. 3. Preparing teachers with useful training SABER-Teachers collects data on ten core areas of 4. Matching teachers’ skills with students’ needs teacher policy to offer a comprehensive descriptive 5. Leading teachers with strong principals overview of the policies in place in each participating education system (box 1). Data are collected in each 6. Monitoring teaching and learning participating education system by a specialized 7. Supporting teachers to improve instruction consultant using a questionnaire, ensuring comparability 8. Motivating teachers to perform of information across different education systems. Data collection focuses on the rules and regulations governing teacher management systems. 2 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Figure 1. Eight Teacher Policy Goals progress of education systems toward achieving each of the eight teacher policy goals using a four-tiered scale (latent, emerging, established, and advanced). The scale assesses the extent to which a given education system has put in place the type of teacher policies related to improved student outcomes (annex 1). The main objective of this assessment is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the teacher policies of an education system and pinpoint possible areas for improvement. For a more detailed report on the eight teacher policy goals, policy levers, and indicators, as well as the evidence base supporting them, see Vegas et al. (2012). The main focus of SABER-Teachers is on policy design, not policy implementation. SABER-Teachers analyzes the teacher policies formally adopted by an education system. This type of analysis is an important first step All high-performing education systems fulfill these eight toward strengthening the policy and institutional teacher policy goals to a certain extent in order to frameworks that policy makers control most directly and ensure that every classroom has a motivated, that influence how well a system functions. At the same supported, and competent teacher. These goals were time, policies “on the ground”—that is, policies as they identified through a review of research studies on are actually implemented—may differ quite substantially teacher policies, as well as analysis of policies of top- from policies as originally designed. In fact, they often do performing and rapidly improving education systems. differ, due to the political economy of the reform Three criteria were used to identify the teacher policy process, lack of capacity on the part organizations goals: they had to be (1) linked to student performance charged with implementing them, and/or the interaction through empirical evidence; (2) a priority for resource between these policies and specific contextual factors. allocation; and (3) actionable, meaning that they identify Since SABER-Teachers collects only limited data on policy actions that governments can take to improve education implementation, the analysis of teacher policies policy. The eight teacher policy goals exclude other presented in this report should ideally be complemented objectives that countries might want to pursue to with other data-gathering efforts that focus on how well increase the effectiveness of their teachers, but on which teacher policies are actually implemented on the ground. there is too little empirical evidence at present to allow specific policy recommendations. This report presents results of the application of SABER- Teachers in Samoa. It describes Samoa’s performance By classifying countries according to their performance with respect to each of the eight teacher policy goals, on each of the eight goals, SABER-Teachers can help alongside comparative information from education diagnose the key challenges to ensuring effective systems that have consistently scored highly on teachers. For each policy goal, the SABER-Teachers team international student achievement tests and have identified policy levers (actions that governments can participated in SABER-Teachers. Additional detailed take to reach these goals) and indicators (which measure descriptive information on the teacher policies of the the extent to which governments are making effective education systems of Samoa and other countries can be use of these policy levers). Using these policy levers and found on the SABER-Teachers website. indicators, SABER-Teachers classifies the 3 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Samoa’s Teacher Policy System Results Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for teachers duties. If non-teaching time was used to collaborate with other teachers, reflect on assessments of student Establishedzzz| learning, and design better classroom activities, it could result in better student outcomes. Setting clear expectations for student and teacher performance is important to guide teachers’ daily work Non-teaching tasks related to instructional improvement and align the resources necessary to help them are officially required of teachers in Samoa, but are not constantly improve instructional practice. In addition, explicitly mentioned in the School Staffing Manual. Such clear expectations can help ensure coherence among key tasks include collaborating on school plans and aspects of the teaching profession, such as initial teacher supporting other teachers (table 1). education, professional development, and teacher appraisal. Successful education systems (such as those of Ontario, Canada; Finland; Japan; South Korea; and Singapore) SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school devote considerable time to activities at the school level systems can use to reach goal one: (1) clear expectations related to instructional improvement, such as for what students should know and be able to do, and collaboration among teachers in analyzing instructional (2) useful guidance on teachers’ use of time in order to practice, as well as mentoring and professional improve instruction at the school level. development (Darling-Hammond and Rothman 2011, Darling-Hammond 2010, Levin 2008). In addition, these (1) In Samoa, the government has established systems tend to devote a smaller share of teachers’ time expectations for what students should learn and for to actual contact with students than do other systems, what teachers should do. The Ministry of Education, and a larger share to teacher collaboration, on-site Sports, and Culture (MESC) is responsible for setting professional development, and research on the education goals and controlling the national curriculum. effectiveness of various teaching strategies. Japan, for Officially stipulated requirements exist for the minimum example, devotes about 40 percent of teachers’ working education, curriculum, and skills that students must time to these types of activities, while Ontario currently attain in every subject in every grade. devotes 30 percent (Darling-Hammond and Rothman 2011). The tasks teachers are expected to carry out are officially specified by the policy, including those necessary for Table 1. Comparison of Teachers’ Official Tasks Related them to be prepared and continually improve their to School Improvement instruction. Other examples are tasks such as supervising Collaborate on students, grading assessments, and standing in for Mentor peers Participate in evaluations school plan absent teachers. curriculum Design the school (2) Guidance on teachers’ use of time could better align expectations with the goal of improving instruction. Teachers’ working time in Samoa is officially defined as Papua New  the overall number of hours worked (as opposed to the Guinea number of hours spent at the school or in contact with Solomon Islands  9 9 9 students). According to the School Staffing Manual, Samoa 9 9 9 teachers are expected to dedicate 20 hours per week to Philippines 9 9  9 teaching in the classroom, 15 hours to preparation and  South Korea correction, and 5 hours to other Singapore 9 9  9 9 Source: SABER-Teachers database. 4 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching require a research-oriented bachelor’s degree of four Established zzz| years’ duration or a master’s degree. The structure and characteristics of the teaching career In general, rigorous education requirements may convey can make it more or less attractive for talented that teaching is an esteemed profession. Given that less individuals. These people may be more inclined to than seven percent of all Samoans have a university become teachers if they see that entry requirements are degree, the current requirement may attract relatively on par with those of well-regarded professions, strong candidates (Samoa 2012). However, a compensation and working conditions are adequate, and professionally oriented bachelor’s degree remains attractive professional development opportunities exist. somewhat less stringent than the educational requirement of most countries that attract the best SABER-Teachers considers four policy levers that school candidates into the teaching profession. systems can use to reach goal two: (1) requirements to enter the teaching profession; (2) competitive pay; While some barriers prevent the most qualified from (3) appealing working conditions; and (4) attractive entering the profession, it’s important to eliminate career opportunities. barriers that would hinder the entrance of effective candidates. For example, mid-career professionals with (1) In Samoa, teachers entering the profession are degrees not in education should have a pathway into the required to have at least a professionally oriented profession that recognizes the value of their knowledge bachelor’s degree. Prior to the reforms implemented in and experience. January 2014, teachers were required to obtain only a Diploma in Education to become a teacher. Beginning in In the past, an alternative pathway to becoming a January 2014, however, all new teachers must have a teacher allowed candidates to complete a bachelor’s professionally oriented bachelor’s degree, which degree through the Alternative Training Program for requires a minimum of three years of post-secondary primary teachers. This program, offered at the National education (four to teach grades 12 and 13). While most University, incorporated part-time study and in-school teachers are required to obtain a bachelor’s degree in experience. education, secondary school science teachers must acquire an education-focused bachelor’s degree in (2) Teacher pay may not be appealing for talented science. Most teachers receive their degrees from the candidates. In Samoa, the minimum annual teacher National University of Samoa. All teachers in Samoa must salary is SAT$ 12,459 (US$ 5,400), and the maximum, also acquire practical teaching experience as part of their SAT$ 23,353 (US$ 10,100). By way of comparison, a education and their practicum must be evaluated. In records analyst employed by the government would addition to providing useful experience, such stringent receive a similar salary and a nutritionist, SAT$ 17,300 requirements may also attract more serious candidates (Public Service Commission 2014b). Because promotions into the profession. are based in part on performance, salaries are determined more on merit, which may attract more able In high-performing education systems, teachers are candidates. required to pass through a rigorous tertiary program that requires more than pedagogy and the requisite content (3) It is unclear whether working