The UNESCO Global Report on Teachers serves as an urgent call to action. Addressing the global teacher shortage demands a holistic strategy, embracing factors from working conditions to inclusive recruitment. This comprehensive approach is vital to realize Sustainable Development Goal 4 and cultivate a resilient teaching workforce. By prioritizing teachers through supportive policies, international cooperation, and adequate funding, we can unlock the doors to educational prosperity. The report sets the stage for a collective commitment to empower educators, ensuring they become catalysts for positive change and architects of a thriving global education landscape.
Unlocking the full potential of education is at stake as we grapple with a critical challenge – the worldwide shortage of teachers. This shortage poses a significant threat to the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goal 4, aspiring to provide quality education for all by 2030. In the recently unveiled “Global Report on Teachers: Addressing Teacher Shortages,” UNESCO brings to light the pressing issue, revealing a staggering need for approximately 44 million additional primary and secondary teachers globally, with a critical 70% shortfall at the secondary level.
Consequences and Trends: The consequences of this teacher shortage are profound, stretching from increased workloads, diminished well-being, and discouragement of future educators to the perpetuation of educational inequalities and financial burdens on educational systems. Shockingly, attrition rates of primary education teachers doubled globally from 4.6% to 9% between 2015 and 2022, with teachers leaving the profession within the initial five years of practice.
Strategies for Solutions: To tackle this looming crisis, strategies must be centered on recruitment, attractiveness, and retention. The report emphasizes the urgency of establishing enticing career pathways with equitable access to professional development. Inclusive policies promoting gender equality, addressing underrepresentation of women, and encouraging men to enter teaching are vital components to enhance attractiveness and enrich learning experiences.
Working Conditions and Financing Challenges: The enhancement of teacher working conditions, active teacher involvement in decision-making, and the fostering of a collaborative school culture are pivotal to securing a steady supply of quality teachers. Adequate domestic expenditure on education, particularly in the form of competitive teacher salaries, plays a crucial role in financing education. A wise investment in novice teachers emerges as a cost-effective, long-term strategy to address attrition.
Teachers as SDG Champions: Teachers play a pivotal role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and their impact on student learning is monumental. The upcoming Global Report on Teachers, slated for release in the first quarter of 2024, aims to fortify international efforts in monitoring and progressing toward commitments to empower, recruit, train, and support teachers within robust, efficient, and effectively governed systems. The report grounds itself in international norms and adopts a human-rights-based approach to education.
The Transformative Role of Teachers: Delving into the transformative role of teachers, the report highlights collaborative professionalism, lifelong learning, public solidarity, and teachers’ engagement in decision-making. Recognizing the urgency to professionalize, train, motivate, and support the education workforce, the Transforming Education Summit (TES) set the stage. Building on TES outcomes, the UN Secretary-General convened a High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession (HLP) in 2023, comprising various stakeholders and aiming to produce evidence-based recommendations reflected in the Global Report.
Challenges in Estimating Teacher Shortages: The report acknowledges the complexity of estimating teacher shortages, with key assumptions involving baseline data from the UIS database, achieving universal primary and secondary enrollment, reducing repetition rates, maintaining pupil-teacher ratios, considering population growth projections, and calculating teacher attrition based on a decade of UIS data.
Global Projections and Regional Variances: Projections reveal that only a few countries are on track to achieve the required teacher numbers by 2030. Eastern Asia leads in meeting primary education targets, while sub-Saharan Africa lags behind. At the secondary level, even fewer countries are expected to meet recruitment targets, especially in Europe/Northern America, Oceania, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Data on Qualified Teachers: Data on qualified teachers vary across regions and educational levels. Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and SIDS have less than 75% qualified teachers at the pre-primary level. Primary education shows higher percentages of qualified teachers, but sub-Saharan Africa lags at 69%. Globally, 85% of teachers have the minimum required qualifications for secondary education, but sub-Saharan Africa is at just over 60%.
