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Teachers were given a series of statements about the resources available to them and were asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with them. Reponses could be ‘Strongly agree’, ‘Agree’, ‘Disagree’, or ‘Strongly disagree’. These statements were focused around two key resources: the space and the time available to teachers to teach and to manage learning.
Space available for teachers
Teachers were asked to indicate their agreement with two statements about the availability of space: ‘I have adequate space in my classroom for all my students’; and ‘I have a space to do my work in the school’. Both touch on crucial issues for teachers, their ability to deliver effective learning and their ability to perform supporting activities, such as marking, lesson planning and administration.
The graphic shows the proportion of students with teachers in Marshall Islands who agreed with each statement about the amount of space available to them (‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’).
The results show that, across both grade levels, most students (more than 75%) had teachers who agreed or strongly agreed they had adequate space in their classroom for their students and had teachers who agreed that they had a space to do their work in school, Table TT2.3. These are high proportions, but it is noticeable that grade seven students were less likely than grade five students to have teachers who felt they had adequate space in their classroom and to do their work.
Teacher's time
Teachers were asked to indicate their agreement with five statements related to the adequacy of time they had available for defined areas of their work. Table TT2.4 details the results of these questions by the grade level of the students.
Over 90% of grade five students in Marshall Islands had teachers who agreed they had enough time to complete the required mathematics, reading and writing lessons. For grade seven students, these figures were still high, but lower than those for grade five students. Over 80% of grade seven students had teachers who agreed they had enough time to complete the required mathematics and reading lessons; for writing, this was 72% of students.
On average, one third of grade five students, and four out of ten grade seven students had teachers who indicated they did not have enough time to work with students who are slow learners. This was the area with the lowest proportion of students with teachers in agreement.
On average, across both grade levels, more than 80% of students in Marshall Islands had teachers who agreed that they spend an appropriate amount of time on administrative work.
What does this mean?
Most students in Marshall Islands have teachers who agree they have enough space in their classrooms for all students and a space at school to do work. However, the results also imply that a minority of teachers are experiencing potential challenges with the space they have at schools.
The PILNA 2021 programme also collected information about school leaders’ perceptions of school resources. These are found in the school leaders’ section.
Regarding teachers’ time, most students in Marshall Islands have teachers who agree they have enough time to complete lessons in mathematics, reading and writing. Two areas of concern emerge. Firstly, the lower number of grade seven students who feel they have enough time to complete lessons when compared to grade five students. Secondly, teachers’ ability to accommodate slow learners. A large proportion of students in both grade levels have teachers who think they do not have enough time to work with slow learners. More than one out of three learners in Marshall Islands schools may not get the teacher support they need if they fall behind or are slow to absorb new concepts.
