Singapore teachers among the youngest in the world, but
also among the most hardworking
SINGAPORE - Singapore's 33,000-strong teaching force is among the
youngest in the world - 36 years old compared with 43 on average
worldwide - but they are well-trained before going into the
classrooms, seek continual training and feel valued by society,
according to a global survey of teachers
The five-yearly Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis)
that saw 34 countries taking part last year, also found Singapore
teachers among the most hardworking. The 3,109 lower secondary
teachers from 159 school who participated in the study said they
worked 48 hours a week on average, 10 hours more than the Talis
average of 38 hours. The hours included teaching time as well as
time spent on planning for lessons, student counselling and running
co-curricular activities.
Those surveyed reported spending eight hours a week on average on
planning their lessons, nine hours a week on marking and five hours
a week on administrative work. Teachers from the other countries
surveyed spent an average of seven hours on lesson planning, five
hours on marking and three hours a week on administrative matters.
Japanese teachers reported working even longer hours - 54 hours in
a week, while American teachers reported working 45 hours a week
and Australians, 43 hours a week, in the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development survey.
The survey asked teachers about their work including their initial
teacher education and professional development, what sort of
appraisal and feedback they get, the school climate, their school
heads and about their instructional beliefs and teaching
practices.
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