Raising the quality of teaching in Kuwait through teacher licensing and appraisal
Kuwait has set ambitious expectations for what students should learn and how teachers should teach, but these have yet to translate into substantial improvements in learning outcomes. Reforming key teacher policies will be important to give teachers the guidance, support and incentives they need to deliver the curriculum effectively.
National teacher standards, reflecting a shared vision of effective teaching, could serve as a common reference point for recruitment, licensing, appraisal, professional learning and career progression, helping align classroom practice with curriculum reform goals and reinforce teaching as a knowledge-based profession.
Kuwait’s plans for a licensing examination offer an opportunity to establish national minimum expectations for professional knowledge and identify the strongest candidates from the large pool of ITE graduates. However, they should be one element of a broader strategy including high-quality ITE, structured induction and robust probationary appraisal.
A sufficiently long induction period, combining sustained classroom experience with mentoring and formative appraisal, would help beginning teachers consolidate practice before full licensure, with the final licensing decision based on multiple sources of evidence rather than a single high-stakes event.
Teacher appraisal could better support improvement through a clearer distinction between formative and summative processes, greater focus on core teaching dimensions, and sustained investment in evaluator capacity.
Over the past decade, Kuwait has pursued an ambitious agenda to modernise its education system. The 2014 curriculum reform, followed by a 2025 revision, raised expectations of what students should learn and how teachers should teach. The new curriculum asks teachers to foster active learning, inquiry and problem-solving, strengthen students’ foundational skills, and prepare them for a world shaped by rapid technological change.
However, these reforms have yet to translate into substantial learning gains. In 2023, 55% of Kuwait’s Grade 4 students fell below Low International Benchmark (400) in mathematics on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), unable to consistently perform basic tasks like simple arithmetic or chart interpretation (Figure 1). Progress over time has also been modest. Grade 4 mathematics scores rose from 353 in 2015 to 382 in 2023, still leaving the average student below the 400‑point benchmark. A similarly slow trajectory appears at Grade 8, where scores increased from 392 to 399 over the same period.
Several distinctive features of Kuwait’s teaching profession make strengthening teacher policy especially important. Teaching is an attractive career – over 30 000 students enrol annually in Kuwait’s two initial teacher education (ITE) institutions, equivalent to around one-third of Kuwait’s total teaching workforce of over 90 000 teachers (Central Statistical Bureau, 2025[1]). This workforce has grown substantially over the past decade, driven primarily by an increase in Kuwaiti-national teachers, though foreign teachers, from countries such as Egypt, still represent 25% of the total workforce (Figure 1). This reliance reflects the rapid expansion of Kuwait’s education system beyond the capacity of its small population to supply teachers. Overall, teachers are well-qualified, with all holding at least a bachelor’s degree, and the profession is highly stable, with around 82% employed as permanent civil servants in public schools (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021[2]). Teachers in Kuwait also work with relatively small numbers of students – 8 per teacher in primary education, compared to an OECD average of 14 (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021[2])) - reflecting a teaching workforce that has expanded faster than student enrolment (Figure 1). Since demand to become a teacher is high, and most teachers stay in the profession long-term, how new teachers are selected, prepared and supported carry lasting consequences for the quality of teaching in schools.
Source: A: von Davier, M., Kennedy, A., Reynolds, K., Fishbein, B., Khorramdel, L., Aldrich, C., Bookbinder, A., Bezirhan, U., & Yin, L. (2024[3]) TIMSS 2023 International Results in Mathematics and Science. Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. https://doi.org/10.6017/lse.tpisc.timss.rs6460; B: Central Statistical Bureau (2025[1]), Annual bulletin of education statistics.
However, policies that currently shape teachers’ careers do not yet support the profession’s development as well as they might. Selection into permanent positions has emphasised administrative criteria over reliable assessment of the basic knowledge needed for effective teaching. Once appointed, teachers receive limited feedback or tailored support, and advancing to senior roles typically means leaving the classroom, limiting opportunities to leverage talent to raise standards. This brief examines how Kuwait can strengthen these policies, focusing on selection and early career support (Figure 2).
Note: This policy brief focuses on policies related to selecting and certifying new teachers, and setting professional standards; probationary period, supporting beginning teachers; giving continuous feedback as part of a system of formative appraisal; and teacher standards.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2019[4]), A Flying Start: Improving Initial Teacher Preparation Systems, https://doi.org/10.1787/cf74e549-en.
This section compares Kuwait’s policies on teacher entry and early-career support with OECD and regional evidence, identifying strengths and areas for development.
Professional standards for teachers
Professional standards articulate a shared vision of effective teaching. Across the OECD, they typically describe the professional knowledge, pedagogical practice and values expected of teachers. While standards alone don’t improve classroom practice, they can underpin coherent teacher policies by establishing the competencies that guide licensing, appraisal, professional learning and career progression, while supporting teachers’ own reflection. Internationally, standards can be common to all teachers regardless of career stage, subject or level taught [e.g. British Columbia (Canada)] or differentiated across these dimensions. Differentiation may be horizontal, recognising different specialist roles at the same career stage (e.g. inclusion specialists in Ireland), or vertical, setting progressively higher expectations from entry to advanced career stages, as in Australia or Singapore (OECD, 2013[5]).
Kuwait has yet to implement a shared framework of professional standards, although important foundations exist. The Ministry of Education developed standards in 2023, following a previous attempt with the World Bank. These draft standards identify eight teacher duties, structured around main tasks, procedural steps and associated skills, behaviours, and knowledge. Although Kuwait lacks differentiated career stages, the draft standards were developed with three levels in mind (associate, advanced and expert), and preliminary work was undertaken to weight tasks by level - an emerging effort to connect professional expectations to career progression. However, the current draft standards are highly detailed and task oriented. Frameworks of this scope risk becoming checklists rather than accessible reference points for professional practice, emphasising procedural compliance over the professional judgement, knowledge and dispositions underpinning effective teaching, and limiting their value for professional reflection.
Beyond the design of the standards, successful implementation requires broad ownership across both institutions responsible for teachers’ careers and the profession. Current plans by the Ministry of Education aim to co-develop teacher standards with the Civil Service Commission, which oversees the legal and regulatory framework governing teachers as civil servants. This is positive, as previous efforts did not progress to system-wide implementation, partly because they did not sufficiently involve key institutions, including the Civil Service Commission and Parliament (Alhashem and Alhouti, 2021[6]).
Entrance into Initial Teacher Education
Building a strong teaching profession begins well before teachers enter the classroom, with the quality of ITE playing a foundational role. Among the policies supporting high-quality ITE, two are particularly important: robust accreditation processes ensuring ITE programmes meet quality standards, and effective selection mechanisms that identify candidates with the knowledge and personal attributes needed to succeed in the profession (OECD, 2019[4]). Accreditation policies set minimum expectations for ITE programmes, such as curricula integrating content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and practical skills; strong, sustained school-university partnerships; alignment with teacher standards, including, in some countries, standards specifically developed for ITE graduates; and responsiveness to emerging research. Selection mechanisms complement this by shaping the quality of the incoming student cohort. Across the OECD, systems use various instruments: competitive entrance exams (Austria, Estonia), academic performance indicators like GPA or matriculation results (Finland, Republic of Türkiye), and structured interviews (Lithuania, Denmark). Some also cap student places to align teacher supply with demand (Korea, Sweden). Combined with selective admission criteria, such caps can increase competition for ITE entry and help direct public investment toward candidates with strong potential to enter and remain in the profession.
ITE is the main route into teaching in Kuwait. In recent years, the country has increasingly sought to meet its teacher workforce needs by preparing Kuwaiti nationals through domestic ITE programmes, reducing its reliance on teachers trained abroad (Samy, 2026[7]). However, opportunities remain to strengthen ITE. ITE curricula have historically emphasized subject knowledge over pedagogy. Although trainees undertake a practicum, it provides fewer hours of classroom practice than internationally recognised or regional systems and is situated in the final year of the ITE, limiting opportunities to integrate classroom experience with coursework (Al-Ajmi, Al-Mahdy and Emam, 2022[8]).
Entrance into Teaching
After initial education, candidates in several OECD systems must demonstrate readiness to teach through formal licencing, which may serve both to monitor ITE quality and to select the best candidates. Licensing may take form of standardised assessments (e.g. France, Italy) and/or a probationary period assessed through observed, supported practice (e.g. Japan, New Zealand). Such mechanisms work best as selection filters where teaching attracts a large applicant pool relative to available places.
In Kuwait, selection into permanent teaching positions relies primarily on administrative eligibility rather than assessment of the foundational knowledge and competencies needed for effective teaching. Recruitment, led jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Civil Service Commission, is based on document screening and an interview, offering limited scope to assess classroom readiness or identify the most suitable candidates.
The Ministry of Education has recognised these challenges and, as part of its 2025‑27 reform agenda, plans to introduce a professional licensing framework - an important opportunity to raise entry standards and support professionalisation. The draft framework, still at an early stage of development, proposes three progressive levels (beginner, practitioner, expert) with entry conditional on a relevant bachelor’s degree, an accredited ITE programme, a national licensing exam, and professional conduct requirements. Progression would link to performance evaluations, professional development, and expanded responsibilities. Licences would be renewable every five years, subject to completion of 120 hours of accredited professional development and a portfolio including results from performance evaluations, classroom observation, and parent/ student surveys. This brief provides considerations to help refine and operationalise these plans.
Supporting beginning teachers
The early years of teaching are pivotal for professional development. Beginning teachers must consolidate and apply theoretical knowledge from ITE while navigating the practical realities of the classroom. How systems support this transition affects not only early-career practice, but long-term retention and the professional habits that sustain growth across a career. Internationally, structured induction and mentoring are the principal means of supporting beginning: 72% of recently joined teachers across the OECD participated in some form of induction in 2024 (OECD, 2025[9]). In many systems, this phase culminates in a summative assessment, successful completion of which grants a full licence and marks the transition to fully qualified status (OECD, 2019[4]).
In Kuwait, graduate teachers enter full-time employment with limited prior opportunity to develop practical classroom competence. Early-career teachers receive the same support as experienced peers, with few arrangements to ease their transition. Professional development is largely designed centrally by the Ministry of Education and delivered by districts, with schools sometimes offering informal support through heads of department, principals or district supervisors. However, there are limited structured opportunities for sustained mentoring, regular feedback, or professional learning focused on beginning teachers’ practical challenges. The draft licensing framework seeks to strengthen support for beginning teachers through a month-long Professional Field Preparation Programme. While this represents an important step towards a better transition into the classroom, its short duration means it cannot, on its own, provide the sustained support that many beginning teachers need during their first years of teaching.
Giving teachers continuous feedback and direction through appraisal and performance recognition
Effective teacher appraisal systems serve two complementary functions. The first is summative: periodic evaluations contributing to accountability, career progression, or licensing and recertification. The second is formative: ongoing, developmental feedback helping teachers improve their practice. Across the OECD, many systems maintain both functions while recognising they require different instruments, processes and actors (OECD, 2013[5]).
Summative judgements can carry significant consequences for teachers’ status and career progression, so ensuring the integrity of decisions and teachers’ confidence in fairness is paramount. This requires clear professional standards, transparent procedures, and consistent application. In some OECD systems, summative appraisal is led by evaluators external to the school to reinforce credibility. Formative appraisal, by contrast, tends to be led by school leaders, best placed to know teachers’ day-to-day practice and the school’s context. Its developmental value is greatest when feedback is regular, delivered by trained, trusted evaluators, and linked to professional learning - approaches associated with improved teaching practice and stronger student outcomes (OECD, 2013[5]).
Kuwait has a system of regular teacher appraisal, conducted by district supervisors to identify underperformance, inform voluntary career progression and support improvements. It is based on classroom observation, consistent with international good practice. However, four features limit its effectiveness. First, a single process serves both developmental and accountability purposes, a tension that undermines both: supervisors external to the school are less familiar with day-to-day practice, making contextualised feedback harder, while their role in high-stakes judgements makes teachers less willing to engage openly. Second, the appraisal framework assesses only three domains (attendance, subject knowledge, professional ethics), offering a narrow picture that omits dimensions like lesson planning, classroom interaction, or assessment practice. Third, observations culminate in a single numerical score, limiting qualitative, practice-specific feedback. Finally, the administrative burden on supervisors of recording and following up on underperformance appears to create disincentives for honest reporting.
Recommendation 1: Further develop national teacher standards to underpin teacher licensing and appraisal
As Kuwait pursues curriculum reform aimed at moving toward active, student-centred learning, teacher standards can make explicit the pedagogical practices and dispositions expected of teachers, helping ensure curriculum intent translates into classroom practice. Beyond providing a common reference for the policies shaping teachers’ careers, including those addressed in this brief, national teacher standards would also send an important signal for the profession. By defining teaching as a distinct body of professional knowledge, skills and values, they can support a gradual shift in how the role is understood, from a position within public administration toward a knowledge-based, skilled profession with its own rigorous standards of practice and ethical commitments. To further develop teacher standards and create a career structure offering a range of growth opportunities, Kuwait might consider:
Building on prior work to further develop teaching standards
The 2023 draft teacher standards provide a basis for an updated framework. They cover the three dimensions common to international frameworks (professional knowledge, practice and values) and offer a detailed account of associated tasks. To make the standards an accessible, practical reference, the Ministry may wish to further develop two areas: their length and formulation, and their differentiation across career stages.
The current standards could be made more concise and practice-oriented to support meaningful engagement. Reframing standards as descriptions of professional practice, capturing what effective teaching looks like rather than prescribing how it should be performed, would better support teacher autonomy and self-efficacy. Kuwait could also consider differentiated descriptors for career stages in line with the planned licensing framework (beginner, practitioner, expert), reflecting increasing expertise and responsibility. As an initial step, the framework could distinguish graduate teachers entering the profession (beginner) from fully licensed teachers (practitioner), with progressively advanced competencies at each stage informing decisions on entry and progression to a full licence. As Table 1 shows, Australia’s framework uses active language describing what teachers can do, differentiated by the depth and independence of practice at each career stage. Looking further ahead, as the standards become more deeply embedded in professional practice, Kuwait may consider extending the framework to support greater horizontal differentiation. This could include standards for specialist roles, such as teacher mentors and inclusion specialists. Formalising such roles would help recognise teachers with advanced expertise and create opportunities for career progression without leaving the classroom.
Source: AITSL (2011[10]), Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, Education Services Australia, Melbourne, https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards.
Developing professional standards through teacher engagement, institutional co-ordination and a clear implementation strategy
The experience of previous efforts to develop teacher standards in Kuwait suggests success depends not only on sound technical design, but on early engagement of key actors and a clear implementation strategy. Current plans already envisage developing the standards collaboratively with the Civil Service Commission, reflecting the importance of cross-institutional ownership. Equally important is meaningful teacher engagement throughout development, validation and periodic revision, so the standards are perceived as legitimate and supportive of professional growth – including substantive consultation in drafting descriptors to reflect the realities of practice (CEPPE UC, 2013[11]). The implementation plan should also specify how the standards connect to other teacher policies (ITE accreditation, licensing and appraisal), so they function as an integrating framework, with practical guidance tailored to different user groups (teachers, school leaders, supervisors, ITE providers), as in New Zealand and Wales (United Kingdom).
Recommendation 2: Advance plans to introduce a standardised examination on completion of ITE as a gateway to provisional entry into the profession
As part of its draft licensing framework, Kuwait is already considering a standardised examination upon completion of ITE as a gateway to provisional entry. This is an opportunity to establish a nationally consistent minimum threshold of professional knowledge while identifying the strongest candidates from the large pool of ITE graduates.
It is important, however, to have realistic expectations about what an exam can achieve. A well-designed written exam can assess subject and pedagogical knowledge and understanding of the curriculum but is not well suited to assessing skills like adapting to diverse learners, managing classroom dynamics, or building productive relationships. The exam should therefore be understood as an immediate response to a specific gap – the absence of a meaningful entry threshold – rather than a substitute for deeper reforms such as strengthening ITE accreditation, curricula and merit-based selection. Its value will also depend on how well it is embedded within the wider licensing framework, including induction and probation appraisal (see Recommendation 3). Across the OECD, systems rely on complementary policies: robust ITE accreditation (Ireland), evidence-based curricula (Korea), standards targeting beginning teachers (Australia), and quality induction (Singapore). Kuwait should keep this longer-term trajectory in view. International experience points to several considerations, including:
Taking forward plans to design the examination around subject and pedagogical knowledge, in line with national teacher standards
In its draft framework, Kuwait plans a national exam for candidates seeking a Beginner Teacher Licence, covering subject and pedagogical knowledge. This is consistent with international practice, where licensing exams typically assess both areas (OECD, 2025[12]). Given that ITE programmes in Kuwait have historically emphasised subject knowledge over pedagogy, explicit emphasis on pedagogical knowledge in the exam may signal to ITE providers the competencies expected of graduates, incentivising curriculum rebalancing ahead of direct quality assurance through accreditation (Al-Tammar, 2025[13]). The examination should be explicitly aligned with the Kuwait’s national teacher standards, ensuring that it assesses the knowledge and competencies expected of beginning teachers. It should also reflect national priorities around student achievement, for example by incorporating assessments of teacher literacy, numeracy and digital competence. Similar assessments of such foundational skills are already used in countries such as Australia and the United States as part of teacher registration requirements.
Clear institutional responsibility for developing, administering and periodically reviewing the exam will be essential to its credibility and sustainability. The body entrusted with this should combine expertise in educational assessment, including psychometrics and large-scale test design, with subject-matter and pedagogical knowledge, plus sufficient operational capacity to administer a national exam reliably. It should also operate independently of ITE providers, avoiding conflicts of interest in setting the threshold graduates must meet. Whether this sits within a dedicated Ministry unit, an existing body, or a new independent authority is a question Kuwait will need to address in implementation planning.
Making the examination mandatory for new entrants and voluntary for practicing teachers, with support and proportionate consequences for failure
The draft framework proposes making the exam mandatory for ITE graduates seeking a Beginning Teacher Licence, permitting fixed-term work in public schools while completing full licensing (see Recommendation 3). A universal requirement is important to ensure all teachers meet the same minimum standard before entering the classroom. It should equally apply to foreign teachers seeking entry into the public system, providing a consistent quality threshold regardless of training location. Kuwait could also consider extending the proposed two-step licensing process to practicing teachers on a voluntary basis. This would comprise both the examination described here, and the summative appraisal required for full licensure proposed below (Recommendation 3).
Pairing consequences for failure with targeted support for candidates who do not pass
Kuwait may consider developing study materials to support candidates. ITE graduates who fail the exam should not be permitted to enter the classroom until they pass. For in-service teachers taking it voluntarily, failure may not initially carry high-stakes consequences, though stronger ones – such as implications for career progression or salary – could be considered as the system matures. Given the large pool of ITE graduates, allowing a limited number of re-takes would balance manageability, thorough preparation, and a fair opportunity to improve. Providing feedback on weak areas, along with targeted support before re‑sitting, would help candidates succeed.
Upholding examination standards in subjects experiencing teacher shortages while expanding targeted support
Introducing an exam requirement in shortage subjects, such as French, mathematics or physics, could make recruitment more difficult unless safeguards are in place. Nevertheless, the threshold should be maintained consistently, as reducing standards for some subjects would undermine the exam’s credibility.
Instead, Kuwait could make additional preparatory training and targeted support readily available during ITE for candidates in shortage subjects, aiming to improve first-attempt pass rates, complemented by targeted recruitment incentives. Kuwait has already taken a step in this direction: the Civil Service Commission approved a 2025 financial incentive for Kuwaiti and Gulf Cooperation Council nationals teaching shortage subjects, coordinated annually with the Ministry to reassess staffing needs (Sherbini, 2025[14]).
Recommendation 3: Develop a structured induction process to prepare and confirm beginning teachers for full licensing
A standardised examination at graduation is an important but insufficient basis for confirming a teacher’s readiness for independent practice. It is most effective when complemented by a structured induction period, which serves two purposes: enabling novice teachers to consolidate instructional, relational and professional skills that can only fully develop through supported classroom experience and ensuring licensing decisions reflect the full breadth of what effective teaching requires.
Rather than gaining permanent professional status immediately upon entering the profession, full license may be designed as the outcome of a defined period of supported, assessed practice in schools. This would reframe the first years of professional life as a continuation and consolidation of ITE, rather than an abrupt transition to employment, and bring Kuwait’s approach into closer alignment with international good practice (Courtney, Austin and Zolfaghari, 2023[15]). In designing its induction process, Kuwait may consider:
Structuring induction around mentoring, professional development and formative appraisal
Kuwait is already considering a month-long Professional Field Preparation Programme as part of the draft licensing framework. While an important step towards an induction phase, its proposed duration is unlikely to give beginning teachers sufficient opportunity to consolidate practice through sustained classroom experience and support. Across the OECD, induction periods commonly last one to two years, sometimes longer (OECD, 2025[9]). They are often integrated with a probationary period, creating a single pathway through which supported practice, professional learning and appraisal inform full licensure.
Beyond duration, OECD research points to two important design features. The first is mentoring. International evidence suggests high-quality mentoring is among the most effective school-based strategies for improving classroom practice, particularly with regular observation, feedback and reflection (Kraft, Blazar and Hogan, 2018[16]). Structured induction and mentoring also contribute to teacher wellbeing - TALIS 2024 finds both positively associated with job satisfaction, which matters as Kuwait seeks to build and retain a high-quality domestic workforce (OECD, 2025[9]). If introduced, mentoring should be formalised and protected, with assigned mentors given dedicated time, clear responsibilities and appropriate preparation. Building this capacity will require investment, particularly since instructional leadership is still developing in Kuwait. Schools could nominate official mentors, with district training centres providing preparation and guidance. Estonia, for example, requires mentors to have at least three years’ experience and 160 hours of training (Courtney, Austin and Zolfaghari, 2023[15]). Kuwait should also consider a reduced teaching load for beginning teachers and mentors, as in Japan and Singapore. Where school-based capacity is limited, highly experienced teachers could support multiple schools, ensuring quality mentoring regardless of individual school capacity while creating a recognised role for accomplished practitioners. Kuwait’s relatively low pupil-to-teacher ratio may make it easier to free up experienced teachers for this purpose, and teachers demonstrating high competence through the voluntary licensing process (Recommendation 2) could form a natural pool of candidates.
The second is formative appraisal. Regular, practice-focused feedback linked to national teacher standards helps beginning teachers identify priority development areas, distinct from the final licensing appraisal, which provides an independent judgement on readiness for full licensure (Recommendation 4).
Given its leadership on licensing reform, the Ministry of Education is well placed to lead the induction framework’s design and oversight, with implementation led jointly by school leaders and district supervisors, and ITE institutions engaged as active partners. Korea offers a relevant example: it co‑designed induction with ITE providers across three stages (pre-employment, post-employment, follow-up training), creating a coherent continuum from initial preparation through sustained learning (Courtney, Austin and Zolfaghari, 2023[15]).
Assess readiness for full licensure through a multi-dimensional summative appraisal
At the close of induction, beginning teachers should undergo a final summative appraisal before being awarded full licensure and permanent status. As external evaluators with objective distance from schools, district supervisors are well placed to make this judgement (see Recommendation 4). In the OECD, such high-stakes appraisals typically draw on multiple sources of evidence: the appraiser’s own classroom observation, internal appraisal evidence (e.g. from heads of department), and teachers' self-reflection and portfolios showing how competencies developed during induction (OECD, 2025[9]). Some systems also consider student learning outcomes, usually indirectly (e.g. through teachers’ reflection on how they use assessment data to adapt instruction), recognising that outcomes depend on factors beyond teachers’ control. Using student and parent surveys in formal appraisal, as proposed in Kuwait’s draft framework, remains uncommon internationally (OECD, 2013[5]). Where used, as in Latvia and South Korea, they generally serve developmental rather than high-stakes purposes. Such surveys can offer insight into classroom relationships and communication but are not necessarily a reliable indicator of good teaching or learning. Drawing on evidence accumulated throughout induction rather than a single high-stakes event also reduces workload for beginning teachers at the point of assessment. England offers a relevant example: at the end of its two-year induction programme, teachers are assessed against the Teachers’ Standards using evidence from ongoing formative appraisals, with no additional assessment workload required.
Not all beginning teachers will be ready for full licensure at the end of probation, and the framework will need to accommodate these cases while balancing fairness with rigour. One option is to offer teachers who do not pass a structured package of additional support (e.g. targeted professional development, mentoring) before a retake, bounded by a clear outer time limit (e.g. five years from first entry) to keep the pathway to full licensure rigorous and credible.
Offer in-service teachers’ voluntary access to full licensing with adapted requirements
Many policies discussed here – licensing, structured induction, regular formative appraisal – are designed to help teachers engage with national standards but will primarily benefit new entrants. Voluntary licensing for practising teachers can bridge this gap, giving in-service teachers an externally validated pathway to demonstrate their practice meets national standards.
Building on current plans, participation in both the exam and summative appraisal for full licensing could be encouraged through incentives such as career and salary progression, access to new roles like mentor teacher, or credit toward continuing professional development requirements. In-service teachers should not have to replicate the induction process designed for beginners; clear guidance and self-study materials aligned with licensing standards could instead enable independent preparation.
Kuwait’s draft framework envisages five-yearly renewal for practising teachers. While this can reinforce continued development and accountability, Kuwait could adopt a phased approach, establishing initial licensing and transition arrangements first, then introducing renewal once a substantial share of the workforce is licensed and supporting systems are fully established.
Recommendation 4: Reform teacher appraisal to better support professional development and sustain teaching quality throughout the career
Effective teacher appraisal systems typically serve two complementary functions: formative, supporting growth and identifying development needs, and summative, underpinning high-stakes decisions like career progression, remuneration and managing underperformance. Both matter, but generally require different processes, evidence and evaluators. Kuwait’s current system, built around classroom observation, is an important strength to build on. To better support both accountability and professional growth, however, Kuwait should consider establishing two distinct appraisal processes with clearly separated functions – formative appraisal led by evaluators internal to the school, and summative appraisal conducted by external evaluators. Equally important is reviewing the appraisal framework so that both processes are centred on the core dimensions of effective teaching. In particular Kuwait may consider:
Clarifying the purpose, responsibilities and consequences of different teacher appraisal processes
As Kuwait develops its appraisal system, it will be important to distinguish formative appraisal, supporting day-to-day practice, from appraisal used for high-stakes decisions like licensing, career progression and recertification. School-based actors, such as heads of department, are best placed for regular formative feedback, while external actors, such as district supervisors, can lead high-stakes appraisal (integrating school-based feedback) to ensure greater consistency and independence. Clearly defining the purpose, roles, evidence and consequences of each process, and building evaluator capacity (see below) would strengthen both development and accountability.
Ensuring both formative and summative teacher appraisal focus on the aspects of teaching that matter most
Kuwait’s existing appraisal process already relies on classroom observation, a good foundation to build on. However, the observation criteria do not yet reflect the full range of competencies associated with effective teaching. Revising them would let both formative and summative appraisal align more closely with the national teacher standards proposed under Recommendation 1, focusing development and high-stakes decisions on what matters most for student learning. International frameworks offer useful references. Danielson’s Framework for Teaching, for example, organises effective teaching into four domains: planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities (Charlotte Danielson, 2013[17]). These domains inform teacher standards and appraisal criteria across many OECD systems, including Chile’s Good Teaching Framework, and England’s Teachers’ Standards, offering Kuwait a research-grounded model for revising its own criteria.
Using appraisal findings to inform development plans at all levels of the system
For appraisal to contribute to better teaching, it needs to be closely linked to professional learning. Kuwait could gradually strengthen the links between formative and summative appraisal and professional development, for example by using appraisal outcomes to inform individual professional development plans that identify priority areas for growth and guide teachers towards relevant professional learning opportunities. Where more significant needs are identified, access to intensive support, such as mentoring or targeted training, should follow as a constructive, proportionate response. At the school level, leaders could use appraisal findings to identify common learning needs and develop school-level plans, which could in turn inform the Ministry’s centrally designed programmes, keeping them responsive to needs emerging from schools.
Developing the capacity, guidance and tools needed to implement effective teacher appraisal
The Ministry of Education, working with districts, will need to develop training and guidance preparing both school-based and external evaluators for their roles. Heads of department, who may take primary responsibility for formative appraisal, are likely to require significant capacity development as responsibility for school-based formative appraisal would be new. This role requires the ability to conduct classroom observations, model good practice, deliver constructive feedback, and use appraisal findings to inform professional development planning. District supervisors are well placed to support school leaders, given their existing role observing teaching across schools. Kuwait may look to Singapore, where district leaders organise professional learning networks helping school leaders develop instructional leadership and share practices across schools. Alongside this support role, district supervisors will need to develop the capacity to conduct consistent, standards-based summative appraisals. This includes learning to weight multiple sources of evidence in a fair and consistent manner to make reliable judgements that command confidence across the system.
To promote consistent appraisal practice across schools, centrally developed guidance and tools will also be important. Examples include structured lesson observation grids; annotated examples or video materials on conducting effective post-observation feedback; appraisal feedback templates that encourage qualitative feedback rather than reliance on numerical marks; and templates for individual and school-level professional development plans. Guidance should also help teachers use portfolios to document, interpret and discuss evidence of their professional practice. Without such guidance portfolios risk becoming a simple compilation of documents.
This Policy Brief is part of a larger OECD technical assistance project designed to support Ministry of Education of Kuwait and part of the OECD Education Policy Committee’s work on implementation reviews and technical assistance. The project consists of three related strands of work: 1) Supporting the development of a strategic plan for the implementation of national curriculum; 2) Benchmarking the primary and intermediate curriculum frameworks for mathematics, science and English subjects; and 3) Supporting the design and implementation of the teacher license. This brief concerns work strand three.
The analysis provided in this Policy Brief is based on a desk review of key policy documents; in-person and online interviews with staff from the Ministry of Education and other education stakeholders; as well as stakeholder workshops. This Policy Brief was prepared by the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills Secretariat. The OECD team comprised Adelina Pupelyte, Laura Abadia, Christa Rawkins and Marco Kools. Elizabeth Fordham reviewed and provided valuable contributions to the Brief. The team is grateful for the overall guidance from Andreas Schleicher and Paulo Santiago.
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Contact
Marco KOOLS (✉ marco.kools@oecd.org)