More than half of Mexico teachers attributed the negative results of students on the National Assessment of Academic Achievement in Schools (LINK) to "external factors" beyond their teaching of classes, according to a study by the Institute of Development and Educational Research (IFIE).
This civil association, sponsored by private companies, interviewed a sample of teachers, parents and principals of public and private schools in 25 states of the country in which the teachers justified the lack of student knowledge as being due to where they live and their families, according to the National Survey of Basic Education (ENEB) presented by IFIE.
Some 57% of teachers said they considered social inequality in their regions, coupled with economic and family problems of students, as the causes for basic level students [elementary and middle school] across the country attaining bad results on the ENLACE [LINK] achievement test.
But the ENEB survey found that teachers who said they were "satisfied" with the results of the ENLACE test are those who accept that they themselves are responsible for the test performance.
"We know that everything greatly influences the performance of students, but when there are effective teachers, they can counteract the weight of socioeconomic factors and make a difference," said Marinela Servitje, president of the board of IFIE.The results of last year's ENLACE tests revealed that eight out of 10 Mexican students finish middle school with significant deficiencies in math and reading comprehension skills. The test is given at the elementary and middle school levels.
The teachers expressed that one of their greatest dissatisfactions in education is "the lack of cooperation from parents" in school activities of their children. Most parents interviewed acknowledged that the main objective of their visits to schools is "attending festivals, civic celebrations or ceremonies" not for evaluation meetings or to sign report cards.
Another negative factor, from the teachers' perspective, is that they have to attend to many students at once. The average number of students at the elementary level was 31 students per class, while middle school teachers said they serve about 167 students, on average.
...Nearly 88% of teachers surveyed nationally admitted that classes had been suspended for nine days or less in a year.
Just over half of the parents in the survey said that the "poor performance" of some teachers has implications for the profession.
Just over half of the parents in the survey said that the "poor performance" of some teachers has implications for the profession.
"The survey shows a great deal of support by parents for the educational reform issues, such as evaluating teachers and principals. Education reform provides the opportunity for teachers to professionalize their work, but this requires supporting them. Teachers are very alone," said Milagros Fernandez, director of IFIE.Another aspect the ENEB surveyed was school bullying, which increases with the advancing grade level of children. While in elementary school, 18% of teachers reported an incident, in middle school it reached 35%.
In Mexico, seven out of 10 teachers are women at the elementary level, and the average age of all teachers in the country was 41.5 years. In addition, 72% of teachers have a bachelor's degree currently, according to the survey.
Teachers interviewed said they read about three books a year, but at the time of the interview, four in 10 could not remember the title or author of the work they said they had read.
The survey was conducted by Berumen and Associates consulting firm in 25 of the 32 states of the country between September 24 and November 9, 2012. A total of 7,335 interviews were conducted with teachers, principals and parents from public and private schools, with a margin of error of + / - 4.5%, and is representative of the Mexican educational landscape, said IFIE. Spanish original