Teacher Professional Development Around the World: The Gap between Evidence and Practice

65 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 2018

See all articles by Anna Popova

Anna Popova

World Bank

David Evans

World Bank

Mary E. Breeding

Georgetown University

Violeta Arancibia

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Date Written: August 30, 2018

Abstract

Teachers, like all professionals, require ongoing professional development opportunities to improve their skills. This paper provides evidence on effective professional development characteristics and how at-scale programs incorporate those characteristics. The authors propose a standard set of 70 indicators--the In-Service Teacher Training Survey Instrumen--for reporting on professional development programs as a prerequisite for understanding the characteristics of those programs that improve student learning. The authors apply the instrument to rigorously evaluated professional development programs in low- and middle-income countries. Across 33 programs, those programs that link participation to career incentives, have a specific subject focus, incorporate lesson enactment in the training, and include initial face-to-face training tend to show higher student learning gains. In qualitative interviews, program implementers also report follow-up visits as among the most effective characteristics of their professional development programs. The authors then apply the instruments to a sample of 139 government-funded, at-scale professional development programs across 14 countries. This analysis uncovers a sharp gap between the characteristics of teacher professional development programs that evidence suggests are effective and the global realities of most teacher professional development programs.

Suggested Citation

Popova, Anna and Evans, David and Breeding, Mary E. and Arancibia, Violeta, Teacher Professional Development Around the World: The Gap between Evidence and Practice (August 30, 2018). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 8572, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3246144

Anna Popova

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

David Evans (Contact Author)

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Mary E. Breeding

Georgetown University ( email )

Washington, DC 20057
United States

Violeta Arancibia

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Av Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins 340
Santiago, Región Metropolitana 8331150
Chile

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
370
Abstract Views
1,261
Rank
172,199
PlumX Metrics