Editorial – Contrast

They are young and say they are motivated and committed… They feel socially valued, have excellent relationships with their colleagues and superiors, and the overwhelming majority (92%) say they are generally satisfied with their job, according to the OECD’s TALIS 2024 survey of primary and secondary school teachers in Morocco.
The survey polled nearly 4,000 teachers from 200 schools in each country (around 50 countries in total). These sentiments contrast with the image of angry and demotivated teachers who have been protesting and striking for years (until the end of 2023) to change their status and secure a pay rise.
According to the survey, despite their lack of resources, Moroccan teachers now seem to have certain assets that enable them to thrive. 74% even say that teaching was their first calling (compared to 58% internationally), which should normally push them to exceed their limits and raise the standard of education.
However, even with motivated and committed profiles, the battle to reform public education would only be half won, as nothing could make up for the skills gap. Moreover, the quality of initial training for Moroccan teachers remains below the international average, according to the survey. Support and mentoring also remain weak, as does continuing education.
Also, beware of “excessive” satisfaction. Despite the mediocre performance of public schools, our teachers are more satisfied with the achievement of their educational goals than the OECD average. Ten years ago, in the TIMSS survey assessing science and math learning, more than 93% of students had teachers who said they were satisfied with their own work, while that year Morocco was ranked 47th out of 49 countries …

L’article Editorial – Contrast est apparu en premier sur L'Economiste.