The survey and accompanying DfE report will make for interesting reading for education professionals keen to explore both regional differences within England’s education system, and how the English experience compares on the global stage.
The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)
Synopsis
The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) provides information on the views and practices of secondary teachers and heads, and on how these vary across countries. The survey included over 30 other countries: England participated in TALIS for the first time in 2013 – the only part of the UK to do so.
The DfE published a report for England alongside the OECD’s report on TALIS 2013. The DfE report complements the OECD’s, providing a more focused comparison of England with other countries and analysing differences within England across school and teacher characteristics.
In England TALIS 2013 had response rates of 75% for schools and 83% for teachers, leading to samples of 154 heads and 2,496 teachers. The survey found that English teachers worked on average 46 hours a week, one of the highest in the TALIS and 9 hours more than the median for all countries. It also found that 25% of teachers in state schools in the lowest ability quarter of pupil intake taught three or more subjects at Key Stage 3 compared to only 13% of teachers in schools in the top ability quarter.