[colefichter]

Don't forget another important point here: most lecturers at the post-secondary level are not teachers. That is, most of them have little to no formal training in how to educate others. It still kind of blows my mind that, to my knowledge, not one of my university instructors/professors, despite being subject matter experts, is credentialed to teach children - at any grade level - in a public school.

[danieltillett]

Not only that, but it is likely that they will have received no teaching training at all. When I was hired as lecturer I was just told these are the classes you need to teach and then left on my own to figure it out.

[barry-cotter]

Teaching credentials do not effect teacher quality. Whether at primary or secondary level the best predictor is years of teaching experience, with measures of subject matter expertise (a Master's degree in the subject they're teaching, not education) and measures of general intelligence (IQ tests or close enough like GRE or SAT) also having large positive effects. The additional effects of more experience end at around six years experience.

Teaching qualifications have an effect on teacher performance that is not reliably distinguishable from zero.