Identifying the Attributes of Effective Rural Teachers: Teacher Attributes and Mathematics Achievement among Rural Primary School Students in Northwest China

Using matched student-teacher, I investigate what kind of teacher attributes make a difference for student achievement in resource-constrained rural communities in northwest China. Results from a series of randomeffects models controlling for student background and community economic and social resources identifies several teacher attributes that are associated with student mathematics achievement in the early years of schooling. Students who are taught by teachers who have official credentials, high levels of motivation to improve practice, commitment to the profession, and strong interpersonal skills have higher math achievement, on average. In addition, students who are taught by teachers with 3-5 years of teaching experience have the highest performance, on average, controlling for other student, family, and community characteristics. Importantly, the analyses indicate that teacher attributes to be a distinct dimension of community inequality in rural Gansu rather than as an immediate link between community resources and student achievement. The findings provide a complex picture of the influence of wide range of teacher characteristics on achievement, and carry important policy implications for teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development in rural disadvantaged communities in China and around the world. Comments Adams, J. (2012). Identifying the Attributes of Effective Rural Teachers: Teacher Attributes and Mathematics Achievement among Rural Primary School Students in Northwest China (Working Paper). Gansu Survey of Children and Families. This working paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/gansu_papers/32 Identifying the attributes of effective rural teachers: Teacher attributes and mathematics achievement among rural primary school students in northwest China Jennifer Adams Stanford University School of Education 485 Lasuen Mall Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 2012 † Acknowledgments: The Gansu Survey of Children and Families is supported by a grant from the United Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council and Department for International Development (ESRC RES-167-25-0250). Earlier support for data collection came from The Spencer Foundation Small and Major Grants Programs, The World Bank, and NIH Grants 1R01TW005930-01 and 5R01TW005930-02. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society Conference, March 2005, Stanford, CA.