Teacher Characteristics and Standardised Mathematics Achievement: Global Evidence-Based Reviews and Empirical Evidence for Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Teacher effectiveness has gained considerable attention in recent research, especially over the past two decades. Nevertheless, the precise teacher characteristics that drive this effectiveness remain a subject of debate. Within Saudi Arabia, there is a great interest in enhancing education quality, aligning with the nation's pursuit of Vision 2030 objectives. Teachers are considered one of the most important elements in the education process, contributing to improving student performance in the classroom and beyond. Despite their critical role, limited research has been conducted on teacher effectiveness in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to explore the relationship between various teacher characteristics – including same-gender match, types of certifications, teacher test scores, graduate degrees, experience and professional development - and standardised mathematics achievement among fourth and eighth-grade students in Saudi Arabia. Two reviews were conducted at the international level to establish a theoretical framework concerning this relationship. First, a scoping review examined the relationship between teacher characteristics and student achievement across several study designs. This was followed by a systematic review and meta-analysis focused specifically on mathematics as a subject and fourth to eighth grades. The reviews revealed a scarcity of experimental and quasi-experimental studies for most teacher characteristics, except for professional development. Furthermore, a major finding of these reviews showed that the association between these teacher characteristics and standardised student achievement varies across subjects and grade levels. Among the examined characteristics, teacher experience demonstrated the strongest positive association with standardised mathematics achievement, particularly at the peak of this relationship. Math-specific certification and professional development showed a moderate positive correlation indicating significant associations. Teacher test scores showed small but consistent positive association across various measures. Same-gender match exhibited a slight positive association, though this finding warrants caution due its small effect size. Notably, holding a graduate degree showed negligible association, suggesting no practical relationship with mathematics achievement. In addition, these reviews revealed that standardised student achievement is not fully explained by these teacher characteristics. Next, an empirical study was undertaken in the context of Saudi Arabia using secondary data from TIMSS 2019. Utilising Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models, the findings of this study showed that, contrary to the literature regarding the gender gap in mathematics achievement, there is a significant gender gap in standardised mathematics achievement in favour of female students. Additionally, the results showed that teacher experience and professional development are positively correlated with standardised mathematics achievement in fourth and eighth grades in Saudi Arabia, although these associations were not always statistically significant. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that the majority of the variation in standardised mathematics achievement in Saudi Arabia is attributed to student variables such as students' absence, parental education and socioeconomic status. This dissertation extended the research by exploring further analysis in Saudi Arabia across various sub-samples to examine the heterogeneity of teacher effects. By considering different sub-groups - including school type (female vs male schools), achievement level (high-achieving students vs low-achieving students) and parental education (students whose parents have university degrees vs those whose parents do not have university degrees) - this dissertation offers a further perspective on how teacher characteristics correlate with standardised mathematics achievement among diverse student groups within the Saudi Arabian context. The findings underscore the existence of teacher effect heterogeneity in Saudi Arabia, signalling variations across sub-samples within the Saudi educational landscape. This dissertation provides valuable implications for educators and policymakers in Saudi Arabia and beyond. It offers insights into optimising teacher effectiveness and addressing diverse student needs.