Croatia SABER Country Report TEACHERS 2015 Policy Goals Status 1. Setting Clear Expectations for Teachers Advanced There are clear expectations for what students should learn and what teachers  are supposed to do in Croatia. Teachers’ working time includes both teaching and non-teaching tasks related to instructional improvement. 2. Attracting the Best into Teaching Croatia has high requirements for entering the teaching profession such as competitive pay, appealing working conditions, and attractive career opportunities. 3. Preparing Teachers with Useful Training and Experience Advanced Initial teacher education is highly regulated by standards and may ensure  quality teachers. Beginning teachers have opportunities to develop practical teaching skills. 4. Matching Teachers’ Skills with Students’ Needs Critical subject shortages are not addressed and there are no incentives for teachers to teach critical shortage subjects or to work in hard-to-staff schools. 5. Leading Teachers with Strong Principals Croatia does not have standards for qualified school leaders. Entry requirements for principals are very low and without requirements for leadership skills. 6. Monitoring Teaching and Learning Several mechanisms exist for the assessment of teachers and students at the national level. Findings that could help teachers customize their instruction are, however, not disseminated. 7. Supporting Teachers to Improve Instruction Primary and secondary school teachers must complete a minimum level of professional training. Professional training should provide more opportunities for the analysis of instructional practice. 8. Motivating Teachers to Perform Promotion opportunities are linked to performance, though compensation is not. A teacher can be dismissed for incompetence or poor performance. Requirements to remain in teaching are minimal. Evento Data collection on Croatia’s teacher policies was completed in 2015. Consequently, the findings in this report reflect the status of the country’s teacher policies at that time. THE WORLD BANK REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Interested stakeholders can access the database for Overview of SABER-Teachers detailed information, which is organized into categories that describe how different education systems manage There is growing interest across the globe in attracting, their teaching force, as well as copies of supporting retaining, developing and motivating great teachers. documents. The full database is available on the SABER Student achievement has been found to correlate with website. economic and social progress (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2007, 2009; Pritchett and Viarengo, 2009; Box 1. Teacher policy areas for data collection Campante and Glaeser, 2009). Teachers are the key. 1. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching Recent studies have shown that teacher quality is the 2. Initial teacher education main school-based predictor of student achievement; 3. Recruitment and employment several consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset the learning deficits of disadvantaged students 4. Teachers’ workload and autonomy (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2010; Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain, 5. Professional development 2005; Nye and Hedges, 2004; Rockoff, 2004; Park and 6. Compensation (salary and non-salary benefits) Hannum, 2001; Sanders and Rivers, 1996). However, 7. Retirement rules and benefits formulating appropriate teacher policies to ensure that 8. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality every classroom has a motivated, supported and 9. Teacher representation and voice competent teacher remains a challenge. Evidence on the 10. School leadership impacts of many teacher policies remains insufficient and scattered, the impact of many reforms depends on To offer informed policy guidance, SABER-Teachers specific design features, and teacher policies can have analyses these data to assess how well each system’s quite different impacts depending on the context and teacher policies promote student achievement based other education policies already in place. on the global evidence to date. Specifically, SABER- Teachers assesses each education system’s progress in SABER-Teachers aims to help fill this gap by collecting, achieving eight teacher policy goals (Box 2). analysing, synthesizing and disseminating comprehensive information on teacher policies in the Box 2. Teacher policy goals for evaluation primary and secondary education systems around the 1. Setting clear expectations for teachers world. SABER-Teachers is a core component of SABER 2. Attracting the best into teaching (Systems Approach for Better Education Results), an 3. Preparing teachers with useful training initiative of the World Bank Education Global Practice. 4. Matching teachers’ skills with students’ needs SABER collects information about the policy domains of 5. Leading teachers with strong principals different education systems, analyses it to identify 6. Monitoring teaching and learning common challenges and solutions, and makes this information widely available to inform countries’ policy- 7. Supporting teachers to improve instruction makers on where and how to invest in order to improve 8. Motivating teachers to perform the quality of education. SABER-Teachers collects data on ten core areas of teacher policy to offer a comprehensively descriptive overview of the policies in place in each participating education system (Box 1). Data are collected in each participating education system by a specialized consultant using a questionnaire so as to ensure the comparability of information across different education systems. Data collection focuses on the rules and regulations governing teacher management systems. This information is compiled in a comparative database. 2 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Figure 1. 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 set 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 thus pinpoint possible areas for improvement (Vegas et al., 2012). The main focus of SABER-Teachers is policy design, not policy implementation. SABER-Teachers analyses the teacher policies formally adopted by a given education system. This type of analysis is an important first step towards strengthening the policy and institutional frameworks that policy-makers most directly control and All high-performing education systems fulfil these eight that influence how well a system functions. At the same teacher policy goals to a certain extent in order to time, policies ‘on the ground’, i.e. policies as they are ensure that every classroom has a motivated, actually implemented, may differ quite substantially supported and competent teacher. These goals were from policies as originally designed. In fact, they often do identified through a review of research studies on differ due to the political economy of the reform process, teacher policies, as well as an analysis of policies of