TIMSS performance of Kosovar students: an analysis of teacher approaches and application in daily teaching and learning activities

ABSTRACT

A wide range of reforms to improve the teaching capacities of pre-service and in-service teachers have been carried out in Kosovo. In assessing the success of these previous interventions, large-scale assessment data is invaluable. In 2019, 4754 students from 145 schools participated in the TIMSS assessment. Results reveal that student's performance, in mathematics and science, is significantly higher when teachers are clear in their instructions, satisfied with their job, and have more teaching experience. Teacher qualifications also impact achievement, with students performing higher when the teacher only has a secondary education without a bachelor's degree. Students' higher readiness for instruction, preferences for the subjects, and confidence in their abilities are linked to higher literacy levels. Finally, TIMSS data of the 2019 study also raise questions regarding the type of homework assigned to students, the importance of experience over qualifications, and the academization of teacher preparation programs that may hinder practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher characteristics
• student achievement
• large-scale assessments
• Kosovo

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Albulene Grajcevci

Albulenë Grajcevci holds two doctorates in Educational Psychology and Education from Ludwig Maximilians University and Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Currently, she is doing her habilitation at Saarland University as well as working as a researcher at the Professional Development Institute PDI Kosovo. Her expertise is in educational psychology, with a special focus on student learning, conversational agents in education, and computer-supported collaborative learning.

Arif Shala

Arif Shala holds a PhD in Education from Ludwig Maximilians University in Germany and an MA degree in Education from Derby University UK. Currently, he is a post-doctoral researcher at Stuttgart University doing his habilitation on predictors of learning and achievement in Kosovo and Albania and a researcher at the Professional Development Institute PDI Kosovo. In addition, he currently holds a visiting professorship at the University of Continuing Education Krems. Prior to this, he has worked as a professor in higher education in Kosovo teaching in Early childhood education Bachelor programs. His research focuses on comparative educational research, student achievement and large-scale studies (PISA and TIMSS).