Introduction: Conceptualizing Teacher Quality and Policy in a Global Context

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the emerging studies from around the globe that can further the conceptualization of teacher quality, identify global and transnational actors’ and networks’ influences on national teacher policies, and further the understanding of the perspectives and experiences of teachers in local policy contexts. It examines teachers’ work context, teacher policy implementation, and policy impacts on teachers’ professional lives as they play out in local contexts. Taken collectively, these studies allow us to more clearly see the complex interplay among global, national, and local contexts surrounding teacher policy and the teaching profession. The global policy focus on ‘teacher quality’ heightened in the mid-2000s after a series of international reports documented problems with teacher recruitment, development, and retention in many countries.