Exploring how institutional structures shape instructional quality: The roles of teacher education, employment, and development in fostering higher-order thinking skills

The cultivation of higher-order thinking skills is fundamental within the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence–enhanced learning environments. Utilizing data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), this study examines the impact of institutional factors, including teacher education, employment status, and professional development (PD), on instructional quality targeting higher-order cognitive skills among U.S. teachers. The results reveal that general pedagogical training significantly strengthens instructional practices for higher-order thinking, while an excessive emphasis on subject-specific content knowledge. Moreover, full-time teachers exhibit greater effectiveness than their part-time counterparts in facilitating problem-solving and knowledge transfer. PD consistently has a positive impact on instructional quality, with informal PD showing a strong and reliable effect on improving teaching. The findings emphasize the necessity to re-evaluate teacher education and PD programs that address the quality of instruction for cultivating higher-order thinking skills while leveraging individual teacher strengths.