top- lack of capacity on the part of the organizations charged performing and rapidly improving education systems. with implementing them, and/or the interaction Three criteria were used to identify the teacher policy between these policies and specific contextual factors. goals, which had to be: (1) linked to student performance Since SABER-Teachers collects only limited data on policy through empirical evidence; (2) a priority for resource implementation, the analysis of teacher policies allocation; and (3) actionable, meaning they identify presented in this report should ideally be complemented actions that governments can take to improve the with other data-gathering efforts that focus on how well education policy. The eight teacher policy goals exclude teacher policies are actually implemented on the ground. other objectives that countries might wish to pursue to increase the effectiveness of their teachers, but on which This report presents the results of the SABER-Teachers there is too little empirical evidence at present to allow tool as applied in the Republic of Croatia (henceforth for specific policy recommendations. Croatia). A collaborative effort between the UNESCO International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 By classifying countries based on their performance in and the World Bank Group's SABER-Teachers each of the eight teacher policy goals, SABER-Teachers initiative made this report possible. All data collection, helps diagnose the key challenges to cultivating related analysis and report preparations were completed effective teachers. For each policy goal, the SABER- by UNESCO using the World Bank Group’s SABER Teachers team identified policy levers (actions that tools. The report describes the performance of Croatia’s governments can take to reach these goals) and education system in achieving each of the eight indicators that measure the extent to which teacher policy goals. It also contains comparative governments are making effective use of these policy information from education systems that have levers. Using these policy levers and indicators, SABER- consistently scored highly on international student Teachers classifies the progress of education systems achievement tests and those that have previously towards achieving each of the eight teacher policy goals participated in the SABER-Teachers initiative. This report has been formally endorsed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of Croatia. Additional information on the teacher policies in the education systems of Croatia and other countries can be found on the SABER- Teachers website. 3 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Country Context students have completed four years of secondary education. Along with secondary education, there are Economic Context adult education programmes as well as other programmes that prepare people to work in their chosen Unlike similar economies in the region, the Croatian vocation. Since 2010, State Matura results have been the economy is still characterized by crisis and recession six basis for entry into tertiary education institutions. The years after the financial crisis. The first positive shifts and tertiary education system in Croatia is binary, meaning stronger growth in the economy were measured in the that prospective students can choose between two types third quarter of 2015. Industrial production grew by 6.4 of tertiary education studies: university and professional per cent, which was the highest growth since 2007. studies. Export grew by 10.8 per cent in October 2015 compared with the same period in 2014. Tourism is the only area with consistently positive trends; it is the main source of Members of national minorities are guaranteed the right funds for the national treasury. According to Eurostat, to education in their language and script. The 2013 Law Croatia’s 2014 GDP was 10,200 euros per capita. The on Croatian Qualifications Framework (CROQF) is average monthly net salary in September 2015 was 5,640 connected with the European Qualifications Framework kn (€742). In 2014, the employment rate (age group 20- for Lifelong Learning (EQF), which includes the 65) was 59.2 per cent, while the youth unemployment Qualifications Framework for the European Higher rate was among the highest in the EU at 46.3 per cent. Education Area (QF-EHEA). Furthermore, the deficit was 5 per cent of GDP in 2014. The economic climate index in June 2015 was the highest Teacher Policy Context since Croatia’s admission into the EU and this positive trend continues. As of 2015, foreign direct investments Teachers and educators in Croatia are employees of were on the rise (HGK, 2015). public institutions and have civil servant status. Their qualifications and professional development are Education Context regulated by national acts and regulations. Primary and secondary school teachers need to hold a degree at In Croatia, the body in charge of overseeing the ISCED 7 level or above with a minimum 60 credits of education system is the Ministry of Science, Education teacher competencies (pedagogical-psychological- and Sports. The education system consists of preschool, didactic-methodical education) from the European primary, secondary, and tertiary education provided by Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). public and private educational institutions. Education in primary, secondary and higher public educational In order to acquire an open-ended appointment, institutions is free. Preschool includes educational, teachers in Croatia do not need any classroom healthcare, nourishment and social care programmes for experience but must undertake a one-year internship. children from six months to school age. Eight years of Teachers have opportunities for professional and career elementary education in Croatia is compulsory for all development, and their working time is the overall children aged six to fifteen years old. This refers to all number of working hours (40 hours per week). children with permanent residence in Croatia, irrespective of their citizenship. In Croatia, the teaching profession is defined and regulated by laws guaranteeing that teachers receive a Upon completing their elementary education, children regular salary and have stable working conditions. may pursue secondary education. This is delivered by gymnasia, vocational schools (technical, industrial, craft based), or art schools (music, dance, art). Gymnasia provide a comprehensive syllabus that lasts four years and includes a final examination, the State Matura. Programmes in vocational and art schools range from one to five years and usually end with a final assignment, though it is also possible to sit the State Matura if 4 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Republic of Croatia’s Teacher Policy System Successful education systems such as those of Ontario (Canada), Finland, Japan, South Korea and Singapore Results tend to devote a smaller share of teachers’ time to actual contact with students than do other