This chapter presents findings on the key characteristics of the teaching profession in the Western Balkans. It explores teacher demographics, workforce supply and demand, and the perceived attractiveness of the profession among teachers themselves. The chapter also looks at qualification and employment structures for teachers across the region, as well as their day-to-day roles and responsibilities. Finally, the chapter considers possible well-being and retention risks, exploring teachers’ job satisfaction and work-related stress.
Findings from TALIS 2024 in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia
Improving Teacher Policies and Practice
Abstract
The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 offers insights into the perspectives of teachers and school principals on their working lives. In 2024, five Western Balkan education systems participated in the survey: Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
In the Western Balkans, overall teacher supply is broadly stable, with no widespread reported shortages except in Montenegro. However, most systems report gaps in some specialised roles, notably for supporting students with special education needs.
Education systems in the region are having to adapt to shrinking student populations and the face of the teaching workforce is changing. Teacher cohorts are ageing in Montenegro and Serbia and becoming increasingly feminised in Albania and Kosovo.
Early career and rural teachers face more precarious employment in most systems in the region, with young teachers more likely to hold fixed-term contracts and rural teachers more often employed part-time, especially in Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Teachers’ job satisfaction and perceived professional value vary widely between systems in the Western Balkans; both are high in Albania and Kosovo but are consistently much lower in Serbia.
Well-being and retention risks are evident: there is low job satisfaction in Serbia, relatively high intentions to leave the profession in Montenegro and Serbia, and elevated stress among older teachers across the region, particularly in relation to student assessment.
In 2024, five Western Balkan education systems – Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – participated in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). TALIS collects information from teachers and school principals about their working lives, offering valuable insights into their experiences in the classroom, their working conditions and learning opportunities, and the ways in which they are responding to the changing world around them (see Box 1.1). In 2024, the five participating Western Balkan education systems surveyed teachers and principals working in ISCED level 2 (i.e. lower secondary education).
The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the largest international survey of teachers and principals. It was first introduced in 2008, then administered cyclically in 2013, 2018 and 2024. In the most recent cycle, 53 countries and territories participated at ISCED level 2 (i.e. lower secondary education).
In each participating education system, TALIS surveys a representative sample of teachers and their principals, capturing information about a variety of aspects related to their work. This includes data about teacher demographics (e.g. age, gender) and schools’ characteristics (e.g. size, location); teachers’ working hours, professional learning, contract modalities; professional and teaching practices and school climate; and teacher well-being, job satisfaction and career intentions.
TALIS results are based exclusively on self-reports from teachers and principals, offering insight into their opinions, perceptions, beliefs and accounts of their activities. However, drawing direct comparisons across countries using self-reported measures warrants caution due to the possible influence of social and cultural background on responses as well as social desirability bias.
Results from TALIS 2024 were released in 2025. Interested readers can consult the international report, which provides a comprehensive overview of findings across all participating countries and territories. Readers can also access the TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium - an online dashboard of results - or the full dataset. These and other resources are available via the OECD website.
Source: OECD (2025[1]), Results from TALIS 2024: The State of Teaching, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/90df6235-en.
This report presents key findings from TALIS 2024 for the Western Balkans. It aims to support policymakers in the region to use insights from the survey to review, develop and strengthen their efforts to support the teaching profession and enhance education outcomes. The report asks the following key policy questions:
What information does TALIS offer regarding who goes into teaching in the Western Balkans and how they experience their working conditions across the teaching career?
What does TALIS reveal about how policy can help ensure that teaching and learning in the Western Balkans is responsive to the needs of all learners?
What insights does TALIS provide for improving the impact of teachers’ professional learning on teaching practice across all schools in the region?
To answer these questions, the report takes TALIS 2024 data as its main database, complementing it where relevant with internationally comparative data on student learning outcomes and policy research from in the region.
The report is organised in four chapters. The rest of Chapter 1 presents findings regarding key characteristics of the teaching workforce in the Western Balkans, including teacher demographics, career structures, and attitudes to the profession.
Chapter 2 provides insights into the use of teaching practices that respond to the needs of different learners in the region, with a focus on adaptive and inclusive instruction and formative assessment.
In Chapter 3, the analysis turns to the ways in which teachers are supported once they enter the profession, considering mentoring and induction, professional development and collaboration, and appraisal and feedback.
