Abstract:
Recent strategies and agendas aimed at creating more sustainable societies—characterised by technological advancement, sustainability, equity, and peace—have positioned teaching professionals, as key agents in the pursuit of this vision (UN, 2023; UNESCO, 2024; OECD, 2024). Yet, in 2024, the teaching profession globally continues to encounter numerous challenges, including teacher shortages and ongoing attrition (Australian Government, 2023; Heffernan et al., 2022) inadequate working conditions (Rahimi & Arnold, 2024), issues with respect, recognition and remuneration and the challenges of working within underfunded education systems. These concerns have prompted widespread policy reflection on the professional status of the teaching profession, and the evolving needs of teachers as they seek to prepare students to navigate complex and uncertain futures.
This paper analyses the current challenges and opportunities facing the teaching profession both regionally and globally, drawing on findings from the Global Status of Teachers 2024. It incorporates perspectives from 204 senior teacher union representatives across 121 countries collected through a large multi-lingual survey instrument. The paper is based on a analysis of national union representatives’ perspectives on 1) Teacher professional rights, freedoms, and voice; 2) Teacher professionalism and the status of the profession; 3) Teachers’ work, health, and sustainability; and 4) Education for equity and the public good. The paper offers a descriptive analysis of union representatives’ perceptions concerning the conditions, status, and sustainability of the teaching profession regionally and globally. It also delineates major trends and maps key regional differences in the global data.
This paper analyses the current challenges and opportunities facing the teaching profession both regionally and globally, drawing on findings from the Global Status of Teachers 2024. It incorporates perspectives from 204 senior teacher union representatives across 121 countries collected through a large multi-lingual survey instrument. The paper is based on a analysis of national union representatives’ perspectives on 1) Teacher professional rights, freedoms, and voice; 2) Teacher professionalism and the status of the profession; 3) Teachers’ work, health, and sustainability; and 4) Education for equity and the public good. The paper offers a descriptive analysis of union representatives’ perceptions concerning the conditions, status, and sustainability of the teaching profession regionally and globally. It also delineates major trends and maps key regional differences in the global data.