Teacher Absenteeism and Accountability in Southern Rural Gujarat

• In Event: Problematizing resource investments for a quality education in South Asia

Proposal

Teacher absenteeism has been cited as a major problem in rural areas of India. Among the causes of this are a lack of repercussions for absence and a fragmented accountability system that does not hold teachers responsible for student achievement outcomes. This contributes to a dearth in teacher accountability.

Ramachandran et al (2005) find that one of the main issues of teacher motivation relates to the structuring of teacher assignments and the politicization of the profession, which has been noted both by parties that blame teachers for the poor quality of education and by teachers themselves. Teacher absenteeism becomes a particular problem in schools with only a few hired teachers, as is often the case in rural areas, as well as when teachers are deployed to teach in rural communities where they do not live. Chaudhury et al (2006) found that close to 12% of schools visited in India were closed due to absentee teachers. The presence of a teacher is closely linked to student outcomes.

In 2013, I undertook a research study in Gujarat, analyzing trends and perceptions of teacher absenteeism and teacher accountability. This was in the face of government measures to increase teacher attendance, primarily through biometric attendance and computer aided learning systems (BACALS). The purpose of my research was to determine whether these devices serve the purpose of increasing teacher attendance, and further, whether the BACALS improve teacher accountability. While the causes of teacher absenteeism are numerous, I limit my examination to corruption, teacher policy, and school location.

I examine the status and utility of the teaching profession in India compared with other nations to further my understanding of the variables that contribute to the present condition of teacher absenteeism and accountability structures and how these may or may not be effective. Notions that policies to curb teacher absence rates are intended to increase teacher accountability will form the basis of my theoretical framework.
Ornstein (1986) offers a critical perspective of systems of teacher accountability, claiming they can be used to excuse poor student performance or lack of parental involvement. According to Ornstein’s model, teachers should not be held responsible for outcomes they have little impact on. He suggests a system of joint accountability to improve the “overall educational delivery system”. His framework converges with notions of education as a product of society, with education systems reflecting cultural norms and conventions, notions which find credence in the work of Basu (2006), who applies cultural explanations to the issue of teacher truancy in India. Teacher absenteeism is associated with social tendencies; the higher the number of absentee teachers, the more acceptable it becomes. He writes that government must take responsibility for providing a solid infrastructure and institutional organization and to meet the needs of the poor and underprivileged; at the same time, however, government is a function of the economy and society, and corruption within government reflects corrupt practices throughout society as a whole.

The cultural arguments of Basu find resonance with notions that communities may hold teachers accountable to their jobs. Pandey, Goyal, and Sundararaman (2008) posit that ensuring that communities are knowledgeable about their roles in holding teachers accountable could increase teacher attendance and accountability. They suggest that one reason teachers may not be accountable or motivated to teach is that the committees instituted to hold them accountable lack the capacity to do so. Pandey et al also suggest that teacher effectiveness, which is a major indicator of student achievement outcomes, may be lower in some areas as a result of lacking opportunities for professional development.

My study falls under the umbrella of interpretive/constructivist perspectives. It is a phenomenological study in that I attempt to construct the structures of teacher policy and attendance mechanisms and feelings toward accountability in certain localities. I build on the responses to my surveys and my interview questions in an attempt to construct a common experience in relation to my participants. Based on my analysis of the data, I also employ grounded theory to explain my findings. This is an especially useful framework as it allows for concurrent analysis of the quantitative and qualitative findings to identify patterns. I have paired my findings from teacher surveys and principal interviews with my experiences during classroom observations at several of the schools. During these observations, I took the role of complete observer, and minimized my interactions with the teachers and students as much as possible.

Teacher responses paint an overwhelmingly positive picture of the perceived quality of education at their schools. Answers to whether students find coursework interesting were also very positive, with little differentiation between the two types of schools. However, only 46.6% of teachers overall responded that students do find their work challenging; 68.2% at BACALS schools and 41.5% at LIB schools.

Only half of the principals interviewed make sure that teachers are in their classrooms and teaching. This is partially due to teachers having to perform duties outside of teaching, often during classroom time. Many teachers and some principals indicated that when they are absent, a proxy teacher covers their class. This is often not a teacher with the same subject content knowledge, and the period is often spent as a study hall period might be. Only a couple of teachers indicated that another teacher with the same content knowledge covers their class when they are absent.

Teacher perceptions of their professional role and duty as a teacher are indicators of teacher commitment. 42 percent of teachers note that their most important duty relates to teaching, 13 percent note it is to work with regularity. A vast majority of teachers agree that a good teacher will help students be successful, however more than half agree that clever students will do well regardless of the teacher, and that smart students can learn the coursework on their own.
Teachers at BACALS schools exhibited more days of absence than at LIB schools, but I do not find this difference to be significant. The greatest number of absences at both school types were for social or celebratory reasons, followed by health reasons. A majority of teachers surveyed do not find teacher absenteeism to be a problem in their region, while nearly a quarter of teachers think that teacher absenteeism is a general issue in India.

Teachers at both types of schools display a similar propensity toward the attendance tracking method at their school. In terms of whether a tracking method had improved the individual teacher’s attendance, at BACALS schools, 86.4% reported that it did, compared with 66.0% at LIB schools, a number significantly lower. Regarding overall teacher attendance at their school, 50% of teachers at BACALS schools agreed the method improved their attendance compared with 67% of LIB school teachers. At the BACALS schools, 68.2% said thumbprinting was necessary, while 92.6% of teachers at LIB schools said the books were necessary.

Much of the information gathered from this research lends to a question of accountability. Although teachers may be marked present at school, this does not answer the question of whether they are in the classroom teaching, and whether they are being held accountable for student outcomes.

Author

• Rachel Danielle Cooper, The World Bank