Finally, Chapter 4 proposes a set of policy pointers for the consideration of policymakers in the region. These build directly on the findings presented in the three preceding chapters and seek to provide different options for improving teaching policies and practice with a view to improving student outcomes.
TALIS 2024 examined the profile of the teaching profession in participating education systems to better understand the make-up of the workforce and its evolution. This section identifies key characteristics of teachers in the Western Balkans, considering their demographic profile, how it may be changing over time and implications for future supply and demand. It also considers entry routes into the profession and the motivating factors for becoming a teacher.
Teacher demographics, supply and demand
Teacher demographics are evolving in some Western Balkan systems as the profession ages in Montenegro and Serbia and is increasingly feminised in Albania and Kosovo
Across the Western Balkans, the average age of teachers is 45 years, similar to the average age across the European Union (EU) of 46 years. It ranges from 43 years in North Macedonia to 47 years in Montenegro.
In some systems in the region, a high share of older teachers has the potential to create workforce challenges in the future. In Montenegro, the share of teachers aged 50 and above is relatively large at 39% while that of young teachers (i.e. those under 30) is very small at 5%. A similar contrast can be observed in Serbia (see Figure 1.1, Panel A). This may signal future supply challenges for their respective workforces as large numbers of teachers will reach retirement age in the next 10 to 15 years and only a small number of teachers are entering the profession to replace them.
In Montenegro, the small share of young teachers can be explained in part by the fact that teachers appear to enter the profession later in life than in most education systems: the average age of teachers with 5 years of teaching experience or less in Montenegro is 36 years, compared to 34 years across the EU.
Share of teachers by age group and gender
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
As elsewhere in the EU and the OECD, most teachers in the Western Balkans are women: 69% of teachers across the region are female, slightly below the EU share of 70%. However, there is notable variation across systems, with the share of female teachers ranging from 60% in Kosovo to 75% in Albania. In both contexts, the profession appears to be increasingly feminised. In Kosovo, 73% of teachers aged under 30 years are female compared to 53% aged 50 and over (see Figure 1.1, Panel B). There is a similar though less pronounced pattern in Albania, where 77% of young teachers are female compared to 67% of older ones. The opposite is true in Serbia: the share of female teachers among the younger cohort is smaller than that among older cohorts (60% and 72%), suggesting the profession is increasingly attracting men. This aligns with trends observed in both the EU and the OECD, although appears more pronounced in Serbia and may be gaining pace, with the biggest change seen between those under 30 and those aged 30-49.
Except for Montenegro, education systems in the region are not currently experiencing notable shortages of teachers. However, there are reported shortages of staff with specialised expertise in teaching in inclusive environments
In the Western Balkans, teacher shortages appear to be less of a challenge for school systems than in many EU and OECD education systems. On average across the region, only 12% of teachers work in schools whose principal identifies that a shortage of qualified teachers is hindering the school’s capacity to provide quality instruction, compared to 20% across the EU. Nevertheless, there is considerable variation between systems, with particularly low shares in Albania (7%) and North Macedonia (6%) and slightly larger shares in Kosovo (13%) and Serbia (12%) (see Figure 1.2).
Share of teachers working in schools whose principal reports that capacity to provide quality instruction is hindered by workforce shortages
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[1]), Results from TALIS 2024: The State of Teaching, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/90df6235-en.
In Montenegro, reported teacher shortages appear more pervasive: one-fifth (20%) of teachers work in schools whose principals report a shortage of qualified teachers. In addition, the reported shortage of teachers with competence in teaching students in a multicultural or multilingual setting is also notably higher in Montenegro, with 25% of teachers working in schools whose principals report this, compared to shares of just over 5% in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia.
In Kosovo too, there are some notable reported shortages for specific staff roles. Most notably, half of the teachers in the system (49%) are working in schools whose principal reports that a shortage of support personnel (i.e. staff providing pedagogical support [e.g. teaching assistants, psychologists] or administrative support [e.g. receptionists, accountants, administration assistants]) hinders capacity to provide quality instruction. Furthermore, around one-fifth of teachers work in schools with reported shortages of teaching staff with competence in multicultural settings (18%) and in working with students from socio-economically disadvantaged homes (20%).
Kosovo is also the only system in the region with significant differences in reported shortages by school location. For instance, the share of teachers working in rural schools whose principal reports a shortage of qualified teachers is 15 percentage points higher than that of those working in urban schools. Similar gaps appear between rural and urban schools for shortages of staff with competence working in multicultural settings or with socio-economically disadvantaged students.
