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OECD’s Education Committee, together with its Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, endorsed a new activity on policies for information, guidance and counselling services in 2000. The main aim of the activity is to understand how the organisation, management and delivery of these services can help to promote key policy activities such as lifelong learning for all and active labour market policies. Fourteen OECD countries were involved in this activity: Australia; Austria; Canada; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Germany; Ireland; Korea; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Norway; Spain; and the United Kingdom. Information was gathered using a national questionnaire, country visits, commissioned papers and meetings of national experts and policy makers.

This document is the country paper for Germany. It is based on the draft national questionnaire response and other documentation and provides a summary of the impressions of the review team and its suggestions for ways in which policies for career information, guidance and counselling might be developed in Germany. The document contains the following sections: Introduction; The context; The German guidance system; The main sectors (covering schools, higher education, the dual training system, the Federal Employment Service, the private sector, and other services); Key policy issues (which covers reviewing the role of the Federal Employment Service, strengthening guidance within educational institutions, extending services for employed adults, quality-assuring the private sector, strengthening professional standards, and exploring ways of extending collaboration and leadership); and Conclusions. Includes appendices.

Documents from this review are indexed from TD/TNC 73.122 to TD/TNC 73.151; Germany’s response to the national questionnaire is indexed at TD/TNC 73.134. Show less

OECD’s Education Committee, together with its Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, endorsed a new activity on policies for information, guidance and counselling services in 2000. The main aim of the activity is to understand how the organisation, management and delivery of these services can help to promote key policy activities such as lifelong learning for all and active labour market policies. Fourteen OECD countries were involved in this activity: Australia; Austria; Canada; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Germany; Ireland; Korea; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Norway; Spain; and the United Kingdom. Information was gathered using a national questionnaire, country visits, commissioned papers and meetings of national experts and policy makers.

This document is the country paper for Canada. It is based on the draft national questionnaire response and other documentation and provides a summary of the impressions of the review team and its suggestions for ways in which policies for career information, guidance and counselling might be developed in Canada. The document contains the following sections: Introduction; The context; The Canadian career development system; The main sectors (covering schools, universities and community colleges, public employment services, community-based services, and the private sector); Key policy issues (which covers converting information into action, establishing more coherent and accountable frameworks for career development within the education system, extending services to employed adults, assuring the quality of service delivery, and strengthening strategic leadership); and Conclusions. Includes appendices.

Documents from this review are indexed from TD/TNC 73.122 to TD/TNC 73.151; Canada’s response to the national questionnaire is indexed at TD/TNC 72.137. Show less

This survey was undertaken in February 2011 of Head Teachers and Special Program Coordinators in TAFE NSW, and those who either aspired to be Head Teachers or managers who had once been Head Teachers. The survey was sent out to some 1200 respondents across TAFE NSW, and when closed on 18 February, there were 420 responses, around a third of the number of Head Teachers in TAFE NSW. Given it was a busy time of year, we may have been able to gather more responses a little later in the term. Eight-five per cent of respondents said that they were currently Head Teachers or Special Program Co-ordinators, and an additional 30 respondents said they were currently acting in Head Teacher positions. The aim of the survey was to provide a basis for a paper entitled 'Paths to promotion' which focused mainly on the current skills and capabilities of Head Teachers, their current and future challenges and the qualifications they would need. It is a follow-up to the work we undertook during 2010 on 'Raising the bar on VET teacher education qualifications', where over 500 TAFE teachers responded and overwhelmingly said that they needed tertiary level teaching qualifications to do their jobs effectively. TAFE Head Teachers have been identified as holding possibly the most critical positions in TAFE NSW, in which they undertake both leadership and management roles. This frontline role has been described as 'where the rubber hits the road as far as doing business is concerned' (Mulcahy 2003, p.57). In his 2009 research 'Head Teacher voices', funded by the TAFE Teachers Association, Stephen Black detailed the concern of Head Teachers that they were not recognised and appreciated in their roles. As one of the respondents to his survey said, 'I love my job but am frustrated constantly by unrealistic expectations'. We wondered whether anything had changed in almost three years, but in the main we wanted to focus not on the jobs but whether Head Teachers believed they had the skills and capabilities to effectively undertake the jobs as they saw them, and what skills and qualifications they might need in the future. It is about the future of the Head Teacher role, and as such the data collected may provide some useful advice to TAFE management and the State Government. It is not however about the current industrial agreement that operates in TAFE NSW and is under review. Consequently we hope to be able to ask similar questions of frontline managers in some relevant private [registered training organisations] RTOs in [New South Wales] NSW, to consider any possible similarities or differences. The survey is separated into four sections: (1) general information; (2) qualifications; (3) skills and capabilities; and (4) issues for Head Teachers. We wanted to know which aspects of the job they saw as being most important, what they saw were the challenges for the future, the qualifications they currently had, and what skills and capabilities they thought they might need to continue developing in their roles. The survey and this report are also very timely in also picking up on the work of John Mitchell and John Ward on advanced VET practitioners, and the Productivity Commission's report on the vocational education and training workforce.

