Bulgaria SABER Country Report TEACHERS 2013 Policy Goals Status 1. Setting Clear Expectations for Teachers There are clear expectations for what students should learn and what teachers are supposed to do. However, there are not clear guidelines regarding the proportion of school time dedicated to instructional improvement. 2. Attracting the Best into Teaching Entry requirements, teacher pay, and working conditions may not be appealing for talented candidates, signaling teaching as a low-status profession. Teacher pay was reformed in 2008 and has been increasing since, though it is still not appealing for talented candidates. 3. Preparing Teachers with Useful Training and Experience Current initial teacher education programs may not be best suited to ensure good-quality teachers. Teachers-in-training have the opportunity to develop practical teaching skills, but the amount of required practical training may be insufficient. 4. Matching Teachers’ Skills with Students’ Needs There are no official systems in place to address teacher shortages in hard-to- staff schools, or to attract teachers in critical-shortage subjects, but some shortages have been partially addressed. 5. Leading Teachers with Strong Principals Principals are expected to monitor teacher performance and provide support to teachers to improve instructional practice, and their performance is rewarded. At present, there are no specific training requirements to ensure that principals have the necessary skills to act as instructional leaders rather than school administrators, but a mentoring program is proposed under the new draft law. 6. Monitoring Teaching and Learning There are systems in place to assess student learning in order to inform policy but not teaching. Teacher performance is evaluated annually, but the criteria used might not be capturing effective teaching. 7. Supporting Teachers to Improve Instruction There are opportunities for teacher professional development, but requirements for length and frequency are not specified and teachers pay for some of their own professional development activities. 8. Motivating Teachers to Perform There are mechanisms in place to hold teachers accountable. Career opportunities and salaries are linked to teacher performance via an annual evaluation, but the current evaluation system is not necessarily based on criteria that capture effective teaching. THE WORLD BANK BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Introduction to 46th place (composite score) on the PISA assessment measuring reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy Bulgaria implemented sweeping decentralization and of 15-year-olds (9th-graders). Approximately 41 percent efficiency-focused reforms in basic education in 2007 of students are functionally illiterate as defined by and 2008. The education system adjusted to the OECD standards (OECD 2009). Between 1999 and 2009, negative demographic trends by optimizing the network Bulgaria fell from 20th to 28th place on the ICCS of schools (closing and merging schools), introducing international assessment measuring the civic literacy of per-capita based financing and delegating significant 8th-graders. Student performance varies significantly financial and decision-making autonomy to school between and within schools, which is partly explained principals. This policy reform package produced a by the combination of free school choice, early test- number of benefits for the education sector; it accrued based selection of students into high- and low- savings of over 100 million BGN and increased wages by performing schools and early tracking into general and 46 percent and reallocation of resources for capital vocational streams (after 7th grade). investment (World Bank 2010). While initially school closures negatively affected the access to education The negative trends in learning outcomes have among linguistic minority groups living in rural and refocused the attention of both policy makers and the remote areas, a set of measures (including free public from spending efficiency and network transportation to neighboring hub schools, improved optimization to education effectiveness. Over the past school environment and facilities, designation of three years, the Government has held extensive “protected schools” in remote areas that cannot be discussions with professional and broader stakeholders closed) tamed the negative side effects from the school on developing an entirely new legal framework for pre- network optimization. university education. The government recently completed a draft of a new Law on Preschool and Pre-university education in Bulgaria is compulsory for School Education envisions measures to strengthen the ages five to sixteen and is presently characterized by student assessment system and improve the high participation and enrollment rates (ranging from accountability framework for schools by increasing 82 percent for pre-school education to 95 percent for parental involvement in schools’ oversight and decision primary and 82 percent for secondary education) making. The law also introduces more rigorous (National Statistical Institute 2013). Public schools serve requirements for school principals and strengthens the the majority of Bulgarian students – less than 1 percent inspection and evaluation frameworks. In parallel, the of students attend private schools. Bulgaria’s public learning standards, the curriculum and textbooks have school system consists of 2,476 schools serving children been subjected to revisions. Less prominent in the in grades one through twelve. During the 2012-2013 public mind but no less important are the quality of school year, there were 51,711 teachers and 746,702 teaching and school leadership, two factors which are students in the public school system. The average known to affect learning outcomes the most. student teacher ratio in Bulgaria is 14.44:1, varying considerably across different types of schools and types At the request of the Government of Bulgaria, the of communities (from 11:1 in rural secondary schools to World Bank has implemented its newly developed tool 19: 1 in urban primary schools). for assessment and benchmarking of policies and programs affecting teacher’s effectiveness - SABER Despite the government’s impressive achievements in Teachers. The key findings and policy options outlined terms of spending efficiency and high enrollment, in the present report are intended to inform the lingering concerns remain about the quality and equity finalization of the new Draft Law and the development of the education system. The country has seen a of the bylaws regulating teachers’ policies in Bulgaria. negative trend in student learning outcomes as measured by international assessments. Between 2001 Overview of SABER-Teachers and 2011, Bulgaria fell from 4th to 22nd place on the There is increasing interest across the globe in PIRLS reading assessment of 4th-graders (PIRLS 2001, attracting, retaining, developing, and motivating great 2011). Between 2001 and 2009, Bulgaria fell from 32nd 1 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 teachers. Student achievement has been found to supporting documents. The full database is available at correlate with economic and social progress (Hanushek the SABER-Teacher website. & Woessmann 2007, 2009; Pritchett & Viarengo 2009; Campante & Glaeser 2009), and teachers are key: recent studies have shown that teacher quality is the main school-based predictor of student achievement Box 1. Teacher policy areas for data collection and that several consecutive years of outstanding 1. Requirements to enter and remain in teaching 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 & 4. Teachers’ workload and autonomy Hannum 2001; Sanders & Rivers 1996). However, 5. Professional development achieving the right teacher policies to ensure that every 6. Compensation (salary and non-salary benefits) classroom has a motivated, supported, and competent 7. Retirement rules and benefits teacher remains a challenge, because evidence on the 8. Monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality impacts of many teacher policies remains insufficient 9. Teacher representation and voice and scattered, the impact of many reforms depends on 10. School leadership specific design features, and teacher policies can have very different impacts depending on the context and To offer informed policy guidance, SABER-Teachers other education policies in place. analyzes the information collected to assess the extent to which the teacher policies of an education system A new tool, SABER-Teachers, aims to help fill this gap are aligned with those policies that the research by collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and evidence to date has shown to have a positive effect disseminating comprehensive information on teacher on student achievement. SABER-Teachers analyzes the policies in primary and secondary education systems teacher policy data collected to assess each education around the world. SABER-Teachers is a core component system’s progress in achieving 8 Teacher Policy Goals: 1. of SABER (Systems Approach for Better Education Setting clear expectations for teachers; 