Quality of Malaysian teachers based on education and training

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the quality of teachers based on education and training provided under new reform policies in Malaysia affects their earnings outcomes. The study conducted a benefit and returns analysis guided by human capital theory. Design/methodology/approach The study used survey research methods to investigate human capital formation in the teaching profession using teachers’ qualifications, benefits and private rate of returns as key variables in the estimation. Findings Earnings and experience levels were highly correlated with teachers’ education levels, as suggested by human capital theory. The private rate of returns in earnings for each additional year of schooling of teachers was found to lie between 3 and 4 per cent per year. Discrepancies were apparent in teachers’ qualifications and licensure levels regionally and at academic levels, as expected. These correlated with earning levels. Practical implications Improvements in teachers’ salary and employment opportunities will attract higher quality graduates to the teaching profession. Teachers’ annual earnings in Malaysia are comparable to other public sector and private professional jobs in the nation but lag far behind those of the world’s top education systems. Increasing teachers’ earnings will attract better qualified teachers. Policymakers could address these issues. Originality/value This paper demonstrates the utility of economic analyses in terms of earnings returns, to evaluate the Malaysian policy of upgrading teachers’ qualifications as a mechanism to improve the overall quality of schooling. Such studies are rare but needed to understand the benefits and returns of policy-driven teacher education and training investments. This study provides new evidence of schooling returns using a recent, national data set.

Systematic Review on Issues and Challenges of Pre-Service English Teachers in Malaysia

“…It is expected that future English language teachers must master digital pedagogy and manage online teaching and learning and online assessment to cope with the new norm (Abdelhafez, 2021). Accommodating this situation could pose a challenge to school administrators and stakeholders, as they need to make sure the schools in Malaysia are adequately equipped with the needed IT facilities such as stable Internet connection, computers and computer labs (Goh & Matthews, 2011;Ismail & Awang, 2017).…”

“…Based on the analysis, nine studies have discussed PSETs' struggles in their professional development efforts (Amin et al, 2019;Gill & Berezina., 2020;Goh & Canrinus, 2019;Hassan et al, 2018;Ismail & Awang, 2017;Madin & Swanto, 2019;Omar et al, 2019;Zakaria et al, 2015). The most common issue was time and commitment management among teachers in their professional development initiatives.…”

“…The most common issue was time and commitment management among teachers in their professional development initiatives. Some studies found that teachers who were required to complete their degree programme part-time had to juggle between work commitments at school, family commitments and attending their degree programme as a student (Omar et al, 2019;Ismail & Awang, 2017).…”

“…Regarding resources, PSETs are experiencing issues of inadequate teaching aids and materials, limited facilities, and insufficient financial support to fund their teaching activities (Goh & Matthews, 2011;Ismail & Awang, 2017;Khan & Haseeb, 2017). Participants were concerned about not having enough tools, supplies, and equipment to help them teach (Goh & Mathews, 2011).…”

“…Their ability to effectively teach was impacted by the fact that the school was unable to provide them with the tools and resources they required. These conditions largely affect the quality of teaching (Gill & Berezina, 2020;Ismail & Awang, 2017;Khan & Haseeb, 2017;Mansor et al 2019).…”