A Global Compact on Learning - Brookings Institution

5
Strategies common to all three
priorities
Good teachers and assessment systems are fundamental
for making progress on each of the three policy
priorities discussed in the previous three chapters.
For this reason, these two factors are discussed in detail
here as two specific strategies that apply equally to
improving early childhood development, to literacy
and numeracy in the lower primary grades, and to
relevant post-primary learning. Investing in teachers,
particularly female teachers, and improved measurement
are also essential elements of ensuring that the
most marginalized children, especially poor girls,
share in the benefits of learning (see figure 5.1).
Common Strategy 1: Improve the Quality of
Teaching
Many studies identify how teachers teach and how
much time they spend teaching as the most powerful
determinants of children’s achievement in
low-income countries. Studies have shown that
the quality of teachers is not necessarily defined as
holding an advanced teaching degree but instead as
being adequately prepared, supported, motivated,
and compensated to teach. This goal also extends
to other educational personnel, particularly including
head teachers and principals, who are critical in
leading and managing schools.
To improve the quality of teaching, four actions
should be taken:
• Recruit and train more female teachers,
particularly at the secondary level.
• Adequately prepare teachers.
• Motivate and support teachers.
• Strengthen school leadership and management.
The first needed action is to recruit and train more
female teachers, particularly at the secondary level.
The presence of female teachers has been shown to
not only boost enrollment and reduce dropout rates
but also improve learning outcomes for girls. 217 This
can be particularly important for adolescent girls. In
Sub-Saharan Africa, female teachers rarely exceed 25
percent in secondary school, with far fewer teachers
in rural areas. 218 In Bangladesh, having female
teachers in local schools was found to increase girls’
enrollment, 219 and increase the percentage of correct
answers in secondary-level mathematics. 220 In a fivecountry
African study, fifth-grade girls’ knowledge
gains were larger when taught by a female teacher,
whereas boys benefited more from a male teacher. 221
However, female teachers also require gender sensitive
training; one study in Kenya found that they
can be even more biased against girls. 222 In some
countries, quotas might be necessary to increase the
number of female teachers, especially in positions of
leadership. Kenya increased the number of female
head teachers from 10 to 23 percent during a tenyear
period by requiring that one out of two head
teachers being trained be a woman. 223 Given the low
literacy rates of women in many countries, finding
qualified female teachers can be difficult. However,
studies have found that even very young women
can teach programmed curricula effectively as long
as they are properly trained and supported. 224 Tanzania
successfully expanded the number of teachers
by licensing secondary school graduates who are deployed
to schools after one month’s training on the
condition that they enroll in a degree program with
the Open University of Tanzania while they continue
teaching. 225 Other effective strategies to recruit more
female teachers to rural areas include deploying
A <strong>Global</strong> Compa c t on Learning: Taking Action on Educat i o n in Developing Countries
C e n t e r for Universal Educat i o n at Brookings
42