2. Attracting the Results), an initiative launched by the Human best into teaching; 3. Preparing teachers with useful Development Network of the World Bank. SABER training and experience; 4. Matching teachers’ skills collects information about different education systems’ with students’ needs; 5. Leading teachers with strong policy domains, analyzes it to identify common principals; 6. Monitoring teaching and learning; 7. challenges and promising solutions, and makes it widely Supporting teachers to improve instruction; and 8. available to inform countries’ decisions on where and Motivating teachers to perform (see Figure 1). how to invest in order to improve education quality. Figure 1: 8 Teacher Policy Goals SABER-Teachers collects data on ten core teacher policy areas to offer a comprehensive descriptive overview of the teacher policies that are in place in each participating education system(see Box 1). Data 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 database where interested stakeholders can access detailed information organized along relevant categories that describe how different education systems manage their teacher force, as well as copies of 2 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 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 Bulgaria. It describes Bulgaria’s 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 Bulgaria’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 Bulgaria’s teacher policy system results policy goal, the SABER-Teachers team identified policy levers (actions that governments can take to reach Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for teachers these goals) and indicators (which measure the extent to which governments are making effective use of these Established policy levers). Using these policy levers and indicators, SABER-Teachers classifies education systems’ Setting clear expectations for student and teacher performance on each of the eight teacher policy goals performance is important to guide teachers’ daily work using a four-category scale (latent, emerging, and align necessary resources to make sure that established, and advanced), which describes the extent teachers can constantly improve instructional practice. to which a given education system has in place teacher In addition, clear expectations can help ensure there is policies that are known to be related to improved coherence among different key aspects of the teaching student outcomes (Annex 1). The main objective of this profession, such as teacher initial education, assessment is to identify the strengths and weaknesses professional development, and teacher appraisal. of the teacher policies of an education system and pinpoint possible areas for improvement. For a more SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school detailed report on the eight teacher policy goals, policy systems can use to reach this goal: (1) clear levers and indicators, as well as the evidence base expectations for what students should know and be supporting them, see Vegas et al. (2012). 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. 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. In fact they often do differ, due to the 3 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 (1) In Bulgaria, there are expectations for what students are expected to learn and for what teachers (2) Guidance on teachers’ use of time could focus more are supposed to do. The Ministry of Education, Youth on ensuring that expectations are set in a way as to and Science (MOMN) 1 is responsible for setting improve instruction. Teachers’ working time in Bulgaria education goals and controlling the national curriculum. is officially defined as the overall number of working There are officially stipulated requirements for the hours (as opposed to merely counting contact time with minimum education, curriculum, and skills students students or hours spent at the school). Global must attain in every subject by every grade. experience suggests this definition may be conducive to Additionally, schools have the autonomy by regulation learning, because it recognizes that teachers normally to choose individual school specializations and elective need to devote some time to non-teaching tasks, such classes. as lesson planning, the analysis of student work, and professional development, as well as administrative The tasks teachers are expected to carry out are tasks. officially stipulated. Teacher tasks go beyond classroom teaching. There are essentially three types of teacher However, non-teaching tasks related to instructional tasks: basic tasks, additional tasks to be eligible for an improvement are not officially a required part of annual salary bonus, and responsibilities related to the teachers’ basic tasks in Bulgaria. Such tasks may include labor code. Firstly, basic tasks include activities such as mentoring peers, collaborating on school plans, or participating in the Pedagogical Committee and participating in school evaluation (Figure 2). In practice, implementing its decisions, being a class teacher, it is possible that teachers take part in such activities leading extra curriculum activities, and grading external and some of them officially count toward their annual assessments. Secondly, additional tasks from the list of salary bonus calculation. Given overall concerns about criteria that make teachers eligible for an annual bonus the practicability and the effectiveness of the annual include activities related to teaching, such as using performance bonus framework as set up currently (See innovative teaching methods. Third, the responsibilities Goal 6 & 8), it is unclear what percentage of teachers related to the labor code and discipline focus mostly on devote time to such activities, how often they actually expectations of teachers’ work-place behavior. do so, and how this varies from school to school. While there are clearly defined teacher tasks, there is In contrast, successful education systems such as no clear statement in the law as to what percentage of Ontario, Finland, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore time teachers should allocate to any of these tasks devote considerable time at the school level to activities (except for actual teaching in the classroom). that are related to instructional improvement, such as Furthermore, there are no official guidelines or collaboration among teachers on the analysis of standards as to what good versus poor performance instructional practice as well as mentoring and looks like. The principal ultimately determines whether professional development (Darling Hammond & teachers have fulfilled their stipulated tasks and Rothman 2011, Darling-Hammond 2010, Levin 2008). In obligations. The Regional Inspectorate of Education addition, these systems tend to devote a smaller share (RIO) ensures the school is compliant with all of teachers’ time to actual contact time with students regulations, but there are no safeguards to prevent than other systems do, and a larger share to teacher subjective decision-making on the part of the principal. collaboration, on-site professional development, and research on the effectiveness of various teaching strategies. Japan, for example, devotes about 40 percent of teachers’ working time to this type of activities, while Ontario currently devotes 30 percent (Darling Hammond & Rothman 2011). 1 In June 2013 the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science was renamed to the Ministry of Education and Science (MON) and the structures pertaining to youth were consolidated into another ministry, the Ministry of Youth and Sports. 4 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Figure 2. Teachers’ official tasks related to school programs, but there is not one officially mandated final improvement written exam in pedagogical programs. In Bulgaria, both concurrent and consecutive models for Singapore Shanghai teacher training exist. Concurrent programs, programs Bulgaria Japan that teach subject knowledge and pedagogic skills relatively simultaneously, are one pathway to enter the teaching profession. A key characteristic of this model is Mentor peers   that, on entering an education program, an entrant has already made a decision to become a teacher. The basic Collaborate on school plan    requirement to become a teacher is to have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from a concurrent Design the curriculum   program. Participate in school evaluation   There is also a consecutive model for initial teacher Source: SABER-Teachers data training. Consecutive programs such as the one in Bulgaria allow individuals who are in the process of acquiring or have a Bachelor’s degree in a discipline Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching other than education to gain a teaching certificate after Established twelve months of additional study at university. The structure and characteristics of the teaching career According to official policy, eligibility to teach is offered can make it more or less attractive for talented only by universities. To qualify as a teacher, a candidate individuals to decide to become teachers. Talented must undergo a course of study