94347 Paraguay SABER Country Report TEACHERS 2012 Policy Goals Status 1. Setting Clear Expectations for Teachers Expectations for students and teachers are clear, but the statutory definition of teachers’ work time does not include the amount of time that teachers spend preparing lessons or fulfilling other duties. 2. Attracting the Best into Teaching Career opportunities may not be attractive to potential teacher candidates. There are no policies in place to reward teacher performance with higher compensation or promotion, which may discourage highly motivated candidates from becoming teachers. Moreover, poor physical infrastructure may create unattractive work environments for teachers. 3. Preparing Teachers with Useful Training and Experience While beginning teachers must acquire practical professional experience as part of their training, they lack the necessary training to adequately fulfill their teaching responsibilities. 4. Matching Teachers’ Skills with Students’ Needs There are no policies in place to provide incentives for teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools or to teach critical shortage subjects. 5. Leading Teachers with Strong Principals Although policies require principals to support teachers to improve instruction, they are not required to receive training to improve their abilities. 6. Monitoring Teaching and Learning Teachers are officially required to take part in evaluations meant to help them improve practice. However, external teacher performance data and classroom observations are not used to improve teaching. 7. Supporting Teachers to Improve Instruction Teachers are required to receive many hours of professional development annually. However, that professional development does not make use of practice-oriented methods, such as teacher networks, school visits, or mentoring, nor is it customized based on the needs of individual teachers. 8. Motivating Teachers to Perform While teachers can be dismissed for misconduct, policies do not allow teacher performance to affect promotions, compensation, or dismissals cannot affect hiring and compensation decisions. THE WORLD BANK PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Overview of SABER-Teachers database where interested stakeholders can access detailed information organized along relevant categories that describe how different education There is increasing interest across the globe in systems manage their teacher force, as well as copies of attracting, retaining, developing, and motivating great supporting documents. The full database is available at teachers. Student achievement has been found to the SABER-Teacher website. correlate with economic and social progress (Hanushek & Woessmann 2007, 2009; Pritchett & Viarengo 2009; Campante & 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 1. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching and that several consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset the learning deficits of 2. Initial teacher education disadvantaged students (Hanushek & Rivkin 2010; 3. Recruitment and employment Rivkin, et al. 2005; Nye et al. 2004; Rockoff 2004; Park & Hannum 2001; Sanders & Rivers 1996). However, 4. Teachers’ workload and autonomy achieving the right teacher policies to ensure that every 5. Professional development classroom has a motivated, supported, and competent teacher remains a challenge, because evidence on the 6. Compensation (salary and non-salary benefits) impacts of many teacher policies remains insufficient 7. Retirement rules and benefits and scattered, the impact of many reforms depends on specific design features, and teacher policies can have 8. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality very different impacts depending on the context and 9. Teacher representation and voice other education policies in place. 10. School leadership A new tool, SABER-Teachers, aims to help fill this gap by collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating comprehensive information on teacher policies in primary and secondary education systems To offer informed policy guidance, SABER-Teachers around the world. SABER-Teachers is a core component analyzes the information collected to assess the extent of SABER (Systems Approach for Better Education to which the teacher policies of an education system Results), an initiative launched by the Human are aligned with those policies that the research Development Network of the World Bank. SABER evidence to date has shown to have a positive effect collects information about different education systems’ on student achievement. SABER-Teachers analyzes the policy domains, analyzes it to identify common teacher policy data collected to assess each education challenges and promising solutions, and makes it widely system’s progress in achieving 8 Teacher Policy Goals: 1. available to inform countries’ decisions on where and Setting clear expectations for teachers; 2. Attracting the how to invest in order to improve education quality. best into teaching; 3. Preparing teachers with useful training and experience; 4. Matching teachers’ skills SABER-Teachers collects data on ten core teacher with students’ needs; 5. Leading teachers with strong policy areas to offer a comprehensive descriptive principals; 6. Monitoring teaching and learning; 7. overview of the teacher policies that are in place in Supporting teachers to improve instruction; and 8. each participating education system (see Box 1). Data Motivating teachers to perform (see Figure 1). are collected in each participating education system by a specialized consultant using a questionnaire that ensures 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 2 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Figure 1: 8 Teacher Policy Goals established, and advanced), which describes the extent to which a given education system has in place teacher policies that are known to be related to improved student outcomes. 