Examining High-performing Education Systems in Terms of Teacher Training: Lessons Learnt for Low-performers

Abstract

The quality of a teacher plays one of the most important roles in the achievement of an education system. Teacher
training is a multi-dimensional process which comprises the selection of teacher candidates, pre-service training,
appointment, in-service training and teaching practices. Therefore, this study focuses on teacher training processes in
Singapore, Shanghai-China, Hong Kong-China and Turkey and aims to discover the reasons for success in Program for
International Student Assessment (PISA) by relating it with teacher training processes. Singapore, Shanghai-China,
Hong Kong-China were chosen to study because their educational systems were ranked among the high-performing
educational systems in 2016. This study was a qualitative research and document analysis method was used to collect
data about the relevant countries' teacher training processes. The result of the study suggested some practical
considerations for teacher training programs in low-performing education systems about the selection of teacher
candidates, pre-service training, appointment, in-service training and teaching practices.