Research studies are constantly being carried out in almost every subject area that there is in the world. In some cases, I am surprised that a study is even needed to tell researchers what common sense should be telling them. Education is far from being exempt from the studies.
One recent study finding that I read dealt with teacher experience and student achievement. The study found that students with experienced teachers did better than students with inexperienced teachers.
When comparing the teachers’ degrees and the teachers’ experience, the study found that the teacher’s experience has more of an impact on the students’ performance than the teacher’s level of education.
The study showed that the greatest difference in student achievement and teacher experience from year to year was found during the first five years. An experienced teacher with a lower level of education showed higher student performance than a new teacher with a higher level of education.
As a general rule, teachers are paid according to two terms, experience and education. However, education has more of an impact on the teacher’s salary than experience. According to this study, a greater focus needs to be placed on pay for experience rather than level of education.
I can completely agree with this study. Teaching experience is the best education any teacher can receive. No college instructor, rather it be for a bachelor’s degree or doctorate degree, can prepare teachers for the daily encounters that they will come across when teaching. Incidents happen and teachers must make decisions that most instructors never even mention in the college classroom setting.
Much of the art of teaching comes from trial and error and learning what works best for you and for your students. This can only be gained from experience in the classroom. I know my level of confidence as a teacher grew tremendously between my first year and my fifth year. Many first year teachers are stressed and overwhelmed. This, I am sure, reflects on the performance of the students.