Bulgaria

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Bulgaria
Teachers and teaching conditions (TALIS 2024)
  • In Bulgaria, teachers are on average 48 years old, which is higher than the OECD average of 45 years. Since 2018, the share of teachers aged 50 and above has not changed.
  • More than two-thirds of teachers, 69%, have non-teaching work experience (higher than the OECD average: 57%).
  • Schools where more than 10% of students have a first language different from the language of instruction employ 37% of teachers (higher than the OECD average: 25%). The share of teachers who feel they can adapt their teaching to cultural diversity “quite a bit” or “a lot” is 80% (higher than the OECD average: 63%).
  • A large majority of teachers, 89%, feel they can support students’ social and emotional learning “quite a bit” or “a lot” (higher than the OECD average: 73%).
  • Only 22% of teachers report having used artificial intelligence (AI) in their work (lower than the OECD average: 36%).
  • Among novice teachers (with up to five years of experience), 24% have an assigned mentor (similar to the OECD average: 26%). This share increased by 7 percentage points since 2018.
  • A total of 58% of teachers report that the professional learning activities they participated in during the previous 12 months had a positive impact on their teaching (higher than the OECD average: 55%).
  • The most frequent forms of collaboration among teachers include: engaging in discussions about the learning development of specific students (59%), working with colleagues to ensure common standards in evaluations for assessing student progress (45%), and exchanging teaching materials (38%).
  • In Bulgaria, 42% of teachers “agree” or “strongly agree” that teachers are valued in society (higher than the OECD average: 22%). This share increased by 25 percentage points since 2018.
  • More than four out of five teachers, 81%, “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are satisfied with their terms of employment, excluding salaries (higher than the OECD average: 68%). Satisfaction has increased by 8 percentage points since 2018.
  • Almost two-thirds of teachers, 65%, “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are satisfied with their salaries (higher than the OECD average: 39%). This share increased by 35 percentage points since 2018.
  • The most commonly reported sources of stress are: maintaining classroom discipline (53%), being held responsible for student achievement (51%), and being held responsible for students’ social and emotional well-being (48%).
  • The share of teachers who report that, all in all, they are satisfied with their jobs is 96% (higher than the OECD average: 89%). This share increased by 4 percentage points since 2018.
  • In Bulgaria, the share of principals who report that, all in all, they are satisfied with their job is 93% (similar to the OECD average: 94%). The share of principals satisfied with their jobs did not change between 2018 and 2024 (the OECD average decreased by 2 percentage points during the same period).
  • Over 65% of principals are satisfied with their salary (higher than the OECD average: 49%). Between 2018 and 2024, the share of principals who are satisfied with their salary increased by 30 percentage points (the OECD average increased by 6 percentage points during the same period).
  • 66% of principals are satisfied with their non-salary employment terms (similar to the OECD average: 66%). Between 2018 and 2024, the share of principals who are satisfied with their non-salary employment terms increased by 11 percentage points (the OECD average did not change during the same period).
  • In Bulgaria, 87% of principals observed instruction in the classroom ‘often’ or ‘very often’ in the 12 months prior to the survey (higher than the OECD average: 49%), and 94% gave feedback to teachers based on their observation (higher than the OECD average: 56%). Between 2018 and 2024, classroom observation by principals increased by 10 percentage points (the OECD average increased by 7 percentage points during the same period).
  • Around 80% of principals use teachers’ school- and classroom-based results as part of formal teacher appraisal (higher than the OECD average: 62%). Between 2018 and 2024, the use of school- and classroom-based results as part of formal teacher appraisal did not change (the OECD average decreased by 9 percentage points during the same period).
  • In Bulgaria, 80% of principals report that students have opportunities to actively participate in school decisions (similar to the OECD average: 85%). Between 2018 and 2024, the share of principals reporting that their school enables students to participate in school decisions did not change (the OECD average increased by 6 percentage points during the same period).

* Estimates for Alberta (Canada), the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway should be interpreted with caution due to higher risk of non-response bias.
| Country Note | Country Note on Principals | TALIS 2024 : The State of Teaching | The Value of School Principals in TALIS 2024 | TALIS 2024 Conceptual Framework | TALIS 2024 Conceptual and Assessment Framework | Bulgaria in TALIS | Education policies: Teachers  |

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The following list displays indicators for which your selected country shows the highest and lowest values among countries. The list can be sorted by level of education or by age group. All rankings are calculated including available data from OECD and partner countries. Find out more about the methodology here.

