Quality of Malaysian teachers based on education and training. A benefit and earnings returns analysis using human capital theory
| Pages | 303-316 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-06-2016-0032 |
| Date | 03 July 2017 |
| Published date | 03 July 2017 |
| Author | Ramlee Ismail,Marinah Awang |
Quality of Malaysian teachers
based on education and training
A benet and earnings returns analysis using
human capital theory
Ramlee Ismail
Department of Economics, Faculty of Management and Economics,
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim, Malaysia, and
Marinah Awang
Department of Education Management,
Faculty of Management and Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris,
Tanjung Malim, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the quality of teachers based on education and
training provided under new reform policies in Malaysia affects their earnings outcomes. The study
conducted a benet and returns analysis guided by human capital theory.
Design/methodology/approach –The study used survey research methods to investigate human
capital formation in the teaching profession using teachers’ qualications, benets and private rate of returns
as key variables in the estimation.
Findings –Earnings and experience levels were highly correlated with teachers’ education levels, as
suggested by human capital theory. The private rate of returns in earnings for each additional year of
schooling of teachers was found to lie between 3 and 4 per cent per year. Discrepancies were apparent in
teachers’ qualications and licensure levels regionally and at academic levels, as expected. These correlated
with earning levels.
Practical implications –Improvements in teachers’ salary and employment opportunities will attract
higher quality graduates to the teaching profession. Teachers’ annual earnings in Malaysia are comparable to
other public sector and private professional jobs in the nation but lag far behind those of the world’s top
education systems. Increasing teachers’ earnings will attract better qualied teachers. Policymakers could
address these issues.
Originality/value –This paper demonstrates the utility of economic analyses in terms of earnings returns,
to evaluate the Malaysian policy of upgrading teachers’ qualications as a mechanism to improve the overall
quality of schooling. Such studies are rare but needed to understand the benets and returns of policy-driven
teacher education and training investments. This study provides new evidence of schooling returns using a
recent, national data set.
Keywords Human capital, Malaysia, Quality, Returns to education, Teacher quality, Schooling,
Teachers’ Education, Malaysian education system
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Teacher quality based on education and income levels
Teacher quality remains a crucial issue for the Malaysian education system. The
government acknowledged that the system needs an urgent overhaul based on the release of
secondary students’ performance reports on international assessments, including the
Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in Mathematics and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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Benet and
earnings
returns
analysis
303
Received 22 June 2016
Revised 26 October 2016
30 April 2017
2 May 2017
Accepted 2 May 2017
QualityAssurance in Education
Vol.25 No. 3, 2017
pp.303-316
©Emerald Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/QAE-06-2016-0032
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