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, rather than on policy implementation. SABER-Teachers analyzes the teacher policies formally adopted by education systems. However, policies “on the ground”, that is, policies as they are actually implemented, may differ quite substantially from policies as originally designed, and in fact they often do so, due to the The 8 Teacher Policy Goals are functions that all high- political economy of the reform process, lack of capacity performing education systems fulfill to a certain extent of the organizations in charge of implementing them, or in order to ensure that every classroom has a the interaction between these policies and specific motivated, supported, and competent teacher. These contextual factors. Since SABER-Teachers collects goals were identified through a review of evidence of limited data on policy implementation, the assessment research studies on teacher policies, and the analysis of of teacher policies presented in this report needs to be policies of top-performing and rapidly-improving complemented with detailed information that describes education systems. Three criteria were used to identify the actual configuration of teacher policies on the them: teacher policy goals had to be (i) linked to ground. student performance through empirical evidence, (ii) a priority for resource allocation, and (iii) actionable, that This report presents results of the application of is, actions governments can take to improve education SABER-Teachers in Paraguay. It describes Paraguay policy. The eight teacher policy goals exclude other performance in each of the 8 Teacher Policy Goals, objectives that countries might want to pursue to alongside comparative information from education increase the effectiveness of their teachers, but on systems that have consistently scored high results in which there is to date insufficient empirical evidence to international student achievement tests and have make specific policy recommendations. participated in SABER-Teachers. Additional detailed descriptive information on Paraguay’s and other By classifying countries according to their performance education systems’ teacher policies can be found on the on each of the 8 Teacher Policy Goals, SABER-Teachers SABER-Teachers website. can help diagnose the key challenges that countries face in ensuring they have effective teachers. For each policy goal, the SABER-Teachers team identified policy levers (actions that governments can take to reach these goals) and indicators (which measure the extent to which governments are making effective use of these policy levers). Using these policy levers and indicators, SABER-Teachers classifies education systems’ performance on each of the eight teacher policy goals using a four-category scale (latent, emerging, 3 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Paraguay’s Teacher Policy System Results professional development and curriculum planning (World Bank, 2011). According to Paraguay’s policies, Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for teachers teacher schedules do not allot any time for all of their duties; they are paid only for the time they are in the Emerging zz|| classroom (Figure 2). As a result, teachers may lack time to prepare their lessons effectively, and in turn many Setting clear expectations for student and teacher not be using all of their classroom time for teaching. performance is important to guide teachers’ daily work and align necessary resources to make sure that In Paraguay, a large portion of teachers hold multiple teachers can constantly improve instructional practice. positions: they teach at one school in the mornings, and In addition, clear expectations can help ensure there is then a second in the afternoons. If teachers have no coherence among different key aspects of the teaching formal working time outside of class, and have little profession, such as teacher initial education, time outside of work, they are even less likely to have professional development, and teacher appraisal. time to prepare to teach effectively. SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school Figure 2. Official Teacher Tasks systems can use to reach this goal: (1) clear Singapore Paraguay Shanghai expectations for what students should know and be Japan able to do, and how teachers can help students reach these goals; (2) useful guidance on teachers’ use of time to be able to improve instruction at the school level. Support peers 9 9 In Paraguay, there are clearly defined expectations for what students and teachers are supposed to do. Collaborate on school plan 9 9 9 9 Paraguay has defined a set of national standards that inform teachers of required subject content, together Design curriculum 9 9 with measurable indicators of learning that should be Evaluate school 9 9 9 achieved by students at different