conditions are knowledge typical of bachelor’s degrees. Such systems attractive. Working conditions can play an important provide teachers the ability to conduct education role in an individual’s decision to become a teacher. research and test new classroom techniques in order to Talented candidates who have opportunities in other continually hone their teaching practice. As opposed to professions may be discouraged from choosing to the ISCED 5B standard, which is a professional degree, become teachers if working conditions are very poor. many successful education systems Pupil-teacher ratios can play a significant role in this consideration. These ratios are low in Samoa: there are 28 primary school pupils per teacher and 17 secondary 5 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 school pupils; both are similar to the ratios in high- master teachers (MESC n.d./ Leadership Capabilities). performing systems (figure2). Master Teachers are expected to serve as pedagogical leaders; their duties include collaborating with other Figure 2. Comparison of Student-Teacher Ratios in teachers to improve teaching and learning in the schools Primary School where they work. Promotion to the level of master teacher includes an increase in responsibility and an South Korea 22 allowance incentive. The promotion is based on Singapore 18 performance evaluations, not simply seniority. This link Philippines 31 between promotion decisions and performance is another way of improving career opportunities in the Solomon Islands 25 teaching profession in order to attract the best Samoa 28 candidates. That is, opportunities to advance to principal Papua New Guinea 41 or master teacher in Samoa may help attract motivated 0 10 20 30 40 50 candidates. Source: SABER-Teachers database and UNESCO Institute for Goal 3: Preparing teachers with useful Statistics. training and experience School conditions are important for teacher morale. If Established zzz| many schools have inadequate facilities, candidates may It is crucial to equip teachers with the skills they need to choose a profession with a more pleasant environment. succeed in the classroom. To be successful, teachers In Samoa, standards have been established for school need subject matter and pedagogic knowledge, as well facilities, but there is no data on what percentage of as classroom management skills and a great deal of schools meet these minimum standards. It is unknown, teaching practice. Good preparation puts all teachers on moreover, if the lack of information means that an equal footing, giving them a common framework for standards are not followed or not systematically improving their practice. monitored and reported. SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school (4) Opportunities for career advancement may be systems can use to reach goal three: (1) minimum sufficiently appealing to attract talented individuals to standards for pre-service training programs and the teaching profession. Teachers in most education (2) required levels of classroom experience for all systems are offered opportunities to be promoted to teachers. principal at some point in their careers. In addition to these “vertical” promotions, most high-performing (1) The recent policy change that raised the minimum education systems also offer teachers the possibility of education requirement to a bachelor’s degree may lead “horizontal” promotions: academic positions that allow to teachers with the necessary knowledge and skills. them to grow professionally as teachers, yet remain Virtually all high-performing countries require teachers closely connected to instruction, rather than move to to complete an educational level equivalent to ISCED 5A managerial positions (OECD 2012, Darling-Hammond that imparts both the practical knowledge needed to 2010). teach and the skills needed to research and assess effective teaching methods. Some systems, such as that Policies in Samoa offer teachers various opportunities for of Finland, go beyond ISCED 5A to require a research- career advancement. Teachers have, for example, the oriented master’s degree (OECD 2011). As mentioned option of applying to become school principals based on earlier, the initial educational level required of teachers their performance as teachers. After teaching for seven in Samoa is the ISCED 5B (a bachelor’s degree with a years, teachers may also apply to become practical component; table 3). 6 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Table 3. Comparison of Required Educational Levels of are no shortages of qualified teachers in any given grade, Primary School Teachers education level, or subject. Second, it is a means of ensuring that all students in a school system have an ISCED 5A ISCED 4A ISCED 5A ISCED 5B equal opportunity to learn. Without purposeful Above below allocation, it is likely that teachers will gravitate towards At or schools serving better-off students or located in more Papua New desirable areas, deepening inequalities in an education 9 system. Guinea Solomon  Islands 9 SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school Samoa 9 systems can use to reach goal four: (1) incentives for  9 teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools and Philippines (2) incentives for teachers to teach subjects in which Singapore 9 there are critical shortages of instructors. South Korea  9 Source: SABER-Teachers database. (1) Mechanisms exist to address teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools. Attracting effective teachers to (2) Practical classroom experience is well integrated hard-to-staff schools (schools that are in disadvantaged into the requirements for teachers in pre-service locations or serve