The Impact of Vocational Teachers on Student Learning in Developing Countries: Does Enterprise Experience Matter?

Although vocational schooling is responsible for educating a large share of students in the world today, there is little evidence about what factors matter for vocational student learning. Using data on approximately 1,400 vocational students in one eastern province in China, we employ a student fixed effects model to identify whether teacher enterprise experience—believed to be one of the most important factors for vocational student learning—increases students’ technical skills. We find that enterprise experience has a substantial positive impact on students’ technical skills. Furthermore, the impacts are concentrated on high-achieving students. In contrast, policies to provide teachers with “professional certifications” (given to teachers who participate in short-term trainings) have no positive impact. JEL: I25, J24, 015