Teachers' salaries are widely debated around the world, with divergent views among the actors of education. Salaries have risen very little over the last decade and have even fallen in real terms in almost half of OECD countries between 2015 and 2022. However, salary levels are just one of the many factors contributing to the attractiveness of the…

Women are strongly over-represented among primary and secondary teachers. This can be explained at least partly by gender stereotypes, but also by the attractiveness of the profession to working mothers and by differences in the relative wage levels in teaching for men and women. Recognising teachers' contribution to society could help to attract…

Teacher shortages have intensified across several OECD countries, making this an urgent priority for education systems. Between 2015 and 2022, the share of students whose principals reported shortages rose from 29% to 46.7% on average across the OECD. Simultaneously, rapid technological advances, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and broader…

Education systems are facing challenges in relation to attracting and retaining excellent teachers. Strengthening teacher professionalism by deriving insights from other sectors is a promising approach in confronting these issues. This paper maps the position of teaching in the changing landscape of professions using a cross-sectoral approach to…

Co-constructing a long-term sustainable vision on the future of teaching is a policy priority for many countries as society rapidly changes. There is a need to create space in the teacher debate to look forward for inspiration and to learn from contemporary change in other professions, such as the concept of "connective professionalism".…