A study conducted by the UK-based foundation has revealed that Indians are most positive about their children choosing a career in teaching.
The UK-based Varkey Foundation's ‘Global Teacher Status Index (GTSI) 2018' released on Thursday (8), described as the most comprehensive study of how society views teachers across 35 nations around the globe.
The study has stated that 54 per cent of Indian people polled said they encourage their children to choose a career in teaching field higher than in any country surveyed including India’s rival China (50 per cent).
By comparison, 23 per cent of British citizens would promote their children to enter teaching field, according to the data published. In Russia, only six per cent would support their child to become a teacher, the lowest position of any nation surveyed.
China tops in the list of 'Global Teacher Status Index 2018', followed by India which stands in the eighth position, followed by Brazil the lowest among the 35 countries surveyed.
The index reveals for the very first time that there is a direct link between teacher status and pupil performance as measured by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores.
More than 77 per cent of Indians who participated in the survey think that the students respect their teachers, the third biggest country in the rank list after Uganda (79 per cent) and China (81 per cent).
Out of the 35 countries polled in 2018, the Asian nations of China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea and India rank higher in terms of teacher status than any European and Western country, including the US, New Zealand and Canada. South Americans accord teachers lower status than any other region.
People in India firmly believe in their country’s education system by rating it 7.11 out of 10, the fourth-highest any nation surveyed after Finland, Switzerland, and Singapore.
The survey is based on detailed opinion polling and investigation by Professor Peter Dolton and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research of over 35,000 adults aged 16-64 and over 5,500 additional serving teachers across 35 countries.
The 2018 index is the continuation of the first global teacher status index (GTSI), which surveyed 21 nations in 2013 and inspired the Varkey Foundation's annual $1million Global Teacher Prize.
Peter Bedford
Alberto Costa 
