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Looking abroad
Teaching students to learn is part art and part science, and effective teaching requires a deep body of professional knowledge. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Teacher Knowledge Survey, released in 2026, offers the first international benchmark of an important aspect of teacher expertise: general pedagogical knowledge (GPK). The OECD (2025) defines GPK as “the specialized knowledge of teachers for creating effective teaching and learning environments for all students, independent of subject matter” (11).
Conducted in 2024, the survey included 20,000 teachers from more than 2,000 lower secondary schools in eight countries: Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Chile, United States, South Africa, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions about teacher preparation, including whether participants had training in the science of learning, classroom management, lesson preparation and assessment of student learning. The survey also explored whether teachers thought their formal education prepared them to work in complex school settings. Finally, the survey asked participants about their working conditions, stress and well-being, and intentions to stay in teaching.
The survey found a strong correlation between teachers with high GPK and student achievement. The survey report (2026) notes that “Across countries, when you plot student performance on PISA against teachers’ pedagogical knowledge as measured by the Teacher Knowledge Survey, you don’t get a cloud of scattered dots—you get something close to a straight line. In a world of messy educational debates, that kind of clarity is rare. It tells us that pedagogical knowledge is not just helpful; it is one of the most powerful system-level predictors of student learning outcomes we have” (3).
The study sheds light on why GPK and student learning are connected. Teachers with stronger GPK reported they are likely to spend more time on classroom instruction as opposed to maintaining classroom discipline. In addition, teachers with higher levels of GPK reported they respond and adapt to students’ needs, using their professional judgment to select approaches that best fit the learning situation rather than relying on a single teaching strategy.
Teaching is stressful and many studies document increasing levels of burnout and mental emotional distress in the teaching profession due to increasing complexity in the classroom. The study results suggest that GPK could act as a protective factor for teachers as they carry out their duties. The study found that “GPK tends to be negatively related to teachers’ reports of experiencing stress from student behaviour” (41) and that this supports “the idea that GPK helps (directly or indirectly) teachers cope with a broad range of job demands” (41).
Interestingly, while higher levels of GPK were a protective factor for stressors in the classroom, it did not translate into a better sense of efficacy for teachers in terms of feeling prepared to teach, designing lesson plans or assessment activities. This suggests that while GPK is important for the work of teaching, it did not necessarily translate into teachers’ beliefs about their own ability to teach. This may suggest that teachers with higher GPK may hold themselves to a higher level of expectation and are therefore more critical of their work.
Finally, the report noted that teachers, even those with high GPK, feel less prepared to address classroom management and support diverse learners even though they “strongly believe in tailoring their teaching to specific students’ needs” (34). In other words, high GPK is not sufficient in and of itself to effectively manage the complexity of today’s classrooms, and teachers need ongoing support and resources in addition to high levels of GPK.
GPK can develop throughout the course of a teaching career, but the survey reinforces the importance of comprehensive teacher preparation. For example, the study found that teachers who hold a bachelor’s degree had consistently higher GPK than those teachers with less education. In addition, teachers whose educational background focused specifically on subject-specific knowledge had lower GPK. The study suggests that, in addition to content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge is key to developing teacher competence.
The findings also offer perspective on alternative teacher training pathways for the eight countries that participated in the survey. As a matter of context, the establishment of alternative pathways to teaching is an attractive option given that teacher shortages are growing worldwide, but it is important to point out that “not all fast-track programmes are equal in duration and content” (74), and this may explain why the GPK of participants did not show significant differences regardless of their pathway to teaching. The implication is that not all pathways are equivalent and the quality and comprehensiveness of the teacher preparation are what matter for the development of GPK.
Professional learning does not end with initial certification. Once a teacher is actively teaching, collaborative activities such as sharing materials and engaging with colleagues about student learning help support GPK growth, the study found.
Collaborative professional cultures hold the potential to support the development of teacher expert knowledge throughout a teacher’s career.
High-quality teaching is critical for student learning. The OECD report highlights the need to develop teacher knowledge before teachers enter the classroom and to continue developing that knowledge as a teacher’s career progresses. In fact, the OECD argues that this approach should be a core strategic mission for improving the education system. The report (2026) notes that this requires policy-makers and the public to “recognise, reward and elevate pedagogical expertise with the same respect we afford other high-skill professions” (3). At a time when education systems face growing complexity and increasing expectation, strengthening teachers’ professional knowledge represents an investment in students, the future of public education and teachers.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2026. Results from the Teacher Knowledge Survey: What Teachers Know About General Pedagogy. Teaching and Learning International Survey. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5542e88a-en.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2025. TALIS Teacher Knowledge Survey 2024 Conceptual and Assessment Framework. Teaching and Learning International Survey. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/65903902-en.
