UNICEF Mongolia - Teachers College Columbia University

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The current trend of educaon provision worldwide emphasizes the crical role of teachers, parcularly
in terms of access, quality and retenon. Many research reports conducted internaonally have shown
that teacher quality has a major influence on the performance of school systems.
Quality educaon has many prerequisites. It implies the existence of an equitable teacher-to-pupil
rao, the provision of sufficient teaching materials, appropriate learning spaces and regular aendance.
However, even where these are evident, the quality of educaon may connue to be adversely affected
if teachers are not well trained and supported in their work and environment. While teacher preparaon
and development are at the center of any efforts to raise quality in educaon systems, the quality of
teaching and learning—including how children parcipate in their own learning—is at the core of Child
Friendly Schooling.
The Government of Mongolia, together with its educaon donors, is invesng considerable resources
into enhancing the quality of educaon, including through teacher training. However, it appears that the
effecveness of these programmes is oen localized and may require significant monitoring, evaluaon,
documentaon and adjustment for scaling up.
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Teaching-related reforms are an emerging priority; however, there is a limited number of quality,
substanve studies on teachers that have been conducted in Mongolia. As a consequence, the UNICEF
Mongolia Office, in collaboraon with the Ministry of Educaon, Culture and Science (former name),
commissioned a study on recruitment into teaching, teacher development and retenon of teachers in
Mongolia in 2011. We would like to kindly thank the research team led by Gita Steiner Khamsi, Professor,
Teachers College, Columbia University in New York and Batjargal Batkhuyag, Execuve Director, Mongolian
Educaon Alliance, Ulaanbaatar for their acve parcipaon in the realizaon of such an important goal.
Their work has been a tremendous asset to our team and to the future of educaon in this country.
We very much hope that the findings and recommendaons of this study will serve as a foundaon to
develop an effecve strategic approach for making policy reforms for teacher educaon in Mongolia.
UNICEF Mongolia Office
September 2012
TEACHERS IN MONGOLIA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RECRUITMENT INTO TEACHING,
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS
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