Smarter Teachers, Smarter Pupils? Some New Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Document de travail du BETA, n°2017-35. En ligne sur : http://www.beta-umr7522.fr/productions/publications/2017/2017-35.pdf; We study the effect of teacher subject knowledge on student achievement in mathematics and reading by using a dataset from six Sub-Saharan African countries. By using a difference-indifference between pupils' and teachers' scores in two skills, we are able to avoid potential endogeneity bias. In most estimations, we do not find a significant teacher knowledge effect in most countries. The main reason is teacher absenteeism and the need to focus on core knowledge. Indeed, more knowledgeable teachers improve student learning only if certain conditions are met. For insta…