grades. In addition, the tasks that teachers are expected to carry out are officially stipulated, in a way that recognizes the diversity of teacher tasks outside of basic instruction. Figure 3. Official Time Designated for Teaching Paraguay’s policies do not recognize the need for 100% 100% teachers to spend working time outside of the 80% classroom. It is important that policies reflect all of a 54% teacher’s duties and provide time to complete them. 60% 44% 44% Paraguay recognizes some teacher tasks outside of the 40% classroom, such as grading and administrative tasks, but 20% not other important tasks—such as mentoring, 0% collaborating on school plans, designing curriculum, or Paraguay Guyana Japan South Korea Singapore integrating student populations. Source: SABER-Teacher Data; OECD (2010) In many high-performing systems, by contrast, up to 50 percent of teachers’ work time is committed to preparing effective lessons and completing other tasks. This allows teachers to use their classroom time effectively to teach students and not lose time with classroom administration. High-performers such as Singapore focus most of the non-teaching time on 4 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching Working conditions may deter some high-quality candidates. Working conditions such as student- Latent z||| teacher ratios, school infrastructure and learning materials and other factors contribute to teachers’ The structure and characteristics of the teaching career overall job satisfaction performance. Potential teachers can make it more or less attractive for talented may choose other professions that have more attractive individuals to decide to become teachers. Talented environments and benefits. In Paraguay, pupil-teacher people may be more inclined to become teachers if ratios in primary and secondary school are 28 and 12, they see that entry requirements are on par with those respectively, which is similar to high performers. of well-regarded professions, if compensation and However, the majority of schools in Paraguay have poor working conditions are adequate, and if there are physical infrastructure and lack basic learning materials, attractive opportunities for them to develop as (SABER-School Finance, 2012). Additionally, many professionals. teachers work multiple positions, suggesting either low pay or long hours that may deter some candidates. SABER-Teachers considers four policy levers systems Career opportunities within the teaching profession can use to reach this goal: (1) requirements to enter the may not be sufficiently merit-based to attract talented teaching profession; (2) competitive pay; (3) appealing individuals. Opportunities to assume greater working conditions; and (4) attractive career responsibility and grow during your career attract opportunities. talented and ambitious people to the profession. In Shanghai, for example, talented members of the Requirements to become a teacher are not very profession may later become administrative leaders or stringent. In Paraguay, teachers must complete a curriculum specialists. In Paraguay, teachers may apply tertiary teaching degree, but there are no other to become principals or academic specialists, but requirements such as passing a test, having previous promotion is based on seniority, not merit. professional experience, or passing a practice-based assessment (Figure 3). These undemanding Figure 2. Requirements to enter the profession requirements may reduce the prestige and Singapore Paraguay Shanghai attractiveness of the profession. Japan There are multiple paths for becoming a secondary teacher, but not for becoming a primary teacher. Many high-performing systems allow candidates to enter the Pass written test 9 9 teaching profession through multiple teacher Interview-stage assessment 9 9 9 preparation pathways. In Paraguay, policy at the secondary level does allow aspiring teachers who have Minimum practical experience 9 9 already acquired degrees in relevant fields to become certified through a brief course that focuses on teacher Assessment based on experience 9 9 practices and pedagogy instead of content knowledge. Source: SABER-Teacher Data (2012) By contrast, all primary teachers must pass the same Figure 4. Share of schools with basic inputs, 2008 training model, whether they are beginning their Electricity careers or are experienced non-teaching professionals. Bathrooms Teacher compensation policies are not designed to Water reward the most effective teachers. Teacher Computers Secondary compensation is subject to a specific pay scale that does Libraries Primary not account for teacher effort or results. People who could be tomorrow’s high-performing teachers may 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% instead choose a profession that offers greater rewards Source: SABER-School Finance (2012). Shares interpreted for their strongest professionals. from data collected for xx project. 5 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 3: Preparing Teachers with Useful Figure 5. Required classroom experience, secondary Training and Experience teachers South Korea Emerging zz|| Singapore Paraguay Shanghai Japan Equipping teachers with the skills they need to succeed in the classroom is crucial. Teachers need subject matter and pedagogic knowledge, as well as classroom management skills and lots of teaching practice in order 3 months or less 9 to be successful in the classroom. In addition, preparation puts all teachers on an equal footing, giving 12 months or less 9 9 them a common framework to improve their practice. 