No More Cutting Class? Reducing Teacher Absence and Providing Incentives for Performance

Expanding and improving basic education in developing countries requires, at a minimum, teachers who are present in the classroom and motivated to teach, but this essential input is often missing. This paper describes the findings of a series of recent World Bank and other studies on teacher absence and incentives for performance. Surprise school visits reveal that teachers are absent at high rates in countries such as India, Indonesia, Uganda, Ecuador, and Zambia, reducing the quality of schooling for children, especially in rural, remote, and poor areas. More broadly, poor teacher management and low levels of teacher accountability afflict many developing-country education systems. The paper presents evidence on these shortcomings, but also on the types of incentives, management, and support structures that can improve motivation and performance and reduce avoidable absenteeism. It concludes with policy options for developing countries to explore as they work to meet Education for All goals and improve quality.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Rogers, F. Halsey, Vegas, Emiliana
Language:	English
Published:	2009-02-01
Subjects:	ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, ACADEMIC RIGOR, ADEQUATE FACILITIES, ATTENDANCE RATES, ATTENDANCE RECORDS, AUTONOMOUS SCHOOLS, BASIC EDUCATION, BETTER TEACHERS, CALL, CAREER, CAREERS, CIVIL SERVICE, CLASS SIZES, CLASSROOM, CLASSROOMS, COMMUNITY EDUCATION, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, COMPLETION RATES, CONVENTIONAL SCHOOLS, DECENTRALIZATION, DECENTRALIZATION OF EDUCATION, DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN, DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS, DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS, EDUCATED WORKERS, EDUCATION ECONOMICS, EDUCATION FOR ALL, EDUCATION LEVEL, EDUCATION OFFICES, EDUCATION OUTCOMES, EDUCATION POLICY, EDUCATION QUALITY, EDUCATION STATISTICS, EDUCATION SYSTEMS, EDUCATIONAL ACCESS, EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES, EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, EDUCATIONAL QUALITY, EFFECTIVE TEACHERS, EMPLOYMENT, ETHNIC MINORITY, EXAM, EXAMS, EXPERIMENTAL SCHOOLS, GROUPS OF TEACHERS, HEAD TEACHERS, HIGH SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION, HIGH SCHOOLS, HOMEWORK, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, INCENTIVES FOR TEACHERS, INTERVENTIONS, JOB SECURITY, LABOR MARKETS, LEARNING, LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, LEARNING LEVELS, LEARNING OUTCOMES, LEARNING PROCESS, LET, LITERATURE, LOWER SECONDARY, LOWER SECONDARY LEVEL, MATH SCORES, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, MOTIVATION OF TEACHERS, NUMBER OF TEACHERS, NUTRITION, PAPERS, PEDAGOGY, POOR PEOPLE, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS, PRIMARY SCHOOLS, PRIVATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS, QUALIFIED TEACHERS, QUALITY OF TEACHERS, READING, REMOTE SCHOOLS, RESEARCHERS, RURAL AREAS, RURAL SCHOOLS, RURAL TEACHERS, SALARY INCREASES, SCHOOL COMPLETION, SCHOOL DAY, SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOL DISTRICT, SCHOOL EDUCATION, SCHOOL FINANCE, SCHOOL HOURS, SCHOOL MANAGEMENT, SCHOOL NUTRITION, SCHOOL QUALITY, SCHOOL SYSTEM, SCHOOL SYSTEMS, SCHOOL VISITS, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLS, SCHOOLS WITH STUDENTS, SECONDARY SCHOOLS, SPECIAL EDUCATION, SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, STUDENT ABSENTEEISM, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT ATTENDANCE, STUDENT LEARNING, STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES, STUDENT OUTCOMES, STUDENT PERFORMANCE, SUBJECT MATTER, SUBJECTS, TEACHER, TEACHER ABSENTEEISM, TEACHER ATTENDANCE RATES, TEACHER BEHAVIOR, TEACHER EDUCATION, TEACHER INCENTIVES, TEACHER MANAGEMENT, TEACHER MOBILITY, TEACHER PAY, TEACHER PERFORMANCE, TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS, TEACHER QUALITY, TEACHER SALARIES, TEACHER TURNOVER, TEACHERS, TEACHERS SALARY, TEACHERS UNIONS, TEACHING, TEACHING DUTIES, TEACHING MATERIALS, TEACHING METHODS, TEACHING POSITIONS, TENURE, TEST SCORES, TEXTBOOKS, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, UNIVERSITY DEGREE, URBAN SCHOOL, URBAN SCHOOLS, WORK ENVIRONMENT, WORKERS, YOUNG PEOPLE,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090226142341 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4043
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!