systems, but a larger Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for share of time to teacher collaboration, on-site teachers professional development, and research on the effectiveness of teaching strategies. These systems Advanced devote considerable time at the school level to Setting clear expectations for the student and teacher’s instructional improvement activities, including performance is important for guiding the teachers’ daily collaborative teacher analysis of instructional practice, work and aligning the resources necessary to help them and mentoring and professional development (Darling- constantly improve their instructional practice. In Hammond and Rothman, 2011; Darling-Hammond, addition, clear expectations help to ensure coherence 2010; Levin, 2008). In Croatia, primary school teachers among the various key aspects of the teaching are expected to devote a comparatively low 50 per cent profession, such as initial teacher education, professional of their working time to teaching, and teachers’ official development and teacher appraisal. tasks include the tasks related to instructional improvement as listed below. SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school systems can use to reach Goal 1: (1) clear expectations of Table 1. Teachers’ official tasks related to instructional what students should know and be able to do; and improvement (2) useful guidance on teachers’ use of time in order to improve instruction at the school level. Macedonia (1) In Croatia, the government has established what Shanghai Croatia students should learn and what teachers should do. At Serbia Japan the national level, the Ministry of Science, Education and FYR Sports is responsible for setting education goals and controlling the national curriculum. The national Mentor peers     standards, set in the national curriculum, inform teachers of required subject content and measurable Collaborate on indicators of learning that should be achieved by school plan      students at each level. Tasks that teachers are expected to perform are officially defined. Design curriculum    (2) Policies recognize the diversity of teachers’ tasks, Participate in school and allocate time to complete them. Laws and evaluation     regulations in Croatia recognize the diversity of teachers’ tasks. These tasks go beyond classroom teaching to Source: SABER-Teachers database include supervising students, grading assessments, integrating more vulnerable student populations (such Although teachers’ tasks and working hours are clearly as those with immigrant backgrounds), sitting in for defined in policy documents, in practice, teachers absent teachers, mentoring or supporting other frequently complain that they work more than teachers, participating in administrative or management prescribed. They perceive administrative duties, extracurricular tasks, and interaction with parents and tasks, collaborating on preparing school plans, designing the local community as time-consuming. In particular, the curriculum, and taking part in the internal evaluation activities of the school (Table 1). Teachers’ working time most teachers consider the working hours allocated to in Croatia is officially defined as the overall number of administrative duties as too high. Teachers frequently working hours (40 hours per week). voice their concerns in the media and at conferences. 5 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching test, taking interviews, and having a minimum amount of professional experience, among others. However, in Established Croatia’s case, some of these requirements are already embedded within initial teacher education programmes The structure and characteristics of a teaching career can that are necessary in order to graduate (Table 2). make it more or less attractive to talented individuals. They may be more inclined to become teachers if they see that entry requirements are on par with those of Table 2. Additional entry requirements for the well-regarded professions in which compensation and teaching profession working conditions are adequate, and attractive professional development opportunities exist. Shanghai SABER-Teachers considers four policy levers that school Croatia Turkey Serbia Japan systems can use to reach Goal 2: (1) requirements for entering the teaching profession; (2) competitive pay; (3) appealing working conditions; and (4) attractive Pass written career opportunities. test    Interview- (1) In Croatia, teachers are required to have an stage   advanced degree. Furthermore, different paths to enter assessment the profession broaden the pool of potential teachers. Minimal Education systems where teacher positions are practical   competitive often have rigorous entry requirements. experience Systems where entry into the profession is most demanding require a research-oriented bachelor’s or Practical master’s degree. The required level of education for experience   teachers may indicate the attractiveness of the assessment profession. Croatia has two models of initial teacher Source: SABER-Teachers database education for both primary and secondary education teachers: concurrent and consecutive. Teachers who (2) Teachers pay may be competitive. A teacher’s work in primary schools (grades 1-4) need to complete a starting pay in Croatia is 80 per cent or more of GDP per concurrent model of education, an integrated five-year capita, which is comparatively high. The challenge is the study programme, and have a master’s degree (ISCED 8). low GDP in Croatia and high living standards in Subject teachers who work in primary schools (grades 5- comparison with other EU Member States. 8) and secondary school teachers need to complete either a concurrent model of education (master's degree, (3) Working conditions may be appealing enough to ISCED 8) or a consecutive model of education (master's attract talented individuals to the teaching profession. degree, ISCED 8, or a bachelor's degree, ISCED 7, plus the Working conditions can play an important role in the special teacher competences programme at level ISCED decision to become a teacher. Talented candidates who 8). Teachers of practical training can have a former two- have opportunities in other professions may be year degree or a secondary school diploma. An initial discouraged from becoming teachers if working teacher education programme for Vocational and conditions are unpleasant, unreliable or unsafe. SABER- Technical Education (VET) teachers was being developed Teachers measures working conditions through pupil- at the time the data for this report was collected. teacher ratios to monitor overcrowding and compliance with infrastructure requirements. Although an advanced degree is required to enter into The most recent school census data from 2007 suggested the teaching profession, additional requirements are not favorable pupil-teacher ratios. According to Eurostat, for as stringent. In high-performing education systems, the year 2012, the pupil-teacher ratio for primary stringent requirements may include passing a written education was 14.2:1, and 9.7:1 for secondary education. 