that includes at least 60 people may be more inclined to become teachers if they hours pedagogy, 45 hours psychology, 15 hours IT see that entry requirements are on par with those of learning methods, and 60 hours of educational well-regarded professions, if compensation and working methodology. A practical part of the degree program is conditions are adequate, and if there are attractive also obligatory, and it must include 30 hours visiting career opportunities for them to develop as classes, 45 teaching practice, 75 hours pre-graduation professionals. teaching practice. All teachers in training pursuing a teaching certificate must pass an obligatory SABER-Teachers considers four policy levers school examination in the form of a sample lesson in front of systems can use to reach this goal: (1) requirements to an examination commission. It is important to note that enter the teaching profession; (2) competitive pay; (3) there is no evidence these programs are selective, or appealing working conditions; and (4) attractive career that one needs to demonstrate any specific opportunities. competencies, rather than credentials, in order to gain admission. (1) In Bulgaria, teachers are required to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in order to be qualified to teach. Entry requirements in Bulgaria may help attract a large Primary and secondary education teachers in Bulgaria potential pool of candidates for teaching, because there receive their initial teacher training in courses taken is more than one pathway to enter the teaching after 12 years of schooling. Formal requirements to profession. However, the requirements to enter such become a primary or secondary school teacher are programs are not rigorous. There are no minimum GPA similar to those in top-performing international requirements to enroll in teacher training. At the same education systems. Teachers in Bulgaria are required to time, regardless of the model (concurrent or have at least a minimum amount of practical consecutive), to become a teacher one needs to have professional experience and to pass a practical completed a degree in a subject matter that is taught at assessment in the form of a sample lesson. There are school. Thus, people with highly selective degrees such also written exams as part of individual course as economics, law or political science have no clear path 5 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 to entering teaching. Typically, they can only do that after longer qualification programs (taking 2-3 In 2008, a pay scale that differentiates teacher salaries years).Data provided in Table 1 illustrates that highly was introduced and there was a substantial increase to accomplished high school graduates rarely apply for teachers’ salaries. Since then, teacher salaries have admissions to pedagogy programs. been going up by about 10% annually. The new pay scale links teachers' individual salaries to their Table 1. Pedagogy and Law Program Entry professional qualification rank. However, teacher pay Requirements (Bachelor’s Degree)2 remains low relative to pay in other similarly skilled professions. As of January 2013 the minimum teacher Major: Law General Subject- salary was 500 BGN (approximately 330 USD), a Pedagogy Specific relatively low wage. For comparison, the starting salary Pedagogy Number of universities of a public servant with an Master’s degree is 3 8 9 approximately 700-800 BGN (approximately 460-530 offering BA degrees High-school GPA of 5.33 / 4.85 / USD), and the public servant has many more options for 4.72 / 6.00 admitted students 6.00 6.00 salary increases. In the private sector, the minimum Prestige among employers salary for a similarly skilled qualified individual with a 13 8 7 (score) Master’s starts around 1000 BGN (approximately 660 Prestige among the public 23 12 11 USD) and could reach a level that is several times higher (score) Unemployment rate of than the highest possible teacher salary. Private schools 2.7% 4.2% 5.1% graduates must comply with the same minimum-salary rules, but Graduates getting a job in they tend to have bigger budgets and can afford to pay 29 19 24 the field (score) teachers more than public school.3 Source: Bulgarian University Ranking System (2) Teacher pay is not appealing for talented In 2008, the government introduced an annual salary candidates. The rules for determining teacher salaries bonus for good performance. This bonus allocates 3-4% are officially defined. Principals and teachers negotiate of the schools’ annual salary fund to teachers who score an individual teacher’s salary based on these rules. Base high on the annual internal evaluation (introduced as a salaries are calculated based on the number of class part of the reform). Evidence from interviews suggests hours taught as well as additional funding provided for that the bonus is not a significant inducement for completing a list of extra tasks, such as: teaching teachers. It represents a relatively negligible percentage additional classes beyond the required minimum, being of the salary; its calculation is focused on process and a class teacher (supervisor), teaching a regular subject outputs, not outcomes. It is not tied to support and in a foreign language and helping grade external professional development opportunities. The process student assessments. Since the 2008 change in school also leaves room for subjectivity in evaluations. financing, school budgets are formulated based on the number of students who attend a school. As a result, Overall, the salary structure including the pay scale and teachers who teach in larger schools may receive a the bonus is not attractive for highly qualified higher base salary. By law, all teachers receive an graduates. annual extra bonus for work attire (about 300 BGN per year). (3) Working conditions may be appealing enough to attract talented individuals to the teaching profession. 2 - The information in Table 1 is based on data from the Bulgarian University Ranking System. The “Prestige” ranking criterion is based on survey results with a representative sample of tertiary students. The survey is an integral 3 There are no official data on private schools salaries, hence differences part of the ranking methodology. between teachers’ salaries in public and private schools is based on - anecdotal evidence and feedback from interviews. 6 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Working conditions may play an important role in the applying to either school administration posts (such as decision to become a teacher. Talented candidates who school principals) or academic leadership positions. have opportunities in other professions may be Promotion opportunities in Bulgaria are not officially discouraged from choosing to become teachers if linked to teacher performance. This link between working conditions are too poor. In Bulgaria, there are promotion decisions and performance is another way of national standards for infrastructure, hygiene, and improving career opportunities in the teaching sanitation in schools. The Law for National Education profession for attractive candidates. At present, the and the Manual for Application of the Law of School main factor used for promotion decisions is years of Education set minimum infrastructure, hygiene, teaching experience, and principals have the autonomy sanitation, and equipment standards for schools. to choose selection criteria when there are more Before the beginning of each school year, schools are qualified applications for a certain position (e.g. for inspected to determine whether they comply with head teacher). Performance may be taken into account, hygiene, safety, and infrastructure standards, and they but the link between performance and promotions is are not allowed to open for the new school year unless not officially mandated. they pass those inspections. Student-teacher ratios, which are another indicator of Goal 3: Preparing teachers with useful teacher working conditions, are similar to those in high- training and experience performing international education systems. The primary school student-teacher ratio is 18:1, and the Established  secondary school ratio is 13:1. Equipping teachers with the skills they need to succeed Figure 3. Student-teacher ratio, primary school in the classroom is crucial. Teachers need subject matter and pedagogic knowledge, as well as classroom South Korea 22 management skills and lots of teaching practice in order Singapore to be successful in the classroom. In addition, 18 preparation puts all teachers on an equal footing, giving Shanghai 11 them a common framework to improve their practice. Japan 16 Bulgaria 18 SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) minimum 0 5 10 15 20 25 standards for pre-service training programs; (2) Source: SABER-Teachers data required classroom experience for all teachers. (4) Opportunities for career advancement may be (1) Teacher initial education may not be providing appealing enough to help attract talented individuals prospective teachers with the necessary practical to the teaching profession. Teachers in most education knowledge and skills to be successful in the classroom. systems are offered opportunities for promotion to Virtually all high-performing countries require that principal positions at some point in their careers. In teachers have an educational level equivalent to ISCED addition to these “vertical” promotions, most high- 5A (a Bachelor’s degree), and some systems, such as performing education systems offer teachers the Finland, require in addition a research-based master’s possibility of “horizontal” promotions, to academic degree (OECD 2011). As mentioned earlier, primary positions that allow them to grow professionally as school teachers in Bulgaria go through their teacher teachers and yet remain closely connected to initial education at the ISCED 5A level, completing a instruction, instead of moving up to managerial Bachelor’s degree course with a practical component. positions (OECD 2012, Darling-Hammond 2010). (2) Practical classroom experience requirements for Policies in Bulgaria offer various opportunities for career teachers-in-training could be strengthened, advancement to teachers. Teachers have the option of particularly for secondary school teachers. Practical 7 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 experience is an important factor in teaching quality. First, it is a way of ensuring teachers are distributed as The more teachers try out their pedagogical theories, efficiently as possible, making sure that there are no subject-matter knowledge, and classroom management shortages of qualified teachers at any given grade, skills, the better prepared they will be for their job. education level, or subject. Second, it is a means of Most high-performing systems require their teacher ensuring all students in a school system have an equal entrants to have a considerable amount of classroom opportunity to learn. Without purposeful allocation experience before becoming independent teachers, and systems, it is likely that teachers will gravitate towards some of these systems provide mentoring and support schools serving better-off students or located in more during the first and even second year on the job desirable areas, deepening inequalities in the system. (Darling-Hammond 2010, Ingersoll 2007). In Bulgaria, teachers-in-training acquire less than three months of SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school classroom experience (240 hours for primary school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) incentives for teachers and 120 hours for secondary school teachers). teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools; and (2) incentives for teachers to teach in critical shortage In Bulgaria, novice teachers are not required to areas. participate in induction programs or mentoring programs, even though senior teachers are required to (1) There are no official policies or systematic provide mentoring. In high-performing systems, measures undertaken to prevent or address teacher programs aimed at facilitating new teachers’ transition shortages in hard-to-staff schools. Attracting effective into teaching for both primary and secondary school teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools (schools that teachers are usually longer than 7 months. These are in disadvantaged locations or serve underprivileged programs have the potential to make teachers more populations) is a challenge for many countries, and effective in the classroom and reduce teacher turnover. often requires a specific set of incentives. Figure 4. Required classroom experience, primary In Bulgaria, this is partially addressed with the school teachers “protected schools” policy. A protected school is a school which has too few students to receive enough South Korea funding to sustain itself (in Bulgaria schools receive Singapore Shanghai funding based on the number of students that attend Bulgaria Japan them), but if it were to be closed, its students would not be able to attend another school. Those schools are determined in an official list issued by the Ministry of 3 months or less   Education and receive extra funds to ensure budget sustainability, including teacher salary funding. As these 12 months or less  schools tend to be geographically remote and less accessible, teachers there get up to 80% of their travel 12-24 months  expenses covered. This is one ad-hoc measure that could be construed as an incentive to attract teachers to More than 24 months  a subset of hard-to-staff schools, namely the “protected Source: SABER-Teachers data schools.” However, since those schools have relatively fewer students, there are few openings for new teachers. The policy focuses more on ensuring the Goal 4: Matching teachers’ skills with schools are not closed because of a lack of funding students’ needs (hence the name “protected” schools) rather than Established  attracting effective teachers to these schools. Usually these schools need teachers who are qualified to teach Ensuring that teachers work in schools where their skills a mix of subjects, because there are a small number of are most needed is important for equity and efficiency. students and the regular teacher work-load could not be fulfilled unless the teacher teaches many different 8 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 subjects. Universities have naturally adapted to this and Figure 5. Incentives for teachers to teach in hard-to- offer suitable qualifications, but this is not reflected in staff schools the law. South Korea Singapore Shanghai Evidence from interviews further shows that there are Bulgaria Japan many other hard-to-staff schools beyond the list of “protected” schools that struggle to find teachers and fill in vacancies. There has been no official study or data Promotion   to determine what percentage of schools are hard-to- Higher basic salary in staff. hard-to-staff schools   Monetary bonus   (2) Bulgaria has identified one critical-shortage subject Subsidized education  area, but policy does not systematically identify or Housing support   address all critical shortage areas. Regular subjects Source: SABER-Teachers data taught in foreign languages have been officially identified as a critical-shortage area. The law states that Note: Singapore has no specific incentives to attract qualified the base salary of teachers who teach a regular subject teachers to hard-to-staff schools, but it does have a centrally- in a foreign language is higher. Schools annually report managed teacher deployment system that ensures an equitable and efficient distribution of teachers. information about shortages to the regional inspectorates, but there is no regulation or practice that Goal 5: Leading teachers with strong this information is aggregated, analyzed, or acted upon principals at the national or regional level and on a regular (annual) basis. Established Overall, existing policies do not facilitate efficient teacher deployment, especially as it pertains to hard-to The quality of school heads is an important predictor of -staff schools and critical shortage subjects. Hard-to- student learning. Capable principals can act as staff schools predominantly employ teachers who have instructional leaders, providing direction and support to served their respective communities for many years, the improvement of instructional practice at the school and critical shortage subjects (like foreign languages and level. In addition, capable principals can help attract and mathematics) remain a significant challenge for schools retain competent teachers. in small towns and rural areas. SABER-Teachers considers two policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) education system’s investment in developing qualified school leaders; (2) decision-making authority for school principals to support and improve instructional practice. (1) In Bulgaria, there are training programs to support the professional development of principals, mainly in the area of school administration. However, it is not required that principals take part in such activities prior to assuming the principal role or during their tenure as principals. The new Draft Law introduces a principal mentorship program, stipulating an official track to becoming an authorized mentor. There are different training courses available to principals, including courses that cover institutional leadership topics such as internal evaluations or leading teacher 9 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 teams (part of the offerings of The National Institute for instructional practice. However, practice shows that Training and Qualification in the Education System). they rarely focus on the qualitative aspects of running However, the professional development of principals is the school organization (such as establishing a strong not regulated, and school leaders enroll in such courses achievement-focused culture and monitoring student on a voluntary basis. The only required training for achievement) due to their significant focus on principals focuses on managing a delegated budget. administrative tasks. Once education systems get talented candidates to become principals, they need to Research from high-performing education systems structure their time to focus on improving instruction suggests principals can develop leadership skills