Transcript Small working Group session

Joel D. Sherman, Ph.D.
Secretariat of Public Education – Mexico
UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
Nassau, Bahamas
9-10 December 2008
Questions to Analyze Concerning
Teachers Salaries
 Which countries have the highest starting salaries?
salaries for teachers with more experience?
 Which countries have the largest differential in
salaries between starting teachers and teachers with
more experience?
 Do countries with higher national wealth consistently
have higher teachers salaries? At all levels of
experience?
 How do teachers salaries stand in relation to national
economies?
 How have teachers salaries changed over the period
between 1999 and 2005?
Organizing Tables to Address These
Questions
 Rank order countries on starting salaries, separately
for WEI countries, OECD countries and all countries.
 Analyze differences in starting salaries across
countries.
 Conduct the same analyses based on salaries at 15 years
of experience and the top of the salary scale.
 Examine relationship between starting salaries and
salaries at 15 years and at the top of the salary
schedule.
Organizing Tables to Address These
Questions (continued)
 Examine percentage change in salaries between
starting salaries and salaries at 15 years of experience
and salaries at the top of the salary schedule.
 Conduct same analyses comparing salaries in relation
to GDP per capita.
 Examine relationship between GDP per capita and
starting salaries, salaries at 15 years and salaries at the
top of the scale.
General Findings: Teachers Salaries
 Starting salaries range substantially across WEI countries –
from $3,373 in Indonesia to $20,115 in Tunisia in 2005.
Starting teachers in Tunisia earn nearly six times as much
as their counterparts in Indonesia.
 The differential in starting salaries across OECD countries
is nearly as great, with teachers in Luxembourg earning
over five times as much as teachers in Hungary ($70,908,
compared to $13,706).
 The differential increases dramatically for teachers with
greater experience in both WEI and OECD countries.
Teachers at the top of the scale in Malaysia have a salary
over 6.5 times that of teachers in Indonesia, and teachers
in Luxembourg earn over 5.6 times as much as teachers in
Turkey.
General Findings: Teachers Salaries
(continued)
 Starting salaries are highly correlated with salaries for
teachers with more experience. Countries with lower
starting teacher salaries also tend to pay lower salaries for
teachers with more experience, and vice versa.
 Teachers whose salaries are relatively low in international
comparisons do not always fare poorly in their
compensation in relation to their own national economies
(measured by their salaries relative to national average
GDP per capita).
 Among WEI countries, Peru, Jordan and the Philippines,
teachers’ salaries are all below the WEI average. However,
these salaries are still above their national average GDP per
capita.
General Findings: Teachers Salaries
(continued)
 Among OECD countries, this is also the case for
Portugal, the Republic of Korea and Turkey.
 Teachers whose salaries are relatively high in
international comparisons are not always well
compensated in relation to their own national
economies (measured by their salaries relative to
national average GDP per capita).
 Norway, for example, has above-OECD-average teacher
salaries, but these salaries are below average compared
to Norway’s average GDP per capita.
Country Focus: Argentina
 Starting teachers salaries in Argentina ($9,734) fall below
the WEI mean ($10,316) and well below the mean for all
WEI and OECD countries with data ($24,346).
 Teachers with 15 years of experience and at the top of the
salary scale in Argentina also earn less than the average
salary of teachers in all WEI countries and all WEI and
OECD countries with data.
 Starting teachers and teachers with 15 years experience
have salaries that fall below the national average GDP per
capita, but teachers at the top of the scale have salaries that
are about 6 percent higher than this figure.
Country Focus: Malaysia
 Teachers salaries in Malaysia are consistently higher than
the WEI average, but well below the average for all WEI
and OECD countries with data.
 Compared to Malaysia’s national economy, however,
Malaysia’s teachers are relatively well compensated.
Starting teachers’ salaries ($11,680) are about 14 percent
higher than national average GDP per capita ($10,265).
 Teachers with 15 years experience ($20,445) earn nearly
twice the national average GDP per capita and teachers at
the top of the scale ($31,028) earn over three times this
figure.
General Findings: Wealth and Teachers
Salaries
 Wealthier countries generally pay higher teachers salaries
than less affluent countries, but teachers in wealthier
countries are not always well compensated, compared to
national standards.
 Less affluent countries in which salaries for starting
teachers exceed the national average GDP per capita
include Chile, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Paraguay, Peru, the
Philippines and Tunisia, among WEI countries, as well as
Portugal, the Republic of Korea and Turkey, among OECD
countries.
 More affluent countries in which starting salaries for
teachers fall below the national average GDP per capita
include the following OECD countries: Austria, Greece,
Iceland, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.
General Findings: Wealth and Teachers
Salaries (continued)
 Teachers with greater experience are generally
compensated at levels that exceed their national
average GDP per capita.
 Among WEI countries with available data, salaries for
teachers with 15 years experience are higher than the
national average GDP per capita in all countries except
Argentina and Uruguay.
 Among OECD countries with available data, salaries
are above national average GDP per capita in all
countries except Ireland and Norway.
Country Focus: Argentina
 Starting teachers in Argentina are not well compensated
relative to their national economy, earning only $9,734, or
73 percent on national average GDP per capita. Only
teachers in Uruguay are less well compensated.