12-24 months 9 SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) minimum More than 24 months 9 standards for pre-service training programs; (2) Source: SABER-Teacher Data (2012) required classroom experience for all teachers. Teachers in Paraguay are required to acquire at Current Reforms: Accreditation and Evaluation of minimum an ISCED 5B educational qualification. In Teacher Training Institutions most countries, one must complete certain In 2009, the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura requirements including coursework before becoming a began piloting a new mechanism in accreditation of teacher, to ensure minimum content knowledge and teacher preparation programs. As initially outlined teaching skills. Teachers in Paraguay must acquire an in the Mecanismo de Licenciamiento de occupation-oriented tertiary degree (at the level of Institutciones de Formadoras de Docentes,the new ISCED 5B) before teaching (Figure 5). By comparison, evaluation program incorporate self-evaluations and the highest-performing education systems require a external evaluations of teacher preparation more rigorous bachelor’s degree (ISCED 5A). programs. This information will help inform a final review by the MEC. Teacher entrants are required to have substantial practical experience through a mentoring program. The more practical experience new teachers have, the better prepared they will be for their job. Most high- performing systems, for instance, require their teacher entrants to have a considerable amount of classroom experience before becoming independent teachers, and some of these systems provide mentoring and support during the first and even second year on the job (Darling-Hammond 2010, Ingersoll 2007).In Paraguay, policies require that teacher training programs incorporate six months to a year of classroom experience (Figure 5). Some education systems also include mentoring or induction programs to help new teachers in the first year in the classroom. No such programs are required or offered for beginning teachers in Paraguay. 6 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 4: Matching teachers’ skills with for teachers of particular subjects. In Paraguay, no students’ needs policies recognize the existence of shortage subjects, nor do they attempt to increase the supply of teachers Latent z||| of those subjects (Figure 7). High-performing systems formally identify, monitor, and use incentives to attract teachers of shortage subjects. For example, when the Ensuring that teachers work in schools where their skills United Kingdom faced shortages of mathematics and are most needed is important for equity and efficiency. science teachers, they offered payments to people First, it is a way of ensuring teachers are distributed as studying to become teachers in those subjects to defray efficiently as possible, making sure that there are no education costs (OECD, 2011). shortages of qualified teachers at any given grade, education level, or subject. Second, it is a means of Figure 7. Incentives to teach shortage subjects 1 ensuring all students in a school system have an equal Paraguay Shanghai opportunity to learn. Without purposeful allocation South Korea Japan systems, it is likely that teachers will gravitate towards schools serving better-off students or located in more desirable areas, deepening inequalities in the system. Formal identification of shortage subjects 9 9 9 SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) incentives for Higher basic salary 9 teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools; and (2) incentives for teachers to teach critical shortage areas. Monetary bonus 9 Subsidized education 9 No policies exist to ensure quality teachers are Source: SABER-Teachers Data. distributed throughout all schools in Paraguay. Attracting effective teachers to work in hard-to-staff Figure 8. Incentives to teach in hard-to-staff schools1 schools, which typically serve students from Paraguay Shanghai disadvantaged populations, is a challenge for many South Korea Japan countries. To attract teachers to work under these conditions often requires additional incentives, such as greater career opportunities or better pay. No such Promotion incentives exist in Paraguay (Figure 6). opportunities 9 9 Often education systems use seniority as a basis for Higher basic salary 9 approving transfer requests, which often exacerbates teacher deployment problems. By permitting the most Monetary Bonus 9 9 seasoned teachers to leave hard-to-staff schools, less Subsidized education 9 experienced and potentially less capable teachers Source: SABER-Teacher Data. remain at underserved schools. In some high- performing systems, teacher transfers are informed primarily by school needs and teacher qualifications. Paraguay’s policies state that student transfers may occur to improve education quality and make no mention of teacher seniority, suggesting that it does not suffer from this problem. Paraguay’s policies do not formally recognize or address subjects suffering from teacher shortages. In 1 Note: Singapore has no specific deployment school and subject almost all countries, there is particularly high demand incentives but instead centrally manages teacher deployment 7 