through (OECD 2012, Barber & Mourshed 2007). High- supported work experience or through specific training performing education systems such as Finland, Ontario, courses, and recent research in Bulgaria suggests this and Singapore think of their principals as instructional might be useful since teachers seeking to move into leaders. Principals are expected to be knowledgeable in school director roles often lack necessary skills (Attfield teaching and curriculum matters, as well as to provide 2011). High-performing systems such as Japan, South guidance and support to teachers. They evaluate Korea, Shanghai, and Singapore require the teachers, provide feedback, assess the school’s needs participation of applicants to principal positions in for professional development, and direct instructional specific coursework and/or a specialized internship or resources where they are most needed (Darling- mentoring program aimed at developing essential Hammond & Rothman 2011). leadership skills (OECD, 2012; Darling-Hammond 2010). In Bulgaria, principals are expected to hire and dismiss To become a school principal in Bulgaria, an applicant teachers, assess teachers’ performance, evaluate the must have a teaching certificate and 3 years of teaching overall school’s performance, manage the schools experience. Principals are appointed through an open budget, represent the school, respond to subnational competitive process that includes a written exam on and local authorities, and maintain student discipline. relevant legislation. There are some training courses Many of the tasks that are expected from principals in available for newly appointed principals, but as Bulgaria are aligned with instructional leadership tasks mentioned above they are not mandatory. There are that research suggests are associated with high student currently no specific training mechanisms to ensure that performance, though their administrative load may be applicants to principal positions can develop the especially burdensome and may detract from their necessary skills to act as instructional leaders, such as ability to manage teachers effectively. specific coursework or participation in a mentoring or internship program. Figure 6. Mechanisms to support the development of principals’ leadership skills Legislation states that principal performance is assessed every year for the calculation of an annual bonus South Korea Singapore Shanghai payment. The bonus payment is calculated based on a Bulgaria list of principal activities and is carried out by a Japan committee made up of experts from the Regional Inspectorates of Education. The evaluation focuses on how the principal manages the general organization of Courses or other training instruction, school curricula plans, human resources, requirements    and teacher qualifications. The Draft Law proposes that Mentoring or internship principals continue to be assessed every year and that program   Source: SABER-Teachers data an external evaluation be conducted every 5 years by a special National Inspectorate. (2) Principals in Bulgaria are officially required to monitor teacher performance and to provide support and guidance to teachers for the improvement of 10 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 In Bulgaria, there are obligatory external student Goal 6: Monitoring teaching and learning assessments after completion of grades four, seven, and twelve. After grade four, there is the National Standard Emerging Assessment Exam for External Evaluation of Students' Achievements. This exam is administered again after Assessing how well teachers are teaching and whether grade seven along with another exam, the National students are learning or not is essential to devise Standard Admission Exam. Student outcomes from this strategies for improving teaching and learning. First, combination of exams determine their secondary school identifying low-performing teachers and students is track—whether or not they gain admission to selective, critical for education systems to be able to provide comprehensive high schools or attend vocational struggling classrooms with adequate support to training schools. The final exam, the National improve. Second, teacher and student evaluation also Matriculation Exam after twelfth grade, takes place at helps identify good practices which can be shared the end of a student’s secondary school career, and a across the system to improve school performance. student cannot receive a high school diploma unless he or she passes this exam. SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers school systems can use to reach this goal: (1) availability of Bulgaria measures student academic achievement data on student achievement in order to inform through the above-mentioned national assessment at teaching and policy; (2) adequate systems to monitor the end of each education stage (elementary, basic and teacher performance; (3) multiple mechanisms to secondary education), and it also participates regularly evaluate teacher performance. in PISA and PIRLS. However, the results from national assessments are not used to evaluate individual teacher (1) In Bulgaria, there are systems in place to assess effectiveness and performance. They are used to student learning in order to inform policy but not evaluate individual students and overall school teaching. All high-performing education systems ensure performance. International assessments in turn are only that there is enough student data to inform teaching used for country-level analysis. and policy, but they do so in very different ways. Regardless of the mechanism they decide to follow, (2) There is a system in place to evaluate teacher high-performing systems ensure that three main performance, but its effectiveness may be limited. In functions are fulfilled: (1) There is a system to collect Bulgaria, a formal internal evaluation is conducted once relevant and complete data on student achievement a year in order to determine eligibility for the annual regularly; (2) There is a mechanism for public bonus payment. However, these evaluations primarily authorities to have access to these data so that they can focus on process (e.g., points assigned of the teacher use it to inform policy; and (3) There is a mechanism to works with hard-to-integrate students) and not on feed these data and relevant analyses back to the results (e.g., gains in student achievement). They assess school level, so that teachers can use it to inform the the extent to which a teacher complies with a set of improvement of instructional practice. In Bulgaria, formal requirements established in the regulations that principals receive annual assessment data that compare may not necessarily measure effective teaching and their school’s performance with regional averages. correlate with student performance. There are no National data is available upon request, and national external evaluations of individual teacher performance. assessments have been standardized. However, there are concerns that the scoring scale and the relative The standards for evaluation are broadly defined, which proportion of different-type assessment questions may be seen as an opportunity by skilled principals and change every year, which may render year-on-year as a challenge by others. While there are official comparisons and trend analysis inaccurate. Moreover, regulations covering teacher evaluations, these are school principals rarely use the results of these focused exclusively on details pertaining to procedure. assessments to implement changes in instructional There has not been a concerted effort to provide practices or guide teacher professional development. principals with training and to improve their ability to 11 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 execute effective teacher evaluation based in on teacher-created written assessments, authentic objectively measured student learning and assessments, and others. achievement. Experts interviewed for SABER-Teachers point out that the criteria focus on process and not on Many top-performing education systems define explicit results. criteria for assessing teacher performance. Figure 7 highlights some of these criteria. (3) There are structures in place to monitor teacher performance, but the criteria used to evaluate it do Figure 7. Criteria to evaluate teacher performance not give sufficient weight to student achievement and South Korea learning outcomes. Research suggests that no single Singapore Shanghai Bulgaria method of evaluating teacher performance is failsafe. Japan Most high-performing systems conduct teacher evaluations using a multiplicity of mechanisms of data collection and varied criteria for assessment. A comprehensive teacher evaluation framework that Subject matter knowledge    combines student results, teachers’ portfolios, classroom observations and feedback from Teaching methods      students/parents is currently lacking in Bulgaria. International experience and research on the topic both Student assessment methods     suggest that none of these approaches taken separately can produce a balanced and objective evaluation of Students’ academic achievement  teacher performance. Source: SABER-Teachers data In Bulgaria, school principals are in charge of appraising teacher performance and colleagues participate in Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve internal evaluations. Teacher appraisal takes place instruction annually, and the list of criteria combines both tasks Emerging  officially stipulated in the law and tasks chosen at the school level. Criteria taken into account during teacher Support systems are necessary to help improve appraisal include the use of interactive teaching instruction at the school level. In order to constantly methods, overall work with students, working with improve instructional practice, teachers and schools parents and implementation of school projects. need to be able to analyze specific challenges they face in classroom teaching, have access to information on Research has shown that evaluations combining best practices to address these challenges, and receive multiple methods and sources of information (such as specific external support tailored to their needs. student academic achievement, classroom observations and student survey results) might be more effective. SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers school The data from the standardized national student systems can use to reach this goal: (1) availability of assessments could, in theory, be used as a proxy for opportunities for teacher professional development; (2) student achievement. However, presently not all teacher professional development activities that are subjects are tested, and national assessments are not collaborative and focused on instructional administered at the end of each grade. The framework improvement; (3) making sure teacher professional therefore appears better suited for evaluating school development is assigned based on perceived needs. rather than teacher performance. Furthermore, there is evidence that taking a narrow view of student (1) Teachers are required to participate in teacher achievement as performance on standardized tests may professional development, but there are no specific be detrimental to learning outcomes. Other proxies of requirements as to the duration or intensity of the student achievement should also be included in the training. In Bulgaria, participating in professional teacher evaluation framework, including performance 12 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 development is a requisite to stay in the profession as Figure 8.Types of professional development well as a requisite for promotions. In addition, in order South Korea to advance from one rank to another in the teacher Singapore Shanghai Bulgaria career ladder, teachers are required to have Japan participated in a number of professional development seminars or workshops according to their rank. The impact and quality of professional development activities are not monitored, but the new Draft Law Observation visits     stipulates that external training programs are accredited. Teacher networks     School networks     Teacher professional development is provided but is not always free of charge. According to TALIS data from Research    2007, 73.4% of Bulgarian teachers received professional development opportunities free of charge to them, Mentoring/coaching     20.5% paid some of the costs, and 6.1% paid the Source: SABER-Teachers data compete cost. According to the regulation, the school must budget an annual amount equal to at least 0,8 percent of the overall teacher salary pool for Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform professional development activities. Established (2) Teacher professional development includes activities that have been found by research to be Adequate mechanisms to motivate teachers are a way associated with instructional improvement. Research for school systems to signal their seriousness in suggests that effective teacher professional achieving education goals, make the teaching career development is collaborative and provides attractive to competent individuals, and reward good opportunities for the in-school analysis of instructional performance while ensuring accountability. practice. As mentioned earlier, high-performing education systems like Japan and Ontario devote as SABER-Teachers considers three policy levers school much as 30 per cent of school time to professional systems can use to reach this goal: (1) linking career development and instructional improvement activities. opportunities to teachers’ performance; (2) having Some of these include observation visits to other mechanisms to hold teachers accountable; (3) linking schools, participation in teacher or school networks as teacher compensation to performance. well as opportunities to engage in research, mentoring or coaching. All such opportunities exist in Bulgaria. (1) In Bulgaria promotion opportunities are not linked to performance on the job. There is no official (3) Teacher professional development is not formally mandatory probation period for teachers before they assigned based on perceived needs. Assigning are granted open-ended appointments, and official professional development to teachers when they score policy does not stipulate that performance on the job low on performance evaluations is one way of factors into whether teachers receive this type of potentially improving instructional practice. Teacher appointment. But although probation periods are not professional development can be targeted to meet the mandatory, there is a practice of having them at the needs of specific teachers. school level, and principals have discretion over whether to renew a teacher’s contract or not. (2) There are mechanisms in place to hold teachers accountable. Requiring teachers to meet some standards to remain in the teaching profession can 13 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 facilitate the removal of ineffective teachers. In recommended measures in all eight policy goals are Bulgaria, teacher performance is evaluated annually, derived from the above analysis and interviews and there are official mechanisms to address cases of conducted in Bulgaria. Policy suggestions are listed in misconduct, child abuse, absenteeism and poor order of priority as determined by interviews and inputs performance. In practice, the dismissal rate is low — from the World Bank country team In Bulgaria. less than 1 percent per annum, according to unofficial data sources. Interviewees express concerns that Goal 2: Attracting the best into teaching principals may find it difficult to dismiss chronically Identifying, attracting, and retaining the best candidates ineffective teachers because of relatively high litigation into teaching is the first teacher policy priority. A large costs and because courts tend to overturn principals’ proportion of current teachers will retire in the next decisions. decade.. The vacancies that open as a result of their retirement will create an opportunity to develop a (3) Teacher compensation is linked to teacher comprehensive education strategy that covers new performance. The base salary varies with teacher work entrants into the profession. Below are some policy load and professional qualification. The annual bonus, suggestions for attracting higher quality candidates into however, is determined on the basis of the annual the teaching profession: teacher evaluation and thus takes performance into account. The bonus can be an effective tool for  Strengthen selectivity of entry requirements for improving teacher motivation, assuming that there is a teacher training programs at universities. valid and well-accepted system of performance  Ensure teachers get competitive pay, especially evaluation in place. In Bulgaria, however, there is a at the entry-level. widespread perception that teacher evaluation process  Ensure teacher performance is one of the as currently set up leaves too much room for criteria used for teacher promotion and career subjectivity and does not effectively capture advancement. For example, vertical and performance. Furthermore, the bonus represents a horizontal promotions could be based on merit, negligible fraction of the salary, and evidence from not tenure (relax the years of teaching interviews suggests it fails to act as inducement or a experience requirement for promotions, so that motivator. high performing teachers have the opportunity for career advancement). Figure 9. Incentives for high performance  Create a mentoring program and make it possible for non-certified teachers-in-training to work in school while still in the process of South Korea obtaining their certification (measure stipulated Singapore Shanghai Bulgaria in the new Draft Law) to ensure that top Japan candidates are not deterred or kept out of school by length qualification requirements.  