Effect of Location, Experience and Qualification on Teacher Knowledge

Teaching experience, qualification and location have influence on teachers’ subject-matter content knowledge. The widely held assumption regarding teaching experience is that long service leads to increased teacher knowledge. Qualification too is regarded to be directly proportional to teacher knowledge. However, teaching experience and qualification do not necessarily bring about superior teacher knowledge. Within the first few years of a teacher’s career, teaching experience brings about increase in teacher knowledge. Qualification too positively influences teacher knowledge but the effect is seen among the lower qualifications. The effect of increased teaching experience and higher qualification can become neutral or retrogress depending on the location of the school in which the teacher is teaching. Teacher knowledge of teachers in deprived areas and their counterparts in non-deprived areas have been found to be significantly different, irrespective of qualification and teaching experience. Employers should therefore measure teacher effectiveness and remunerate teachers accordingly, rather than strictly remunerating teachers base on long service and qualification.