This report presents some of the principal policy issues and relevant international evidence concerning teachers and teaching today. Throughout, it highlights the interplay between professional demands, competence, and recognition, drawing attention explicitly to the interconnectedness between different aspects of teaching policies. Chapter 1 deals with teaching in the political context of diverse countries. Chapter 2 provides an overview of some key facts and developments concerning teachers in the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries. Chapter 3 addresses various aspects of the professional character of teaching. It discusses the closely related aims of improving the attractiveness of teaching and of maintaining and increasing teacher supply, with reference to concrete trends and examples. Chapter 4 focuses on the activity of teaching itself through selected research findings and policies, and generalizes beyond specific educational settings or new curricular demands. Chapter 5 identifies a number of specific challenges now confronting teachers in many OECD countries. Chapter 6 presents an overview of the problems of teacher status and rewards and discusses new demands facing the profession. (JD)