 Teachers with 15 years experience are better compensated,
but still only earn 92 percent of national average GDP per
capita. Again, only teachers in Uruguay are less well
compensated.
 Teachers at the top of the salary scale in Argentina earn
about 6 percent more than the national average GDP per
capita, but teachers in all other WEI and OECD countries
except Uruguay, Iceland and Norway fare better than their
counterparts in Argentina.
Country Focus: Malaysia
 Teachers in Malaysia are consistently well compensated by
national standards. Starting teachers earn 14 percent more than
the national average GDP per capita, teachers with 15 years
experience earn nearly twice the national average, and teachers
at the top of the salary scale earn over three times the national
average.
 Among WEI countries, starting teachers are better compensated
than their peers in Indonesia, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, but
less well compensated than teachers in Peru, Jordan, the
Philippines, Paraguay, India and Tunisia.
 Teachers at the top of the scale in Malaysia are better
compensated than similar teachers in Indonesia, Uruguay, Peru,
the Philippines, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay. Only teachers in
Jordan, India and Tunisia are better compensated than their
counterparts in Malaysia.
General Findings: Salaries for Teachers
with More Greater Experience
 Teachers with more experience earn higher salaries in
all WEI and OECD countries with data except Peru
and Paraguay.
 Among WEI countries, teachers with 15 years
experience earn less than 10 percent more than
starting teachers in Tunisia and Uruguay.
 At the other end of the spectrum, teachers in Malaysia
with 15 years experience earn 75 percent more than
starting teachers and teachers in Thailand earn almost
2½ times more than starting teachers.
General Findings: Salaries for Teachers with
More Greater Experience (continued)
 There is no relationship between a country’s starting salary
and the increments that are paid to teachers with
additional years of experience.
 In most WEI countries, which all have relatively low
starting salaries, the salary increase for teachers with 15
years experience is below the 37 percent average increase
for all WEI and OECD countries with data. Only Thailand,
Jordan and Malaysia have above-average increases.
 OECD countries, which generally have higher salaries, are
split, with about half showing above-average increases for
teachers with 15 years experience. These countries include
Japan, Ireland, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Republic
of Korea, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark and
Belgium.
Country Focus: Argentina
 Teachers in Argentina with 15 years experience earn about
25 more than starting teachers and teachers at the top of
the scale earn about 45 percent more.
 Salary increments for teachers with more experience fall
below the average increase for WEI and OECD countries
with data – 37 percent for teachers with 15 years experience
and 66 percent for teachers at the top of the salary scale.
 Salary increments for teachers with more experience fall in
the mid-range compared to other WEI countries. They are
generally larger than the increases in Uruguay, Peru, the
Philippines, Paraguay and Tunisia, but smaller than those
in Indonesia, Thailand, Jordan, Chile Malaysia and India.
Country Focus: Malaysia
 Teachers in Malaysia with 15 years experience earn about 75
more than starting teachers and teachers at the top of the
scale earn about 2½ times as much as starting teachers.
 Salary increments for teachers with more experience are
higher than the average increase for WEI and OECD
countries with data – 37 percent for teachers with 15 years
experience and 66 percent for teachers at the top of the
salary scale.
 Salary increments for teachers with more experience fall
are much higher than in other WEI countries. Only
Thailand provides larger increments for teachers with
greater experience than Malaysia.
General Findings: Changes in Teachers
Salaries – 1999 to 2005
 Starting salaries increased in most WEI and OECD
countries between 1999 and 2005. The increases ranged
from 2.1 percent in Thailand to nearly 180 percent in
Indonesia. However, even with the increase, Indonesia still
had the lowest starting salaries of all countries in 2005.
 In four WEI countries – Argentina, Uruguay, Malaysia and
the Philippines – starting salaries declined over the period.
Declines exceeded 25 percent in Uruguay and 32 percent in
Argentina.
 Similar changes in salaries occurred for teachers with 15
years of experience and for teachers at the top of the salary
scale.
General Findings: Changes in Teachers
Salaries – 1999 to 2005 (continued)
 Starting salaries tended to increase more in countries with
lower salaries in 1999 in both WEI and OECD countries.
 Four WEI countries with relatively low starting salaries in
1999 – Argentina, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay –
all had declines in salaries between 1999 and 2005.
 Four other WEI countries – Chile, Jordan, Thailand and
Tunisia – all had below-average increases in salaries over
the period.
 Only Peru had a salary increase for starting teachers that
exceeded the country average of 31 percent.
Country Focus: Argentina
 Argentina had the third-highest starting teacher salary
among WEI countries in 1999 ($14,426). With a
decline of 32 percent between 1999 and 2005,
Argentina dropped to the middle of the WEI rankings
in 2005.
 Salaries of teachers decreased by 42 percent for
teachers with 15 years experience and by 44 percent for
teachers at the top of the salary scale.
Country Focus: Malaysia
 Salaries for starting teachers in Malaysia decreased by 8
percent between 1999 and 2005, but Malaysia still ranked
third among WEI countries in starting teachers salaries in
2005.
 In contract, salaries for teachers with more experience,
increased over the 1999 to 2005 period. Salaries increased
by about 2 percent for teachers with 15 years experience and
by ab0ut 12 percent for teachers at the top of the salary
scale.
 As a result, teachers at the top of the salary scale had the
highest salaries of WEI countries with data in 2005.