Teacher quality is a defining factor of student academic performance in schools : the case of a district in South Africa

Abstract

There does not seem to be a singular, all-defining factor justifying the poor performance of students across the globe, but what is indisputable is that many scholars have attributed the poor performance of students to teacher quality. This suggests a clear correlation between teacher quality and student performance. The researcher implemented a contingency theory that centres on creating a relationship between schooling processes and outcomes. An ethnographic design grounded in the interpretative paradigm and premised on the qualitative research approach was adopted to explore how societies and individuals function in their natural environment to facilitate learning. Through purposive sampling, 12 participants were drawn from two local municipalities in a district of South Africa to take part in individual interviews. The analysis was done concurrently using ATLAS ti and thematic analysis. The findings suggest that claims of the impact of teacher quality on students’ academic performance are indeed not overemphasised. However, they also show a systematic correlation between learner performance and teacher professional development rather than teacher quality alone. The study concludes that stakeholders must take full responsibility for learning by making holistic efforts towards teacher development and professionalism which are vital as long as teaching and learning remain an evolving practice.