Teachers, Teaching and Student Achievement

Abstract

Education policymakers, researchers, and practitioners around the world have dedicated considerable attention to teachers and their instructional practice in their efforts to improve student outcomes. The professional characteristics of teachers and their classroom behaviors may be important in determining how students acquire knowledge and develop skills in mathematics and science, and the relationships between teacher quality, instructional practice, and grade four student outcomes are consequently of great interest to researchers and policymakers. Analysis of IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data indicates that grade four students are taught by teachers with similar educational backgrounds across the Dinaric region. Teacher quality (as measured by experience, level of education, and professional development) was related only to some aspects of instructional practice in the Dinaric region. Teacher quality was not a statistically significant predictor for student achievement in mathematics and science, although teachers’ formal education and years of experience were related to some aspects of student achievement.