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Who the teachers are

Compared to other TALIS countries, a larger proportion of teachers in Bulgaria are female. (78.8 %, rank 6/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers are on average older than teachers in most other TALIS countries. (47.7 Years, rank 7/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Bulgaria, more teachers are aged 50 and above relative to other TALIS countries. (47.9 %, rank 7/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Who the principals are

Compared to other TALIS countries, a larger proportion of principals in Bulgaria are female. (77.9 %, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Principals in Bulgaria are on average older than principals in most other TALIS countries. (53.8 %, rank 8/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teacher appraisal and feedback

Compared to other countries participating in TALIS, in Bulgaria, there is a high proportion of eachers who report receiving feedback from external individuals or bodies. (90.7 %, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' practices

The proportion of lower secondary teachers in Bulgaria who feel confident supporting students’ social and emotional learning “quite a bit” or “a lot” was among the highest across countries with available data. (89 %, rank 10/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

ICT for teaching

In Bulgaria, the share of lower secondary teachers reporting that they have used artificial intelligence (AI) in their work was among the smallest across countries with available data. (22.1 %, rank 53/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teacher leadership and autonomy

The percentage of lower secondary teachers in Bulgaria who “agree” or “strongly agree” that their school encourages staff to lead new initiatives was among the highest across countries with available data. (94.8 %, rank 3/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Principals' practices

In Bulgaria, the share of lower secondary principals who report using school- and classroom-based results as part of formal teacher appraisal is among the largest across participating countries. (79.8 %, rank 9/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Bulgaria, the proportion of lower secondary principals who agree that the school provides students with opportunities to actively participate in school decisions is among the lowest across countries with available data. (80.3 %, rank 47/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Bulgaria, the proportion of lower secondary principals who report having observed instruction in the classroom during the 12 months prior to the survey is among the highest across countries with available data. (86.6 %, rank 10/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Bulgaria, the share of lower secondary principals who report having provided feedback to teachers based on their observations during the 12 months prior to the survey is among the largest across participating countries. (93.8 %, rank 3/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' autonomy, collegiality and collaboration

In Bulgaria, a relative large proportion of teachers agree that their school provides staff with opportunities to actively participate in school decisions. (91.9 %, rank 4/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

A low share of teachers report engaging in team-teaching at least once a month. (8.2 %, rank 52/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Bulgaria, the share of lower secondary teachers who “agree” or “strongly agree” that their principal has good professional relationships with staff was among the largest compared to other countries. (95.3 %, rank 5/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' satisfaction with their jobs

A larger proportion of teachers are satisfied with their job relative to most other TALIS countries. (96.5 %, rank 5/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Compared to most other TALIS countries, Bulgaria has a high proportion of teachers who are satisfied with the salary they receive for their work. (64.6 %, rank 10/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Compared to most other TALIS countries, Bulgaria has a high proportion of teachers who, apart from their salary, are satisfied with the terms of their teaching contract/employment. (80.9 %, rank 7/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' engagement, motivation and drive

Among novice teachers in lower secondary, the share reporting that teaching was their first career choice in Bulgaria was among the smallest across countries with available data. (43.6 %, rank 52/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers’ working conditions, mobility and risk of attrition

The proportion of lower secondary teachers working part-time in Bulgaria was among the smallest across countries with available data. (6.4 %, rank 46/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The proportion of lower secondary teachers in Bulgaria who "agree" or "strongly agree" that too many change initiatives are introduced at their school was among the smallest across countries with available data. (24.8 %, rank 48/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The percentage of lower secondary teachers in Bulgaria who "agree" or "strongly agree" that they are asked to implement change initiatives without the necessary resources was among the lowest across countries with available data. (11.3 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teacher stress factors

In Bulgaria, the percentage of lower secondary teachers reporting that too much lesson preparation is a source of stress was among the lowest across countries with available data. (23.7 %, rank 46/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The proportion of lower secondary teachers in Bulgaria who reported that too much marking causes stress was among the lowest across countries with available data. (22.9 %, rank 53/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Bulgaria, the percentage of lower secondary teachers who reported stress from having too much work on diversity and equity issues was among the highest across countries with available data. (38.4 %, rank 7/55 , 2024) Download Indicator


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General findings

                        

                            

