3. What are the relationships between the academic level of teachers and pupils’ results?

The growing attention placed on the quality of education and the factors for improving it has generated debates on the impact of the pre-service vocational training of teachers but also on that of their academic level. Indeed, while it is commonly acknowledged that a minimum academic level is required in order to teach, there are divergences as to this level. As a university level is generally required to teach in secondary education, this question therefore concerns mainly primary school teaching. In most developed countries, a minimum level equivalent to a baccalaureate (high school diploma) + 2 years (and often baccalaureate + 4 or +5 years) is required, whereas in African countries levels of qualification are very variable: from a primary school leaving certificate to a university degree. In sub-Saharan Africa especially, the sharp increase in needs for teachers and the lack of qualified candidates has led to recruiting candidates with a generally low academic level. It can therefore be asked if an increase in the level of qualifications required to teach in primary school would enable an improvement in the quality of education and pupil performance in these countries.

However, research findings contradict this intuition and tend to show that, beyond a given threshold, there is no relationship between the academic level of teachers and pupil performance, this being particularly the case at primary school level (Wayne and Youngs, 2003). Studies conducted in the USA prove as such that raising the level to a university degree does not automatically translate into better pupil achievements (Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain, 2005; Krueger, 1999). In the African context, where academic levels are very heterogeneous, this is confirmed: the effects of academic education on pupils’ results are moderate, or even non-existent (Mingat and Suchat, 2000 cited in Bernard et al., 2004). Studies carried out by CONFEMEN Programme for the analysis of education systems (PASEC) in nine Francophone sub-Saharan African countries demonstrate that teachers who have followed upper secondary education do not have a more positive effect on pupil learning than those who have only followed lower secondary education (Bernard et al., 2004).

The absence of a relationship between the academic level and the quality of a teacher can be explained in particular by motivation issues: highly qualified individuals will have high professional aspirations and expectations that do not always correspond to the reality of the teaching profession (Michaelowa, 2003, cited in Bernard et al., 2004). In addition, pedagogical practices used in Africa are often based on so-called frontal methods (lectures, rote learning, collective sentence repetition, etc.) (UNESCO, 2009; Bernard et al., 2004), requiring not necessarily a high level of education but rather a good deal of versatility, whilst a higher level of education encourages specialisation.

These findings are nevertheless to be interpreted with caution. They do not imply that an academic education is unnecessary but “rather that the levels of training present in the education systems – ranging generally from lower secondary education to a university education – finally generate little difference in pupil achievements” (Bernard et al., 2004:16). So, a minimum threshold of studies does remain necessary: 10 years of validated schooling (UNESCO, 2009) or a lower secondary school leaving certificate (Bernard et al., 2004). This condition in itself is not sufficient and must be combined with other criteria (selection at the time of recruitment, training) in order to be sure of the quality of the teacher.

Bibliography:

Bernard, J.M.; Tiyab B.K.; Vianou, K. 2004. Profils enseignants et qualité de l’éducation primaire en Afrique subsaharienne francophone : Bilan et perspectives de dix années de recherche du PASEC. PASEC/CONFEMEN.
Krueger, A.B. 1999. ‘Experimental Estimates of Education Production Functions’. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 114, n° 2, 497-532.
Michaelowa, K., 2003. ‘Teacher Job Satisfaction, Student Achievement, and the Cost of Primary Education in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa’. Working paper.
Mingat, A.; Suchaut, B. 2000. Les systèmes éducatifs africains : une analyse économique comparative. Brussels: De Boeck Université.
Pôle de Dakar. 2009. Universal primary education in Africa : the teacher challenge. Dakar: UNESCO BREDA.
Rivkin, S. G.; Hanushek, E. A.; Kain, J. F. 2005. ‘Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement’. In: Econometrica, vol. 73, n° 2, 417-458.
Wayne, A. J.; Youngs, P. 2003. ‘Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement Gains: A Review’. In: Review of Educational Research, vol.73, n°1, 89-122.
UNESCO, Regional Office for Education in Africa, and Pôle de Dakar. 2009. Universal Primary Education in Africa: The Teacher Challenge. Dakar, Senegal: BREDA.