Remove the existing requirement that Individual monetary bonus     candidates must have a university degree in the subject or discipline they are going to teach in School-level bonus   Source: SABER-Teachers data school. For example, teacher certification could be obtained after passing a subject-knowledge test to ascertain subject-matter proficiency. Policy Options Talented candidates from other professions who do not have degrees in the subject may be This SABER country report has offered a snapshot of equally qualified to teach. Bulgaria’s key teacher policies and how they compare  Create and implement a national with those of top global performers in education. This communication strategy aimed at increasing the section suggests some policy options for further prestige of the profession. This could include improvement of the teacher policy framework. These measures such as strengthening the system for 14 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 recognizing and awarding high-performing  Tie teacher evaluations (Goal 6 above) to teachers; ensuring that national, municipal, and compensation and promotion opportunities. school awards are aligned with standards of  Reward high-performing teachers with more effective teaching (Goal 6 below); and ensuring desirable incentives—monetary, as well as non- the success of teachers is communicated to the monetary (such as prizes and awards). wider public in way as to improve the morale of  Ensure teachers are recognized and rewarded the teacher corps in general. for investing time and effort into activities related to instructional improvement by making the latter a prominent part of the teacher Goal 6: Monitoring teaching and learning standard and the performance appraisal. There are systems in place to assess student learning in  Ensure monetary performance bonuses are set order to inform policy but not teaching. Teacher so that they serve as an inducement for teaches performance is evaluated annually, but the criteria used to improve performance (i.e. they are tied to might not be capturing effective teaching. Some policy measures that capture effective teaching and options for improving existing teacher evaluation they are significant enough to act as an systems include: incentive).  Create standards for teachers that can be used Goal 5: Leading teachers with strong as benchmarks for teacher evaluations. principals  Ensure teacher evaluation systems accurately capture quality teaching and are tied to learning Principals are currently expected to monitor teacher outcomes and student achievement. This could performance and provide support to teachers to possibly mean using multiple mechanisms to improve instructional practice, and their performance is evaluate teachers including classroom rewarded. At present there are no specific training observations, student feedback surveys, parent requirements to ensure that principals have the feedback surveys, student results as measured necessary skills to act as instructional leaders and by standardized assessments, teacher-created successful managers. The following measures may help assessments, or authentic assessments. to ensure principals are more effective leaders:  Create a system for external evaluation of teachers (stipulated in the new Draft Law).  Conduct a needs assessment to better  Ensure that student achievement data collected understand the specific needs and issues are comparable year-on-year, so that it principals face in their work. becomes possible to evaluate teacher and  Provide principals with an obligatory school performance over time. mentorship program, instructional leadership  Ensure that the purpose and uses of external training and ongoing professional development student assessments are regulated explicitly (stipulated in the new Draft Law). and in detail, to make sure that available data  Ensure student achievement and teacher on school performance is used to continuously performance are factored into principal improve the system. performance reviews and they carry significant weight in the review process. Goal 8: Motivating teachers to perform  Ensure principals see professional development of teachers and school improvement as their There are currently some mechanisms in place to hold core responsibility. teachers accountable. For instance, teacher’s salary  Ensure principal appointments are based on bonus is linked to teacher performance, but promotions merit and not entirely on tenure in order to are not. The following options might help to motivate open a career track to highly effective teachers. teacher performance: 15 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Goal 4: Matching teachers’ skills with students’ needs Goal 1: Setting clear expectations for teachers There are no official systems in place to ensure that There are currently clear expectations for what students there are no teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools, should learn and what teachers are supposed to do in or for teaching critical shortage subjects, but some Bulgaria. However, the proportion of school time shortages have been partially addressed. Some policy dedicated to instructional improvement is limited The suggestions, include: following measures may help set better expectations for  Develop a system that systematically identifies teachers in Bulgaria: shortages – both in critical subject shortages  Define non-teaching tasks related to and in hard-to-staff schools. instructional improvement and ensure that they  Provide visible incentives to teachers to work in are an officially required part of teachers’ work hard-to-staff schools (e.g. promotion, higher in Bulgaria. Such tasks may include mentoring salary, scholarships for education, or housing) peers, collaborating on school plans, and  Provide more incentives to teachers to teach participating in school evaluations. In practice, it critical shortage subjects (similar to the ones is possible that teachers take part in such above). Another option is to provide activities, but it is unclear how many of them scholarships specifically for education in subject and how often they actually do so. areas with shortages (e.g. scholarships for  Set expectations for what percentage of studying Natural Sciences Pedagogy if Natural teachers’ working time should be dedicated to Sciences is identified as a critical shortage teaching and what percentage should be used subject area). for other necessary activities that may contribute to instructional improvement Goal 7: Supporting teachers to improve (including. working on lesson plans, having instruction office hours for students, grading assessments and the tasks mentioned above). There are currently some opportunities for teacher professional development, but requirements for teachers (e.g. the number of days for professional Goal 3: Preparing teachers with useful development) are not specified and teachers are training and experience required to pay for some of their own professional development activities. Some possible measures Current teacher initial education systems may not be include: best suited to ensure good quality teachers. Beginning  Continue to require that primary and secondary teachers have opportunities to develop practical school teachers participate in professional teaching skills, but only for a limited period of time development activities and stipulate (as the before they are expected to teach without guidance. Draft Law does) how often it happens.  Require more extensive teaching practice  Focus more on ensuring the quality rather than before teachers obtain certification. quantity of professional development activities.  Expand pedagogical qualification standards to According to TALIS (2007), Bulgaria ranks among strengthen the quality of programs providing the top 3 countries in terms of hours spent in pedagogical qualifications (especially professional development but lags behind in concurrent programs). terms of student results. Ensure third-party  Require junior teachers to participate in professional development providers are induction programs and receive mentoring by properly accredited. high-performing colleagues.  Monitor the supply and demand for particular professional development activities.  Monitor the effects of participation in professional development activities. 16 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013  Ensure schools have adequate funding to invest in the professional development of teachers. 17 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Hammond, L. (2010). The Flat World and Acronyms Education: How America’s Commitment to MOMN Ministry of Education, Youth and Science Equity Will Determine Our Future. New York, NY: Teachers College. RIO Regional Inspectorate of Education Darling-Hammond, L.; & Rothman, R. (2011). Teacher and leader effectiveness in high-performing education systems. Washington, DC: Alliance for Acknowledgements Excellent Education. This report was prepared by Mary Breeding (Consultant, Habyarimana, J. (2007) Characterizing Teacher Absence Human Development Network, Education (HDNED), in Bulgaria: Evidence from 2006 Unit Cost Study. World Bank), with inputs from Teach For Bulgaria and Washington, DC: The World Bank. from Andrew Trembley (Consultant, HDNED, World Hanushek, E. A., & S. G. Rivkin.(2010). “Generalizations Bank), and under the direction of Halsey Rogers (Lead about Using Value-Added Measures of Teacher Economist, HDNED, World bank). We are especially Quality.” American Economic Review. 