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issue. In a culture where criticism of teachers has become normalised, it’s hard not to feel uplifted by seeing how the panel’s recommendations include ‘ Enabling transformation ’ and ‘ elevating the status and dignity ’ of the profession. The aforementioned Global Report on Teachers meanwhile talks about establishing a ‘ New social contract ’ that ‘ raises the prestige of the profession ’. The report goes on to explore how a shift towards de- professionalising the education workforce has taken place, accompanied by a growing pervasiveness of monitoring and prescribed practice. Also addressed are issues that include salaries, working conditions, the effectiveness of school leadership and the support offered to ECTs, who continue to account for a substantial proportion of the profession’s leavers. The report is able to speak to a multidimensional, global issue for an international audience, because it’s a crisis underpinned by widespread tendencies towards underfunding of the kind with which we are so very familiar here in the UK. Refreshingly, however, including teachers in policymaking lies at the heart of the approach recommended by the report – and it’s an idea that may be starting to see some traction. The NEU is currently calling on the UK government to develop a global teacher strategy and establish an independent commission to investigate how unions and government can work together on addressing the teacher shortage crisis. They’re also demanding that recruitment strategies adopted in the UK don’t exacerbate teacher shortages elsewhere. Adisempowered profession I personally have no plans to move to the US to teach, but teacher migration is another complex strand of this global issue – and one I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the coming months and years. Nor does the complexity end there. Pupil to teacher ratios; what constitutes a ‘qualified’ teacher; howwe compare across expectations between different education systems across multiple continents – all these are amongst the challenges as well. And that’s not even taking into account how conflicts are impacting upon children, young people and teachers in the war-torn countries we regularly hear about in the news. Last autumn, teachers received a 5.5%pay award in their pockets. At the time of writing, the government’s wide-ranging Curriculum and Assessment Review is ongoing, with its findings due for release some time in 2025. Becky Francis, the review’s leader, has used words like ‘disempowered’ and ‘de- professionalised’ when publicly discussing the review’s emerging themes thus far. It may be that the review’s conclusions end up chiming with the elevation of the profession urged by the Global Teacher Report. Since that conversation withmy friend last summer, I’ve been able to place my frustrations about what’s happened to my pay, and my perceptions of a profession I care deeply about, into an international context. The conversations we’re having in our staffrooms, classrooms and school offices aren’t just echoed across the country, but throughout the wider world. And it’s really important that we know that. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jennifer Hampton (@brightonteacher) is an English teacher, literacy lead and former SLE (literacy) SOWHAT ARE OTHER COUNTRIES DOING? Singapore, South Korea and Finland are among the countries most commonly cited as not experiencing significant teacher shortages. Among those that are, here are some of the steps they’re taking to address their recruitment difficulties: Scholarships and bursaries for teacher training courses Reductions in teaching and contact time Significant teacher salary increases so that they’re comparable, or higher than equivalent professions Adjusting salaries upwards in urban areas with more expensive housing National campaigns aimed at highlighting and celebrating the work of teachers Creating mechanisms that enable teachers to have a voice in policy and planning Developing new career pathways and making improvements to those already in place Creating leadership cultures based on distributed decision- making and collaboration Increasing funding, entitlements and time for professional development, in terms of both pedagogy and subject knowledge Shifting towards placing more focus on pedagogy Offering opportunities for teachers to drive their own development – including learning techniques utilised in other countries Significant reductions in the use of standardised examinations 49 teachwire.net/secondary R E C R U I T M E N T