                                
  • Teachers are aging in many education systems. While the average age of teachers is around 45 years old, more than one out of two teachers are 50 or older.
  • Prior non-teaching work experience is more and more common for teachers. In around half of the education systems, at least one out of two teachers have prior non-teaching work experience.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teachers | 

                            

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  • Around one in three teachers report having used artificial intelligence (AI) in their work, on average across OECD education systems.
  • Many teachers – especially female and experienced teachers – report meeting key lesson aims, though supporting students' social and emotional learning remains challenging.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher practices | Education policies: Learning time and Disciplinary climate | Education policies: Special needs | Education policies: Migrant background | Education policies: Digital divide | 

                            

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  • The large majority of teachers are satisfied with their profession, which indicates that most teachers find meaning and personal fulfilment in their work. Almost nine in ten teachers report that they are satisfied with their jobs overall.
  • Administrative workload remains a considerable demand for teachers. About half of teachers report excessive administrative work as a source of work-related stress, particularly those with more than ten years of experience.
  • Discipline and behaviour issues as sources of stress are important predictors of teachers’ fulfilment of their lesson aims, their well-being, job satisfaction and their intention to leave teaching. About one in five teachers report experiencing significant disruptive noise and disorder in their classrooms, and the share of time spent on maintaining discipline has increased since 2018.
  • Teachers are spending more time working together compared to 2018. Full-time teachers report spending around 3 hours per week participating in teamwork and dialogue with colleagues. Teachers who report good professional relationships with principals, other teachers, parents and guardians, and students tend to report higher well-being and job satisfaction.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher working conditions | 

                            

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  • Administrative workload remains a considerable demand for teachers. About half of teachers report excessive administrative work as a source of work-related stress, particularly those with more than ten years of experience.
  • Discipline and behaviour issues as sources of stress are important predictors of teachers’ fulfilment of their lesson aims, their well-being, job satisfaction and their intention to leave teaching. About one in five teachers report experiencing significant disruptive noise and disorder in their classrooms, and the share of time spent on maintaining discipline has increased since 2018.
  • Teachers’ satisfaction with their terms of employment (including salary) has increased in many education systems since 2018.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher working conditions | Education policies: Class size & Student-teacher ratio | 

                            

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  • Mentoring is gaining popularity. About one in four novice teachers (teachers with up to five years of teaching experience) has an assigned mentor.
  • While nearly all teachers participate in continuous professional learning, not all of them find that doing so has a positive impact on their teaching. Just 55% of teachers report that the professional learning activities they participated in during the 12 months preceding the survey had a positive impact on their teaching.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher initial education | Education policies: Teacher professional development | 

                            

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  • Teachers are spending more time working together compared to 2018. Full-time teachers report spending around 3 hours per week participating in teamwork and dialogue with colleagues. Teachers who report good professional relationships with principals, other teachers, parents and guardians, and students tend to report higher well-being and job satisfaction.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: School leadership | Education policies: Teacher practices | 

                            

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  • Feedback and appraisal are common features of teachers’ professional lives. On average across OECD education systems, 88% of teachers report receiving feedback from their school principal, 61% from assigned mentors and 55% from external individuals or bodies. At the same time, principals report that only less than 6% of teachers are never formally appraised.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher appraisal | 

                            

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  • Across OECD countries, 93.8% of principals in lower secondary stated that they were satisfied with their job. However, only 49% reported being satisfied with the salary they receive for their work and 66% with their term of employment (excluding salaries).
  • On average, principals in lower secondary education are around 52 years old in OECD countries, and women represent 54.7% of them.
  • Principals can be quite stressed by administrative work. Indeed, 68.5% stated that it was the source of "quite" or "a lot" of stress.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher appraisal | 

                            

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				Key
            

            Diagram of funding flows - Bulgaria
            

            

        



        
		

            

			Click on the coverpage to see the full OECD iLibrary version
			

				Key
            

            Country Reviews for Bulgaria
            

            

			

        

		
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
        

            Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple
            most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, 
			such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important
            areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website
            for each publication.

            All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
            


			
            Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some 
			countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. 
			However, OECD averages from Education at a Glance coming from the OECD database are the averages for the indicator reference year appearing in the Education GPS and may differ from averages in the book where averages can include data from multiple reference years, based on countries' data availability.
			


			To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2026 for school year 2025/2026 in the Northern Hemisphere.
			


	    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. 
		This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS averages.
		Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and 
		Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes 
		of EAG 2025 for more details about the data collections.
		


        For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.