Teachers' Attitudes and Behaviors in Tanzania

Teachers’ stereotypes are recognized to be pervasive (Tiedemann 2002) and have consequences for children’s learning outcomes and educational choices (Carlana 2019). This literature overwhelmingly focuses on high-income settings and leaves largely unexplored the role of teacher biases in low-income countries -- where school settings have been consistently tasked with shaping children’s outcomes far beyond educational attainment, and therefore stakes seem to be even greater. In particular, teachers might prefer to pull resources towards pupils they prefer without realizing the perpetuation of the discrimination and poverty trap these choices support. In addition to immediate learning outcomes, one understudied area where this would matter is the cooperation, negotiation, and leadership skills kids develop throughout the schooling experience, especially in resource-scarce environments.

The proposed project explores this topic through two separate strategies. First, it aims to establish whether primary school teachers in Tanzania hold stereotyped beliefs and behavioral intentions about students based on students’ gender, religion, and personality, and whether they can be shaped by low-cost interventions highlighting teachers’ involvement in developing student’s leadership skills and social life. Second, to scope the feasibility of an RCT that establishes whether such trainings indeed trickle down to children’s skills and social life.