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Colombia
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Data profiles:



Colombia
Teachers and teaching conditions (TALIS 2018)
  • Teaching was the first-choice career for 67% of teachers in Colombia and for 67% in OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS. In terms of why they joined the profession, at least 98% of teachers in Colombia cite the opportunity to influence children's development or contribute to society as a major motivation.
  • About one out of three of teachers (34%) in Colombia are aged 50 and above (OECD average 34%). This means that Colombia will have to renew about one out of three members of its teaching workforce over the next decade or so.
  • In terms of classroom environments, relations between students and teachers are positive overall, with 96% of teachers in Colombia agreeing that students and teachers usually get on well with each other. However, 15% of principals report regular acts of intimidation or bullying among their students, which is not significantly different from the OECD average (14%).
  • In Colombia, 3% of teachers work in schools where at least 10% of the students have a migrant background (OECD average 17%). At the same time, 96% of school leaders report that their teachers believe that children and young people should learn that people of different cultures have a lot in common (OECD average 95%).
  • In Colombia, 40% of teachers "agree" or "strongly agree" with the statement that their profession is valued in society, which is higher than the average across OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS. (26%).
  • In Colombia, 14% of teachers report experiencing stress in their work "a lot", which is lower than the OECD average (18%).
  • 19% of teachers report participating in collaborative professional learning at least once a month (OECD average 21%) and 28% engage in team teaching with the same frequency (OECD average 28%).
  • In Colombia, 6% of teachers report that they had never received feedback in their schools (OECD average 10%). The forms of feedback most commonly used in Colombia are based on school-based and classroom-based results, external results of students the teacher teaches and observation of the teacher's classroom teaching.
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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 smaller proportion of teachers in Colombia are female. (55.4 %, rank 47/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Who the principals are

    On average, principals in Colombia have spent more years in their role than principal in most other TALIS countries. (13.1 Years, rank 5/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A larger proportion of principals are aged 60 and above relative to other TALIS countries. (33.3 %, rank 2/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers' practices

    On average, teachers in Colombia report spending more hours per week teaching. (26.8 Hours/week, rank 4/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers report spending more hours per week marking and correcting work. (6.2 Hours/week, rank 5/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' present tasks for which there is no obvious solution. (61.9 %, rank 3/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' give tasks that require students to think critically. (87.5 %, rank 1/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' have students work in small groups to come up with a joint solution to a problem or task. (85 %, rank 1/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' refer to a problem from everyday life or work to demonstrate why new knowledge is useful. (92 %, rank 2/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' give students projects that require at least one week to complete. (55.2 %, rank 2/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' administer their own assessment. (93.5 %, rank 5/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' provide written feedback on student work in addition to a mark. (91.3 %, rank 1/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A large proportion of teachers report to 'frequently' or 'always' let students evaluate their own progress. (74.8 %, rank 1/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers' autonomy, collegiality and collaboration

    In Colombia, a large proportion of principals have 'often' or 'very often' engaged in taking actions to support co-operation among teachers to develop new teaching practices in their school. (84.2 %, rank 5/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    ICT for teaching

    In Colombia, more teachers report a high level of need for professional development aimed at developing their ICT skills for teaching. (33.8 %, rank 3/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Compared to other TALIS countries, a larger proportion of school leaders report a shortage or inadequacy of digital technology for instruction. (63.9 %, rank 3/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Colombia has a larger share of teachers "frequently" or "always" letting students use ICT for projects or class work. (70.8 %, rank 5/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    The "use of ICT for teaching" has been included in the professional development activities of a larger proportion of teachers. (78.2 %, rank 4/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teaching students with special needs

    A larger proportion of teachers report a high level of need to develop their skills to teach students with special needs. (54.8 %, rank 2/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    More school leaders in Colombia report a shortage of teachers with competence in teaching students with special needs. (68 %, rank 3/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teaching in multicultural settings

    Colombia has a higher share of teachers feeling they can cope with the challenges of a multicultural classroom "quite a bit" or "a lot" in teaching a culturally diverse class. (90.1 %, rank 2/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    More teachers report a high level of need for professional development in student behaviour and classroom management. (45.4 %, rank 2/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Colombia has one the largest shares of teachers teaching in schools where more than 10% of students are immigrants or with migrant background. (76.2 %, rank 1/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Classroom management

    More teachers in Colombia feel that they can calm a student who is disruptive or noisy compared to most TALIS countries. (97.5 %, rank 2/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers' self-efficacy

    Relative to most other TALIS countries, more teachers believe that they are able to help their students to value learning. (98.2 %, rank 3/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A larger proportion of teachers believe that they can help their students to think critically. (97.7 %, rank 2/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers' satisfaction with their jobs

    Compared to most other TALIS countries, Colombia has a high proportion of teachers who, apart from their salary, are satisfied with the terms of their teaching contract/employment. (83 %, rank 2/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Principals' satisfaction with their jobs

    A larger proportion of principals are satisfied with their job relative to most other TALIS countries. (100 %, rank 1/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    A relatively high share of principals, apart from their salary, are satisfied with the terms of their teaching contract/employment. (87.7 %, rank 3/49 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers' engagement, motivation and drive

    When deciding to become a teacher, a large share of teachers report that influencing the development of children and young people was of 'moderate importance' or 'high importance'. (98.2 %, rank 5/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    When deciding to become a teacher, a large share of teachers report that providing a contribution to society was of 'moderate importance' or 'high importance'. (98.8 %, rank 1/50 , 2018) Download Indicator

    Teachers’ working conditions, mobility and risk of attrition

    In Colombia, a small proportion of teachers age 50 and below want to leave teaching within the next five years. (5.3 %, rank 45/49 , 2018) Download Indicator


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    General findings
    
                            
    • Across OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, teachers are 44 years old and principals are 52 years old, on average. Furthermore, 20% of principals across the OECD are aged 60 and above.
    • In the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, 47% of principals are women, compared to 68% of teachers.
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    • In OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, 65% of teachers report frequently calming students who are disruptive and 84% report frequently explaining how new and old topics are related.
    • During a typical lesson, teachers spend 78% of classroom time on actual teaching and learning, on average in the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS.
    • In the past five to ten years, classroom time spent on actual teaching and learning has decreased in about half of the countries and economies participating in TALIS.
    • 84% of teachers report having control over determining course content in their class, on average across in OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS.
    • 81% of teachers say that they work in a collaborative school culture characterised by mutual support, on average in OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS. Furthermore, 59% of principals took actions on a regular basis to support co-operation among teachers to develop new teaching practices in the 12 months prior to the survey.
    • On average in OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, only 21% of teachers report participating in collaborative professional learning at least once a month and 28% engage in team-teaching with the same frequency.
    • About half of teachers in the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS "frequently" or "always" let students use ICT for projects or class work, but 25% of school principals report that delivery of quality instruction in their school is hindered by a shortage or inadequacy of digital technology for instruction.
    • In the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, 27% of teachers work in classes with at least 10% of students with special needs (i.e. those for whom a special learning need has been formally identified because they are mentally, physically, or emotionally disadvantaged). But, 32% of school principals report that delivery of quality instruction in their school is hindered by a shortage of teachers with competence in teaching students with special needs.
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    • During their initial education and training, 79% of teachers in the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS were instructed on subject content, pedagogy and classroom. Only 42% of teachers report having participated in some kind of formal or informal induction when they joined their current school.
    • In the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, taking part in some kind of in-service training is commonplace among teachers and principals, with 94% of teachers and 99% of principals attending at least one professional development activity in the year prior to the survey.
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    • Across OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, 26% of teachers "agree" or "strongly agree" with the statement that their profession is valued in society. Between 2013 and 2018, the percentage of teachers reporting that the profession is valued in society has increased in almost half of the countries and economies with available data.
    • Nine out of ten teachers and 95% of school leaders report that, all in all, they are satisfied with their job, on average in OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS.
    • 39% of teachers and 47% of school leaders report being satisfied with their salaries, on average in OECD countries and economies.
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    • Across OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS, 82% of teachers have a permanent contract while 12% of teacher are employed on contracts of one year or less.
    • 18% of teachers report experiencing stress in their work "a lot", on average in OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS. 49% of teachers report that having too much administrative work is a source of stress they experience at work "quite a bit" or "a lot".
    • A quarter of teachers report that they would like to leave teaching within the next five years, on average across the OECD countries and economies participating in TALIS. Furthermore, 14% of teachers age 50 or would like to leave teaching in the next five years.
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    • Only 10% of teachers report that they have never received feedback in their schools. On average across the OECD, the forms of feedback most commonly used are based on classroom observations and students' school-based and classroom-based results.
    • 71% of teachers who received feedback in the 12 months prior to the survey report that it had a positive impact on their teaching practice. In all countries and economies participating in TALIS, teachers who report receiving feedback based on multiple methods are more likely to find that the feedback they received had a positive impact on their teaching.
    • The proportion of teachers who work in schools where appraisal can result in a salary increase or financial bonus is 55% in schools where school management has responsibility over salaries. In schools where school management does not have responsibility over salaries, the proportion is only 30%.
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    • The proportion of female teachers represents over three quarters of the primary teaching force (TALIS average 78%), which is higher than the proportion in lower secondary education of 63%.
    • Less than half of teachers (46% on average) cited receiving formal training in facilitating transitions from early childhood education to primary education. However, a slightly smaller share of teachers (38%) said they felt well or very well prepared in this area.
    • Thirty-seven percent (37%) of teachers report modifying lessons for students with special needs is a source of stress "quite a bit" or "a lot" in primary in contrast to 29% in lower secondary.
    • Teachers in upper secondary education reported being involved in fewer collaborative activities than their peers in lower secondary education. Teaching jointly as a team in the same class shows significant decreases among teachers in upper secondary (5 percentage points difference).
    • Almost a quarter of teachers (23%) in upper secondary education stated they would like to leave teaching in the next five years. Teachers satisfied with their salaries and terms of employment, and who consider the school provides opportunities to engage in discussion and has a collaborative culture are less likely to state they will leave teaching.
    Visualisations
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    Key
    Diagram of funding flows - Colombia

    Click on the coverpage to see the full OECD iLibrary version
    Key
    Country Reviews for Colombia

    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: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/

    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. 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: 2018 for school year 2017/2018.

    *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 Annex 3 of EAG 2021 for more details about the data collections.

    B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

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