While most systems in the region do not report overall teacher shortages, substantially higher shares of principals across all systems, except Albania, report shortages of teachers with competence in supporting students with special education needs (SEN). Inclusive schools have teachers that can apply inclusive pedagogies in their classroom for all children, and that can work with specialist professionals to provide more tailored support to learners with specific needs. TALIS 2024 data indicate that these skillsets may be lacking in the region. In Kosovo and Montenegro, around one-quarter of teachers are working in schools whose principal reports this type of shortage; the share is closer to one-third in North Macedonia and Serbia, which is similar to that seen across both the EU and the OECD.
Moreover, principals’ perceptions of adequate staffing appear to be changing in some systems. Data from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveal a notable increase in the share of principals reporting a shortage of staff in their school between 2018 and 2022 in Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. When paired with the risks to teacher retention that are visible in some of these systems (see below), this suggests teacher supply may become more challenging in the future.
However, beyond supply, the demand for teachers is also an important consideration in workforce management. Demographic data indicates that systems in the Western Balkans need to adapt to a shrinking school-age population. In recent years, populations have been declining across the region, except in Kosovo and Montenegro. Between 2014 and 2024, the highest rate of decline was recorded in North Macedonia at 12% (Eurostat, 2025[3]). Meanwhile, predicted trends for total population between 2020 and 2050 estimate declines in all five systems, and particularly steep ones in Albania (by 16%), North Macedonia (by 11%) and Serbia (by 19%) (Ármás, 2023[4]). Although declining fertility rates are a trend in many EU and OECD systems, the situation in the Western Balkans is complicated by high emigration and low immigration rates. These demographic shifts may have notable consequences for the teacher workforce in years to come and several systems in the region have begun developing policy responses (see Box 1.2).
Across Western Balkan education systems, recent reform strategies identify the need to better manage the size and distribution of the teaching workforce. Policy priorities include strengthening entry pathways into the profession to support supply as well as improving the allocation of teachers across the school network.
In Albania, the Ministry of Education and Sports is developing a national Teacher Career Framework aimed at defining entry requirements, professional competencies and qualification stages across the teaching career. In parallel, new guidance on the deployment of “teachers at disposal” enables teachers without a full teaching load to provide substitution cover or targeted instructional support, such as remedial classes for low‑achieving students. Together, these measures aim not only to provide structured pathways for entry and professional progression, but also to improve workforce use within schools by aligning existing teacher supply with instructional needs arising from changing enrolment patterns.
Montenegro has introduced a combination of measures to strengthen initial teacher education and longer‑term system planning. The Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035, adopted on 12 June 2025, is the first national framework to encompass all levels of education, including teacher education. The Strategy includes measures to support the development of a future‑oriented workforce by analysing and identifying shortage occupations, modernising existing study programmes and establishing new ones, designing targeted student support measures (e.g. scholarships, loans and accommodation), and creating dedicated support systems for teachers in shortage subjects. These measures primarily aim to strengthen the future supply of teachers in identified shortage areas through improved recruitment and preparation pathways.
In North Macedonia, recent reforms include the implementation of a structured career development model for teachers and professional associates, supported by an electronic system for career advancement administered by the Ministry of Education and Science. In parallel, North Macedonia has introduced school network optimisation initiatives across selected municipalities to enhance the quality of provision and improve the allocation of teaching staff in response to shifting enrolment patterns. Ten municipalities are currently receiving support to prepare local optimisation plans. These reforms respond to long‑standing imbalances in workforce utilisation whereby some schools experience an underutilisation of staff and others have localised shortages in certain skillsets.
Source: Dimoski (2023[5]), Forum: Optimisation of school network and new formula for financing education, https://mia.mk/index.php/en/story/forum-optimization-of-school-network-and-new-formula-for-financing-education (accessed on 17 March 2026); European Commission/Eurydice (2025[6]), National reforms in school education, https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/albania/national-reforms-school-education (accessed on 17 March 2026); Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (2025[7]), Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035, https://www.gov.me/clanak/usvoje na-strategija-reforme-obrazovanja-2025-2035 (accessed on 16 March 2026); Ministry of Education and Science (n.d.[8]), Career Advancement System, https://karierenrazvoj.mon.gov.mk/konkursi/login (accessed on 17 March 2026).
