Abstract
Of the estimated 0.6 million teachers employed at government schools in Pakistan, 43 percent have not received any professional development training. A considerable amount of research has focused on the effects of teachers’ psychological characteristics and academic qualifications on subsequent student achievement but there is limited evidence on the related effectiveness of school-based professional development training received by teachers on the educational outcomes of students. By using school-level data between 2013 and 2018 from over 21,000 schools in Pakistan from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), this paper assays the relationship between the number of schoolteachers who had received professional development training and student enrollment in schools. A fixed effects estimation yields two important results. First, the total number of schoolteachers who received lengthier school-based professional development training had a stronger and larger positive correlation with student enrollment at a school. Second, the total number of schoolteachers who received school-based professional development training had a stronger and larger positive correlation with total enrollment at girls’ schools, compared to boys’ schools. Future research should focus on the mechanism behind the heterogeneous effects across gender as the literature quantifying the magnitude of such mechanisms is an emerging area of interest.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbasi and Kashif. (2018). 22.84 m children in pakistan still out of school, says official report. Karachi: DAWN.COM.
Addison, J. T., & Belfield, C. R. (2004). Unions, training, and firm performance: evidence from the british workplace employee relations survey (p. 582303). SSRN Scholarly.
Ajuwon, A., Funmilayo, F., Oladepo, O., Osungbade, K., & Asuzu, M. (2008). Effects of training programme on HIV/AIDS prevention among primary health care workers in oyo state, Nigeria. Health Education, 108(6), 463–474.
Akalin, S., & Sucuoglu, B. (2015). Effects of classroom management intervention based on teacher training and performance feedback on outcomes of teacher-student dyads in inclusive classrooms. Educational Sciences, 15(3), 1.
Al-Balushi, S. M., & Al-Abdali, N. S. (2015). Using a moodle-based professional development program to train science teachers to teach for creativity and its effectiveness on their teaching practices. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(4), 461–475.
Andersson, C., Johansson, P., & Waldenström, N. (2011). Do you want your child to have a certified teacher? Economics of Education Review, 30(1), 65–78.
Angrist, J. D., & Lavy, V. (2001). Does teacher training affect pupil learning? Evidence from matched comparisons in Jerusalem public schools. Journal of Labor Economics, 19(2), 343–369.
Annual Status of Education Report. (2022). Accessed March 28, 2022.
Aragón, B., Isabel, M., Jiménez, D. J., & Valle, R. S. (2014). Training and performance: The mediating role of organizational learning. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 17(3), 161–173.
Aslam, M., & Kingdon, G. (2011). What can teachers do to raise pupil achievement? Economics of Education Review, 30(3), 559–574.
Bokova, I., Ryder, G., Clark, H., & van Leeuwen, F. (2016). Nearly 69 million new teachers needed to achieve global education goals, UNESCO reports. UN News.
Bressoux, P., Kramarz, F., & Prost, C. (2009). Teachers’ training, class size and students’ outcomes: Learning from administrative forecasting mistakes. The Economic Journal, 119(536), 540–561.
Britton, J., & Propper, C. (2016). Teacher pay and school productivity: Exploiting wage regulation. Journal of Public Economics, 133, 75–89.
Busari, J. O., Scherpbier, A. J. J. A., van der Vleuten, C. P. M., & Essed, G. G. M. (2006). A two-day teacher-training programme for medical residents: Investigating the impact on teaching ability. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 11(2), 133–144.
Cattaneo, A., & Buzzetti, R. (2001). Effect on rates of breast feeding of training for the baby friendly hospital initiative. BMJ, 323(7325), 1358–1362.
Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., & Rockoff, J. E. (2011). “The long-term impacts of teachers teacher value-added and student outcomes in adulthood.” working paper 17699. working paper series. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w17699
Dawn. (2010). 18th amendment and education. Karachi: Dawn.
Djalil, A., & Anderson, L. W. (1989). The impact of a research-based teacher training program on indonesian teachers, classrooms, and students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 5(3), 165–178.
Dostie, B. (2018). The impact of training on innovation. ILR Review, 71(1), 64–87.
Feng, Li., & Sass, T. R. (2013). What makes special-education teachers special? Teacher training and achievement of students with disabilities. Economics of Education Review, 36, 122–134.
Filmer, D. (2007). Full article: If you build it, will they come? School availability and school enrolment in 21 poor countries. The Journal of Development Studies, 43(5), 901–928.
Ford, T., Edwards, V., Sharkey, S., Ukoumunne, O. C., Byford, S., Norwich, B., & Logan, S. (2012). Supporting teachers and children in schools: The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the incredible years teacher classroom management programme in primary school children: a cluster randomised controlled trial, with parallel economic and process evaluations. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 719.
Foster, J. M., Toma, E. F., & Troske, S. P. (2013). Does teacher professional development improve math and science outcomes and is it cost effective? Journal of Education Finance, 38(3), 255–275.
Fuje, H., & Tandon, P. (2018). When do in-service teacher training and books improve student achievement? experimental evidence from mongolia. Review of Development Economics, 22(3), 1360–1383.
Gibbs, G., & Coffey, M. (2016). The impact Of training of university teachers on their teaching skills, their approach to teaching and the approach to learning of their students. Active Learning in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787404040463
Glewwe, P., & Muralidharan, K. (2016). Improving education outcomes in developing countries: Evidence, knowledge gaps, and policy implications. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 5, 653–743.
Glewwe, P. W., Hanushek, E. A., Humpage, S. D., & Ravina, R. (2011). School resources and educational outcomes in developing countries: A review of the literature from 1990 to 2010 (pp. 218–252). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Goldhaber, D., Liddle, S., & Theobald, R. (2013). The gateway to the profession: Assessing teacher preparation programs based on student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 34, 29–44.
Gracía-Pérez, M. L., & Gil-Lacruz, M. (2018). The impact of a continuing training program on the perceived improvement in quality of health care delivered by health care professionals. Evaluation and Program Planning, 66, 33–38.
Han, H.-R., Kim, K. B., & Kim, M. T. (2007). Evaluation of the training of korean community health workers for chronic disease management. Health Education Research, 22(4), 513–521.
Hanushek, E. A., Piopiunik, M., & Wiederhold, S. (2018). The value of smarter teachers: International evidence on teacher cognitive skills and student performance. Journal of Human Resources. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.54.4.0317.8619R
Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2011). Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7–8), 798–812.
Hendricks, M. D. (2014). Does it pay to pay teachers more? Evidence from texas. Journal of Public Economics, 109, 50–63.
Holmqvist, M. (2019). Lack of qualified teachers: A global challenge for future knowledge development. Teacher education in the 21st century (pp. 1–13). Intech Open.
Hunter, R. (2020). Education in Pakistan. Pakistan: World Education News + Reviews.
Ifedi, A. (2019). These nigerian schools are teaching more in a term than they used to in a year. here’s how. Cologny: World Economic Forum.
Jacob, B. A., & Lefgren, L. (2004). The impact of teacher training on student achievement: Quasi-experimental evidence from school reform efforts in chicago. The Journal of Human Resources, 39(1), 50–79.
Jones, D. C., Kalmi, P., & Kauhanen, A. (2012). The effects of general and firm-specific training on wages and performance: Evidence from banking. Oxford Economic Papers, 64(1), 151–175.
Kealey, K. A., Peterson, A. V., Gaul, M. A., & Dinh, K. T. (2000). Teacher training as a behavior change process: Principles and results from a longitudinal study. Health Education & Behavior, 27(1), 64–81.
Klassen, R. M., & Tze, V. M. C. (2014). Teachers’ self-efficacy, personality, and teaching effectiveness: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 12, 59–76.
Lee, S. W. (2018). Pulling back the curtain: Revealing the cumulative importance of high-performing, highly qualified teachers on students’ educational outcome. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis., 40(3), 359–381.
Lee, J. (2019). 6 Reasons to keep pushing on the sustainable development goals. Washington: Unfoundation. Org.
Liang, H.-M., Kao, R.-H., Chung-Cheng, Tu., Chin, C.-C., & Chung, W.-C. (2014). The influence of education and training on work attitudes and the moderating effect of supervisor attitudes: Examining chinese employees. Social Indicators Research, 119(2), 853–875.
Loyalka, P., Popova, A., Li, G., & Shi, Z. (2019). Does teacher training actually work? Evidence from a large-scale randomized evaluation of a national teacher training program. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11(3), 128–154.
Majee, W., Anakwe, A., Johnson, L., Rhoda, A., Frantz, J., & Schopp, L. (2019). A self-management training intervention: Perceptions and practices of community health workers in south africa. Health Promotion Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839918820038
Mano, Y., Iddrisu, A., Yoshino, Y., & Sonobe, T. (2012). How can micro and small enterprises in sub-saharan africa become more productive? The impacts of experimental basic managerial training. World Development, 40(3), 458–468.
Merrett, F., & Wheldall, K. (1993). How do teachers learn to manage classroom behaviour? A study of teachers’ opinions about their initial training with special reference to classroom behaviour management. Educational Studies, 19(1), 91–106.
Miller, R. T., Murnane, R. J., & Willett, J. B. (2008). Do teacher absences impact student achievement? Longitudinal evidence from one urban school district. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(2), 181–200.
Mpofu, M., & Hlatywayo, C. K. (2015). Training and development as a tool for improving basic service delivery; The case of a selected municipality. Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, 20(39), 133–136.
Nazarov, Z., & Akhmedjonov, A. (2012). Education, On-the-Job training, and innovation in transition economies. Eastern European Economics, 50(6), 28–56.
Orazem, P. F., & King, E. M. (2008). Schooling in developing countries: The roles of supply, demand and government policy. In Handbook of Development Economics, 4, 3475–3559.
Özler, B., Fernald, L. C. H., Kariger, P., McConnell, C., Neuman, M., & Fraga, E. (2018). Combining pre-school teacher training with parenting education: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Development Economics, 133, 448–467.
Pal, S. (2003). “Child schooling in peru: Evidence from a sequential analysis of school progression.” 0309001. labor and demography. Labor and Demography: University Library of Munich, Germany.
Palardy, G. J., & Rumberger, R. W. (2008). Teacher effectiveness in first grade: The importance of background qualifications, attitudes, and instructional practices for student learning. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(2), 111–140.
Phillips, K. J. R. (2010). What does ‘highly qualified’ mean for student achievement? Evaluating the relationships between teacher quality indicators and at-risk students’ mathematics and reading achievement gains in first grade. The Elementary School Journal, 110(4), 464–493.
Rosa, W. (2017). Goal 4. ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. New York: In A New Era in Global Health.
Sendawula, K., Kimuli, S. N., Bananuka, J., & Muganga, G. N. (2018). Training, employee engagement and employee performance: Evidence from uganda’s health sector. Edited by Isaac Wanasika Cogent Business & Management, 5(1), 1470891.
Sunguya, B. F., Poudel, K. C., Mlunde, L. B., Shakya, P., Urassa, D. P., Jimba, M., & Yasuoka, J. (2013). Effectiveness of nutrition training of health workers toward improving caregivers’ feeding practices for children aged six months to two years: A systematic review. Nutrition Journal, 12(1), 66.
Swinton, J. R., De Berry, T., Scafidi, B., & Woodard, H. C. (2008). Does In-service professional learning for high school economics teachers improve student achievement? Education Economics, 18(4), 395–405.
Syed, I. (2018). ‘Shall i feed my daughter, or educate her?’: Barriers to girls’ education in Pakistan. New York: Human Rights Watch.
The World, & Bank. (2018). World bank provides US$500 million to egypt for improving teaching and learning conditions in public schools. Washington: The World Bank.
Tribune, E. (2016). Over 40% teachers received no training in Pakistan. Bilal Ali Lakhani: The Express Tribune.
Truitt, D. L. (2011). “The effect of training and development on employee attitude as it relates to training and work proficiency.” SAGE Open: SAGE Publications.
Valiandes, S., & Neophytou, L. (2017). Teachers’ professional development for differentiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms: Investigating the impact of a development program on teachers’ professional learning and on students’ achievement. Teacher Development, 22(1), 123–138.
Webster-Stratton, C., Jamila Reid, M., & Hammond, M. (2001). Preventing Conduct problems, promoting social competence: A parent and teacher training partnership in head start. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 30(3), 283–302.
Willock, J., Robina, R. M., Mayberry, F. Y., & Daniels, P. (2015). Peer training of community health workers to improve heart health among african american women. Health Promotion Practice, 16(1), 63–71.
Zhang, L., Lai, F., Pang, X., Yi, H., & Rozelle, S. (2013). The impact of teacher training on teacher and student outcomes: Evidence from a randomised experiment in beijing migrant schools. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 5(3), 339–358.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No potential competing interest is reported by the author.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gillani, A.A. School-based professional development training of teachers linked to increase in enrolment: evidence from Pakistan. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 23, 501–513 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-022-09774-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-022-09774-5