Teacher characteristics, classroom quality, and child outcomes in Tanzanian pre-primary education

• In Event: Improving pre-primary education quality in Tanzania

Proposal

Tanzania is one of many countries that has made strides to expand pre-primary school access while also facing the challenge of limited resources. Following the elimination of school fees and a call for universal pre-primary education, pre-primary enrollment increased 45% between 2015 and 2016. This major influx of students has placed a strain on the school system, with over-crowded classrooms and a shortage of teachers with specialized training in early childhood. Workforce expansion and improved quality of workforce is one of the most critical ingredients to strengthen Tanzania’s pre-primary system.

The present study reviews teacher characteristics from a nationally representative survey of pre-primary teachers. Data include teachers’ responses to questionnaires with observational data on classrooms and data on children’s learning and development. The study was designed to gain multiple perspectives on quality, and quantitative analyses is presently being supplemented with qualitative work on teachers’ perceptions of quality. Using multiple measures, the study examines patterns in teacher characteristics, quality and child outcomes using multiple forms of data, such as whether there are certain teacher characteristics that seem to matter most for better classroom quality and child outcomes. We find that positive teacher practices, including giving children more opportunities to engage in classroom discussions, express their ideas, and respond to questions individually, are associated with better child learning outcomes. In addition, age-appropriate instruction and supportive teacher/child interactions is associated with better social skills in children. Further, specialized training, or holding an ECE certificate, is associated with higher quality teaching practices as well as better child learning outcomes. Children in schools whose pre-primary teachers hold ECE certificates tend to have better math and numeracy learning outcomes. Finally, ongoing support and supervision for teachers leads to better quality teaching. Teachers who receive more instructional supports and supervision tend to demonstrate stronger teaching practices that lead to better child learning outcomes. These findings will be supplemented with qualitative work once completed.

Our study has several important policy implications, which may also be regionally and globally relevant. First, specialized training in early childhood works. Trained pre-primary teachers facilitate better quality classroom teaching environments and are able to support improved child learning outcomes. Expansion of pre-service training, as well as programs to certify currently practicing teachers in pre-primary, would be a smart investment for Tanzania. Training should emphasize teaching practices that seem to matter the most for children’s learning, including facilitating supportive teacher/child interactions, employing age-appropriate instruction, asking open-ended questions, giving children opportunities to participate and engage in discussions and express their own ideas. Further, investing in continuous professional development and reducing existing fragmented efforts for in-service training is needed. Stakeholders at school, district, regional, and national levels must work together around one design for professional development, in line with the government’s new continuous professional development framework. Finally, formalizing the status of unqualified teachers, or paraprofessionals, especially in remote areas could help fill an important gap. Projections indicate that Tanzania needs to recruit more than 50,000 qualified pre-primary teachers to meet system needs, which could take decades to achieve. Our study indicates that receiving specialized training in early childhood- more than having formal qualifications- makes a difference in teaching quality and learning outcomes. If “unqualified” teachers, or paraprofessionals have a pathway to receive specialized training in early childhood, this significant gap can start to be filled.

Authors

• Rebecca Sayre, Early Childhood Data & Measurement Group & University of Nebraska

• Abbie Raikes, University of Nebraska