underprivileged populations) is a training. Teachers in training need opportunities to hone challenge for many countries, and often requires a their craft during their education, enabling them to specific set of incentives. In Samoa, teachers who work participate in both theory- and practice-based study. The in such schools are offered monetary bonuses (remote more teachers try out their pedagogical theories, locality allowances) and housing support, which may subject-matter knowledge, and classroom management help attract more teachers to those positions (Public skills, the better prepared they will be for the job. Most Service Commission 2009). Many education systems high-performing systems require teacher entrants to offer similar incentives for the same purpose (table 4). have a considerable amount of classroom experience before becoming independent teachers. Some of these Table 4. Comparison of Incentives for Teachers to Teach systems provide mentoring and support during a in Hard-to-Staff Schools teacher’s first and even second year on the job (Darling- Hammond 2010, Ingersoll 2007). In Samoa, practical to staff schools salary in hard- Higher basic professional experience is required of both primary and Promotion Subsidized education Monetary secondary school teachers in pre-service training. All Housing support bonus graduates with a bachelor’s in education are required to complete six teaching practicum courses, comprising about one-fifth of their required education credits. The Papua New practical courses include internships and focus on  Guinea 9 particular teacher skills, such as managing classrooms Solomon Islands  9 9 and practicing and reflecting on teaching methods Samoa  9 9 (National University 2014). Philippines  9 Singapore  Goal 4: Matching teachers’ skills with  9 South Korea 9 students’ needs Source: SABER-Teachers database. Note: Singapore has no specific incentives to attract qualified teachers Established zzz| to hard-to-staff schools, but it does have a centrally managed teacher deployment system that ensures an equitable and efficient distribution Ensuring that teachers work in schools where their skills of teachers. are most needed is important for equity and efficiency in an education system. First, it is a way of distributing (2) Samoa has identified critical-shortage subject areas teachers as efficiently as possible, making sure that there and there is a policy to systematically address them. 7 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Subjects with too few teachers to meet student needs (1) In Samoa, principals receive no formal or on-the-job are present in nearly all education systems. Many training. Research from high-performing education systems develop policies that offer incentives to teachers systems suggests that principals can develop leadership to teach these subjects (table 5). In Samoa, teacher skills through supported work experience or specific shortages exist in some vocational subjects, such as training courses. High-performing systems such as those agricultural science and design and technology, at the of Japan, South Korea, Shanghai, and Singapore require secondary level. Teachers in pre-service training can applicants for principal positions to participate in specific receive fellowships for concentrating in these subject coursework and/or a specialized internship or mentoring areas (MESC 2011). program aimed at developing essential leadership skills (OECD 2012; Darling-Hammond 2010). Table 4. Comparison of Incentives for Teachers to Teach Critical-Shortage Subjects To become a school principal in Samoa, a candidate must have a background in teaching. Candidates are also required to have a Diploma in Education. This was the Higher basic same education level that was required of new teachers Promotion Subsidized education Monetary Housing support until 2014; it represents the typical education level of bonus salary teachers who are now in the system. However, there are no additional formal education requirements related to Papua New the position of principal.  Guinea Solomon Islands  Beyond having a good understanding of teaching, Samoa  9 principals need to be effective managers and school Philippines 9 9 leaders. While applicants for principal positions in Samoa Singapore  are selected based on their demonstrated leadership South Korea  abilities, there are currently no specific training Source: SABER-Teachers database. mechanisms to ensure that these applicants can develop Note: Singapore instead directly controls how many candidates enter the necessary skills to act as instructional leaders. pre-service training by subject. Goal 5: Leading teachers with strong According to the Public Service Commission’s Recruitment and Selection Manual (2005), induction is “a principals critical step in the recruitment selection process and is Emerging zz|| often overlooked. . . . Induction programs should be provided to all new employees.” However, there is no The quality of school heads is an important predictor of evidence of systematic induction of principals or head student learning. Capable principals act as instructional teachers in the country. leaders, providing direction and support to teachers in order to improve instructional practice at the school Given that new principals often lack peers to learn from, level. In addition, capable principals can help attract and programs that allow them to be mentored during their retain competent teachers. initial months by nearby experienced principals, or to receive increased support from education officers, can SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school help them become more effective. This kind of support systems can use to reach goal five: (1) investment by the makes it possible for principals to learn good practices education system in developing qualified school leaders from others instead of learning only from their own and (2) the decision-making authority given to school experience. Table 5 shows a comparison of support principals to support and improve instructional practice. mechanisms used in Samoa and other Asian countries. 