Does Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Affect Students’ Academic Performance? Evidence from China

Abstract

Pre-service teacher preparation (PSTP) is generally considered a significant predictor of student achievements. This paper adopted a multi-tier linear model to estimate the PSTP effects on student performance by taking teachers and students in the high schools of Haidian District, Beijing, China, as the research population. It used exploratory factor analysis to classify PSTP into two categories: content knowledge preparation and pedagogical content knowledge preparation; and described the status of PSTP in three subjects: Chinese, mathematics, and chemistry. The study found differences in PSTP by subject. In Chinese, teachers’ content knowledge preparation significantly negatively affected student performance, and their pedagogical content knowledge preparation significantly positively influenced student performance. In mathematics, PSTP had no significant effect on student performance. In chemistry, teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge preparation had a significantly negative effect on student performance. Based on the findings of the empirical study, the study proposes further identifying PSTP’s role in student performance by subject, strengthening the focus on pre-service preparation skills in recruiting Chinese and chemistry teachers, and developing a more suitable system for teacher selection and training.