H. Daun, TEACHERS NEEDS, CULTURALLY-SIGNIFICANT TEACHER-EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL-ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT - THE CASE OF GUINEA-BISSAU, International journal of educational development, 17(1), 1997, pp. 59-71
Various studies demonstrate that school and teacher characteristics pl
ay an important role in pupil success This article presents the findin
gs from a study in Guinea-Bissau in which it is shown that the higher
educational level and the level of the teacher training and the school
buildings and equipment deemed appropriate do not always contribute t
o better pupil results Two principal and partially complementary inter
pretations of these results are made. First, in a society where the te
chnological level is very low and the school is distanced from the loc
al cultures, value-oriented factors count more than technical-material
factors in regard to pupil success Secondly, the standard of living t
hat the teachers have is so low that their basic needs are not met and
, consequently, they cannot give teaching tasks priority. Therefore, t
heir level of instruction and training does not make the difference it
would make otherwise. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd