In many countries, just as in the United States, the pressure is on to raise the quality of the teaching force; the bar is being raised for what teachers should be able to do. Drawing on her experiences organizing the International Summit on the Teaching Profession and leading delegations of educators to various nations, Stewart describes how some…

This compilation of articles describes three projects aimed at offering students authentic opportunities to develop global competencies. The first article describes Out of Eden Learn, an initiative from Project Zero at Harvard Graduate School of Education. The project engages students in learning journeys that follow Pulitzer Prize-winning…

Contrary to what many people assume, writes Stewart, a high-quality teacher workforce is not the simple result of some traditional cultural respect for teachers that exists in some countries. Rather, it requires deliberate policy choices. In a tour of seven countries that traditionally score high on international tests of student performance…

Educators and governments are paying increasing attention to international comparisons as they seek to develop effective policies to improve the performance of their education systems. Data from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are useful in revealing best practices across the world. Current data show that the United…

Overviews a section in the same "Educational Leadership" issue on improving teaching productivity. Highlights Harold Stevenson's article comparing mathematics education in the U.S., China, and Japan and Bruce Joyce's summary and analysis of the research literature on effective instructional strategies. (MLH)