Promising Initiatives and Ongoing Challenges: Certain countries show promise in meeting the demand for teachers, including Micronesia, Kenya, Congo, Fiji, Ireland, Nauru, China, Tokelau, and Anguilla. Tailored approaches are needed, considering that teacher vacancy needs differ by region. While challenges persist, ongoing efforts to increase data availability and quality are underway, with some regions making progress in meeting teacher recruitment targets. However, achieving SDG 4.c by 2030 remains a substantial global challenge.
Enhancing the Teaching Profession’s Attractiveness: Addressing teacher shortages globally requires making teaching an appealing and attractive profession. Attractiveness is multifaceted, necessitating comprehensive policies covering financial incentives, career structures, working conditions, teacher status, leadership, collaborative environments, accountability systems, and social dialogue.
Diversity and Inclusivity: Creating a gender-balanced workforce is essential, recognizing that while women constitute the majority of teachers globally, gender disparities exist in leadership roles. Challenges in attracting and retaining male teachers, especially in certain subjects, persist. Efforts are needed to implement gender-responsive policies, support work-life balance, childcare, and ensure safe working environments to attract and retain female teachers. Supporting minority and migrant teachers is crucial for enriching learning processes and outcomes, with successful initiatives like teacher residency programs in the United States addressing retention challenges.
Inclusive Work Environments: Inclusive workplace environments are vital for attracting teachers with disabilities. Support, training, and continuous professional development focused on inclusion can help create inclusive work environments.
Teacher Status: Low status undermines the attractiveness of teaching, encompassing salary, working conditions, employment procedures, and subjective viewpoints. Education systems relying on unstable contracts may deter potential candidates. Media campaigns to promote teaching as an attractive profession should be accompanied by policy reforms.
Recruitment Strategies: Effective recruitment systems must cater to diverse talent pools, including individuals who have not considered teaching, former teachers, and qualified candidates for teacher training. Motivations for choosing teaching vary based on altruistic, intrinsic, and extrinsic factors, making tailored recruitment strategies crucial to attract individuals based on their motivations.
Qualified Teachers Returning to the Profession: Qualified teachers who quit teaching are an essential talent pool. Understanding their reasons for leaving and returning is key to bringing them back. Policies and support are needed to address the reasons for leaving, such as workload, work-life balance, autonomy, and intellectual stimulation.
Career Pathways and Advancement: Crucial for retaining teachers, career pathways with horizontal and vertical growth opportunities have been successfully implemented in countries like South Africa, Singapore, and Lithuania. However, perceived limited prospects compared to other professions may discourage new graduates. Ensuring long-term prospects in teaching careers is crucial for teacher motivation throughout their work life, with mid- to late-career teachers needing more attention in teacher support efforts.
Equitable Access to Professional Development: Effective and attractive career pathways should offer equitable access to professional development and advancement for all teachers. Contract teachers and those teaching in hard-to-staff areas should be considered in designing career pathways. Policies addressing teachers’ careers must consider the resources required for implementation, ensure transparency in promotions, and provide adequate training for those evaluating teachers.
Holistic Approach to Professionalization: In conclusion, making teaching an appealing profession involves addressing multifaceted factors such as diversity, inclusivity, teacher status, and effective recruitment and career advancement strategies. Comprehensive policies at the global, national, and institutional levels are essential to attract and retain qualified and motivated individuals to meet the growing demand for teachers worldwide.
Autonomy, Lifelong Learning, and Effective Leadership: Addressing global teacher shortages requires a multifaceted approach focusing on teacher professionalization. Empowering teachers through autonomy, lifelong learning, effective school leadership, and comprehensive policies is crucial for creating a motivated and satisfied teaching workforce.
Autonomy and Distributed Decision-Making: Effective school leadership involves distributed decision-making, enhancing teachers’ autonomy and professionalism, leading to increased job satisfaction and retention. Granting autonomy requires proper training and support, ensuring teachers view it as a valuable asset rather than a burden. Opportunities for professional development, access to resources, and tools are essential for informed decision-making on curriculum and pedagogical methods. Teacher innovation, facilitated by technology, contributes to the attractiveness and professionalization of the teaching profession.