Teacher qualifications and motivation to teach
Most teachers in the Western Balkans are qualified to Bachelor’s level and important shares in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia first qualified via subject-specific training, only
In contrast with teachers working in education systems across the EU or the OECD, the largest share of whom hold Master’s level qualifications, most teachers in the Western Balkans are qualified to Bachelor’s level. Within the region, the share of Master’s qualified teachers is highest in Serbia at 44% and then Kosovo at 31%. In Montenegro, 25% of teachers are qualified to this level and only 10% are in North Macedonia. Although meta-analyses indicate the value of qualifying teachers to tertiary level for quality teaching or improved student learning outcomes (Dunst et al., 2019[9]), there is no clear evidence that qualification at Master’s level as opposed to Bachelor’s level has an additional positive effect. Nevertheless, raising minimum qualification requirements for teachers to Master’s level has been a trend across EU and OECD education systems recently, especially for those working in secondary education, as part of efforts to raise the status of the profession and enhance the quality of initial training (OECD, 2019[10]).
Most teachers in the Western Balkans report that their first teaching qualification was via a regular teacher education or training programme (i.e. one which includes post-secondary education leading to a teaching credential, typically at a university with a focus on subject-matter, pedagogy and practice either concurrently or consecutively). In Albania and Montenegro, these shares are particularly high at 89% and 87% respectively, and well above the EU share of 78%. Data also indicate that this type of initial training programme is increasingly popular in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. In each of these countries, the share of recently graduated teachers (i.e. those who complete their first teaching qualification five years prior to the TALIS survey) qualifying via a regular teacher education programme are significantly higher than that of their colleagues.
In Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia, important shares of teachers have a first teaching qualification via subject-specific education or training only (i.e. not combined with pedagogy and practice). The share is particularly high in Kosovo at 30% compared to 13% across the EU. Although lower in North Macedonia and Serbia, at 17% the share remains substantial. Moreover, there is no sign of a change in this share in any of these systems, suggesting that the increase in first qualification via regular training programmes is coming from a reduction in pathways other than subject-specific training. More generally across systems participating in TALIS, teachers who first qualify with subject-specific training only are increasingly less common as governments seek to better prepare graduate teachers for classroom practice (OECD, 2025[1]). Effective teachers are experts of the subject matter they teach but also of how students learn, how to assess learning progress and how to design engaging and enriching learning experiences for students (Ulferts, 2021[11]) meaning training on both general and subject-specific pedagogies are crucial.
Teachers in the Western Balkans typically report strong motivation to teach. Although this is less evident in North Macedonia, there are signs that motivation is higher there among young teachers as compared to older ones
Teachers in the Western Balkans appear highly motivated to teach. A larger share of teachers across the region reported that teaching was their first career choice than on average across the EU at 83% compared to 70%. The share ranged from 88% in Albania and Kosovo to 79% in Montenegro.
Moreover, consistently higher shares of teachers in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia report being motivated to teach by nearly all factors examined by TALIS than on average across the EU and OECD (see Figure 1.3). Shares are particularly high in Albania, where, for example, more than 80% of teachers report that factors related to personal enjoyment, such as “teaching suits my abilities” or “I like working with children” and social contribution are of high importance. In contrast, the share of teachers in North Macedonia reporting that the factors included in TALIS motivate them to teach is consistently smaller than elsewhere in the region, often falling below shares seen across the EU or OECD.
Contractual advantages such as job security and commitment flexibility are the least motivating factors for teachers in the region; in several systems the shares of teachers reporting that aspects such as job security or commitment flexibility are of “high importance” to them are lower than those seen across the OECD, although they are typically in line with the EU. While this may signal that teachers in the region are more motivated by personal enjoyment or social utility, it could also reflect that the contract modalities are not perceived as being particularly advantageous compared to other careers.
There is indication that motivation to teach may be declining in some Western Balkan education systems or at least changing in nature. For example, in Kosovo the share of teachers reporting that teaching was their first career choice is smaller among young teachers (i.e. those aged under 30 years) than older teachers (i.e. those aged 50 years and over) by 8 percentage points. Meanwhile, in both Albania and Kosovo, young teachers are less likely to report that job security is of “high importance” to them. In Montenegro, young teachers are less likely to report that factors related to their personal enjoyment like working with children and adolescents or exercising their autonomy are of “high importance”.
