Teachers Welfare and Its Effect on Workers Productivity
Chapter One
Introduction
Background of the study Teachers account for the majority of spending on education provided by schools: on average 64% in developed countries (OECD, 2007a) and often running to over 90% in developing and transition countries. Research evidence indicates that, apart from the student’s family background, the single most important factor in determining variability in student attainment within any single country is teacher quality (Hanushek, 2005). Therefore, the institutional arrangements that govern the incentives influencing teachers’ work are of prime importance for the overall quality of a nation’s education system. Contractual arrangements for teachers differ vastly both between and within countries. At one extreme, teachers are civil servants, paid a fixed salary according to criteria such as formal qualifications and experience, enjoying complete security of tenure; at the other, teachers are employed by private sector schools, subject to relatively easy dismissal and paid according to judgments’ about their performance. The current situation with regard to teacher motivation and morale needs to be put into historical perspective and context and, in particular, the growing state regulation of schools and teachers. The first education ordinance in Nigeria, which was promulgated in 1882, laid the foundation for the development of a professionally qualified teaching force by three decades other ordinances established a separate salary scale for teachers and Minimum staff-pupil ratios corresponding to each level of assisted schools. The 1925 Memorandum on Education in British colonial territories highlighted the importance of establishing a sound system of education with an effective cadre of teachers. It recommended therefore significant improvements in the conditions of service of teachers in order to attract the best candidates into the profession. In the following year, the formal registration of teachers became a
Introduction
Background of the study Teachers account for the majority of spending on education provided by schools: on average 64% in developed countries (OECD, 2007a) and often running to over 90% in developing and transition countries. Research evidence indicates that, apart from the student’s family background, the single most important factor in determining variability in student attainment within any single country is teacher quality (Hanushek, 2005). Therefore, the institutional arrangements that govern the incentives influencing teachers’ work are of prime importance for the overall quality of a nation’s education system. Contractual arrangements for teachers differ vastly both between and within countries. At one extreme, teachers are civil servants, paid a fixed salary according to criteria such as formal qualifications and experience, enjoying complete security of tenure; at the other, teachers are employed by private sector schools, subject to relatively easy dismissal and paid according to judgments’ about their performance. The current situation with regard to teacher motivation and morale needs to be put into historical perspective and context and, in particular, the growing state regulation of schools and teachers. The first education ordinance in Nigeria, which was promulgated in 1882, laid the foundation for the development of a professionally qualified teaching force by three decades other ordinances established a separate salary scale for teachers and Minimum staff-pupil ratios corresponding to each level of assisted schools. The 1925 Memorandum on Education in British colonial territories highlighted the importance of establishing a sound system of education with an effective cadre of teachers. It recommended therefore significant improvements in the conditions of service of teachers in order to attract the best candidates into the profession. In the following year, the formal registration of teachers became a