Teacher recruitment and retention is global issue. Around the world, the pool of teacher candidates has varying degrees of access to other jobs and other sources of income. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a series of mining booms is affecting who selects a teaching career, and how committed teachers are to their profession.

Poli Natama, a University of Toronto researcher, examined the teaching profession in the context of the booms that were prompted by increases in international mineral prices during the early 2000s. Artisanal mining, where individuals can mine independently on a small scale using their own resources, is a large feature of this economic phenomenon.

In the context of the new wealth and opportunity created by the mining booms, Natama asked two key questions: Does mining attract or repel qualified individuals into (or from) the teaching profession? And, how does mining affect the efforts that teachers put into their roles? [Read more…]