Education leaders from 16 nations that have or aspire to have top-performing education systems gathered here recently to share ideas on improving teaching.
Participants spoke repeatedly of the need to 鈥渞aise the status of the teaching profession鈥濃�攁 task that is complicated, some said, by moves in several American states to curtail unions鈥� collective bargaining rights.
The was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Education International, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Asia Society, and public broadcaster WNET.
Representatives from Finland, Singapore, and Canada鈥攁mong the usual players when it comes to international comparisons鈥攁ttended the March 16-17 gathering. Participants also came from countries that have not commonly been part of the conversation, including China, Estonia, and Slovenia.
Only the last three hours of the event were open to reporters, including a short press conference and a wrap-up session. Elizabeth Utrup, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said that the closed sessions 鈥渨ere organized to encourage deep and frank conversations,鈥� and that the host groups would elaborate on the key themes in an upcoming summary document.
Top Talent
At the open sessions, participants spoke broadly about the kinds of changes that have improved education systems. Several countries echoed the need to improve leadership, make the teaching profession more attractive, and strengthen professional development.
While international comparisons have found that high-performing countries recruit their top talent to become teachers, Ben Levin, a professor at the University of Toronto, said that teaching has to be an occupation 鈥渢hat large numbers of people with ordinary levels of skill, talent, and commitment can do well.鈥� He said 鈥渉eightening teachers鈥� professional skill and knowledge is the central challenge we have.鈥�
The Netherlands鈥� secretary of education for culture and science, Halbe Zijlstra, said that 鈥渆very teacher should be a master, and every teacher should have a master鈥檚 degree鈥濃�攁 sentiment that counters efforts in the United States to stop paying teachers based on credentials, giving them less incentive to pursue graduate degrees.
Reports released prior to the meeting highlighted lessons the United States can learn from other countries.
In Andreas Schleicher, the OECD鈥檚 director of education, and Steven L. Paine, a vice president of CTB/McGraw-Hill, say the United States should emulate top achievers by investing in the preparation of high-quality teachers, setting common standards, and developing effective leaders.
edited by Stanford University professor Linda Darling-Hammond and Robert Rothman, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Excellent Education, says Finland, Singapore, and Ontario, Canada, get 鈥渢he right people鈥� into teaching and prepare them well, provide ongoing teacher support, and develop high-quality leadership.
Union Worries
At the press conference, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan reiterated the need to elevate teachers鈥� status. Asked what that means in practical terms, he said that in many other countries, 鈥渢eachers are revered. Only the top talent is allowed to enter the profession. And entire communities rally around teachers.鈥�
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said 鈥渘ot only is it possible鈥� to raise the profession鈥檚 status, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 being done in other countries.鈥� He pointed to China鈥檚 rapidly improving international test scores and said the United States can learn from that turnaround model.
Overall, the summit was characterized by accord, providing a foil to familiar contentious debates about tenure, evaluations, and pay. Even so, U.S. leaders took several opportunities to condemn measures aimed at curbing unions鈥� collective bargaining rights, such as those in Wisconsin and Idaho.
Mr. Duncan, flanked by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and aft President Randi Weingarten, said that he is 鈥渄eeply troubled by that movement,鈥� and that 鈥渢eacher voice鈥� is a necessary part of transforming an education system.
鈥淚n Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, what you see is amazing collaboration, amazing trust, ... and that unions can be a part of that,鈥� he said.
In an interview, Mr. Van Roekel said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 obvious to the people here that high-performing countries without exception have strong unions. You have to have strong collaboration with whomever is implementing the policies.鈥�
