Does sending teachers abroad improve teacher quality?

Teacher quality is crucial for improving student achievement, yet evidence on professional development programs for in-service teachers remains limited. This study evaluates a Japanese policy that dispatches teachers to overseas educational institutions. Using survey data, we find that dispatched teachers report improvements of 0.2–0.3 standard deviations in curriculum management and school administration, and 0.4–0.6 standard deviations in cross-cultural understanding over a ten-year period, relative to non-dispatched teachers. The effects vary by teaching experience: less experienced teachers benefit more, while improvements in school administration and cross-cultural understanding are also observed among more experienced teachers.