6 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 It should be noted that there is substantial variation Goal 3: Preparing teachers with useful among schools (Eurostat, 2015). For instance, in urban training and experience schools, the ratio may be as high as 30 pupils per teacher, whereas class sizes in rural schools may be as low as one Advanced to two pupils per teacher. It is crucial to equip teachers with the skills they need to succeed in the classroom. Success requires subject There are standards of infrastructure, hygiene and matter and pedagogic knowledge, as well as classroom sanitation for schools in Croatia. According to the management skills and a great deal of teaching practice. available data, at least 98 per cent of schools comply with Good preparation puts all teachers on an equal footing, these standards. giving them a common framework for improving their instructional practice. (4) Effective teachers have opportunities to grow and advance in their careers. Teachers in most education SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school systems have the opportunity to be promoted to systems can use to reach Goal 3: (1) minimum standards principal at some point in their careers. In addition to for pre-service training programmes; and (2) required these ‘vertical’ promotions, most high-performing levels of classroom experience for all teachers. education systems also offer ‘horizontal’ promotions to academic positions that allow teachers to grow (1) Initial teacher education requirements are aligned professionally, yet remain closely connected to with those of the most successful education systems. instruction instead of moving solely to managerial Virtually all high-performing countries require that positions (OECD, 2012; Darling-Hammond, 2010). teachers have the educational equivalent of ISCED 5A (a research-oriented bachelor’s degree). Certain systems, Teachers in Croatia have opportunities for professional such as in Finland, also require a research-based master’s development and career advancement over their degree (OECD, 2011). Currently, all teaching candidates lifetimes. Teachers can apply for both administrative and in Croatia have an educational equivalent above ISCED 5, academic posts, such as academic lead-teachers, master with the exception of teachers with practical training in teachers and heads of departments. Furthermore, there VET schools that have the educational equivalent of are incentives for public school teachers to take on an ISCED 4. As mentioned before, there are two models of academic lead-teacher role. Teachers may apply to teacher education: concurrent and consecutive (Table 3). become principals and their promotion opportunities are Teachers who work in primary schools (1st to 4th grade) linked to their performance. need to complete a concurrent programme, which includes a five-year study programme, and also have a Although the requirements for attracting the best into master’s degree (ISCED 8). Teachers who work in primary teaching exist, in practice, teaching is not considered an schools (5th to 8th grade) and secondary school teachers attractive profession. According to the SABER-Teachers need to complete either a concurrent model of framework, policies are in place to attract qualified education (master's degree, ISCED 8) or a consecutive candidates into teaching, teachers are provided with model of education (master's degree, ISCED 8 or opportunities for professional development, and bachelor's degree, ISCED 7, plus 60 ECTS of teacher teachers are paid satisfactory salaries. However, competencies, pedagogical-psychological-didactic- teaching is not considered an attractive profession for methodical education, at level ISCED 8). By the time the young people in Croatia. The social perception of the data for this report was collected, a teacher training teaching profession is not very positive due to the high programme for VET teachers was being developed. demands required to enter and stay in the profession, as well as the challenges posed by the workload and stress. This can be seen, for example, in the gap between policy intent and policy implementation for Goal 1, as teachers often have to work more than their prescribed hours. 7 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Table 3. Models of teacher training have an equal opportunity to learn. Without purposeful allocation, it is likely that teachers will gravitate towards schools serving better-off students or those located in more desirable areas, deepening inequalities in the education system. Singapore Shanghai Croatia Serbia Japan SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school systems can use to reach Goal 4: (1) incentives for Concurrent Model teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools; and    (2) incentives for teachers to teach subjects in which Consecutive Model there is a critical shortage of instructors.     Alternative Model (1) There are no mechanisms to address teacher  shortages in hard-to-staff schools. Attracting effective Source: SABER-Teachers database teachers to schools that are in disadvantaged areas or serve underprivileged populations is a challenge for (2) New teachers are required to have practical many countries and often requires a specific set of classroom experience before entering the profession. incentives. In Croatia, there are no mechanisms to Practical experience is a critical factor in preparing address hard-to-staff schools (Table 4). Although there teachers to enter the profession. The more teachers are are schools in remote areas, there are no incentives to able to try out their pedagogical theories, subject-matter attract and retain qualified teachers in otherwise knowledge and classroom management skills, the better unattractive areas. In practice, if there is no qualified prepared they are for their careers. Most high- teacher to apply for a specific subject teaching position, performing systems require teacher entrants to have the school is free to employ a teacher with a degree in a considerable classroom experience before becoming different subject. independent teachers; some of these systems also provide mentoring and support during teachers’ first and (2) While critical-shortage subjects exist, Croatia does even second year on the job (Darling-Hammond, 2010; not have formal mechanisms for their identification and Ingersoll, 2007). In Croatia, student teachers for primary there are no incentives for teachers to teach such and secondary education positions have practical subjects. Most education systems have at least some classroom experience during their initial education, subjects for which there is a critical shortage of teachers, though the duration varies across teacher training that is, too few teachers to meet students’ needs. institutions. All novice primary and secondary school Successful systems develop policies and incentives that teachers have a one-year internship. During that time, encourage teachers to teach these subjects. Monetary new teachers go through induction and mentoring bonuses, scholarships and career opportunities are all programmes, after which they are required to pass a examples of such incentives. In Croatia, critical-shortage professional exam. subjects include mathematics, physics and some specific vocational areas such as ICTs, but there is no policy that Goal 4: Matching teachers’ skills with identifies critical-shortage subjects and there are no students’ needs mechanisms or incentives to increase the share of teachers of these subjects. Some local authorities try to Latent encourage students to study critical-shortage subjects in Ensuring that teachers work in schools where their skills schools in their region through scholarships, but this is are most needed is important for the equity and not formally regulated and depends on local budgets. efficiency of an education system. First, it is a way of High-performing systems identify and monitor shortage distributing teachers as efficiently as possible, making subjects and use incentives to attract teachers to them. sure that there are no shortages of qualified teachers in For example, when the United Kingdom faced shortages any given grade, education level or subject. Second, it is of mathematics and science teachers, they offered a means of ensuring that all students in a school system payments to students studying to become teachers in 8 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 those subjects to help defray education costs (OECD, applicants for principal positions participate in specific 2011). coursework and/or a specialized internship or mentoring programme designed to develop essential leadership Table 4. Incentives for teachers to teach in hard-to- skills (OECD, 2012; Darling-Hammond, 2010). Principals staff schools in Croatia are required to meet only two requirements: a minimum of five years of professional teaching experience and an educational qualification of ISCED 5A Macedonia and above, although in practice a public school principal Shanghai Croatia Serbia in Croatia typically has 15 years of teaching experience. Japan FYR No specific training mechanisms currently exist to ensure that principals develop the necessary skills to act as Promotion instructional leaders (Table 5). Specialized coursework, opportunities  ongoing principal-specific training, mentoring and peer- learning groups could help principals lead their staff Higher basic salary  based on best practices. There is no policy to evaluate principals’ performance, which in turn is not rewarded Monetary bonus    with incentives or bonuses. Subsidized education  Table 5. Mechanisms to support the development of Housing support principals’ leadership skills  Macedonia Source: SABER-Teachers database Shanghai Croatia Serbia Japan Goal 5: Leading teachers with strong FYR principals Specific Latent  coursework     The quality of school heads is an important predictor of Internship   student learning. Capable principals act as instructional Mentoring leaders providing direction and support to teachers in order to improve instructional practice at the school programme   level. In addition, capable principals can help attract and retain competent teachers. Source: SABER-Teachers database SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers that school (2) School leader duties in Croatia include evaluating systems can use to reach Goal 5: (1) investment by the teachers, though they do not provide ongoing support education system in developing qualified school leaders; to improve teachers’ effectiveness. Once education and (2) the decision-making authority given to school systems have qualified principals in place, they need to principals to support and improve instructional practice. focus on improving classroom instruction (Barber and Mourshed, 2007). High-performing education systems (1) There are no training or professional development such as in Finland, Ontario (Canada) and Singapore requirements for principals in Croatia. Research from consider their principals to be instructional leaders. They high-performing education systems suggests that are expected to be knowledgeable in teaching and principals can develop leadership skills through curriculum matters as well as provide guidance and supported work experience or specific training courses. support to teachers. Principals in these systems evaluate For example, the systems of Japan, South Korea, teachers, provide feedback, assess their school’s needs Shanghai (China) and Singapore all require that for professional development, and direct instructional resources where they are most needed (Darling- 9 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Hammond and Rothman, 2011). Responsibilities of 2. Public authorities have access to these data and use public school principals in Croatia include hiring and them to inform policy-making. dismissing teachers, evaluating teachers and the school’s 3. A feedback mechanism shares these data and overall performance, managing and overseeing the relevant analyses at the school level, which is then school budget, managing the distribution of time during used by teachers to improve their instructional school hours, providing guidance for curriculum and practice. teaching-related tasks, responding to requests from national educational authorities, representing the school In Croatia, the only national assessment is the State at meetings and in the community, disciplining students Matura, which is a compulsory exit test applied at the last and teachers for absenteeism, and overseeing payment level of both secondary and VET schools. It is for overtime and extra responsibilities. Although administered annually and it assesses students’ principals in Croatia are required to evaluate teachers, performance in mathematics, Croatian, and a foreign their job description does not include supporting language. State Matura scores can be matched to teachers in improving their classroom practice or individual teachers. Croatia also participates in teaching methods. international assessments, such as the Program for Student Learning Assessment (PISA), the Trends in Goal 6: Monitoring teaching and learning International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS), Established the International Computer and Information Literacy It is essential to assess how well teachers are teaching Study (ICILS), and the European Survey on Language and whether students are learning in order to devise Competencies (ESLC). Student achievement data are strategies to improve both processes. First, education available for policy-makers, but the findings are not systems must identify poorly performing teachers and disseminated and are not used to provide guidance to students before they can provide struggling classrooms underperforming teachers and schools. Despite the with the adequate support they need. Second, teacher opportunity to connect the national assessment results and