McKinsey Report

The best investment in education is to have excellent teachers

Last Thursday 8^th November we were talking in class about the Spanish education system and comparing it with others, as for example Finland’s or the United States’.

We analyzed the results in education of several countries to know which factors make education better or worse. Spain is in the middle of those examples.

The United States education system

When talking about the United States, we saw the general opinions that students have about the profession of teacher. They think teachers are poorly paid, their work is not enough recognized and they have little possibilities to grow and success.

As a consequence of this situation, most of the best students accept juicy offers from big companies, even if some of them wanted to be teachers. The final result is that the most qualified people don’t work in teaching because it is a job that won’t give them any incentive or reward. So only a few idealists stand their ground. Without talented teachers, the education systems are mediocre.

The other side of the coin: South Korea, Finland, Singapore

South Korea, Finland and Singapore are the three countries with best results in education according to PISA and the question is “Why?”

Because these countries think that “having the best teachers guarantees success in education”. And it seems they think right.

South Korea, Finland and Singapore invest money and efforts to have the best teachers. The requirements to be teacher are very high, so you must be very good to find a job in education. This way, only the best can teach and they are very well paid.

Conclusions

As I have said before, having good teachers is synonym of having a good education system. So, what can we make in order to have the best teachers? The method carried out by these countries is to set high requirements and guarantee money and prestige for those who fulfill them.