World Bank Group Education Global Practice  righter Futures Smarter Education Systems for B SABER Teachers 2016 Anywhere in the world, teachers exert an extraordinary influence on a child’s future. Today, they are no longer just a source of information and knowledge. They must play an expanded role as they equip students to seek, analyze, and effectively use information so that they develop the critical thinking, problem-solving, and team work skills that are needed for healthy and productive engagement in society and the economy. SABER- Teachers gathers and analyzes data on teacher policies that govern public schools in education systems around the world. Why do countries invest ■■ The same policies can have Group’s Systems Approach in teachers? very different impacts in for Better Education Results different contexts. (SABER) platform collects and Student achievement drives ■■ The effect of a specific analyzes comparative data economic and social progress, teacher policy depends on and knowledge on education and teacher effectiveness is the policies already in place systems around the world and most important school-based and whether these other highlights the policies and predictor of student learning. policies reinforce, offset, or institutions that matter most to Given that improving teacher undermine the objectives of promote learning for all children policies may be an important the new interventions. and youth. SABER’s detailed way to raise student learning, The overarching issue is how data-gathering and analysis are developed and developing to ensure that every classroom organized by “domains,” or countries have become increasingly concerned with has a competent, supported, areas of education policymaking improving teacher effectiveness. motivated, and caring teacher within an education system. to help every student learn. These currently include levels of education (early childhood What challenges exist? Achieving this requires combining global evidence on development, primary Despite growing demand for and secondary, workforce what can work with detailed guidance on policies that raise development, and tertiary), local knowledge of the context, teacher effectiveness, designing types of quality resources challenges, and opportunities. the right teacher policies for a and supports (school finance, given education system remains school health and school a challenge for several reasons: What is SABER- feeding, and teachers), areas Teachers? of governance (engaging ■■ Evidence on the impact of many teacher policies remains Using new diagnostic the private sector and school insufficient and may depend tools and detailed policy autonomy and accountability), on specific design features. information, the World Bank information sources worldbank.org/education | saber.worldbank.org | @wbg_education (education management Setting clear expectations for teachers to avoid shortages information systems and teachers. Expectations of what of qualified teachers at any student assessment), and students should know and be given grade, education level, complementary inputs and able to do, and how teachers or subject, and to ensure that cross-cutting themes (equity can help them achieve those the most disadvantaged or and inclusion, information and goals, are important to guide marginalized students have communication technologies, teachers’ daily work and allow access to great teachers. and resilience). SABER aims them to improve instructional Leading teachers with to give all parties with a stake practice. Clear expectations strong principals. The quality in educational results—from also promote coherence of school heads is crucial. students, administrators, among key system features like Capable principals can act as teachers, and parents to initial education, professional instructional leaders and help policymakers and business development, and evaluation. attract and retain competent people—an accessible, Attracting the best into teachers by supporting teachers detailed, objective snapshot of teaching. The structure and to improve instruction, creating how well the policies of their characteristics of the teaching a sense of community, and country’s education system are career influence who becomes making teachers feel valued. oriented toward ensuring that all children and youth learn. a teacher. Talented, mission- Monitoring teaching and oriented individuals will be learning. Assessing how The SABER-Teachers tool more inclined to enter teaching well teachers are teaching gathers and analyzes data if entry requirements signal that and students are learning is on teacher policies that it is a well-regarded profession, essential to devise strategies govern public schools in if compensation and working for improving teaching and education systems around conditions are supportive, and if learning. Information about the world, in both developing teachers have attractive career progress in learning and and developed countries. opportunities to develop as teaching is necessary to identify Drawing on an extensive professionals. low-performing teachers and global evidence base, SABER- students, so that struggling Teachers empowers countries Preparing teachers with useful classrooms can receive support with information they can training and experience. to improve, and good practices use to align their teacher Equipping teachers with the can be identified and shared policies in the eight key policy skills they need to succeed across the