If you pay peanuts do you get monkeys? A cross-country analysis of teacher pay and pupil performance

Dolton, Peter; Gutiérrez, Óscar David Marcenaro

doi:10.1111/j.1468-0327.2010.00257.x

Cited by 142 publications

(91 citation statements)

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“…One way to do this may be to raise teacher wages to attract betterskilled individuals into the teaching profession. In fact, the argument that teacher pay is significantly related to teacher quality has been in the heart of the debate about educational policy for many years (see, e.g., Dolton and Marcenaro-Gutierrez (2011)). The idea is that countries that pay teachers relatively better recruit teachers from a higher part of the skill distribution and also manage to retain teachers in their profession.…”

Section: Improving Teacher Cognitive Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dolton and Marcenaro-Gutierrez (2011) construct a country panel with international student assessment tests in the period [1995][1996][1997][1998][1999][2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006], showing that teacher salaries -both measured in absolute terms and relative to the average wages in a country -are positively associated with student performance even after controlling for country fixed effects. Related analysis has looked at the use of performance pay, and the international research has tended to find that pay incentives are effective in improving performance.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance

Hanushek¹,

Piopiunik²,

Wiederhold³

2014

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Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the role of teacher cognitive skills as one main dimension of teacher quality in explaining student outcomes. Our main identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in teacher cognitive skills attributable to international differences in relative wages of nonteacher public sector employees. Using student-level test score data, we find that teacher cognitive skills are an important determinant of international differences in student performance. Results are supported by fixed-effects estimation that uses within-country between-subject variation in teacher skills. Keywords OverviewNumerous international assessment tests have shown that the cognitive skills of students differ greatly across countries, including across developed economies. These differences take on considerable significance because the cognitive skills of the population have been shown to be an important driver of a country's long-run economic growth (e.g., Hanushek and Woessmann (2012)).But less considered is how the overall skills of a nation feed back into the skills of teachers. This paper investigates whether differences in cognitive skills of teachers across developed countries can help explain international differences in student performance.Public discussions have emphasized the importance of teacher skills for improving student achievement. For example, a widely-cited McKinsey report on international achievement concludes that "the quality of an educational system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers" and then goes on to assert that "the top-performing systems we studied recruit their teachers from the top third of each cohort graduate from their school system." (Barber and Mourshed (2007), p. 16) In a follow-on report, Auguste, Kihn, and Miller (2010) note that the school systems in Singapore, Finland, and South Korea "recruit 100% of their teacher corps from the top third of the academic cohort," which stands in stark contrast to the U.S. where "23% of new teachers come from the top third." (p. 5) Notwithstanding any evidence that these differences explain differences in student outcomes, they recommend a "top third+ strategy" for the U.S. educational system. We investigate the implications for student achievement of focusing policy attention on the cognitive skills of potential teachers.Our analysis exploits unique data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which allow for the first time to quantify differences in teacher skills in numeracy and literacy across countries. These differences in teacher cognitive skills reflect, as we discuss below, both where teachers are drawn from in each country's skill distribution and the overall level...

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Section: Improving Teacher Cognitive Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance

Hanushek¹,

Piopiunik²,

Wiederhold³

2014

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“…One frequently cited reason for not being able to recruit higher-skilled individuals as teachers is low salaries compared to other professions (e.g., Dolton and Marcenaro-Gutierrez, 2011;Hanushek et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weak Markets, Strong Teachers: Recession at Career Start and Teacher Effectiveness

Nagler¹,

Piopiunik²,

West³

2015

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How do alternative job opportunities affect teacher quality? We provide causal evidence on this question by exploiting business cycle conditions at career start as a source of exogenous variation in the outside options of potential teachers. Unlike prior research, we directly assess teacher quality with value-added measures of impacts on student test scores, using administrative data on 33,000 teachers in Florida public schools. Consistent with a Roy model of occupational choice, teachers entering the profession during recessions are significantly more effective in raising student test scores. Results are supported by placebo tests and not driven by differential attrition.

