Teachers

Raza, R., Bari, F., Aslam, M., Haseeb, B., Maqsood, N. (2014).Investigation into Teacher Recruitment and Retention in Punjab.IDEAS.

This report documents existing trends and outcomes in teacher recruitment, transfers, postings, absenteeism, qualifications and pre- and in-service training, and explores the relationship between major policy changes and these outcomes. Overall, political interference in the recruitment, retention and deployment processes and design flaws in the policies relating to these processes have been identified as the main reasons for policy failures and the ineffective management of teaching resources. The report provides recommendations to counter these failures. One suggestion is to reduce political interference to limit the role of clerks and PAs in teacher recruitment and management, by automating the recruitment, transfer and promotion procedures. Apart from political interference, a key gap in policy design that needs to be addressed, according to the report, is the lack of a firm policy stance on transfers. This would mean school-based hiring introducing with limited transfer possibilities. To improve teacher quality, the report also suggests improving pre-service training as well ensuring an efficient monitoring system that involves ICTs. Performance linked salaries is also suggested as an important step towards teacher retention. Thus, the report provides a comprehensive overview on the various issues that are faced by the education sector but there is much more space for research within each facet.

http://ideaspak.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Final{5fae829be7f2ac2fe240ef3893666b371329fe804754bc76382cc5045395a053}20Report_Edited.pdf

Rawal, S., Aslam, M., &Jamil, B. (2013).Teacher Characteristics, Actions and Perceptions: What Matters for Student Achievement in Pakistan?(No. 2013-19).Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.

This paper uses recent unique data (World Bank project survey) from primary schools in the state of Punjab in Pakistan to delve into the question of what makes one teacher more effective than another. The hypothesis that differential teacher effectiveness stems from far more than observable teacher characteristics is tested and more nuanced reasons behind these differences are examined. In particular, teacher attitudes and opinions are investigated to give a more holistic approach to researching teacher effectiveness and its impact on student learning. The paper finds that that in line with previous research, observable teacher characteristics are not what make teachers differentially effective but that their ability to teach, subject matter knowledge and attitudes to teaching matter more. Of fundamental importance is the fact that these attitudes appear to affect female student outcomes disproportionately more than male student outcomes. With a background of concern about the quantity and quality of education that girl children receive, this is of great consequence from a policy perspective. If teachers’ beliefs and attitudes impact on student outcomes, and in particular certain students, their role as such needs to be further understood by policy makers, training providers and schools alike.

http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/csae-wps-2013-19.pdf

Khan, T. (2007).Teacher Job Satisfaction and incentive.A case study of Pakistan.DFID

This report is one of 12 country case studies from Africa and South Asiathat assess teacher motivation and incentives. The study explores if there is a teacher motivation crisis in Pakistan and the form this crisis took. The analysis is based on discussions and interviews taken in Punjab and KP. It demonstrates that competence, motivation and opportunity are three core areas that affect performance of teachers. These occur in four spheres of interaction i.e. among teachers, the school, local management and policy. Teacher competence is affected by the quality of pre service training and this lack of proficiency hinders their teaching and undermines their confidence in teaching. Furthermore, good schooling environments can have a strong positive effect on teacher’s motivation to teach because of the equally positive environment it connotes. Another factor that can affect teacher motivation is to give Head teachers responsibility of managing their staff and important decisions which affect the school. In light of these factors, the paper recommends that pre and in-service teacher education must focus more attention on the practical aspects of teaching so that when new teachers enter schools they feel better prepared and motivated to handle the challenges that teaching throws up, e.g. teaching large class sizes, teaching with little resources etc.

http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/Output/175182/

Aslam, M., &Kingdon, G. (2007).What can teachers do to raise pupil achievement?(No. 2007-14).Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.

This paper uncovers the teacher characteristics and teaching practices that matter most to pupil achievement. For this purpose, a unique identification strategy is used-within-pupil variation to estimate the effects of teacher characteristics on student achievement. This was done by utilizing data from Pakistan that permits the matching of students’ test scores in language and mathematics tests to the teachers that teach those subjects, allowing examination of whether the characteristics of different subject teachers are related to a student’s marks across subjects. The pupil fixed-effects estimates reveal that most of the standard teacher resumè characteristics (such as certification and training) often used as measures of teacher quality and used to guide education policy have no bearing on student’s standardized mark. However, despite this teachers are largely rewarded for possessing these characteristics. Thus, teacher salary schedules appear to be inefficient. While this is true more for government schools, private school salary structures appear relatively more flexible. However, these findings have one caveat, which is that differences between teachers in unobserved characteristics still remain a source of endogeneity and undermine the ability to attribute causality to observed teacher variables. Nonetheless, the biases associated with this source of endogeneity may be somewhat reduced in this paper.

http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/2007-14text.pdf

Status of Teachers in Pakistan. (2013). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi.

This report addresses the issues relating to teachers in Pakistan and postulates that the goals of access and quality in education will not be achieved unless the triple challenge of teacher presence, adequacy and competency are taken into account. According to the report, unprecedented demand made by the state authorities on the teacher workforce and an unfavourable environment means there is no incentive in recruiting and retaining teachers. Thus, there is need to reposition the role of teachers and need to redefine the policy framework for teacher education, training and development options. Thus, the report recommends that the private sector needs to be integrated in the planning process to fulfill the educational needs of the people. The teachers must also have a platform to voice their concerns and engage in policy making in the education sector. The report also suggests that their training content must be assessed to ensure that it is providing with the right skills. Furthermore, incentives should be provided for teacher’s recruitment in remote areas. Therefore, this report emphasizes on the potential of teachers to improve the planning process and outcomes of the education sectors.

http://unesco.org.pk/education/documents/2014/publications/Status_of_Teachers_in_Pakistan.pdf