Authors' abstract. Show less

This comparative report presents the findings of a review of career guidance policies in 14 OECD countries that was launched in early 2001. It investigates how career guidance services and public policy might be brought closer together. The review investigated how the organisation, management and delivery of career guidance can help to realise some key public policy objectives. In particular, the review examined how career guidance services can help countries to advance lifelong learning goals and assist in the implementation of active labour market policies. The review focused on career guidance services throughout the lifespan, including those for young people, adults and older people. Career services in a range of settings were examined, including compulsory schooling, upper secondary and tertiary education, community settings, public employment services and the workplace. Stakeholder views were gathered from employers, trade unions, governments, community organisations, educational institutions, parents, students, and career guidance practitioners. The findings are presented under four questions: (1) Why does career guidance matter for public policy? (2) How can career guidance be delivered more effectively? (3) How should career guidance be resourced? (4) How can strategic leadership be improved? The review recommends improved national coordination arrangements and greater attention to research and data collection to inform policy makers. It also promotes the development of improved and more specialised training programs for practitioners and the creation of more specialised career guidance organisations for the delivery of services.

Documents from this review are indexed from TD/TNC 73.122 to TD/TNC 73.151. Show less

OECD’s Education Committee, together with its Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, endorsed a new activity on policies for information, guidance and counselling services in 2000. The main aim of the activity is to understand how the organisation, management and delivery of these services can help to promote key policy activities such as lifelong learning for all and active labour market policies. Fourteen OECD countries were involved in this activity: Australia; Austria; Canada; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Germany; Ireland; Korea; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Norway; Spain; and the United Kingdom. Information was gathered using a national questionnaire, country visits, commissioned papers and meetings of national experts and policy makers.

This document is the country paper for the Netherlands. It is based on the draft national questionnaire response and other documentation and provides a summary of the impressions of the review team and its suggestions for ways in which policies for career information, guidance and counselling might be developed in the Netherlands. The document contains the following sections: Introduction; The context; The Dutch guidance system; The main sectors (covering schools, senior vocational education, higher education, employment and ‘reintegration’ services, employers, unions and private sectors, professional structures and career information); Key policy issues (which covers the key topics of markets and the role of government, guidance within the education system, the ‘reintegration’ structure, the wider role of the Centres for Work and Income, stimulating the market, quality assurance, and strategic coordination and leadership); and Conclusions. Includes appendices.

Documents from this review are indexed from TD/TNC 73.122 to TD/TNC 73.151; Netherlands’ response to the national questionnaire is indexed at TD/TNC 73.131. Show less

OECD’s Education Committee, together with its Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, endorsed a new activity on policies for information, guidance and counselling services in 2000. The main aim of the activity is to understand how the organisation, management and delivery of these services can help to promote key policy activities such as lifelong learning for all and active labour market policies. Fourteen OECD countries were involved in this activity: Australia; Austria; Canada; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; Germany; Ireland; Korea; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Norway; Spain; and the United Kingdom. Information was gathered using a national questionnaire, country visits, commissioned papers and meetings of national experts and policy makers.

This document is the country paper for Austria. It is based on the draft national questionnaire response and other documentation and provides a summary of the impressions of the review team and its suggestions for ways in which policies for career information, guidance and counselling might be developed in Austria. The document contains the following sections: Introduction; The context; The structure of the Austrian education system; Career guidance services in Austria: an overview; Policy issues (which covers career guidance and pathways through education and beyond, career guidance in schools, career guidance in tertiary education, career guidance for adults, career guidance in the labour market sector, professionalism, quality assurance and quality development, and networking and coordination); Summary and conclusions. Includes references and appendices.