100 (2): grateful for the assistance of Plamen Danchev 267–71. (Education Specialist, World Bank Country office, Bulgaria) and Evgenia Peeva, Trayan Trayanov, Maria Hanushek, E. & Woessmann (2007). “Education Quality Kinkina, and Tatyana Kalkanova (Consultants). and Economic Growth.” Washington, DC: The World Bank. References Hanushek, E. & Woessmann (2009). “Schooling, Attfield, Robin. (2011). “Development of Accreditation Cognitive Skills, and the Latin American Growth for School Directions: Discussion Paper.” Puzzle.”NBER Working Paper 15066. Cambridge, Washington, DC: World Bank. MA: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Barber, M., &Mourshed, M. (2007).How the World's Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Herrmann, M. A., & Rockoff, J. E. (2009). "Work Top. London, UK: McKinsey & Co. Disruption, Worker Health, and Productivity: Evidence from Teaching." New York, NY: Campante, F. &Glaeser, E. L. (2009).“Yet Another Tale of Columbia Business School. Two Cities: Buenos Aires and Chicago.” NBER Working Paper 15104.Cambridge, MA: National Ingersoll, R. (2007). A comparative study of teacher Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). preparation and qualifications in six nations. Consortium for Policy Research on Education. Chaudhury, N., Hammer, J., Kremer, M., Muralidharan, K., & Rogers, F. H. (2006). "Missing in Action: Levin, B. (2008) How to change 5000 schools. Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Developing Countries."Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20:1, pp. 91‐116. Mavrodieva, M (2009)TALIS: Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: First Coalition of the Independent Syndicates of Bulgaria Results from TALIS Bulgaria. Sofia: (Syndicate of the Bulgarian Teachers). (2013). OECD/CKOKUO “Identification of the Social and Economic Miller, R. T., Murnane, R. J., & Willett, J. B. (2008). "Do Consequences of the Introduction of the Teacher Absences Impact Student Delegated Budgets System: Results from the Achievement? Longitudinal Evidence From One National Survey.” Urban School District." Educational Evaluation Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). “Steady Work: How and Policy Analysis, 30(2), 181-200. Countries Build Successful Systems.” In Darling- 18 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 National Statistical Institute. (2013). “Net Enrollment of Working Paper 4847. Washington, DC: The Children in Kindergartens Table,” World Bank. http://www.nsi.bg/otrasalen.php?otr=36&a1=1 Sanders, W. L., & Rivers, J. C. (1996)."Cumulative and 267&a2=1271&a3=1272#cont, Accessed 3 July, Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student 2013. Academic Achievement." Research Progress Nye, B., Konstantopoulos, S., & Hedges, L. V. (2004). Report. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee "How Large Are Teacher Effects?" Educational Value-Added Research and Assessment Center. Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26(3), 237-257. Vegas, E., et al. (2012) What matters most in teacher OECD. (2009). PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know policies? A framework for building a more and Can Do—Student Performance in Reading effective teaching profession. Washington, DC: Mathematics and Science, The World Bank. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264091450-en, Accessed 3 July, 2013. World Bank. (2010). “A Review of the Bulgaria School OECD. (2011.) Building a high-quality teaching Autonomy Reforms.” Washington, DC: World profession .Lessons from around the world. Bank. Paris: OECD. OECD. (2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century. Paris: OECD. Park, A., & Hannum, E. (2001). "Do Teachers Affect Official documents Learning in Developing Countries?: Evidence from Matched Student-Teacher Data from Collective Labor Contract (Bargaining) China." Paper presented at the Conference Draft Law of Preschool and School Education Rethinking Social Science Research on the Instruction 1 for the Realization of Control in Education Developing World in the 21st Century. Park City, System Utah: Social Science Research Council. Instruction 2 from 1994 for the Requirements Regarding PIRLS. (2001). PIRLS International Report, Obtaining Teacher Position according to the Education, http://timss.bc.edu/pirls2001i/pdf/P1_IR_Ch01. Professional Qualification and Legal Capacity Attained pdf, Accessed 3 July, 2013. Instruction for the Safety Requirements in the Pritchett, L. & Viarengo, M. (2009).“Producing Education System Superstars for the Economic Mundial: The Mexican Predicament with Quality of Education. Job Description for Secondary School Teacher Position PEPG Working Paper 09-01.Cambridge, MA: Labor Code Program on Education Policy and Governance Law for Education Degrees, Minimum Education (PEPG). Requirements and School Plans Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. Law of School Education (Current) (2005)."Teachers, Schools and Student Achievement."Econometrica, 73(2), 417-458. Manual for Application of the Law of School Education (Current) Rockoff, J. E. (2004). "The Impact of Individual Teachers Order 1 for the Clothes Benefits for Education on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Employees Data." American Economic Review, 94(2), 247- 252. Order 1 for the Salaries of Education Employees Rogers, F. H., & Vegas, E. (2009). "No More Cutting Order 2 for the School Curriculum Class? Reducing Teacher Absence and Providing Order 3 for the Student Assessment System Incentives for Performance." Policy Research 19 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 Order 3 for the Teacher Loading Norm and the Rules for Numbers of Teachers in the Education System Order 5 for the Continuous Teacher Qualification in the Education System and Rules for Obtaining Professional Teacher Degrees Order for Requirements for Eligibility to Teach Order for School Time Planning Order for the Structure and Organization of Employee Salary Rules for the Application of Order 5 Rules for the Salary of School Principals Social Security Code 20 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 place under each of the policy levers used to Annex 1. SABER-Teachers Ratings define a policy goal. The SABER-Teachers team has identified policy levers (actions that governments can take) and indicators  Established—“Established” systems are those (which measure the extent to which governments are that have at least one policy/law in place that making effective use of these policy levers) for each of uses those policy levers. the eight policy goals referenced in this country report. For example, for Teacher Policy Goal 1, Setting Clear  Emerging—“Emerging” systems may have only Expectations for Teachers, the SABER-Teachers team some appropriate policies in place under the has identified the following policy levers and indicators: policy goal. Table 2. Setting Clear Expectations for Teachers  Latent—“Latent” systems are those that have none or few. Please refer to Vegas et al. 2012 for a detailed review of policy levers and indicators assessed for each goal. Please reference the Vegas et al. (2012) background paper, “What matters most for teacher policies? A framework for building a more effective teaching profession,” for more details about these definitions and a detailed review of policy levers and indicators used by SABER-Teachers. For more information regarding the SABER-Teachers For each goal in the country report, we define the goal methodology, please contact: in the first paragraph of the country report, identify the HelpdeskTP@worldbank.org. levers in the second paragraph, and the remaining paragraphs are used to provide details about the indicators that measure each of the levers. Using the 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, 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. This four-tiered rating system represents a continuum from systems with more comprehensive, developed policies oriented toward learning to systems with no policies at all (or, in some cases, policies that are detrimental from the perspective of encouraging learning). SABER-Teacher ratings can be defined in the following manner:  Advanced—Systems that are rated “advanced” toward a particular policy goal are those that have multiple policies conducive to learning in 21 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS BULGARIA | TEACHER POLICY SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2013 www.worldbank.org/education/saber The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education policies and institutions, with the aim of helping countries systematically strengthen their education systems. SABER evaluates the quality of education policies against evidence-based global standards, using new diagnostic tools and detailed policy data. The SABER country reports give all parties with a stake in educational results – from administrators, teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people – an accessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of their country's education system are oriented toward ensuring that all children and youth learn. This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of teacher policies. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. THE WORLD BANK 22 SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS