Global Perspectives for Local Action Using TIMSS to Improve U.S. Mathematics and Science Education (1999) / Chapter Skim
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5 What Does TIMSS Say About School Support Systems?
5 What Does TIMSS Say About School Support Systems?
Pages 64-79
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From page 64... ...
Aspects of this culture include the preparation and support of teachers; attitudes toward the profession of teaching; the attitudes of teachers, students, and parents toward learning; and the lives of teachers and students, both inside and outside school. The TIMSS achievement tests, questionnaires, and case studies of the educational systems in Japan, Germany, and the United States all make the same point: these elements of the broader educational system and society can have an important influence on what students learn.
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From page 65... ...
Time Pressures The nature of teachers' work differs from country to country and among schools, but teachers everywhere say they are very busy. According to questionnaire responses, teachers routinely spend time outside the formal school day to prepare and grade tests, read and grade student work, plan lessons, meet with students and parents, engage in professional development or reading, keep records, and complete administrative tasks.
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From page 66... ...
teachers across all grade levels spend more of their assigned time in direct instruction and less in settings that allow for professional development, planning, and collaboration. As noted above, Japanese teachers also spend more time at school over the course of the day, which offers additional opportunities for collaboration.
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From page 67... ...
While many Japanese teachers build lesson planning, grading, and other school-related work into their time in the building, German teachers typically reported doing their out-of-class work at home. TEACHER LEARNING Preservice teacher education and later professional development are important factors contributing to the learning environment of students.
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From page 68... ...
129~. Some countries require university preparation, others prescribe preparation in a teacher training institution,
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From page 69... ...
TABLE 5-2b Reports from Mathematics Teachers at the Eighth-Grade Level on How Omen They Meet with Other Teachers in Their Subject Area to Discuss and Plan Curriculum orTeaching % of Students Taught by Teachers Who Meet with Their Colleagues Never or Once/ Monthly or Once, Twice, or Country Twice a Year Every Other Month Three Times a Week Almost Every Day Australia 10 50 30 9 Austria 20 37 36 6 Belgium (Fl) 48 28 21 3 Belgium (Fr)
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From page 70... ...
In the United States teacher preparation tends to be relatively extended compared with the teacher education required internationally, and it takes place in a variety of programs. Candidates learn to teach in university programs (typically a two-year liberal arts foundation followed by two years of professional preparation)
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From page 71... ...
318~. Student teaching, a phased experience, combines seminar study, classroom observation, assisted teaching, independent teaching, and preparation for the second state examination.
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From page 72... ...
Just as Germany requires all new teachers to participate in a two-year, field-based student teaching experience, Japan assigns a mentor and requires additional study for first-year teachers. The German and Japanese approaches represent national policies that support the new teacher's transition from university preparation to work in schools.
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From page 73... ...
They range from formal training at local resource centers to voluntary mentoring and peer observation to lively teacher-organized informal study and actionresearch groups a mode of professional development that teachers value highly. The case study found, in fact, that "most teachers voluntarily participate in teacher-run subject study groups that meet in the evening" (Kinney, 1998, p.208)
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From page 74... ...
policies on mentoring all demonstrate that the context of professional development is changing and that teachers of different ages have had different experiences as approaches to professional development have evolved. CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON TEACHING Arrangements of teachers' time and approaches to teacher learning contribute greatly to school culture, but culture encompasses more subtle factors as well.
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From page 75... ...
Teachers in some high-achieving countries claim to meet very frequently (81 percent of Japanese students at the fourth-grade level are taught by teachers who meet at least once each week) , while others report infrequent meetings (in Hong Kong, another high achiever, 81 percent of students in the upper grade of population 2 are taught by teachers who report meeting no more than once a month; see Tables 5-2a and 5-2b earlier in this chapter)
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From page 76... ...
Although Japanese teachers described their profession as reasonably well respected, they worried about their situation. "Despite relatively high levels of support, training and respect, teachers were quick to wish for even more support, criticize training as too systematic, tand]
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From page 77... ...
In addition, teachers in Japan are"eligible as civil servants for extra monetary allowances for dependents, financial adjustments (such as cost of living) , housing, transportation, assignments to outlying areas, administrative positions, periodic costs (such as those incurred when traveling with sports teams)
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From page 78... ...
Most notably, while most students in most countries think they do well in mathematics and science, students in some of the highestperforming countries recorded markedly lower perceptions of their own performance. For example, in almost all TIMSS countries, most population 2 students said they did well in mathematics, but three of the four countries in which this was not true Hong Kong, Japan,
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From page 79... ...
twelfth-g race students' reports on number of hours on a normal school day spent working at a paid job in comparison with the international average. Source: U.S.
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