system. areas toward greater teacher is crucial. To support their effectiveness. students, teachers need Supporting teachers to subject matter and pedagogic improve instruction. Teachers What drives effective knowledge, as well as classroom and schools need to be able teachers? management skills and lots of to analyze specific challenges early career teaching practice. they face in classroom teaching, Based on extensive research have access to information on and global evidence on Matching teacher skills with good practices for addressing high-performing and rapidly student needs. Ensuring that these challenges, and receive improving systems, the strong teachers work in schools external support tailored to World Bank Group has where their skills are most their needs. identified eight teacher needed promotes both equity policy goals that education and efficiency. This requires Motivating teachers to systems need to fulfill: recruiting and deploying perform. Motivation is 2 EDUCATION GLOBAL PRACTICE essential for effective teaching, How are countries and teachers. The task of technical and systems need to find partner organizations assistance itself is helping ways to motivate teachers inform a new strategy being using SABER-Teachers professionally throughout prepared by the Ministry, as to improve teacher their careers. This may mean well as related future projects. effectiveness? The SABER analyses largely providing opportunities for career development, rewarding Tanzania. Findings from the use household and other teachers not just based on SABER analysis of teacher survey data, as well as findings seniority but also based on their policies helped shape the from qualitative fieldwork, government’s current large- to specifically examine the commitment and effectiveness, scale education reforms under implementation of policies and and supporting them its Big Results Now initiative. their educational outcomes, consistently in the classroom. The SABER engagement so that the diagnoses of in teachers helped identify policies at the national level How is SABER-Teachers are complemented by more underlying causes and key helping to improve areas for reform in relation to detailed empirical work on education systems? entering the professional status practices and outcomes. SABER-Teachers is supporting and motivation of teachers. Yemen. Countries in the Middle governments in their efforts to Using the World Bank Group’s East and North Africa were improve education results by: new Program-for-Results early adopters of the SABER- lending instrument for the Teachers framework, carrying ■■ Providing a comprehensive first time in education, the out a regional study based on framework based on a Tanzanian Big Results Now in simultaneous application of the thorough review of global Education Program signed a framework in eight countries. evidence and related US$122 million IDA credit, to Yemen used the results of the diagnostic tools. be disbursed as pre-agreed SABER analysis to include a ■■ Aiding countries in analyzing results are achieved in teacher comprehensive revision of its their education systems policy and other areas. The teacher policy framework in through diagnosis, dialogue, governments of the United its Second Basic Education and reform. Kingdom and Sweden are Development Project. ■■ Enhancing the global also jointly supporting the knowledge base on effective government reforms. SABER-Teachers teacher policies. Uganda. Uganda is one of the Partners ■■ Enabling cross-country countries where SABER tools From 2010 to 2015, the United learning and fostering have been used to evaluate Kingdom Department for informed dialogue and a large number of education International Development decision-making using a system domains. Results from (DFID) supported SABER structured framework and the application of these tools through the DFID-World Bank methodology. are being used in a series of Group Partnership for Education ■■ Involving key system studies prepared as part of Development. This support was leaders and stakeholders in technical assistance for the instrumental in the development identifying reform priorities, Ministry of Education. These of the SABER-Teachers tool, leading to education policy studies are in areas such as as well as in applying the reform and new program early childhood development, tool in many countries. The initiatives in several countries. workforce development, and Education for All (EFA) Teacher TEACHERS 3 Task Force, a multi-stakeholder from Namibia and Haiti to Italy and Cultural Organization (in partnership, recently partnered and Norway. The Australian Myanmar) and governments of with the World Bank Group Government’s Department of high-income countries (including to use the SABER-Teachers Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Cyprus and the United Arab tools to analyze policies in 25 is also a strong supporter of Emirates), have either applied countries. Findings from the SABER and education systems the SABER-Teachers tool analysis will inform a global research and has done much report on teacher policies. work to support the application themselves or engaged the The countries are spread out of SABER globally. Other World Bank Group to apply it around the globe and include partners, including the United informally as part of a wider a wide range of income levels, Nations Educational, Scientific consultation on teacher policy. worldbank.org/education | saber.worldbank.org | @wbg_education