Indians most positive about teaching as their children's profession: Study
A new global study has revealed that Indians are the most positive about their children taking up a career in teaching. In the study titled 'Global Teacher Status Index (GTSI) 2018', India ranked eighth among the 35 countries surveyed, China the highest and Brazil the lowest. GTSI, described as the most comprehensive report of how society views teachers, was conducted by UK-based Varkey Foundation.
54% Indians said they encourage their children to become teachers
The study revealed that 54% of Indian people polled said they encourage their children to become teachers - more than in any other country surveyed, including China (50%). By comparison, under a quarter of British people (23%) would encourage their child to become a teacher, while only 6% would encourage their child to become a teacher in Russia, the lowest of any country surveyed.
Just 9% people in Brazil think pupils respect their teachers
The survey also found that 77% of Indian respondents think that pupils respect their teachers - the third-highest of any country surveyed after Uganda (79%) and China (81%). By contrast, only 9% of people in Brazil think pupils respect their teachers, the lowest.
India fourth-highest country to strongly believe in its education system
Indians believe strongly in their country's education system- rating it 7.11/10, the fourth-highest, after Finland (8), Switzerland (7.2), and Singapore (7.1). Egyptians rated their country's education system the lowest at 3.8. When asked to rank 14 professions in order of respect (including headteachers, primary and secondary teachers, doctors, and nurses), Indians ranked headteachers the fourth-highest of all the countries after Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.
Teacher status rising globally, ranks higher in Asia than Europe
Indians ranked secondary school teachers the seventh-highest of all the countries, with China ranking them the highest. The latest index found that teacher status was rising globally and of the 35 countries, Asian nations of India, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Korea rank higher in terms of teacher status than every European country and every Western nation- including the US, New Zealand, and Canada.
Index reveals direct link between teacher status, pupil performance
The index reveals, for the very first time, that there's a direct link between teacher status and pupil performance as measured by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, said The Varkey Foundation, established in 2010.
Survey based on polling of over 35,000 adults aged 16-64
This year's index expands upon the first GTSI, which surveyed 21 countries back in 2013 and inspired the Varkey Foundation's annual $1-million Global Teacher Prize. The survey is based on in-depth opinion polling and analysis by Professor Peter Dolton and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research of over 35,000 adults aged 16-64 and over 5,500 additional serving teachers across over 30 countries.
Varkey Foundation explains how it came up with the idea
Founder of the Varkey Foundation, Indian-origin entrepreneur Sunny Varkey said when they conducted GTSI "five years ago we were alarmed by the weight of evidence pointing to the low status of teachers around the world." That's what inspired them to create the Global Teacher Prize "which shines a light on the extraordinary work that teachers do around the world", he added.
