Influence of Teaching Skills and Training Methodology on Performance of Learners with Visual Impairment in Public Primary Schools in Narok West Sub-County, Kenya.

The study sought to assess the influence of teaching skills and training methodology on the performance of learners with visual impairment in public primary schools in Narok West Sub-County, Kenya. The study analysed past theories related to the topic under the theoretical review that is Education Production Function (EPF) theory. The researcher used a descriptive research design to capture the information on the influence of teaching skills and training methodology. The findings indicated that teaching skills and training methodology influence the performance of learners with visual impairment in public primary schools in the Narok West Sub-County

TEACHER EFFECTS ON HIGH SCHOOLACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SCORES: A CASE STUDY OF BUSIA COUNTY, KENYA

ABSTRACT This study sought to analyze teacher effects on high school academic achievement scores in Busia County, Kenya. The study was based on the education production function theory. A descriptive survey research design was employed. A sample of 236 teachers and 755 students was used. Self administered questionnaires were used to collect data and test re-test was used to ascertain reliability of the instrument. Descriptive statistics namely; percentages, frequencies, mean, and standard deviations were used to carry out preliminary data analysis. Inferential statistics specifically correlation and regression coefficients were then used to test hypotheses. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model effect of selected teacher variables on school academic achievement scores. Findings of the study were presented in tables and figures. Findings of the study suggested that the number of teachers, teacher commitment and teachers covering missed lessons had statistically significant effects on school academic achievement scores. Key words: Teacher Variables, Academic Achievement Scores, Kenya

Influence of Instructional Resources Provision and Performance in Mathematics Subject in Public Girls Secondary Schools Baringo Central Sub-County

This paper looks at the contribution of instructional resources towards the performance of girls in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination mathematics in girls’ secondary schools in Baringo Central. Based on Hanushek, education production function theory, the instructional resources were considered critical inputs for ensuring the output (examinations performance in mathematics by girls’ students) is attained. The study targeted mathematics Heads of Department, mathematics teachers and girls enrolled in 6 girls’ secondary schools in Baringo Central Sub County, Kenya. A sample of 6 HODs, 18 mathematics teachers and 166 girls were selected to participate in the study. The research found out that all respondents said that adequate provision of infrastructural and educational resources did have a significant effect (p<0.05) on girls’ performance in mathematics in the six public secondary schools. Schools that had inadequate learning resources performed poorly compared to those that had adequate instructional materials. The paper recommends that there is a need for the government of Kenya to equip all schools with necessary supportive infrastructure (electricity, internet and computers) to facilitate instruction in the current digital age. In addition, teachers need to improve their knowledge and skills in using information technological resources.

The Effects of Demographic Mismatch in an Elite Professional School Setting

Ten years of administrative data from a diverse, private, top-100 law school are used to examine the ways in which female and nonwhite students benefit from exposure to demographically similar faculty in first-year, required law courses. Arguably, causal impacts of exposure to same-sex and same-race instructors on course-specific outcomes such as course grades are identified by leveraging quasi-random classroom assignments and a two-way (student and classroom) fixed effects strategy. Having an other-sex instructor reduces the likelihood of receiving a good grade (A or A–) by 1 percentage point (3 percent) and having an other-race instructor reduces the likelihood of receiving a good grade by 3 percentage points (10 percent). The effects of student–instructor demographic mismatch are particularly salient for nonwhite and female students. These results provide novel evidence of the pervasiveness of demographic-match effects and of the graduate school education production function.

Vocational Teacher Productivity in Palembang: Education Production Function

In education sector the direct estimates of worker productivity are available for the majority of the workforce. In recent years, educational economists examine productivity returns to work experience among teachers using predicted contributions to increase student test scores as a proxy for productivity. Teacher productivity in the labor economy is measured using the education production function model. An education production function is an application of the economic concept of a production function to the field of education. It relates various inputs affecting a student's learning (schools, families, peers, neighborhoods, etc.) to measured outputs including subsequent labor market success, college attendance, graduation rates, and, most frequently, standardized test scores. This study was aimed to determine the effect of wages, level of education and training toward honorary teachers’ productivity in Palembang. The data used in this study were primary data in the form of questionnaires which were asked directly to the respondents with a total number of 310 respondents from 28 private vocational schools in Palembang. Survey was used as the data collection method with proportional random sampling withdrawal. Data analysis method used in this study was multiple regression with OLS method. The results of this study indicated that wages, education and training affect the productivity of private vocational school teachers in Palembang. The coefficient of determination for the variable of wages, education and training was 65%. It showed that wages, education, and training had 65% effects on productivity and the remaining 35% was influenced by other variables. As the research results show, the productivity was very important in measuring the success of an employee. It can be seen by paying attention to the level of wages, education and training participated by teachers in a school institution, especially in Palembang.

Theories and Concepts in Vocationalism

This chapter starts by introducing an economic concept in education called education production function. Then it establishes the critical quality dimensions of students' learning outcomes. Broadly, the literature on student learning outcomes were divided into two sections: college resources and student engagement. A conceptual framework drawn from the college impact models was developed. Four representative models were reviewed: Astin's I-E-O Model, Tinto's Theoretical Model of Drop-Out, Pascarella's General Model for Assessing Change, and Weidman's Model of Undergraduate Socialization. The theory behind these models is engrossed on the quality of students' experience in colleges and how it facilitates their academic achievement. Based on these models, a new conceptual model of college outcomes was developed that is simplified and more inclusive of variables encircling learning outcomes of college students.

The Mechanics of Treatment-effect Estimate Bias for Nonexperimental Data

To measure “treatment” effects, social science researchers typically rely on nonexperimental data. In education, school and teacher effects on students are often measured through value-added models (VAMs) that are not fully understood. We propose a framework that relates to the education production function in its most flexible form and connects with the basic VAMs without using untenable assumptions. We illustrate how, due to measurement error (ME), cross-group imbalances created by nonrandom group assignment cause correlations that drive the models’ treatment-effect estimate bias. We derive formulas to calculate bias and rank the models and show that no model is better in all situations. The framework and formulas’ workings are verified and illustrated via simulation. We also evaluate the performance of latent variable/errors-in-variables models that handle ME and study the role of extra covariates including lags of the outcome.

Combining behavioral economics and field experiments to reimagine early childhood education

Behavioral economics and field experiments within the social sciences have advanced well beyond academic curiosum. Governments around the globe as well as the most powerful firms in modern economies employ staffs of behavioralists and experimentalists to advance and test best practices. In this study, we combine behavioral economics with field experiments to reimagine a new model of early childhood education. Our approach has three distinct features. First, by focusing public policy dollars on prevention rather than remediation, we call for much earlier educational programs than currently conceived. Second, our approach has parents at the center of the education production function rather than at its periphery. Third, we advocate attacking the macro education problem using a public health methodology, rather than focusing on piecemeal advances.