How do educational systems regulate the teaching profession and teachers’ work? A typological approach to institutional foundations and models of regulation

Abstract

This cross-national study contributes to the comparative literature on institutional variations in the regulation of the teaching profession by developing a theoretical typology articulated around teacher education, labor market regulation, and the division of labor. Drawing on Freidson's work on professionalism in the field of sociology of professions, our typology highlights four models of regulation - the 'market', the 'rules', the 'training', and the 'professional skills' models. We discuss how these models, embedded in a bureaucratic, market-oriented or professional approach, shape the regulation of the teaching profession and teachers' work in different contexts.