student evaluations help identify good practices, to teacher performance, the results of the exam have no which can be shared across the system to help improve impact on teacher evaluation or salary. school performance. (2) There are established systems – both internal and SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers that school external evaluations – to monitor teacher performance. systems can use to reach Goal 6: (1) availability of data Most high-performing systems conduct teacher on student achievement; (2) adequate systems for evaluations using several mechanisms for data collection monitoring teacher performance; and (3) multiple and varied criteria for assessment. Ideally, an evaluation mechanisms for evaluating teacher performance. system includes a comprehensive teacher evaluation framework that combines students’ results, teachers’ (1) In Croatia, there are established systems to assess portfolios, classroom observations, and feedback from student learning in order to inform teaching and policy. students/parents. International experience and research All high-performing education systems monitor student on the topic suggest that none of these approaches taken performance to inform teaching and teacher policies, but separately can produce a balanced and objective they do so in very different ways. They may conduct evaluation of teacher performance. However, taken large-scale, system-wide assessments, student together, these evaluations can help identify areas of evaluations (by teachers), or use other standardized improvement for teachers. In Croatia, policy instruments student learning methods. Regardless of the mechanisms to monitor teacher performance exist, but they have not they use, high-performing systems ensure that three yet been implemented. National authorities track main functions are fulfilled: teachers over time through an assigned personal identification number. The teacher’s performance is 1. The education system collects complete and relevant evaluated by school principals. The School Supervision student achievement data on a regular basis. Act from 1997 is not currently implemented in accordance with pedagogical practices. According to that 10 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 law, an expert supervisor should visit each school every In addition to classroom observation protocols, self- three years. However, owing to a lack of capacity, this assessments are used as sources of information as well does not often occur in practice. Expert supervisors as assessments by the school principal, students and mostly visit a school when a claim is made against a parents. However, assessments by colleagues are not teacher or when a teacher seeks promotion. used. The results of the teacher performance evaluation (conducted by the school) are used to decide the type of Table 6. Criteria for evaluating teacher performance professional development activities the teacher should participate in so as to inform classroom practice for promotion decisions, and as grounds for dismissal. Evaluation results have no impact on salary decisions. If Macedonia Singapore a public school teacher obtains an unsatisfactory result Shanghai Croatia in the performance evaluation conducted by their Japan school, they might have to undertake obligatory FYR professional development, receive an assigned Subject matter    supervisor, and/or be removed from the classroom. knowledge There are no dismissal or salary implications. If a public Teaching school teacher obtains a highly satisfactory result in the methods      performance evaluation conducted by the school where Student he/she works, the only consequence that may follow is assessment      promotion. There are no enhanced opportunities for methods professional development, no public recognition nor Students’ salary increase or monetary bonus. academic    achievement Although student and teacher performance evaluation Source: SABER-Teachers database is officially regulated, there is room for improvement. In particular, the dissemination of results and the alignment (3) Multiple criteria are used to evaluate teacher between teachers’ professional development, the performance. Research suggests that no single method evaluation’s results, and salary can be strengthened. In of evaluating teacher performance is fail-safe. Most high- this regard, Croatia should consider developing performing systems conduct teacher evaluations using strategies for implementing the aforementioned multiple data collection mechanisms and varied changes. assessment criteria (Table 6). Ideally, a comprehensive teacher evaluation framework combines students’ Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve results, teachers’ portfolios, classroom observations and instruction student/parent feedback. Emerging In Croatia, participation in internal evaluations is Support systems help improve instruction at the school mandatory for all public school teachers who are level. In order to continually improve their practices, evaluated periodically by the school in which they work. teachers and schools need to be able to analyse the The following criteria are used by the school to assess a specific challenges they face in classroom teaching, to public school teacher's performance: teacher access information on best practices for addressing these attendance/absenteeism; subject knowledge; challenges, and to receive specific external support compliance with the curriculum; teaching methods; use tailored to their needs. of homework in the classroom; student assessment methods; teacher-student interactions; students' SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers that school academic achievement, socio-emotional development, systems can use to reach Goal 7: (1) opportunities for socio-economic background; participation in class; and teacher professional development; (2) collaborative teacher-parent interaction. professional development that focuses on improving 11 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 instruction; and (3) assignment of professional However, school visits and research activities are development training on the basis of perceived need. currently not part of the professional development of Croatian teachers. (1) Teachers are not required to complete a minimum amount of professional development on an annual Table 7. Types of teacher professional development basis. Participation in professional development is not compulsory for open-ended public school teachers to remain in the profession for either primary or secondary Macedonia Singapore education teachers. Teachers must undergo professional Shanghai Croatia development programmes only if they want to progress Japan in their career or if warranted by an unsatisfactory FYR assessment. There are official recommendations for the amount of time that public school teachers should Observation devote to professional development activities: five visits     working days per year for both primary and secondary teachers. There are also