What are the Impacts and Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies to Improve Performance of Untrained and Under-Trained Teachers in the Classroom in Developing Countries?

There is an urgent need to understand better the processes and outcomes involved in the classroom performance of untrained or under-trained teachers (UUTs) in the teacher workforce and to investigate the various ways in which such teachers get a belated education, training or upgrading. This review explored the following research question:

What are the impacts and cost-effectiveness of strategies to improve performance of untrained and under-trained teachers in the classroom in low and middle-income countries?

This was done through the following sub-questions:

• How do UUTs perform in the classroom, and what factors affect their performance?
• What forms of intervention have been used to attempt to improve the performance of these teachers?
• How have these interventions affected these teachers’ methods, skills and motivation, the performance of their pupils, and the satisfaction of parents, headteachers and other stakeholders?
• What is the available evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such interventions, and what are the factors that may influence these in different settings?