'Without you, without the affectionate hand you extended to the small poor child that I was, without your teaching and example, none of all this would have happened.' - Albert Camus to his school teacher after receiving the Nobel Prize

Anybody would agree with American journalist Charles Kuralt that 'Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students'. But do governments and public authorities know how to bring out the best in teachers? What are the factors that motivate young people to enter the teaching profession, support them in doing the best job possible, and encourage them to stay?

A common first response might be money. Dolton and Marcerano-Gutierrez studied the relationship between teacher salaries and pupil outcomes, showing a positive correlation between higher pay and higher pupil scores (in TIMSS and PISA). They argue that higher salaries for beginning teachers make the entry to the profession more competitive, and raise the average level of those entering. Moreover, once recruited, the possibility to reach higher pay levels and/or to receive more performance related pay can also act as an incentive for teachers to improve their pupils' educational outcomes.

But we all know that money isn't everything. Ben Jensen et al., in a recent study, underline the emphasis that top performing education systems put on high-quality professional development. In particular, their research stresses the importance of collaborative professional learning, mentoring programmes for newcomers, and rewarding teacher expertise.

These factors might become even more salient for recruitment and retention policies in future years. Recent US surveys suggest that the highly connected Generation 2020 expect to work harder than previous generations, have higher expectations for their first salary and are seeking opportunities to develop through their employment. Assuming that in a globally connected age, young Europeans have broadly similar attitudes, it may be a concern that work-life balance, intellectual challenge or serving a greater public good seem not to be as important as for previous generations.

In Europe, the level of salaries for starting teachers, the potential pay rise throughout a career and the speed of progress to the highest pay levels all vary enormously across countries. According to the recently released Eurydice report on Teachers' and School Heads' Salaries and Allowances in Europe -2015/16, the statutory annual gross salary for a starting teacher is below 20 000 EUR in 18 countries, and even below 10 000 in 13. After taking account of price differences, the European countries that pay the most to start-of-career teachers are (in order) Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.

The Eurydice report shows that expectations for salary rises also vary dramatically. Romania and Hungary have the highest pay rises throughout a career (165 % and 145 % respectively), but starting salaries are low, and teachers need over 40 years' service to reach the maximum level. Relatively higher starting salaries can double after about half this time in the Netherlands (15 years), Cyprus and Ireland (22 years). There are also countries where the difference between minimum and maximum statutory salaries is much lower. However, while in Scotland and Northern Ireland, teachers may reach this maximum after only 6 and 10 years in service respectively, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia it takes over 30 years.

Only a few countries in Europe (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Austria, Romania and Slovenia) make additional payments to teachers on the basis of a positive performance appraisal or their students’ examination results. Similarly, the great majority of countries do not grant specific allowances for acquiring continuous professional development qualifications. Moreover, according to the 2015 Eurydice report on The Teaching Profession in Europe, the professional development activities that are offered do not always match teachers' needs, and are not sufficiently focused on teaching methods. In particular, collaborative professional learning (e.g. common lesson planning and preparation of learning materials, attending other teachers' classes and providing feedback) is known to be effective but is not often a possibility. 

Much of the challenge is about providing the conditions for a high quality working environment that enable teachers to grow and fulfil themselves, and thus to excel in their profession. Relying exclusively on the intrinsic desire of young teachers to give back and serve society is probably not enough: competitive salaries are also a signal of the value we place on our teachers.

Authors: Sonia Piedrafita Tremosa and David Crosier