Lifelong Learning and Professional Development: Teacher education and professional development should be recognized as lifelong learning trajectories, supporting continuous growth and adaptation to diverse educational needs. Initial teacher training, induction, and mentoring are crucial for retaining teachers. Collaboration and feedback from peers significantly contribute to teacher satisfaction.
Quality of Teacher Training: Current teacher training is often insufficient, with teachers feeling unprepared for diverse classrooms and lacking training in technology and socio-emotional competencies. Entry requirements and minimum qualifications for teachers vary globally, with sub-Saharan Africa often mandating less than a bachelor’s degree for primary teachers.
Social Dialogue and Community Engagement: Effective social dialogue raises the status of teaching, giving teachers a voice in decision-making processes and contributing to mutual strategies and policies. Relationships and collaboration with colleagues, families, students, and professionals are integral to the collaborative nature of teaching. Active participation in communities of practice enhances teacher collaboration, feedback, job satisfaction, and self-efficacy.
Structural Factors and Government Policies: Frequent changes in public policy can contribute to teacher stress and attrition. Carefully designed and implemented policies, as seen in Finland, can positively impact teacher retention. Competitive salaries are essential for attracting and retaining quality candidates in the teaching profession. Linking salaries to motivating career pathways is promising. Recruitment and retention incentives, such as extra pay, housing, and training opportunities, can address subject shortages and improve working conditions.
Flexible Structures and Contract Teachers: Flexible structures are needed to support contract teachers, ensuring opportunities for further professional development and stable working conditions. Unequal working conditions, particularly reliance on contract teachers, can negatively impact the quality and stability of the teaching workforce.
Recommendations and Policy Measures: A holistic approach to teacher professionalization, encompassing autonomy, lifelong learning, effective leadership, and comprehensive policies, is vital for addressing teacher shortages globally. By creating an environment that values and supports teachers, education systems can ensure a motivated, satisfied, and resilient teaching workforce to meet the challenges of the future.
Global Analysis and Policy Recommendations: The global report on teachers addresses systemic and persistent teacher shortages, providing recommendations and policy measures. Key points include:
- Challenges for Refugee Teachers: Refugee teachers often face unstable employment and marginalization in host countries, leading to a loss of qualified teachers. Recognition of international qualifications through UNESCO’s global convention is crucial for supporting teacher retention.
- Accountability Systems: Accountability systems and assessments can impact teacher attractiveness and well-being. Strict accountability measures negatively affect teacher recruitment and retention, while professional and participatory accountability mechanisms stimulate motivation.
- Financing the Teaching Profession: Global education expenditure averages have remained consistent, but disparities persist between high and low-income countries. Macroeconomic factors, such as COVID-19 and armed conflict, stress global economic conditions and education spending. The Education 2030 Framework set targets of 4-6% of GDP for education, but many regions struggle to meet these targets.
- Education Expenditure Disparities: Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southern Asia struggle to meet GDP expenditure targets for education. Eastern and Southern Africa and Southern Asia show a decline in public expenditure on education from 2017 to 2021. Substantial variation exists in education expenditure between and within regions.
Strategic Recommendations: In view of these challenges, UNESCO proposes several strategic recommendations to address teacher shortages and advance the Education 2030 Agenda:
- Holistic Teacher Policies: Develop integrated teacher policies aligned with national priorities through collaboration and social dialogue to improve the profession’s status.
- Data Collection: Collect more and better data to track progress, understand teacher needs, and ensure equitable deployment of qualified teachers.
- Transform Teacher Education: Shift teacher education to lifelong, collaborative, and teacher-led processes, making teaching an intellectually stimulating profession.
- Improve Working Conditions: Enhance working conditions, including competitive salaries, incentives, gender equality, and well-defined career pathways, to motivate teacher retention.
- International Cooperation: Engage in enhanced international cooperation to address shortages, share experiences, and implement global best practices.
- Adequate Funding: Ensure adequate funding consistent with benchmarks of 6% of GDP and 20% of total government expenditure, targeting teacher wages and profession attractiveness.
