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Beginning teacher standards in Saudi Arabia Prospective teachers in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will soon have to demonstrate they meet benchmarks of teacher quality. ACER is assisting the Saudi Arabian National Centre for Assessment in Higher Education (NCAHE) with the development of a framework for beginning teacher standards. ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Lawrence Ingvarson is chairing an International Advisory Committee responsible for assisting in developing a model for teacher professional standards in Saudi Arabia. The committee counts ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Glenn Rowley, Senior Research Fellow Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz and prominent US education consultant Ms Charlotte Danielson among its members. The beginning teacher professional standards will describe the skills, knowledge and values necessary for effective teaching. The standards will be used to design assessment tools for the purposes of selection among teaching candidates and will determine training needs for accredited beginning teachers. Prospective teaching candidates will have to show they can meet basic educational standards including knowledge of educational policies and rules in Saudi Arabia, pedagogy, assessment, child development and classroom management. They will also have to meet standards of basic Arabic language rules in reading, writing and grammar, standards of numeracy skills and standards of subject-specific content. The first draft of the standards has been completed. It will be introduced to the reviewing committees in October 2011 through a symposium of educators, experts and practitioners, and will be published online for public review and comment. The symposium will also invite discussion about standards and their use within wider educational reform, including improving career paths for teachers, clearer long-term goals for professional development of teachers and accreditation. The outcomes of the symposium and public comments will be used to prepare a final draft of the standards framework, due for completion late 2011. Once established, the standards will be used to develop a framework to guide teaching and learning policies and a framework for teacher professional development. It is also envisaged that in-service teachers will eventually be assessed against professional standards. The beginning teacher standards framework forms part of a larger project known as the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Public Education Development Project (Tatweer). Tatweer aims to improve educational outcomes in Saudi Arabia by improving the inputs. Teachers are one such input. Tatweer seeks to reduce the enrolment of individuals who lack the educational competencies required in the teaching profession. Under Tatweer, NCAHE is responsible for a Teacher Professional Standards and Assessment Tools Project. This project has four major components. The first component – developing the standards – will be developed every five years with the aim of modifying standards according to trends in educational research and practice. The remaining three components – developing tools, data management, and reporting – will be conducted annually. Together, these four components represent significant educational reform in Saudi Arabia. By developing teacher professional standards and assessment tools, NCAHE will establish benchmarks for teaching quality, identify training needs for beginning teachers, evaluate outcomes of teacher preparation programs, support education reform that aims to enhance teaching and learning, and establish national indicators in relation to teacher professional development. Further information about ACER's international projects is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/international/ « Back to eNews
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Prospective teachers in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will soon have to demonstrate they meet benchmarks of teacher quality.

ACER is assisting the Saudi Arabian National Centre for Assessment in Higher Education (NCAHE) with the development of a framework for beginning teacher standards.

ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Lawrence Ingvarson is chairing an International Advisory Committee responsible for assisting in developing a model for teacher professional standards in Saudi Arabia. The committee counts ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Glenn Rowley, Senior Research Fellow Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz and prominent US education consultant Ms Charlotte Danielson among its members.

The beginning teacher professional standards will describe the skills, knowledge and values necessary for effective teaching. The standards will be used to design assessment tools for the purposes of selection among teaching candidates and will determine training needs for accredited beginning teachers.

Prospective teaching candidates will have to show they can meet basic educational standards including knowledge of educational policies and rules in Saudi Arabia, pedagogy, assessment, child development and classroom management. They will also have to meet standards of basic Arabic language rules in reading, writing and grammar, standards of numeracy skills and standards of subject-specific content.

The first draft of the standards has been completed. It will be introduced to the reviewing committees in October 2011 through a symposium of educators, experts and practitioners, and will be published online for public review and comment. The symposium will also invite discussion about standards and their use within wider educational reform, including improving career paths for teachers, clearer long-term goals for professional development of teachers and accreditation. The outcomes of the symposium and public comments will be used to prepare a final draft of the standards framework, due for completion late 2011.

Once established, the standards will be used to develop a framework to guide teaching and learning policies and a framework for teacher professional development. It is also envisaged that in-service teachers will eventually be assessed against professional standards.

The beginning teacher standards framework forms part of a larger project known as the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Public Education Development Project (Tatweer). Tatweer aims to improve educational outcomes in Saudi Arabia by improving the inputs. Teachers are one such input. Tatweer seeks to reduce the enrolment of individuals who lack the educational competencies required in the teaching profession.

Under Tatweer, NCAHE is responsible for a Teacher Professional Standards and Assessment Tools Project. This project has four major components. The first component – developing the standards – will be developed every five years with the aim of modifying standards according to trends in educational research and practice. The remaining three components – developing tools, data management, and reporting – will be conducted annually.

Together, these four components represent significant educational reform in Saudi Arabia. By developing teacher professional standards and assessment tools, NCAHE will establish benchmarks for teaching quality, identify training needs for beginning teachers, evaluate outcomes of teacher preparation programs, support education reform that aims to enhance teaching and learning, and establish national indicators in relation to teacher professional development.

Further information about ACER's international projects is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/international/

Beginning teacher standards in Saudi Arabia