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 5: Leading Teachers with Strong as instructional leaders. Principals are expected to be Principals knowledgeable in teaching and curriculum matters, as well as to provide guidance and support to teachers. Latent z||| They evaluate teachers, provide feedback, assess the school’s needs for professional development, and direct The quality of school leaders is second only to instructional resources where they are most needed classroom teaching as a predictor of student learning (Darling-Hammond & Rothman 2011). Principals in (Eberts & Stone 1988; Leithwood, et al. 2006). Quality Paraguay are officially expected to support teachers to principals attract and retain quality teachers (Boyd, et improve instruction and their classroom practice. al. 2009; Ingersoll 2001a, 2001b; Papa Jr., Lankford & Principals are expected to serve as leaders in their Wyckoff 2002). In addition, capable principals can schools, take part in teacher and school evaluations, spearhead much-needed change at the school level, so and enumerate teacher responsibilities. having strong leaders is important not only to ensure acceptable levels of performance but also to drive Figure 9. Requirements to become a Principal improvements. Finally, good principals can facilitate South Korea teachers’ work and continuous improvement. The more Singapore Paraguay Shanghai capable a principal is, the more he or she can support Japan teachers, create a sense of community, make teachers feel valued and ease their anxiety about external pressures (Mulford 2003). Specific coursework 9 9 9 SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) education Internship 9 9 9 9 system’s investment in developing qualified school Mentoring program 9 9 9 9 leaders; (2) decision-making authority for school Source: SABER-Teachers Data. principals to support and improve instructional practice. There are no requirements or preparation specifically for principals. Most high-performing systems require participation in an internship or mentoring program to help new principals learn from the experience of others, and require principals to complete training or courses relevant to school leadership and administration. In Paraguay there are no such requirements to become a principal that are distinct from those of a teacher, although principals must have 7 years of professional teaching experience (Figure 8). Additionally, some high-performing systems provide monetary incentives for principals to improve school quality, which may motivate principals. Paraguay does not provide any such incentives. Principals are expected to support teachers in improving their instruction. More than just serving as administrators, effective principals support teachers in their work. High-performing education systems such as Finland, Ontario, and Singapore think of their principals 8 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 6: Monitoring Teaching and Learning knowledge, teaching methods, and student assessment methods. Emerging zz|| Figure 10. Methods Used to Monitor Teachers Student learning assessments may inform overall South Korea policy but not individual teacher practice. National Singapore Paraguay Shanghai student assessments can help authorities identify Japan individual students, student groups, schools, and classes that are in need of extra attention. All high-performing education systems ensure that there is enough student Required performance data to inform teaching and policy. These ensure that evaluations 9 9 9 9 9 three main functions are fulfilled: (1) There is a system Performance to collect relevant and complete data on student achievement regularly; (2) There is a mechanism for monitored by 9 9 9 9 authorities public authorities to access these to inform policy, and Teachers can be (3) There is a mechanism to feed these data back to the tracked over time 9 9 9 9 9 school level, so that teachers can use the data to Source: SABER-Teachers Data improve classroom practice. Paraguay conducts national assessments of a sample of students aged 8, 11, 14, and 18. While the assessments cannot be linked to individual teachers and therefore cannot help them improve individual teacher practice, the overall findings do help to identify trends, and they are reported to higher authorities. Systems to monitor teacher performance exist. In Paraguay, policies require teachers to participate regularly in performance evaluations conducted by principals. The results can be tracked over time (Figure 9), which may help identify patterns in individual teacher performance. Some high-performing systems use external evaluators to ensure feedback is more useful to central authorities. Policies make use of multiple mechanisms to evaluate teacher performance. Research suggests that no single method of evaluating teacher performance is failsafe. Most high-performing systems conduct teacher evaluations using a variety of mechanisms of data collection and varied criteria for assessment. In Paraguay, policy stipulates performance evaluations must incorporate input from principals, but not from other teachers or classroom observation. Many systems have improved outcomes by making use of student achievement data and external evaluators. Similar to policies of high-performing countries, Paraguay’s policies list a variety of criteria to be used to assess performance. These include: subject matter 9 