Isced-t 2021 unesco

a. 
Target teaching level: explicit identification of vocationally orientated programmes. 
b. 
Minimum educational level required for entry: explicit identification of cases where a 
prior learning access route is available.
c. 
Teaching practice ratio: explicit identification of internship routes.
d. 
Application to in-service teacher training programmes.
e. 
Pathways: explicit identification of different pathways that lead to qualified teacher 
status, and that may comprise of more than one teacher training programme or 
qualification. 
37. 
ISCED-T can contribute to a global minimum standard for national measurement of the 
proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications by level of education 
taught. ISCED-T can also be linked to new indicators developed through global initiatives 
that aim to improve the quality of teacher training. 
Future considerations 
38. 
The purpose of ISCED-T is to compile and analyse cross-nationally comparable statistics on 
teacher training programmes and the related teacher qualifications. This means ISCED-T is 
quantitative in its design and descriptive in its intent. 

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 ISCED-T 2021
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39. 
On its own, ISCED-T is not designed to indicate the quality of teacher training programmes. 
In this regard, ISCED-T should be seen as one of an array of national and international 
instruments that can contribute to improved teacher quality. Other instruments include 
professional and content standards for teachers, as well as the strong international shift 
over the last three decades to national and regional qualifications frameworks. This 
includes the acceleration of the referencing processes between national and regional 
qualifications frameworks that contribute directly to more standardised terminology and 
use of concepts internationally, such as the common use of level descriptors. The most 
recent thinking on world reference levels of learning outcomes is also important to take 
note of in the future. 
40. 
The use of credit systems and notional learning time is strongly associated with the 
development of qualifications frameworks. In the medium to long term, these concepts 
could potentially replace the notion of “duration” to ensure more consistency when 
countries report on learning time, workloads and even levels of complexity intrinsic to 
teacher training programmes. It is possible that future iterations of ISCED-T may prioritise 
notional learning time above full-time equivalents as more internationally comparable 
proxies for the duration and scope of teacher training programmes.
41. 
New forms of credentials that are digital in their design, delivery, certification and 
authentication, and that are increasingly being delivered across formal, non-formal and 
informal modes, are important to take note of. It is not unrealistic to expect that this 
expanded scope may be considered in future iterations of ISCED-T as teacher training 
programmes become more modular and stackable. 
42. 
The inclusion of teaching practice in ISCED-T should be further developed and refined. 
Greater consistency will be required in how teaching practice is reported and integrated 
into teacher training programmes overall. 
43. 
The global shift is towards forms of privacy wherein an individual (in this case a teacher, 
or student teacher) should have a degree of control over how their data is collected and 
used. It will be important to consider how concepts such as data privacy and self-sovereign 
identity will impact on data of teacher training programmes in the future. 
44. 
The increasing demand for digital and soft skills in the labour market means teachers need 
to foster the development of these skills in their students. Data collection for ISCED-T could 
include a specific focus on these aspects. 
45. 
The relatively long development and approval cycles required for frameworks such 
as ISCED-T that analyse cross-nationally comparable statistics mean that their 
conceptualisations should always be a few years ahead of current practices, but not so far 
ahead that countries may struggle to apply them. ISCED-T is well positioned to find this 
balance. 

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