official recommendations about Teacher the professional development content for primary and networks      secondary public school teachers. School Two national educational authorities, the Education and networks      Teacher Training Agency and the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education, are Research    responsible for the professional development of public school teachers. In addition, teacher organizations, Mentoring/ private institutions and tertiary education institutions coaching      also provide professional development for public school Source: SABER-Teachers database teachers. In practice, professional development is funded by local educational authorities, schools, and (3) Teacher professional development is formally individual teachers and teacher organizations. assigned based on the perceived need. To ensure that support is customized to each teacher’s needs, high- (2) Croatian professional development policies could performing systems use performance evaluations to incorporate other effective methods of professional develop customized professional development plans or development. Research suggests that effective teacher assign mentors. In Croatia, when teachers perform professional development is collaborative and provides poorly on internal evaluations, they may be assigned to opportunities for an in-school analysis of instructional a supervisor so as to participate in professional practice. As mentioned earlier, high-performing development activities and/or they may be removed education systems such as those of Japan and Ontario from the classroom. Teacher professional development (Canada) devote as much as 40 per cent of teachers’ can be targeted to meet the needs of specific teachers. school time to professional development and instructional improvement activities. These activities Although ongoing professional development is not include observation visits to other schools and required, current institutions provide it to all teachers. participation in teacher or school networks, as well as While teacher training is not required, in practice, engaging in research, mentoring and/or coaching national educational authorities, teacher organizations, (Table 7). Available documentation suggests that private institutions, and tertiary education institutions courses, workshops, education conferences or seminars, provide professional development to public school qualification programmes, participation in teacher teachers. When organized by national educational and/or school networks, mentoring and coaching, as well authorities, trainers are employed directly by that as peer observations are considered as professional authority. Most of them do not have teacher development for public school teachers in Croatia. 12 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 competences in adult education or training reviews inform promotions, though they do not carry methodology. salary implications (Table 8). High performing public school teachers neither receive monetary bonuses as Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform rewards for their work nor do the results of teachers’ performance evaluations affect their salaries. Latent Mechanisms that adequately motivate teachers enable Table 8. Incentives for high performance school systems to show their seriousness in achieving Macedonia education goals, making a teaching career attractive to Singapore Shanghai competent individuals and rewarding good performance Croatia Japan while ensuring accountability. FYR SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers that school Individual systems can use to reach Goal 8: (1) initiatives that link monetary career opportunities to teacher performance;     bonus (2) mechanisms that hold teachers accountable; and (3) performance-based compensation. School-level bonus    (1) Hiring decisions are not linked to teachers’ performance outcomes, but promotion opportunities Promotions are. To ensure that teachers are capable before granting     them long-term contracts, education systems usually Source: SABER-Teachers database implement probation periods for new teachers during which education authorities have the right to withdraw long-term contracts to teachers who underperform. In Croatia, there is no official mandatory probation period for teachers before they are granted open-ended appointments, and official policy does not stipulate that job performance is factored into that decision. School principals have discretion over whether to renew a teacher’s contract or not. Promotion decisions are based on past performance and professional development. (2) There are minimal established mechanisms to hold teachers accountable. Requiring teachers to meet certain standards in order to remain in the profession can facilitate the removal of ineffective and/or dangerous teachers. SABER-Teachers measures whether teachers may be dismissed for misconduct, child abuse, absenteeism and poor performance. In Croatia, even though teachers can be dismissed for misconduct, child abuse and absenteeism, they cannot be dismissed for incompetence or poor performance. (3) Teacher’s compensation is not linked to teacher performance at the school level. To align teacher incentives, the most effective systems at motivating teachers are those with incentives for them to perform well (e.g. performance bonuses). In Croatia, performance 13 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Policy Implications teachers’ outcomes are factored into the principal’s performance reviews. This SABER country report has offered a snapshot of • Establishing a ‘leadership academy’ to speed up the Croatia’s key teacher policies and how they compare professional development of school leaders and use with those of top global performers in education. This the high status of principals to attract highly effective section presents some policy implications for the further candidates. improvement of the teacher policy framework. These recommended measures are derived from the above Supporting teachers to improve analysis and interviews conducted in Croatia. Policy instruction (Goal 7) suggestions are provided only to the priority areas where the level of performance is below ‘established’. There are opportunities for teachers’ professional development but their participation is not compulsory. Matching teachers’ skills with students’ Teachers who want to progress in their career must take needs (Goal 4) professional development programmes. There are official recommendations for the amount of time that Croatia has no formal policies to address teacher public school teachers should devote to professional shortages in hard-to-staff schools or subjects. Although development activities. The following options are there are critical shortage subjects (such as mathematics, suggested: physics and specific vocational areas), there are no incentives for public school teachers to teach these • Requiring primary and secondary teachers to subjects. Therefore, policy recommendations