Barriers to Effectiveness in the Classroom: Three Cases of Novice Teachers in Bangladesh

Abstract

Over the last two decades, educational reform initiatives in Bangladesh have focused on classroom teaching as a direct path to improving student learning outcomes. This indicates a shift away from the teacher-centered, authoritarian education model traditionally used toward a more constructivist pedagogical approach. Using observations, interviews, and document review, this multi-case qualitative study examined teacher training and teaching methods used in government teacher training centers and primary schools in Bangladesh with the purpose of determining whether the methods taught during teacher training were transferred into classroom practice and what factors influenced the transfer of training to practice for teachers within their first years of teaching. The findings of the cross-case analysis clarify how the transfer of teacher training is supported or challenged within the Bangladeshi context. The teachers’ professional identity influenced their approach to teaching and student learning, while the culture of learning established at the schools affected teacher behaviors in the classroom. Norms and practices regarding examinations conflicted with innovative teaching practices suggested in the education reform initiatives. Recommendations advocate for a realignment of resources and objectives in the teacher-training program and government schools in order to mitigate the challenges new teachers currently face during their first years of teaching in government primary schools.