About TALIS

TALIS in a nutshell

TALIS is the first international survey programme to focus on the learning environment and the working conditions of teachers in schools. It is a collaborative endeavour between governments, an International Consortium, the OECD and Teachers' Unions.

• It fills important information gaps in the international comparisons of education systems
• It offers an opportunity for teachers and school headteachers to give their input into education analysis and policy development in key policy areas
• It allows countries to identify with other countries facing similar challenges to them, and to learn from other policy approaches
• Information and reports about the first TALIS survey in 2008 are available from www.oecd.org/TALIS
• The ongoing second cycle will take place across 30+ OECD and partner countries in 2011-2013 with the first results to be published in 2014

What is it about?

The participating countries have decided the policy focus of TALIS 2013. The 2013 survey will continue in the direction set in TALIS 2008 and will investigate:

• Teacher training and professional development
• Teachers' appraisal and feedback
• School climate
• School leadership
• Teachers' instructional beliefs
• Teachers' pedagogical practices

How is TALIS designed and delivered?

In each participating country a sample of schools will be selected. Within each sampled school, around 20 classroom teachers will be randomly selected by the National Centre and, together with their headteacher, will be invited to complete a questionnaire – online or on paper.

Who will be surveyed?

For the main survey in 2013, 200 schools in each country will be randomly selected to take part. Within those 200 schools, 20 Key Stage 3 (age11-14) teachers will be sampled.

What form will the survey take?

Each questionnaire takes about 45 minutes to complete. The TALIS survey questionnaires (separate versions for teachers and principals) can be completed on-line or using pen and paper.

The survey responses are entirely confidential and at no time will names of individual teachers, principals or schools be identified.

Does my school have to take part?

To reflect the Government’s commitment to international education surveys and the importance of high participation rates, the Education Act 2011 requires maintained schools that are selected to take part in international surveys to do so. For many Academies, similar arrangements are made via your funding agreements. For further details on the Education Act, please see http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/education.html.

What will we learn?

Each country will produce its own National Report; and the combined responses will contribute to a range of international reports. Reports from TALIS 2008 can be found at www.oecd.org/TALIS. In England, we hope to answer questions such as:

• How do teacher and headteacher attitudes in England compare with those in other (high performing) education systems?
• How do teachers in England spend their time compared to those in other countries?
• What aspects of teaching as a career appear to be more or less desirable in England as compared to other places?
• Are there particular problems, such as teacher or headteacher work-load, autonomy, excessive administration or pupil behaviour problems, which appear to be more acute in England than elsewhere?
• How do teachers and principals in England think they are judged and how accountable do they feel in comparison with teachers and headteachers in other systems?
• How does the access to and perceived usefulness of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in England compare to that in other countries?

TALIS timeline

January - July 2011

Questionnaire development

September 2011

Pilot

March - April 2012

Field trial

October - December 2012

Main study - southern hemisphere

February - April 2013

Main study - northern hemisphere

June 2014

Initial report