This paper provides an international overview of the phenomenon of Teaching Across Specializations (TAS) or as it is also known Teaching-Out-Of-Field (TOOF) with a focus on four contexts – Germany, Ireland, Australia and South Korea. The paper will draw together key findings from the first TAS Collective Symposium held in Porto in 2014. For each context, the paper will report on the terminology used to define TAS; the extent, incidence and distributions of TAS; the relative status of the teaching profession and the various responses to the phenomenon either at the national or local level. TAS is generally and most simply understood across the four contexts as ‘teachers assigned by administrators to teach subjects which do not match their training or education’ (Ingersoll, 2002, p. 5). In all the countries surveyed there are national or state based accreditation processes for teachers, however, despite these regulations for certification it is up to the discretion of the Principal to assign subjects and year levels to teachers. In all cases, except Korea, the difficulty of gaining accurate statistics on the phenomenon was noted and whilst there had been some research conducted this was limited and hindered by a lack of available data. As a result, the extent of the phenomenon is difficult to gauge but it often reported at a staggering 30-50% with the greatest numbers in subjects with the most teacher shortages. Whilst the extent identified in Korea was significantly lower (around 2%) it was still considered a major concern for the Korean public. While the phenomenon is often considered a taboo subject, increasing levels of research and public awareness has lead governments in all contexts to begin to develop strategies to address the issue. These have included a range of Professional Development projects designed to assist teachers who are required to Teach Across Specializations.

Ingersoll, R. (2002). Out-of-field teaching. Educational inequality, and the organisation of schools: An exploratory analysis. Centre for the study of Teaching and Policy.