Frequency of Preparation of Instructional Materials with Other Teachers

From APEC HRDWG Wiki

Teacher quality is an important aspect of any education system and although debate exists as to what exactly constitutes a teacher quality indicator, most observers agree that teacher collaboration is one element that relates to the quality or effectiveness of the teacher. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is administered to 4th and 8th grade students across various APEC economies to test student curriculum-based knowledge. The TIMSS also administers a teacher questionnaire to the teachers of the students surveyed. This questionnaire includes many items related to teacher quality, such as specific elements of teacher collaboration. Although not all APEC economies participate in the TIMSS, the data that is available allows for a comparison of various factors across participating APEC economies. The rest of this page contains information on the frequency of Mathematics teacher preparation of instructional materials of those teachers surveyed during the 2007 TIMSS in the selected participating APEC economies.

For other information on teacher quality, please visit the Teacher Quality Portal page.

Summary

Internationally, 51% of 4th grade Mathematics teachers reported preparing instructional materials with other teachers at least 1 to 3 times per week and 21% of those reported doing so daily or almost daily. In the selected economies, in Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore, the greatest reported frequency was 1 to 2 times per month, with at least 41% of the teachers reporting preparing instructional materials with other teachers that frequently. In Australia, the Russian Federation, and the United States, the greatest reporting frequency was daily or almost daily with at least 35% of teachers.

The general trend for 8th grade teachers as compared to 4th grade teachers is a decline in the frequency of material preparation with other teachers. The highest reported frequency in Australia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Russian Federation, Singapore, and the United States is 2 to 3 times per month with at least 31% of the teacher reporting this frequency. Only in Indonesia and Thailand is the preparation of instructional material with other teachers more frequent.

(Not all of the economies appear in both graphs because of data availability).

Chart 1. Frequency of 4th Grade Math Teacher Preparation of Instructional Materials with Other Teachers

Chart 2. Frequency of 4th Grade Math Teacher Preparation of Instructional Materials with Other Teachers