Quality Education Starting with Teacher Education

Teacher education and development in the Philippines face serious challenges, including underperforming teacher education institutions (TEIs), inadequate and often misguided professional development systems, and an unclear career progression track. A particular concern is the persistently low average passing rates in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), indicating that underperforming TEIs dominate teacher production, crowding out graduates from better-performing TEIs. This study investigates the pre-service aspect of teacher quality, aiming to determine the indicators of quality in teacher education. Guided by the Teacher Development Pathway Model and Total Quality Management (TQM) principles, the study identifies quality indicators in teacher education, reviews whether these indicators are captured in the existing quality assessment/assurance (QA) systems and processes, and pinpoints gaps and challenges encountered by QA bodies and TEIs related to QA. Achieving these objectives involved conducting desk reviews and facilitating key informant interviews and focus group discussions with representatives of teacher education institutions, government agencies, and accrediting bodies. Several research themes emerged, highlighting a lack of incentives for teacher education and a misalignment of frameworks and standards. Input Quality Indicators found in pre-service teacher education include QA Standards and Systems, Faculty Qualifications, Learning Resources and Facilities, Research Programs, and Curriculum and Instruction. Incentivizing teacher education, boosting teachers’ professional morale, and reviewing quality monitoring policies are among the report's recommendations. Comments on this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph.