Disparities in Teachers' Working Conditions, Qualification Gap, and Poverty-Based Achievement Gap in 38 Countries

• In Event: Unearthing Educators' Voice and Perspectives: Analyzing Conditions in the Classrooms and Schools

Abstract

Despite the well-documented disparities in teachers’ working conditions between high-poverty and low-poverty schools, little is known about how such disparities are associated with student achievement gap. Using survey and assessment data from nationally representative samples of principals, teachers, and students in 38 countries in OECD 2018 TALIS and PISA, we found that while subject training gap, teacher-student relationship gap, and mental health impact gap in the U.S. were similar to the international average, teaching experience gap, workload gap, and stress gap were among the largest in the world. Our cross-national analysis showed that poverty-based disparities in teachers’ working conditions were more strongly associated with achievement gaps than teacher qualification gaps after controlling for GDP per capita and income inequality.

Authors

• Motoko Akiba, Florida State University
  Presenting Author

• Kyeongwon Kim, Florida State University
  Presenting Author

• Xiaonan Jiang, Florida State University
  Presenting Author