8 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Table 5. Comparison of Mechanisms Used to Support Goal 6: Monitoring teaching and learning Principals’ Leadership Skills Established zzz| other training requirements Mentoring or It is essential to assess how well teachers are teaching Courses or internship program and whether students are learning in order to devise strategies to improve both processes. First, education systems must identify poorly performing teachers and Papua New Guinea 9 9 students before they can provide struggling classrooms Solomon Islands with adequate support. Second, teacher and student Samoa 9 evaluations help identify good practices, which can be Philippines 9 9 shared across the system to improve school Singapore 9 9 performance. South Korea 9 Source: SABER-Teachers database. SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers that school systems can use to goal six: (1) availability of data on (2) Despite having limited access to leadership student achievement, (2) adequate systems for programs, principals in Samoa are formally required to monitoring teacher performance, and (3) multiple serve as educational leaders and help teachers become mechanisms for evaluating teacher performance. more effective in the classroom. Once education systems attract talented candidates to become (1) Internal and external systems are in place to help principals, these leaders need to structure their time so teachers improve. In Samoa, principals are expected to as to focus on improving instruction (OECD 2012, Barber provide insight into how teachers can continuously and Mourshed 2007). High-performing education improve and hone their craft. They are explicitly required systems such as those of Finland, Ontario (Canada), and to conduct classroom observations. Such observations Singapore think of their principals as instructional help teachers improve their effectiveness in the leaders, not simply administrators. Principals are classroom and are thus one component of a teacher expected to be knowledgeable in teaching and evaluation system. curriculum matters and to provide guidance and support to teachers. They evaluate teachers, provide feedback, In addition, teacher performance appraisals are assess teachers’ needs for professional development, conducted every three years for all teachers (every two and direct instructional resources where they are most years for new teachers). These formal evaluations are needed (Darling-Hammond and Rothman 2011). conducted by the MESC and are supported by school review officers at the district level, and by principals at In Samoa, principals are assessed in part based on the the school level. The process begins with a teacher’s self- quality of their educational leadership: “As the appraisal, followed by a formal evaluation. Overall, educational leader, the principal accepts the performance appraisals focus on developing an responsibility for ensuring that the learning of students improvement plan to help teachers build their in the school is optimal. They are also community competencies. educators who understand national and international trends on curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment and can (2) Teacher performance evaluations incorporate a relate them to the school setting” (MESC n.d./ Principal variety of perspectives. Research suggests that no single Job Description). Principals are expected to monitor method of evaluating teacher performance is fail-safe. teachers and ensure that they receive the support they Most high-performing systems conduct teacher need in order to improve teaching and learning in the evaluations using a multiplicity of data collection classroom. Because they are oriented towards learning, principals are more likely to help teachers improve. In the absence of training, however, it is unclear how effective they can be in helping teachers improve. 9 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 mechanisms and assessment criteria. Ideally an analyze the specific challenges that they face in evaluation system includes a comprehensive teacher classroom teaching, access information on best practices evaluation framework that combines student results, to address these challenges, and receive specific external teachers’ portfolios, classroom observations, and support tailored to their needs. feedback from students and/or parents. International experience and research suggest that none of these SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers that school approaches taken separately can produce a balanced and systems can use to reach goal seven: (1) opportunities objective evaluation of a teacher’s performance. for teacher professional development; (2) collaborative professional development activities that focus on The criteria for formal teacher performance appraisals instructional improvement; and (3) assigning are explicitly described in Professional Standards and professional development training on the basis of Performance Appraisal for Samoa’s Teachers (MESC perceived need. n.d.). In addition, ongoing monitoring of teacher effectiveness by principals is outlined in detail in the (1) Teachers are required to participate in professional Leadership and Capabilities Framework (MESC n.d.). development training, but the policy does not specify Samoa makes use of a variety of criteria in its evaluations. how often. The National Teacher Development These criteria and those used by countries in Asia are Framework (MESC 2011) stipulates that all teachers in shown in table 6. Samoa must receive professional development and that “improvement of teaching-learning outcomes in the Table 6. Comparison of Performance Criteria for classroom will be at the core of education, training, and Teacher Evaluations staff development programs.” However, the Framework includes no details on how much professional development teachers should take part in; moreover, it Subject matter achievement implies that professional development training may be assessment knowledge Students’ academic Teaching methods methods provided to only 30 percent of primary teachers and 50 Student percent of secondary teachers (table 7 outlines recommended guidelines in Samoa and other Asian Papua New 9 9 9 countries)). While the Framework outlines the Guinea institutional arrangements needed to provide and Solomon 9 9 9 9 sustain teachers’ professional development in Samoa, it Islands is unclear whether the necessary institutions—the Samoa 9 9 9 9 Teachers Advisory Council, the Teacher Development 9 9 9 9 Unit, and all other mentioned bodies—are operational Philippines 9 9 9 (figure 3). Singapore South Korea 9 9 9 Teachers are more likely to receive the professional Source: SABER-Teachers database. development they need if there are no financial barriers to accessing such training. Education policy in Samoa stipulates that professional development is provided free Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve by MESC. instruction Latent z||| Support systems help improve instruction at the school level. In order to continually improve instructional practice, teachers and schools need to be able to 10 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Figure 3. Proposed Institutional Structure for Ensuring explicitly mentions that professional development Quality Teaching should be practice-based, no documents specify the kinds of activities that would be most effective in such training, nor how to successfully carry them out (table 8). Table 8. Comparsion of Types of Professional Development Observation Mentoring/ networks networks Research coaching Teacher School visits Papua New  Guinea Solomon  Islands Samoa 9  9 Philippines 9 9 9 9 9 Source: MESC (2011). South Korea 9 9 9 Singapore 9 9 9 9 9 Source: SABER-Teachers database; Darling-Hammond (2010). Table 7. Comparison of Recommended/Required Days of Professional Development per Year, Primary School (3) Teacher professional development is formally Teachers assigned based on perceived need. Assigning professional development training to teachers when 10 or more 1 to 5 days 6 to 9 days Unknown/ Undefined they score poorly on performance evaluations is one way to potentially improve their instructional practice. Such days training can be targeted to meet the needs of specific Papua New Guinea 9 teachers. In Samoa, this practice is built into the teaching Solomon Islands 9 profession. Teacher work plans are developed based on Samoa 9 principals’ observations and formal evaluations; such Philippines 9 plans are expected to include professional development South Korea 9 plans. Singapore 9 Source: SABER-Teachers database; Darling-Hammond (2010). Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform (2) Professional development policies don’t explicitly describe professional development activities known to Established zzz| improve teaching practice. Research suggests that Mechanisms that motivate teachers signal a school effective professional development for teachers is system’s seriousness about achieving educational goals. collaborative and provides opportunities for in-school They also make the teaching profession attractive to analysis of instructional practice. As noted earlier in this competent individuals by rewarding good performance report, high-performing education systems such as that and ensuring accountability. of Japan and Ontario (Canada), devote as much as 30 percent of teachers’ school time to professional SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers school development and instructional improvement activities. systems can use to reach goal eight: (1) linking career These activities include observation visits to other opportunities to teachers’ performance; (2) establishing schools; participation in teacher or school networks; and mechanisms to hold teachers accountable; and engaging in research, mentoring, or coaching. While (3) linking teacher compensation to performance. Samoa’s National Teacher Development Framework 11 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 (1) Teachers’ promotional opportunities are linked to Table 9. Comparison of Incentives for Encouraging their performance on the job in Samoa. There is a Effective Teacher Performance mandatory probation period for new teachers before they are granted permanent appointments and official School-level Individual monetary policy stipulates that their performance on the job bonus bonus factors into whether such appointments are made. (2) There are mechanisms in place to ensure that Papua New  teachers comply with minimum standards and a code of Guinea conduct. Requiring teachers to meet certain standards to Solomon Islands 9 remain in the teaching profession can facilitate the Samoa  removal of ineffective teachers. In most high-performing Philippines  systems, teacher performance is evaluated annually and Singapore 9 official mechanisms are used to address cases of South Korea 9 9 misconduct, child abuse, absenteeism, and poor Source: SABER-Teachers database. performance. In Samoa, the requirements that teachers take part in evaluations by school evaluation officers, and (3) Teacher compensation is linked to teacher that principals regularly monitor teachers, may help hold performance. In Samoa, teachers receive promotions teachers accountable. Teachers can be dismissed for five based on a Quality Assured Performance Appraisal consecutive unexcused absences or misconduct in the (QAPA). They do not otherwise receive bonuses if they or country, and permanently dismissed for child abuse. their school performs well. Basing part of teacher pay on Teachers are also given support to improve poor performance can be an effective tool for improving teaching performance before further action is taken teacher motivation. (table 9). 