In contrast, there are strong indications that young teachers in North Macedonia may feel more motivated to teach than their older colleagues. Across 6 of the 9 dimensions asked about in TALIS, the share of teachers under 30 years identifying them as being of “high importance” was significantly larger than that of those aged 50 and over. For example, there was a 17-percentage point gap in the share of young teachers reporting the importance of commitment flexibility compared to older ones, a 12-percentage point gap for job security and a 10-point gap for making a worthwhile social contribution. While it may be that factors that drive people in teaching change with age, the fact that the pattern repeats for multiple factors in in North Macedonia indicates that the profession is increasingly attractive to the younger generation, or that teachers’ motivation erodes as they progress through their career.
Share of teachers who report that the following factors are of "high importance" to them as a teacher
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
Teachers participating in TALIS 2024 provided information on their contract terms and their typical working tasks. This section presents an overview of related findings for the Western Balkans, offering insights into contract stability for teachers across the region and any variation that exist according to their characteristics or location. It also explores teachers’ reports of how they spend their time, including teaching hours; work directly related to teaching, such as lesson planning and marking; and additional tasks such as professional learning, collaboration and general administration.
Employment terms
Young teachers across the Western Balkans typically have less stable contracts than their older peers, particularly in North Macedonia and Serbia
Across the Western Balkans, most teachers (82%) are employed on permanent contracts, mirroring the share seen across the EU. While the share is particularly high in Albania (87%), and Montenegro (88%) it is lower in North Macedonia (77%) and Serbia (73%). In those two countries higher shares of teachers (around 25%) are on fixed-term contracts. In Serbia, these contracts may be particularly unstable as the majority (19%) are for one school year or less.
TALIS data also highlight variation in contract security by school location and teacher age. In both North Macedonia and Serbia, teachers working in rural areas are much more likely to be on fixed-term contracts - as opposed to open-ended - than their colleagues in urban schools, with a percentage point difference of 12 in both countries. Meanwhile, in all Western Balkan systems there are very large differences in the share of teachers on fixed-term contracts by age (see Figure 1.4). This is a trend seen internationally too: on average across the EU, there is a 40-point gap between the share of teachers aged under 30 on fixed-term contracts compared with those aged 50 or over. In all Western Balkan systems, the gap is even larger, ranging from around 45 points in Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, to 62 points in North Macedonia and 81 points in Serbia.
Share of teachers who report working under the following contract types, by age
Note: Education systems are listed in descending order of teachers below 30 years reporting working on fixed-term contracts (Panel A) or on a part-time basis (Panel B).
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
Although fixed-term contracts can create greater flexibility for workforce management, contract stability is an important contributing factor to both teacher well-being and student outcomes. Research within education and beyond has shown that job insecurity is positively correlated with occupational stress and has a negative influence on job satisfaction and employee well-being (Viac and Fraser, 2020[12]). Meanwhile, short-term contracts can make it harder for teachers to build strong relationships with students, parents and colleagues, which are key components of quality education. There is strong empirical evidence that positive teacher-student relationships are associated with improved student engagement, learning well-being and behaviour (Emslander et al., 2025[13]).
In Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, teachers working in rural schools are more likely to be employed on part-time contracts
In Kosovo and Montenegro, the share of teachers working part time is broadly in line with EU shares at around one-fifth. In contrast, the share of full-time teachers is particularly high in Albania (96%) and North Macedonia (90%). In Serbia on the other hand, only 63% of teachers work full time with the largest share of those that work part time (16% of all teachers) doing so at less than 50% of full-time working hours.
As with contract stability, there is also notable variation in contract modality by teacher and school characteristics. Again, across the region and particularly in Serbia, younger and less experienced teachers are more likely to be working part time: the share of teachers aged under 30 years on a part-time contract is 29 points higher than that of their colleagues aged 50 or over in Serbia, and around 20 points higher in Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia. These differences are much larger than that seen across the EU of 10 percentage points. In contrast, in Albania, there is a smaller gap of four percentage points.
Moreover, across all Western Balkan education systems except Albania, teachers working in rural schools are more likely to work part time than their colleagues in urban schools. Related percentage point gaps range from 16 points in Serbia to 3 points in North Macedonia for those working less than 50% of full-time hours. This may be because it can be harder to fill a full teaching timetable in smaller schools.
In principle, part-time work may be preferred by some teachers: it can support work-life balance and well-being. However, it can also limit career progression and pension benefits (OECD, 2025[1]). Moreover, it is not always a matter of choice: systematic variation in contract modality by age and location indicates that, in Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, younger teachers have fewer opportunities to enter full-time work. The same can be true of teachers living and working in more rural communities.
Work tasks
In North Macedonia and Serbia, novice teachers work fewer hours per week than their more experienced colleagues and in all Western Balkan systems, except for Albania, they have fewer teaching hours
TALIS collects teacher reports of their use of working time. Except for Serbia, full-time teachers in the Western Balkans report fewer weekly working hours than teachers across the EU and OECD. In the EU, teachers work 39 hours per week; in the Western Balkans, working time ranges from 42 hours in Serbia, to 29 hours in Albania, with a total reported working time of 30 hours in Kosovo, 37 hours in Montenegro and 34 hours in North Macedonia.
The share of total working hours dedicated to teaching is between 50-60% in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia, in line with the EU share of 54%. In Kosovo and North Macedonia, however, teachers report spending a greater share of their working hours teaching at 66% and 71% respectively. For any teacher, a high teaching load requires more time spent lesson planning and marking or correcting students’ work. This leaves less space in the working week for other important activities such as professional learning and collaboration with colleagues or interactions with parents and guardians and student counselling.
Across the Western Balkans, teacher reports in TALIS 2024 raise questions about the use of working time among novice teachers (i.e. those with five years of experience or less). It is common practice internationally for novice teachers to have lighter teaching loads in recognition of their need to spend more time preparing and following up on lessons as well as engaging in professional learning. Across the EU, novice teachers report working 3 hours less per week than their more experienced colleagues (i.e. those with more than 10 years’ experience), including 1.3 hours less on teaching.
In the Western Balkans, differences in total working hours by teaching experience are only visible in Serbia (eight-hour difference) and North Macedonia (four-hour difference). Across all Western Balkan systems, except for Albania, novice teachers report lower teaching hours than their more experienced colleagues with gaps of 2.6 hours in Montenegro, 2.4 in North Macedonia, 2.1 hours in Serbia and 1.3 hours in Kosovo (see Figure 1.5). However, it is not clear that this time is directed to other tasks focused on enhancing instruction: novices also report less time spent on lesson planning in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia and on marking student work in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. By contrast, there are no differences by experience in the reported use of time for tasks such as engaging in professional learning and teamwork and dialogue with colleagues.
Time spent on teaching and professional learning per week, by teacher experience
Note: Education systems are listed in ascending order of time spent on teaching (Panel A) and professional learning (Panel B) as reported by novice teachers.
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
Much can be learned from TALIS about teachers’ feelings towards their profession and the work they undertake. This section presents findings for the Western Balkans related to teachers’ job satisfaction and perceptions of how their profession is viewed by others. It also explores their professional well-being, examining the extent to which they experience stress, the sources of that stress and variation by teacher and school characteristics.
Attitudes to the profession and intention to leave
There are marked differences between Western Balkan systems in terms of teachers’ satisfaction with the profession
When it comes to satisfaction with the teaching profession in the Western Balkans, teachers in Serbia consistently report the lowest levels across all aspects asked about in TALIS. For example, only 60% of teachers in Serbia agree that the advantages of being a teacher outweigh the disadvantages, compared to 70% across the EU. Meanwhile, 17% agree that they regret deciding to become a teacher, compared to just 9% in the EU.
Attitudes in Serbia stand in contrast to the attitudes expressed by teachers elsewhere in the region, where satisfaction with the profession is more prevalent. For example, in Montenegro and North Macedonia the shares of teachers reporting that they regret entering the profession are 14% and 12%, respectively while in both, over two-thirds of teachers reported that the advantages of teaching clearly outweigh the disadvantages (see Figure 1.6). Across all aspects asked about in TALIS, teachers in Albania and Kosovo are most satisfied. Very high shares of teachers in both these systems agreed that, overall, they are satisfied with their job at 98%, compared to an EU share of 90%.
Share of teachers agreeing with statements about their satisfaction with the profession and its perceived value
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
In all Western Balkan systems, the share of teachers with positive perceptions of how the teaching profession is valued by those around them consistently exceeds that of the EU. As with satisfaction with the profession, values are particularly positive in Albania. For example, the share of teachers agreeing that the teaching profession is valued by society in general is 56% in Albania, 43% in Kosovo, 32% in North Macedonia, 22% in Montenegro and just 16% in Serbia, compared to 15% across the EU. Similar patterns emerge for teachers’ perceptions of their value in the media and among policymakers.
In North Macedonia and Serbia, young teachers are more likely to report that they feel satisfied with the profession and that it is valued by others; in Albania, the same is true for teachers working in rural schools
In North Macedonia and Serbia, TALIS 2024 data indicate that teachers become increasingly less satisfied with the profession with time. In both countries, novice teachers are more likely to report satisfaction with the profession than their more experienced colleagues, with gaps of 4 percentage points in North Macedonia and 13 percentage points in Serbia. Similarly, in both systems, teachers’ perceived value of their profession is systematically associated with their teaching experience and age. For example, the share of young teachers agreeing that the teaching profession is valued in society exceeds that of older teachers by around 25 percentage points in both countries. Similar gaps, though slightly less pronounced, emerge for perceived value among policymakers and the media.
Across the region, there are also differences in satisfaction with the profession by school location and gender although these vary between systems. Consistently higher shares of rural teachers in Albania agree that they are valued by policymakers, media and society in general, compared to their colleagues in urban schools. The same is true in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia with regards to perceived value among society in general. Meanwhile, in Serbia, male teachers appear to be more satisfied with the profession than female teachers, with the share of men agreeing that all in all, they are satisfied with their jobs, exceeding that of women by seven points. The reverse pattern is observed in North Macedonia where the share of female teachers is higher by three percentage points.
Substantial shares of teachers in Montenegro and Serbia report intentions to leave the profession in the next five years with relatively few motivated by imminent retirement
In line with their lower levels of satisfaction and perceived value, teachers in Serbia are also more likely to report their intention to leave the profession within the next five years, with 28% reporting this in TALIS 2024. In Montenegro too, the share of teachers intending to leave is high, at 28%. Perhaps more concerning is that, in both countries, imminent retirement is less often identified as a reason for leaving the profession than elsewhere across the Western Balkans, meaning the intention to leave is shared more broadly across the profession. Indeed, in Serbia, the share of young teachers aged under 30 expressing an intention to leave the profession is high at 24%, compared to 15% across the EU. It is also high in Kosovo at 23%.
At the other end of the scale, North Macedonia has a very high share of teachers aged 50 or over who express an intention to leave the profession, at 53%. The share is also high in Montenegro (51%) where retention concerns for the profession across all age groups have influenced policy priorities in the country’s recent Education Reform Strategy (see Box 1.3). In North Macedonia although retirement is a notable driver, with 53% of teachers reporting this as a likely factor causing them to leave teaching in the next 5 years, moving to a non-teaching position within education or a position outside of the sector are also commonly reported, at 48% and 49% respectively. In contrast, relatively few teachers in Albania report an intention to leave the profession in the next five years at just 14%, providing further evidence of their more positive attitudes towards the profession in general.
Given emerging retention risks within the teaching profession, recent reforms in Montenegro have increasingly recognised the importance of supporting teachers’ working conditions as part of broader workforce sustainability efforts. The Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035, developed in partnership with UNICEF and the European Union and informed through consultation with teaching staff and school leaders, explicitly identifies support for teachers and improvements to school climate as system priorities.
The Strategy places particular emphasis on addressing mental health and working conditions within education institutions, alongside measures to support teachers through initial education and continuous professional development. By targeting factors related to school climate, safety and socio‑emotional working environments, the reforms aim to improve the professional working conditions of teachers and reduce work‑related pressures associated with increasingly complex classroom contexts.
Source: Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (2025[7]), Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035, https://www.gov.me/clanak/usvoje na-strategija-reforme-obrazovanja-2025-2035 (accessed on 16 March 2026).
Professional well-being
In contrast to patterns seen in the EU and OECD, older teachers in several Western Balkan education systems are more likely to report experiencing work-related stress and health issues. The same is true for those working in urban schools
Overall, teachers in the Western Balkans report lower levels of stress than teachers across the EU and OECD. Particularly high shares of teachers in Albania (45%) and Kosovo (41%) report not experiencing stress at all in their work. The lowest share in the region reporting no stress at work is in Serbia at 18% although this remains above the EU share of 15%. Similarly, teachers in the Western Balkans are less likely to report health concerns related to their work. The share of teachers reporting that their job does not impact their mental health at all ranges from 69% in Albania to 39% in Serbia, compared to 34% across the EU. Similar patterns can be observed with regards to reports of a negative impact on physical health.
However, there is notable variation in teachers’ reports of their well-being across the region, with those working in urban schools and older or more experienced teachers typically reporting lower well-being than their colleagues (see Figure 1.7). For example, in Albania, Kosovo North Macedonia and Serbia, higher shares of teachers working in urban schools report that they experience stress in their work than among those in rural schools. The differences range from 15 percentage points in North Macedonia to 7 points in Kosovo. The same is true with regards to teachers’ perceptions of the negative impact of their work on their mental health in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, with percentage point gaps of four, five and eight, respectively.
In Albania and Serbia, older and more experienced teachers are consistently more likely to report negative impacts of their work on well-being. These differences can also be observed in Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia although not consistently across all aspects asked about in TALIS. Interestingly, this pattern contrasts with that observed across both the EU and OECD, where younger teachers are more likely to report experiencing work-related stress and a negative impact on mental health, for example.
Share of teachers reporting that their work has a negative impact on their well-being, by school location
Note: Data for teachers in rural schools is not available for Montenegro. Education systems are listed in ascending order of the share of teachers reporting that they experience stress at work (Panel A) or that their job negatively impacts their physical health (Panel B).
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
Being held responsible for student achievement is a key driver of stress among teachers in the region, particularly older and more experienced ones
Although generally across the Western Balkans fewer teachers report that their work causes them stress than seen internationally within the EU and OECD, there are interesting differences regarding the main sources of stress. The primary stress factor reported by Western Balkan teachers is being held responsible for student achievement. Except in North Macedonia, the share of teachers reporting this as a source of stress “quite a bit” or “a lot” exceeds the EU share of 43%, ranging from 49% in Albania to 65% in Serbia (see Figure 1.8). This could reflect a higher-stakes culture around student assessment in these countries: the OECD has previously reported that classroom assessments in Serbia, for example, often have high stakes for students (Maghnouj et al., 2019[14]) while in Albania, schools are evaluated and ranked according to student assessment outcomes (Maghnouj et al., 2020[15]). While it is important that teachers have a sense of responsibility for their students’ learning, a high stakes culture increases the pressure placed on them by students, parents and school leadership in ways that can be counterproductive.
TALIS 2024 data also indicate that the high stakes assessment culture is felt particularly strongly by more experienced teachers. Although smaller shares of teachers in the Western Balkans than across the EU and OECD report having too much marking as a cause of stress, in every system in the region except for Kosovo, more experienced teachers are much more likely to report this as a stress factor than their novices. This results in percentage point gaps ranging from 17 in Serbia to 13 in North Macedonia. The same pattern can be observed across the EU, but the average gap is much smaller at just five points. In Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, more experienced teachers also report spending more time on marking than novice teachers, however, the differences are typically small (i.e. between 20-50 minutes per week) suggesting factors other than marking load contribute to these perceptions. Importantly, in both Montenegro and Serbia, experienced teachers are much more likely to report that being held responsible for student achievement is a source of stress with percentage point gaps of 14 and 9, respectively.
Finally, there are notable differences in teachers’ perceptions of sources of stress in North Macedonia and Serbia for tasks related to inclusive education. In Serbia, experienced teachers are more likely to report that having too much work on diversity and equity causes them stress, with a percentage point difference of 12. In both countries, teachers working in urban schools more frequently report this as a cause of stress with differences of six and nine percentage points, respectively. Similar patterns can be observed for modifying lessons for students with SEN: experienced teachers in both North Macedonia and Serbia are more likely to report this as a stress factor, as are teachers working in urban settings in North Macedonia.
Share of teachers who report that the following are sources of stress "quite a bit" or "a lot"
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[2]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
References
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[10] OECD (2019), A Flying Start: Improving Initial Teacher Preparation Systems, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/cf74e549-en.
[11] Ulferts, H. (ed.) (2021), Teaching as a Knowledge Profession: Studying Pedagogical Knowledge across Education Systems, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/e823ef6e-en.
[12] Viac, C. and P. Fraser (2020), “Teachers’ well-being: A framework for data collection and analysis”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 213, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c36fc9d3-en.