Documents from this review are indexed from TD/TNC 73.122 to TD/TNC 73.151; Austria’s response to the national questionnaire is indexed at TD/TNC 73.135. Show less

This report from the OECD has been prepared to support the second International Summit on the Teaching Profession held in New York in March 2012 and hosted by the US Department of Education, the OECD and Education International. The summit was designed to review how to best improve the quality of teaching, teachers and school leaders. The report presents available research about what can make educational reforms effective, and highlights examples of reforms that have produced specific results, show promise or illustrate imaginative ways of implementing change. The report acknowledges that the kind of teaching needed today requires teachers to be high-level knowledge workers who constantly advance their own professional knowledge as well as that of their profession. However, to attract and develop knowledge workers, education systems need to transform the leadership and work organisation of their schools to an environment in which professional norms of management complement bureaucratic and administrative forms of control, with the status, pay, professional autonomy, and the high quality education that go with professional work, and with effective systems of teacher evaluation, with differentiated career paths and career diversity for teachers. The summit is organised around three interconnected themes and the report addresses each of these. Chapter one, 'Developing effective school leaders' [drafted by Beatriz Pont in collaboration with Pauline Musset, Andreas Schleicher, Diana Toledo Figueroa and Juliana Zapata], contains the following sections: a changing profile of school leadership; supporting, evaluating and developing teacher quality; goal-setting, assessment and accountability; strategic resource management; leadership beyond school walls; distributing leadership; developing leadership for tomorrow's education systems; appraisal of school leaders; conclusions; Chapter two, 'Teacher development, support, employment conditions and careers' [drafted by David Istance and Stephan Vincent-Lancrin in collaboration with Dirk Van Damme, Andreas Schleicher and Kristen Weatherby], contains: changes in the demand for student skills; a demanding agenda for teachers; understanding learning to improve teaching practices; designing ecosystems for a 21st-century teaching profession; conclusions; Chapter three, 'Preparing teachers: matching demand and supply' [drafted by Andreas Schleicher in collaboration with Dirk van Damme and Pauline Musset], contains: a challenge of teacher shortages; making teaching an attractive career choice; compensation schemes to match teacher supply and demand; establishing effective employment conditions; ensuring high-quality initial teacher education; providing for attractive careers; meeting the need for ongoing professional development to address issues of teacher supply; conclusions. The appendix contains selected comparative data from OECD sources.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) provides the first internationally comparative perspective on the conditions of teaching and learning, based on data from over 70,000 teachers and school principals who represent lower secondary teachers in the 23 participating countries. TALIS examines important aspects of professional development; teacher beliefs, attitudes and practices; teacher appraisal and feedback; and school leadership. TALIS looks at these factors through the eyes of teachers and school principals. This innovative approach was chosen in order to examine how the intended school and teacher policies of education systems are actually perceived and implemented in schools and classrooms, recognising that the best intentions will only yield results if effectively and consistently implemented in the frontline. The objective aim is to identify barriers to effective instruction. This report focuses on teachers appraisal and feedback, their professional development, the teaching practices and beliefs and school leadership. The report presents quantitative information for policymakers. Countries participating include: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flemish Community), Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.

Published summary from OECD website. Show less

Our 2011 research 'Paths to promotion' found that head teachers in TAFE NSW valued their positions which mixed teaching and leadership. They said that the most important aspects of their role were educational leadership, section management, increasing quality in teaching, working with industry and other providers, and supporting innovative teaching and learning practices. They valued the tertiary education qualifications they held. However, they also said they needed to further develop their skills and capabilities so that they could be part of the future direction of TAFE. They needed to develop their financial management skills, technological skills, entrepreneurial skills and leadership skills. Given the current focus on professional development of vocational education and training (VET) practitioners/professionals and the consideration of a national VET professional association, the time is right to find out what is happening in the rest of the country. This research paper will tap into similar positions in TAFE institutes in the other states and territories, to find out their views. How do they manage educational, management and leadership roles? What qualifications do they have? What skills and capabilities do they think they need for their roles in a changing VET sector? What qualifications do they believe they need to effectively undertake their jobs in the future, and how can they gain such qualifications? This research has the opportunity to impact on current policy development around capabilities of the VET sector, and to influence funding allocation for professional educational leadership skills development.

Published abstract. Show less