Examining the Influence of University Teachers’ Qualification and Experience on Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics

Abstract

Aims: This study aims to examine the effect of qualification and experience level on students’ academic achievement in mathematic in five colleges under the Royal University of Bhutan.  Study Design: It is a quantitative study where the researcher tests the significance of the difference                             in the mean academic achievement of the students concerning teachers’ qualifications and experience                  level. Place and Duration of Study: Five colleges under the Royal University of Bhutan spread across five districts in Bhutan were considered for the study between July 2020 and July 2021. Methodology: A sample of 25 university mathematics teachers (21 males, 4 females) who taught mathematics from 2018 to 2020 were selected through a simple random sampling. The data was collected in two parts: one the mathematics marks of the modules taught by the 25 teachers from the year 2018 to 2020 was obtained from the respective college's exam records through an official correspondence; second, the information on the perception of these 25 teachers was obtained online through self-administered survey questionnaires.  Results: The result from the two way ANOVA revealed no statistically significant difference between qualifications (Masters and PhD) on students’ academic achievement (F (1, 19) = 3.653, P = 0.07) and between experience levels on students’ academic achievement (F (3, 19) = 0.493, P = 0.69). In contrast, the perception of the teachers is that the higher level of qualifications and experience levels would have a more positive effect on students’ academic achievement. Conclusion: The qualification and experience have a positive effect on students academic achievement but the effects are not significant.