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“…Exige-se dos docentes a qualidade de ensino, entretanto, suas condições de trabalho são marcadas pela precarização dos recursos humanos e dos recursos materiais, baixos salários e pelas inúmeras funções que devem exercer dentro do contexto escolar, cenário que contribui para desencadear esgotamento (Gomes, & Brito, 2006). A presença de diversos fatores ligados ao trabalho dos professores como a falta de interesse e a indisciplina dos alunos (Dalagasperina, & Monteiro, 2014;Gomes, Montenegro, Peixoto, & Peixoto, 2010), a falta de estrutura, a falta de diálogo, o autoritarismo da coordenação e da direção da escolar, o individualismo por parte de colegas, os baixos salários (Collie, Shapka, & Perry, 2012;Dolton, & Marcenaro-Gutierrez, 2011;Costa, & Rocha, 2013;Donatelli, & Oliveira, 2010); a falta de recursos, a falta de tempo, os compromissos excessivos, as turmas de difícil manejo, hostilidade dos pais e a falta de assistência e apoio de administradores e gestores públicos (Khan, 2014); têm sido apontados como estressores. Na atualidade, a profissão docente é comumente reconhecida como tendo elevados níveis de estresse profissional (Hanif, Tariq, & Nadeem, 2011;Klassen, & Chiu, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Propriedades psicométricas da escala de percepção de estressores ocupacionais dos professores (EPEOP)

2015

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ResumoEste estudo investigou as propriedades psicométricas da Escala de Percepção de Estressores Ocupacionais dos Professores -EPEOP. A escala, composta por 22 itens, foi aplicada coletivamente em 404 professores do Ensino Básico de escolas estaduais e municipais de Mossoró (RN), sendo 73,8% mulheres, com idades entre 20 a 68. A fidedignidade do instrumento foi alta com alpha de Cronbach de 0,94. A análise fatorial dividiu a escala em quatro fatores com os seguintes índices de confiabilidade: carga de trabalho (α=0,88), aspectos físicos e ambientais do trabalho (α=0,88), crescimento na carreira e capacitação profissional (α=0,82) e relações com alunos e responsáveis (α=0,79). A média geral da EPEOP foi 46,80 pontos. O instrumento apresentou características psicométricas adequadas para uso em professores, podendo orientar medidas que visem melhoria na qualidade de vida desses profissionais. Palavras-chave:Escalas; stress ocupacional; trabalho docente. Psychometric properties of a scale for measuring the perception of occupational stressors by teachers (EPEOP) AbstractThis study investigated the psychometric properties of a scale for measuring the Perception of Occupational Stressors by Teachers (EPEOP).The scale was applied in a sample of 404 teachers of public schools (state or municipal) of basic education of Mossoró (RN), Brazil. 73.8% were women between 20 to 68 years old. The EPEOP, composed of 22 items, was applied collectively in the participants' schools. The scale reliability was considered high with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94. The factorial analysis divided the scale into four factors with the following indices: workload (α=0.88), physical and environmental aspects of work (α=0.88), career growth and professional training (α=0.82), and relationships with students and guardians (α=0.79). The EPEOP overall average for the sample was 46.80 points. The instrument presents adequate psychometric characteristics for evaluating teachers' stress and can orient actions aimed at improving the quality of life of these professionals.Keywords: Scaling; occupational stress; teaching work. Propiedades psicométricas de la escala de percepción de estresores laborales de maestros (EPEOP) ResumenEste estudio investigó las propiedades psicométricas de la escala de Percepción de Estresores Laborales de Maestros (EPEOP). La escala fue aplicada en 404 maestros de educación básica de las escuelas del estado y municipales de Mossoró (RN), Brasil. 73,8% eran mujeres con edades comprendidas entre 20 y 68 años. La escala, composta por 22 ítems, fue aplicada colectivamente en las escuelas de los maestros. La confiabilidad del instrumento fue alta, con alfa de Cronbach de 0.94. La análisis factorial dividió la escala en cuatro factores con los siguientes índices: carga de trabajo (α=0,88), aspectos físicos y ambientales de trabajo (α=0,88), crecimiento profesional y formación profesional (α=0,82) y relaciones con los estudiantes y responsables (α=0,79). El promedio general de la EPEOP fue 46,80 puntos. El instrumento tiene caracte...

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If you pay peanuts do you get monkeys? A cross-country analysis of teacher pay and pupil performance

Cited by 142 publications

References 62 publications

The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance

The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance

Weak Markets, Strong Teachers: Recession at Career Start and Teacher Effectiveness

Propriedades psicométricas da escala de percepção de estressores ocupacionais dos professores (EPEOP)

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