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve instructional practice and student achievement, such as instruction strong teacher mentoring networks, peer observations of highly effective teachers, and mentoring or coaching opportunities (Figure 10). Latent z||| Policies do not permit assigning professional Support systems are necessary to help improve development based on individual needs. To ensure instruction at the school level. In order to constantly support is customized to each teacher’s needs, high- improve instructional practice, teachers and schools performing systems use performance evaluations to need to be able to analyze specific challenges they face develop customized professional development plans or in classroom teaching, have access to information on assign mentors. In Paraguay, teachers are not assigned best practices to address these challenges, and receive professional development based on performance specific external support tailored to their needs. evaluations; nor does policy allow for teachers to be assigned a supervisor or mentor based on evaluations. SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) availability of opportunities for teacher professional development; (2) Figure 12. Use of Highly Effective Professional teacher professional development activities that are Development Methods collaborative and focused on instructional Singapore Paraguay Shanghai improvement; (3) teacher professional development that is assigned based on perceived needs. Japan Teachers are required to take part in professional Observation visits 9 9 9 development as part of their official duties. Professional development in Paraguay is included in the Teacher networks 9 9 9 hours that teachers are required to attend school. School networks 9 9 9 Similar to high-performing education systems, Paraguay requires over 10 days of teacher professional Research 9 9 development annually. To encourage teachers to obtain Mentoring or coaching 9 9 9 all the professional development they need, high- Source: SABER-Teachers Data. performing systems cover all the costs of professional development. However, according to respondents, professional development in Paraguay is said to be free to teachers in policy, although this is not the case in practice. Paraguay’s policies do not encourage the most effective professional development activities. Effective teacher professional development is collaborative and provides opportunities for the analysis of instructional practice (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005). While teachers in Paraguay have many hours of required professional development, the definition of professional development is limited to courses, certifications, and workshops, and it omits some highly effective methods that have been linked to student achievement (Villegas- Reimers, 2003). Evidence suggests other professional development activities that are oriented to improve 10 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform absenteeism can reach high levels, negatively impacting student performance (Chaudhury et al. 2005; Herrmann Emerging zz|| & Rockoff 2009; Miller, Murnane & Willett 2008; Rogers & Vegas 2009). Education systems can encourage Adequate incentives for teachers can contribute to teacher attendance by taking it into account in teacher effective teaching and learning. First, incentives are a evaluations, providing teachers with incentives to be way for school systems to signal their seriousness in present in school, and dismissing teachers if they are achieving certain goals. The more aligned incentives are consistently absent. In Paraguay, performance with the behaviors and outcomes they want to produce evaluations and attending professional development in teaching, the more likely they will obtain them. are required to remain in the profession. Second, incentives are also a way to recognize teachers’ work. Teaching is a challenging job and incentives can Teacher compensation is not linked to performance let teachers know that the results they have achieved (Figure 11). To align teacher incentives, systems that are valued so that they continue working hard to are most effective at motivating teachers provide sustain them. Finally, some types of incentives can also incentives to perform well (e.g., performance bonuses). influence the profile of the teaching profession and In Paraguay high performing teachers do not receive make it more competitive, dynamic, and performance- bonuses as rewards for exemplary performance. In driven. addition, performance evaluations have no effect on teacher compensation. SABER - Teachers considers three policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) linking career Figure 13. Employment decisions influenced by opportunities to teachers’ performance; (2) having performance mechanisms to hold teachers accountable; (3) linking South Korea teacher compensation to performance. Singapore Paraguay Shanghai Japan Promotion opportunities and hiring decisions are not officially linked to teachers’ performance outcomes. To ensure teachers are capable before granting them long- term contracts, authorities need both a probation Open-ended contracts 9 9 period upon initial hires and the right not to offer long- Teacher compensation 9 9 9 term contracts to teachers who do not perform during the probation period. In Paraguay there is a mandatory Promotions 9 9 9 9 probation period, but performance