include: participate in annual compulsory professional • Formally identifying hard-to-staff schools, development, and specifying the time requirements monitoring the overall supply of teachers in such for each of them. schools, and providing incentives for effective • Developing standards for teacher trainers that teachers to enter and remain in those schools. provide professional development programmes for • Providing incentives, such as higher salaries and teachers. better promotion chances, to teachers of mathematics, physics and other shortage subjects. Motivating teachers to perform (Goal 8) • Monitoring the teacher supply systematically in Croatia offers promotion opportunities linked to a high order to be aware of the current shortages and to level of teachers’ performance, but does not require predict future shortages. probation periods. Professional development and • Providing differentiated scholarship programmes or performance evaluation are not required for a teacher to admission standards to attract teacher candidates to remain in the teaching profession, and high performance specialize in subjects with teacher shortages. does not impact teacher salary. We recommend the following: Leading teachers with strong principals • Instituting formal performance reviews that affect (Goal 5) compensation. To become a public school principal in Croatia, there is a • Linking teachers’ performance reviews to student minimum requirement of five years professional teaching outcomes. experience and a specific educational qualification (ISCED 5A and above). Professional administrative experience or specific courses and training are not necessary to become a principal in Croatia. Policy options include: • Providing principals with an obligatory mentorship programme, instructional leadership training, and ongoing professional development. • Initiating a system for evaluating the principal’s performance and ensuring that the students’ and 14 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Acknowledgements Quality. American Economic Review, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 267–71. This research, data and report were prepared by Kornelija Mrnjaus (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Hanushek, E.A. and Woessmann, L. 2007. Education Humanities and Social Sciences) under the supervision of Quality and Economic Growth. World Bank Policy Edem Adubra (Head of the International Task Force on Research Paper No. 4122. Washington, DC: World Teachers, UNESCO), Fatou Niang (Education Specialist, Bank. UNESCO) and Hiromichi Katayama (Education Specialist, ———. 2015. Hrvatskogospodarstvokrajem 2015. godine UNESCO). 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Croatia.eu. Land and people. Education and Science. http://croatia.eu/article.php?id=35&lang=2 (Accessed 22 August 2017.) Gross domestic product at market prices. Croatia 2014. Eurostat. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table& init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00001&plugin=1 (Accessed 22 August 2017.) Pupil-teacher ratio in primary, lower and upper secondary education, 2007 and 2012 (average number of pupils per teacher). Croatia 2012. Eurostat. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/File:Pupil- teacher_ratio_in_primary,_lower_and_upper_secondar y_education,_2007_and_2012_%28%C2%B9%29_%28a verage_number_of_pupils_per_teacher%29_YB15.png (Accessed 22 August 2017.) 16 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 Annex 1: SABER-Teachers Ratings Using the policy levers and indicators, the SABER- The SABER-Teachers team has identified policy levers Teachers tool evaluates the performance of an education (actions that governments can take) and indicators (that system on each of the eight teacher policy goals using a measure the extent to which governments are making four-tiered scale (latent, emerging, established and effective use of these policy levers) for each of the eight advanced) that describes the extent to which the system policy goals referenced in this country report. For has established teacher policies associated with example, for Teacher Policy Goal 1, ‘Setting Clear improved student outcomes. Expectations for Teachers’, the SABER-Teachers team has identified the following policy levers and indicators: This four-tiered rating system represents a continuum of education systems, from education systems with no Table A1.1 Setting clear expectations for teachers teacher policies at all (or, in some cases, policies that are Policy Levers Indicators detrimental to the encouragement of learning), to more 1. Are there standards for comprehensive, developed systems with teacher policies what students must know oriented towards learning. SABER-Teacher ratings can be and be able to do? defined in the following manner: A. Are there clear 2. Are the tasks that expectations for teachers? • Advanced systems, rated on a particular policy teachers are expected to carry out officially goal, have established multiple policies stipulated? conducive to learning for each policy lever used 1. Are teachers’ official to achieve that goal. tasks related to instructional improvement? • Established systems have at least one policy 2. Does the statutory and/or law in place that uses those policy levers. definition of working time • Emerging systems have only some appropriate B. Is there useful guidance for primary school teachers on the use of teachers’ policies in place to achieve the policy goal. recognize non-teaching working time? hours? • Latent systems have no or few teacher policies. 3. What is the share of working time allocated to See Vegas et al. (2012) for more detail about these teaching for primary school definitions, as well as a detailed review of the policy teachers? levers and indicators used by SABER-Teachers. In the country report, each goal is defined in the first paragraph of the section relating to that goal. Policy levers for achieving that goal are identified in the second paragraph. The remaining text in each section provides details about the indicators that measure each of the levers. 17 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS REPUBLIC OF CROATIA | TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2015 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 stakeholders in education—from administrators, teachers and parents to policy-makers and business people—an accessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of their country's education system are geared towards ensuring that all children and youth learn. This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of teachers. It was produced by the UNESCO International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 with support from staff of the World Bank Group. 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 Group 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 World Bank Group concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. THE WORLD BANK 18 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS