Exhibits 9.5 and 9.6 present fourth grade teachers’ reports about their majors or specializations in primary education and/or mathematics and in primary education and/or science, respectively. Exhibits 9.7 and 9.8 present eighth grade teachers’ reports about their majors or specializations in mathematics and/or mathematics education and in science and/or science education, respectively. For each category of teachers’ major or specialization, average student achievement is also shown.

As shown in Exhibit 9.5, on average across countries, three-quarters of fourth grade students were taught by teachers with a major in primary education and a major or specialization in mathematics (32%) or by teachers with a major in primary education but no major or specialization in mathematics (43%), and just 11 percent were taught by teachers with a major in mathematics but not primary education. Another 8 percent were taught by teachers who had some other major, and 6 percent by teachers with no formal education beyond upper-secondary. The distribution of students by teachers’ major was similar for science (shown in Exhibit 9.6), with 28 percent of fourth grade students taught by science teachers with a major in primary education and science, 44 percent by teachers with a major in primary education but not in science, 13 percent by teachers with a major in science but not primary education, and 9 and 5 percent by teachers with other majors or no education beyond upper-secondary, respectively. In both mathematics and science, there was considerable variation in the distribution of students by teachers’ majors across countries, however, reflecting countries’ different education pathways and requirements for primary school teachers.

On average across countries, mathematics achievement was highest for fourth grade students whose teachers had a major in primary education but no major in mathematics (503), followed by students with teachers with a major in both primary education and mathematics (497), and then by students with teachers who majored in mathematics but not primary education (487) and teachers who had other majors (490). Students whose teachers did not go beyond upper-secondary education had the lowest average mathematics achievement (457). Likewise, for science, students who had teachers with a major in primary education but no major in science and students who had teachers with a major in primary education and science had the highest average achievement (491 and 489, respectively), followed by students whose teachers majored in science but not primary education (480), and then by students who had teachers with other majors (478). Students whose teachers had no formal education beyond upper-secondary had the lowest average science achievement (442). However, within most countries, there was no clear relationship between teachers’ major and average achievement in mathematics and science.

As shown in Exhibit 9.7, about three-quarters (78%) of eighth grade students were taught mathematics by teachers who had a major in mathematics and mathematics education (39%) or who majored in mathematics but not in mathematics education (39%). A further 11 percent were taught by teachers who majored in mathematics education only, and 10 percent by teachers with other majors. A slightly higher percentage (83%) of eighth grade students were taught science by teachers who majored in science and science education (33%) or in science but not in science education (50%), as shown in Exhibit 9.8. A further 9 percent were taught by teachers who majored in science education but not science and 6 percent by teachers with other majors. Internationally, just 1 percent of eighth grade students were taught mathematics or science by teachers who had not completed formal education beyond upper-secondary.

In mathematics, eighth grade students with teachers who majored in mathematics and mathematics education or in mathematics education but not mathematics had higher average achievement than students with teachers who majored in mathematics and not mathematics education (averages scores of 492 and 494 compared with 488, respectively). That was not the case in all countries, however, and in many countries, there was no clear relationship between teachers’ major and average mathematics achievement. In science, eighth grade students whose teachers majored in science and science education or in science but not science education had higher average scores than students whose teachers majored in science education but not science (494 and 491 compared with 482, respectively). However, within most countries, there was no clear relationship between teachers’ major and average achievement science.