on the job during Source: SABER-Teachers Data that period does not factor into whether teachers receive appointments. Promotion decisions are also not informed by past performance. Teachers can be dismissed for misconduct but not for poor performance. It is vital to be able to remove certain teachers from the occupation to maintain minimum standards of student safety and education quality. Paraguay has policies allowing for dismissal based on misconduct, child abuse, and absenteeism, but not poor teacher performance. Requiring teachers to meet some standards to remain in the teaching profession can facilitate the removal of ineffective teachers. One minimum standard is consistent teacher attendance. Research in both developed and developing countries indicates that teacher 11 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Policy Options x Instead of conducting professional development in traditional workshops, Paraguay could encourage teachers to share Building on the above snapshot of key teacher policies, best practices through teacher networks, this section offers some options to strengthen Guyana’s observation visits to model schools and school teacher policy framework. networks. Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for teachers x Paraguay could offer teachers opportunities to Teacher expectations are clear, but teachers do not analyze their instructional practice through have official time to prepare for class or fulfill other mentoring and coaching throughout their duties. career. x Paraguay may consider altering teacher work Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform time to reflect teacher duties outside of the classroom Paraguay requires probation periods of new teachers, but does not decide hiring or compensation based on Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching teacher performance. Poor infrastructure and career structure suggest that x Paraguay could allow required performance teaching is a profession unattractive to the best evaluations to inform a portion of teacher candidates. compensation. x Paraguay may consider improving school and x Paraguay could use performance during classroom conditions. probation periods to inform long-term hiring x Paraguay may want to review its pay structure decisions. for teachers and consider how to attract high- quality candidates. Goal 4: Matching teacher’ skills with students’ needs Government policies provide no incentives for teachers to work in schools or subjects with a staff shortage. x The government could formally identify subjects with a lack of teachers, monitor enrollment of teachers in those subjects, and provide incentives (such as better career opportunities or compensation). x Policies could be designed to encourage teachers to remain in hard-to-staff schools, and career and transfer policies could be altered to encourage teachers to spend more time in hard-to-staff schools. Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve instruction While primary and secondary school teachers are required to participate in professional development, it is offered through traditional coursework does not make use of methods research suggest are most likely to improve teacher practice and outcomes. 12 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 Acknowledgements This report was prepared by Andrew Trembley (Consultant, HDNED), with inputs from Mary E. Breeding, (Consultant, HDNED), Analia Jaimovich (Consultant, HDNED), and Emiliana Vegas (former Lead Economist, HDNED), and under the direction of Halsey Rogers (Lead Economist, HDNED). The data was collected by Rodolfo Elias under the guidance of Rafael De Hoyos and with support from Jessica Rodriguez. References Campante, F. & Glaeser, E. L. (2009). “Yet Another Tale Park, A., & Hannum, E. (2001). 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Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Hanushek, E. A., & S. G. Rivkin. (2010). “Generalizations "Teachers, Schools and Student Achievement." about Using Value-Added Measures of Teacher Econometrica, 73(2), 417-458. Quality.” American Economic Review. 100 (2): 267–71. Rockoff, J. E. (2004). "The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Hanushek, E. & Woessmann (2007). “Education Quality Data." American Economic Review, 94(2), 247- and Economic Growth.” Washington, DC: The 252. World Bank. Sanders, W. L., & Rivers, J. C. (1996). "Cumulative and Hanushek, E. & Woessmann (2009). “Schooling, Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Cognitive Skills, and the Latin American Growth Academic Achievement." Research Progress Puzzle.” NBER Working Paper 15066. Report. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Value-Added Research and Assessment Center. Research (NBER). Vegas, E., et al. (2012) What matters most in teacher Nye, B., Konstantopoulos, S., & Hedges, L. V. (2004). policies? A framework for building a more "How Large Are Teacher Effects?". Educational effective teaching profession. Washington, DC: Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26(3), 237-257. The World Bank. 13 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS PARAGUAY ۣ TEACHERS SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2012 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 Teacher Policy. 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. THE WORLD BANK 14 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS