This document relates to UK NARIC / NRP work in partnership with the Refugee Council, West London Graduate Teaching Partnership and Newman College funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The partnership aims to provide clearer pathways into teaching in the UK for refugee teachers qualified overseas. The report has been designed for information advice and guidance providers, education institutions and the General Teaching Council to assist them in identifying the most appropriate pathways to Qualified Teacher Status for individuals from a number of countries selected by the partnership.

The report consists of an analysis of the teacher education systems in the following ten countries:

* Afghanistan
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Iran
* Iraq
• Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo
• Somalia
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Turkey
• Zimbabwe

Each country analysis firstly considers the structure of the national education system and the historical context of the teacher education system. The main section provides information about the practice, methodology and quality assurance of the current preservice and in-service teacher training in the selected country. Each analysis also considers other factors such as the status of teachers, salary comparisons and classroom culture and discipline.

In addition, the analyses include information on the academic requirements for entry into teaching in each of the countries. For the purposes of a smooth transition into the UK system, the report provides NARIC evaluations of secondary education (specifically English), higher education and professional teaching awards.

The sources of information used throughout the project are varied. In each case contact has been made with relevant authorities to determine and verify course content and levels. These contacts include government bodies and ministries, the ENIC-NARIC contacts, British Council offices, sectoral representatives and education providers. Wider research has also been conducted using the information held inhouse as well as national, European and international sources such as individual ministry websites and pan-European qualification databases.

It is important to note, however, that for certain countries it was not possible to obtain sufficient data to provide a comprehensive analysis. This was particularly the case for the Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sri Lanka. In the absence of centralised coordinating bodies, extremely limited information about the teacher education system is compiled and published on a national level in these countries, particularly in the areas of quality assurance and teacher education reform. These gaps in the country analysis are clearly identified and explained in the report. If further information in these areas becomes available in the future, however, the report may be updated to include these new findings.