12 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Hanushek, E. A., and S. G. Rivkin. 2010. “Generalizations Acknowledgements about Using Value-Added Measures of Teacher This report was prepared by Andrew Trembley Quality.” American Economic Review 100 (2): (Education Global Practice, World Bank), with inputs 267–71. from Vidya Putcha (Education Global Practice, World Hanushek, E., and L. Woessmann. 2007. The Role of Bank). It was written under the direction of Halsey Education Quality in Economic Growth. World Rogers (Lead Economist, Education Global Practice, Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4122. World Bank). Seema Prasad and Adrian Alamu of the World Bank, Washington, DC. South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment carefully conducted the research and data collection in country. ———. 2009. Schooling, Cognitive Skills, and the Latin We are grateful for the assistance of Fred Brooker of the American Growth Puzzle. NBER Working Paper Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and 15066. NBER, Cambridge, MA. 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Human Development Network, World Bank, Washington, DC. 14 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 Annex 1. SABER-Teachers Ratings The SABER-Teachers team has identified policy levers Using these policy levers and indicators, the SABER- (actions that governments can take) and indicators Teachers tool evaluates the performance of an education (which measure the extent to which governments are system on each of the eight teacher policy goals, using a making effective use of these policy levers) for each of four-tiered scale (latent, emerging, established, and the eight policy goals referenced in this country report. advanced) that describes the extent to which the system For example, for teacher policy goal 1, setting clear has put in place teacher policies associated with expectations for teachers, the SABER-Teachers team has improved student outcomes. identified the following policy levers and indicators: This four-tiered rating system represents a continuum of Table A.1 Setting Clear Expectations for Teachers education systems, from education systems with no Policy Levers Indicators teacher policies at all (or, in some cases, policies that are 1. Are there standards for detrimental to the encouragement of learning) to more what students must know comprehensive, developed systems with teacher policies and be able to do? oriented toward learning. SABER-Teacher ratings can be A. Are there clear 2. Are the tasks that defined in the following manner: expectations for teachers? teachers are expected to carry out officially x Advanced—Systems that are rated “advanced” stipulated? on a particular policy goal have put in place 1. Are teachers’ official multiple policies conducive to learning for each tasks related to policy lever used to achieve that goal. instructional improvement? x Established—“Established” systems have at least 2. Does the statutory one policy and/or law in place that uses those definition of working time policy levers. B. Is there useful guidance for primary school teachers on the use of teachers’ recognize non-teaching x Emerging—“Emerging” systems have only some working time? appropriate policies in place to achieve the hours? 3. What is the share of policy goal. working time allocated to x Latent—“Latent” systems have no or few teaching for primary school teacher policies. teachers? See Vegas et al. (2012) for more details about these Each goal is defined in the first paragraph of the section definitions and a detailed review of the policy levers and relating to that goal in the country report. Policy levers indicators used by the SABER-Teachers tool. for achieving that goal are identified in the second paragraph. The remaining paragraphs in each section For more information regarding SABER-Teachers provide details about the indicators that measure each methodology, please contact: of the levers. HelpdeskTP@worldbank.org. 15 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS SAMOA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2014 www.worldbank.org/education/saber The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education policies and institutions, with the aim of helping countries systematically strengthen their education systems. SABER evaluates the quality of education policies against evidence-based global standards, using new diagnostic tools and detailed policy data. The SABER country reports give all parties with a stake in educational results—from administrators, teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people—an accessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of their country's education system are oriented toward ensuring that all children and youth learn. This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of teacher policies. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 16 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS