Abstract
It is easier to collect data on teachers’ qualifications, experience, or training than to get a precise idea of their command of subject matter or their classroom behaviour. However, research consistently shows that “class effect” (the impact on a student of being in one class rather than another) on pupil performance is relatively high, especially in Africa, whereas the impact of qualifications, experience, or training on pupil learning is generally low. The purpose of this paper is to compare teacher academic qualifications and professional training on the one hand, with teacher test scores and behaviour on the other, showing the weak links between the former and the latter. What also emerges is the importance of certain external management-related factors such as the vastly reduced hours of effective learning time due to high rates of absenteeism and delayed term starts. Despite the importance of what really happens in the classroom, it remains difficult to measure the classroom dynamic reliably and accurately.
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Notes
A CD-Rom of the earliest evaluations is available; recent data may be requested from the PASEC team. The SACMEQ data are in the public domain.
For more details see the SACMEQ technical reports, which are available in Chapter 2 of country reports (downloadable). For PASEC, a manual (Béhaghel and Coustère 2000) is available, and working documents are available on request.
These percentages differ if the characteristic studied (e.g. teacher training) and class size are correlated.
PASEC thematic studies use samples devised to compare different categories of teachers. The differences between such samples and student population samples are explained in (Bonnet 2007).
Even though the expression of “compensation” may adequately describe proper academic upgrading along with adequate professional training, some research (Duthilleul and Allen 2005) also insists that professional training cannot offset the negative impact of inadequate knowledge of the subject matter and that good subject matter knowledge may not be useful if the right pedagogical skills are not present. Therefore, in this view, the word “compensation” may not apply to long professional training with little upgrading coupled with low academic knowledge, nor to highly qualified academics with little or no pedagogical skills.
The “class-effect”, which accounts for an important part of students’ progress, may include the impact of teacher knowledge and behaviour, external management-related factors, but also other student-related factors like peer effects (Michaelowa and Wechtler 2006).
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Bonnet, G. Do teachers’ knowledge and behaviour reflect their qualifications and training?. Prospects 38, 325–344 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-008-9077-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-008-9077-7