Teacher job satisfaction, student achievement, and the cost of primary education in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Katharina Michaelowa ()

No 188, HWWA Discussion Papers from Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA)

Abstract: Low teacher motivation and its detrimental effect on student achievement are central problems of many education systems in Africa. Using standardized data for student achievement in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d`Ivoire, Madagascar and Senegal, this paper analyzes the empirical links between various policy measures, teacher job satisfaction and primary education outcomes. It appears that there is only very limited evidence for the effectiveness of intensively debated and costly measures such as increasing teachers salaries, reducing class size, and increasing academic qualification requirements. Other, more simple measures such as improved equipment with textbooks are both more effective and less costly. It also appears that teacher job satisfaction and education quality are not necessarily complementary objectives. Especially those measures ensuring control and incentive related working conditions for teachers, significantly increase student achievement while reducing teacher job satisfaction. In addition, teachers` academic qualification beyond the "baccalauréat", while beneficial for students` learning, tends to lead to a mismatch between teachers` expectations and professional realities, and thereby reduces teachers` job satisfaction.

Keywords: teacher job satisfaction; student achievement; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 O15 O20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Teacher Job Satisfaction, Student Achievement, and the Cost of Primary Education in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:hwwadp:26273

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