For Immediate Release: April 16, 2023

Contact:
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235, (202) 288-9333 (cell)

Marla Koenigsknecht, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net
(202) 238-3233, (517) 803-1591 (cell)

AERA23 Study Snapshot: Disparities in Teachers’ Working Conditions, Qualification Gap, and Poverty-Based Achievement Gap in 38 Countries

Study: “Disparities in Teachers’ Working Conditions, Qualification Gap, and Poverty-Based Achievement Gap in 38 Countries”
Authors: Motoko Akiba (Florida State University), Kyeongwon Kim (Florida State University), Xiaonan Jiang (Florida State University)
Embargoed until: 12:01 a.m. CT Sunday, April 16

This paper will be presented at the place-based component of the AERA 2023 Annual Meeting. 
Session: Unearthing Educators’ Voice and Perspectives: Analyzing Conditions in the Classrooms and Schools
Date/Time: Sunday, April 16, 2:50 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. CT

Main Findings:

• Gaps in teaching experience, workload, and stress between teachers in high-poverty and low-poverty schools in the U.S. are among the largest in the world. Teachers in high-poverty schools in the U.S. have less experience, work more instructional hours, and report more job-related stress than their counterparts in low-poverty schools.
   
• Achievement gaps between high-poverty and low-poverty schools in the United States and elsewhere are more strongly linked to differences in teachers’ working conditions—number of instructional hours assigned, teacher-student relationships, and job impact on mental health—than to differences in their teaching qualifications.

Details:

• For this study, the authors used data from nationally representative samples of principals, teachers, and 15-year-old students from 38 high-income countries to compare teacher disparities between high-poverty and low-poverty schools. The data came from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 
   
• While previous studies have examined teacher quality gaps as a predictor of achievement gaps, this study is the first to examine disparities in teachers’ working conditions in relation to achievement gaps between low-poverty and high-poverty students at the national level.
   
• The authors found that gaps between high-poverty and low-poverty schools in the U.S. in teachers’ numbers of years in the profession, class size, number of instructional hours assigned, and job-related stress and mental health impacts were among the largest in the world. (U.S. gaps in subject training and quality of teacher-student relationships were similar to international averages.)
   
• The U.S. stood out with a large gap of 3.2 years in teaching experience between low-poverty schools (16.7 years) and high-poverty schools (13.5 years). This was larger than the international average of 0.8 years, and the fourth highest among the 38 countries studied (after Estonia, France, and Saudi Arabia).
   
• The class size gap between low-poverty and high-poverty schools in the U.S. was the largest among 38 counties, with teachers in high-poverty schools teaching an average of 29 students, compared to 24 students in low-poverty schools. In addition, teachers in high-poverty schools in the U.S. spent 29.2 hours on instruction per week compared to 26.0 hours in low-poverty schools. This gap was the second largest among the 38 countries (after Brazil).
   
• The U.S. was distinct from other countries in that teachers in high-poverty schools were teaching more hours to larger classes. Many other countries ensure equitable assignment of workloads based on student needs by assigning teachers in high-poverty schools fewer instructional hours and smaller classes than their counterparts in low-poverty schools.
   
• In the U.S., 54.3 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools reported that they experienced stress in their work “quite a bit” or “a lot,” compared to 47 percent of teachers in low-poverty schools, with a gap of 7.3 percent. This gap is larger than an international average of 2.4 percent.
   
• In the U.S., 18.2 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools reported that their job negatively impacted their mental health “quite a bit” or “a lot,” compared to 13.1 percent of teachers in low-poverty schools, with a gap of 5.1 percent. This compares to an international average of 3.2 percent.
   
• Overall, U.S. students achieved higher than the international average in reading and science and slightly lower in math. However, the U.S. achievement gaps between high-poverty and low-poverty schools in reading, math, and science were each larger than the international average. The U.S. was among the top 10 countries with the largest achievement gaps in reading and math.
   
• Controlling for average income (GDP per capita) and income inequality, the authors found that teacher qualification gaps across the 38 countries, as measured by subject training and teaching experience, were not linked with achievement gaps. (The exception was in science, where science training gap was associated with science achievement gap.) 
   
• Across the 38 countries, three measures of working conditions were linked to achievement gaps in reading, math, and science between high-poverty and low-poverty schools—the number of instructional hours assigned, quality of teacher-student relationships, and job impact on mental health. (Unexpectedly, the stress gap was not associated with any achievement gap.)
   
• “Our study reveals larger disparities in the U.S. than in most countries in teaching experience, working conditions, and job stress between teachers at wealthy and low-income schools,” said study coauthor Motoko Akiba, a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Florida State University. “The fact that teachers in high-poverty schools are teaching significantly larger classes and more hours is outside the international norm and requires immediate attention and intervention from policymakers and school leaders.”
   
• The authors note that when teachers in high-poverty schools are unable to establish positive relationships with their students and their work affects their mental health, they cannot be expected to support their students’ learning and mental health.
   
• “We found compelling evidence that gaps in teachers’ working conditions are associated with gaps in student achievement,” said Akiba. “Considering the greater educational needs of students in high-poverty schools, providing equitable working conditions to teachers in the U.S. must be a top national priority.”
   
• The authors note that study data came from 2018 and that it is likely that the gaps between low-income and high-income schools are even greater after COVID.
   
• The researchers categorized low-poverty schools as those where principals report no more than 10 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, and high-poverty schools as those where at least 30 percent of students are economically disadvantaged.

To request a copy of the working paper, or to talk to the study author, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Marla Koenigsknecht, Communications Associate, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net, cell: (517) 803-1591.

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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.