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April Leitshuh

Independent Study
Annotated Bibliography of Preparing Teachers Around the World
Background:
When choosing my major for my graduate studies, I found the C&I with an emphasis in Literacy
program and thought to myself, This is me!. I taught Read 180, English, Reading, and Social
Studies and knew I would excel in literacy studies. However, after the first three weeks of class, I
realized that while I may be good at incorporating literacy strategies into my secondary classes, I
had no business teaching literacy or being a reading specialist. Because of this, for my
independent study I wanted to focus on the education system itself, and how the United States
compares to other countries in teaching training. In our readings I frequently came across the
idea that we train teachers differently, or use different methods of instruction compared to the
rest of the world, even though other countries are outperforming us in Math, Science and
Literacy. I wanted to get to the heart of how we differ from other countries in our teacher
training. I chose to read Preparing Teachers Around the World, distributed by the Educational
Testing Service in hopes of discovering what successful and unsuccessful practices we have in
the United States, and how we could improve upon our practices.

An annotated bibliography of Preparing Teachers Around the World from ETS


Wang, A., Coleman, A., Coley, R., & Phelps, R. (2003, May 1). Preparing Teachers Around the
World. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
With unemployment at 5.9%, 10% of Coloradans lacking basic literacy skills, and the United
States ranked 22nd in literacy in the world, we have to wonder, Where did we go wrong?.
Since the 1980s, concerns have arisen about our ability to compete globally in Math and Science
(Wang et al., 2003, p.2). As we start to tie teacher evaluations to student performance on

standardized tests, and implement common core standards, we have to evaluate the effectiveness
of our teacher training programs, and decide whether or not they are adequately preparing
teacher candidates to help students achieve. Unless this task is accomplished, we may fall further
and further behind the rest of the developed nations of the world in student achievement and
teacher excellence.
Teacher Training Programs:
Wang et al. (2003) discovered that countries who manage the teacher pipeline, by and large, are
able to control individuals who enter teacher education programs through more rigorous entry
requirements and higher standards (p. 2). The teacher pipeline is described as the process
teacher candidates undergo in order to become certified teachers. The countries that had tighter
centralized control over their pipelines produced highly effective teachers across the board.
Countries like the United States and Australia, who have a very decentralized pipeline, with
multiple agencies and programs overseeing the training of teachers had varying degrees of
success. The United States has up to 1,500 teacher training programs, the Netherlands has
approximately 25, and Singapore has one. The latter model allows consistency and uniformity in
teacher training, which can be beneficial on incorporating best practices into teacher training
programs. One could argue that having fewer teacher training programs could backfire- what if
the program doesnt adequately prepare teachers to help students achieve? However, this is not
the case, as the United States falls in educational standings across the board in comparison with
other nations.

Teacher Education:
Teacher education programs in the United States vastly differ from those in other countries.
Highly successful countries require teacher candidates to complete entrance exams into
programs, whereas the United States evaluates teachers at the completion of their program
(Wang et al., 2003, p.19). With the exception of England, the United States is the only country
that requires a separate step for licensing, the other countries consider the diploma as the teacher
license (Wang et al., 2003, p. 25). The first approach allows countries to weed out
underachievers at the beginning of the teacher education programs, like many undergraduate
programs do in the United States. This high stakes testing at the beginning of teacher education
programs seems to capture the teacher candidates who are truly qualified for the profession from
the beginning of their education
.
Student Teaching:
Some countries had student teaching programs for as few as three weeks, while the Netherlands
student teaching program lasts anywhere from 12-18 months (Wang et al., 2003, p.5). After the
completing of the degree and student teaching, for those students seeking a graduate degree in
education, the United States had the most lenient entry requirements. This is a reflection of how
society devalues teachers as professionals, allowing most teachers into graduate level programs.

Hiring Process:
Wang et al. found stark differences in hiring, the U.S. being very decentralized, mostly at the
local level, while some Asian countries had very centralized hiring processes. Most countries had
one or two organizations that regulated the hiring process. The United States and England are the
only countries who recognize and alternative route to teacher certification (Wang et al., 2003,

p.5). This includes programs like Teach for America and any alternative licensing program
allowed by school districts or universities. This may have an affect on the education of students,
and the success of classroom teachers who were not trained through traditional routes. 32% of
students in low-income schools have teachers who dont even have a minor in the subject they
are teaching (Wang et al., 2003, p.12). This alarming statistic may be the most important
determinant in the performance of our low-income students.
Hiring/Compensation
The United States, England, and Korea pay teachers the least and less than professionals with
similar amounts of training out of all of the countries studied (Wang et al., 2003, p. 4). This could
contribute to teacher satisfaction with work, and burn-out rates among teachers in the United
States after their first five years of teaching. The United States is 3rd in annual salary, but last in
paying teachers with more years of experience (Wang et al., 2003, p.35). What we value as a
society may be at odds with helping our students be more successful. Do we want to pay a new
teacher who may have new ideas and practices more when they dont have the experience and
knowledge of a successful teacher?
Conclusion:
The study defines the similarities and differences in the way we educate, train, and compensate
our teachers in the United States compared to other countries. The authors emphasize not to
focus on each component individually, but to see each component as part of a pipeline that
starts with training and ends with student performance. They claim some practices in other
countries cannot be transferred to the United States, where as some could. The key finding in this
study is that the United States is lagging behind many other developed countries, and we need to

look at all aspects of what we do and can possibly implement strategies used by other countries
to improve our teacher and student performance.

Citations:
Hanusheck, E., Peterson, P., & Wossemann, L. (2012, July 1). Achievement Growth:
International and U.S. State Trends in Student Performance. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG12-03_CatchingUp.pd
Wang, A., Coleman, A., Coley, R., & Phelps, R. (2003, May 1). Preparing Teachers Around the
World. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
Zhao, E. (2012, November 27). Best Education In The World: Finland, South Korea Top Country
Rankings, U.S. Rated Average. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/best-education-in-the-wor_n_2199795.html

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