Analytics, Education and Science, Latvia

The survey, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), shows that the average age of teachers in OECD and TALIS member states is 44 years, while the percentage of teachers over 50 is 34%.

According to the survey, teacher’s profession was the first career choice for 74 percent of Latvia’s teachers and 67% of teachers in OECD countries. Asked why they chose to become teachers, at least 93% of respondents in Latvia said they aspired to promote children’s development and contribute to the development of Latvia’s society.

The average age of school principals in Latvia is 54 years, the highest among OECD and TALIS countries, where the average age is 52 years. Moreover, 25% of school principals in Latvia are more than 60 years old as compared to 20% of school principals in all OECD countries.

Commenting on the OECD survey, Education and Science Minister Ilga Suplinska voiced concerns about the statistics, saying that she is worried about the dominance of women among school principals, their advanced age and managerial incompetence.

In Latvia, 84%  of school principals are women, and women also make up 89% of all teachers working in Latvia’s schools. In all OECD countries, women make up 47% of all school principals and 68% of teachers.

The education minister said that there is a plan to launch a new teacher training program, in 2020, which will involve psychological tests to select the right people for work in Latvia’s schools.

The TALIS survey, which was conducted in summer 2018, included 48 countries on all continents. In Latvia, the survey covered 137 schools and 2,314 teachers.