‘A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change anything’

teacher blogThis cliché emblazoned on chipped mugs in school staff rooms all over the world is impossible to refute. We all know teachers have the power to transform both individual lives, and the fortunes of nations. And, as the theme of today’s World Teachers’ Day goes, the right to a good quality education requires having a good quality teacher. So why are we still not investing enough money nor implementing the right policies to recruit them in sufficient numbers?

To meet the target of universal primary education many poorer countries have been hiring untrained and unqualified teachers, some of whom had not even finished secondary school. This widespread policy was a false economy. Quality should never be sacrificed to quota-filling. Teachers are not a commodity. 

percentage of trained teachersToday there are still significant shortfalls of trained teachers in many parts of the world. UIS data from 2016 show that globally only 86% of primary school teachers are trained but the share falls to 77% in Southern Asia, to 70% in the Caribbean and to 62% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Eritrea, Ghana and Niger, these percentages have actually decreased since 2000.

The link between a teacher’s experience and his or her effectiveness is not disputed. The number of years of experience a teacher has accumulated is directly related to the quality of his/her students’ learning outcomes. And teacher experience has an even greater impact on the educational trajectories of disadvantaged children than it does on those of other children.

graph teacher blogBut in most countries, the most experienced teachers shun schools with a high concentration of disadvantaged pupils, entrenching educational inequality. They pick high-performing schools in desirable neighbourhoods, as the 2013 OECD TALIS showed.

Governments deploy various strategies for teachers to work in challenging schools

As we will show in the forthcoming 2019 GEM Report on migration and displacement, those who teach refugees in camps or migrant children in slums are often untrained and underpaid. What motivation do these teachers have to stay the course and build experience, after all? These children are more likely to have learning needs which 3teachers find they are not equipped to handle. They may not understand the language of instruction, their education may have been interrupted, they may be suffering from trauma.

Some countries are trying to improve teacher quality for disadvantaged groups. Japan uses a compulsory rotation system to ensure good quality teachers are allocated to rich and poor areas of the country for contracts lasting between 5 and 7 years. In the Republic of Korea, teachers working in disadvantaged schools benefit from incentives such as an additional stipend, smaller class sizes, less teaching time, the chance to choose their next school after teaching in a difficult area and greater promotion opportunities.  As a result, over three-quarters of teachers in villages have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 32% in large cities, and 45% have more than 20 years of experience, compared with 30% in large cities.

Recruiting teachers from disadvantaged communities can be another way to expand the pool of teachers working in these areas. In Lesotho, a system of local recruitment allows school management committees to hire teachers, who apply directly to the schools for vacant posts. As a result, there is relatively little difference in pupil/teacher ratios between rural and urban areas. Sweden and Germany have recently implemented programmes to train refugee teachers intensively and hire them to teach both nationals and refugees. Chad has a programme to recognize refugee teachers’ prior qualifications and make the most of their potential.

An inclusive education, as we will be covering in depth in the 2020 GEM report, values the education of ‘all students’, and teachers are central to that. Better teacher management is crucial for ensuring all children have their right to a qualified teacher realized. When managed effectively, and combined with specialized training and appropriate materials for teachers to engage effectively with students from all backgrounds, perhaps we really can ‘change anything’ as the saying goes. The sky is the limit.

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12 comments

  1. Having had privileges from developing and developed world teaching experiences across various sections, I totally agree with the report to ensure adequate measures to improve the quality of teaching. We owe it our selves and the future generations. ‘A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change anything’.Salutes to the author in inspiring teachers and all teachers who are already doing their best.

  2. The majority of the students find troubles to pick the correct vocation for themselves. The educators ought to give ordinary vocation advising to the understudies. A few associations like Cape Business School is helping the students to locate the correct school for themselves. Great profession guiding will assist the students with choosing their ideal vocation for themselves

  3. I am so interested in education in general. Please do involve me in any activity related to education. I work in the Ministry of Education in Yemen. We lack deep learning.

  4. Quality education is the only way to get out the countries from their economic crisis and if we are able to give the quality education to children then we should give it to them but mostly, children don’t identify their right career path and they always think that what career is right for me ? but we should give proper time to our children to clear their all confusions regarding their career path and if they succeed to find their career path then their future will become brighter.

  5. ‘A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change anything’. Very attractive title and also very good information provided in this article. Teacher plays an important role in students life.Choosing the best colleges is very important for the bright future of students. Find the best science colleges on Picker Online.best science colleges

  6. Some people think that getting a good education depends on the school you attend.I do not agree with this statement.Just because someone send their child to a private school does not make their education better than a child that has attended public school.I think a good education is what ever you make out of it.It all depends on whether or not you want to sit there and take in what the teacher is teaching Having good teachers that know what they are doing is also important.

  7. in my opinion quality education have importance in day to day life.agood quality education can change anyone

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