Bootstrapping Efficiency in Education: A Multi-Stage DEA Analysis With TIMSS Data

Abstract

Ineffective use of resources and suboptimal management at the school level can detrimentally affect human resource development and labour market outcomes. Therefore, efficiently managing human and physical resources is crucial to transforming school inputs into improved educational outcomes. This study assesses the effectiveness of educational systems worldwide and explores the extent and implications of resource and human management inefficiencies at an international level. It focuses specifically on the portion of the TIMSS exam administered to 4th graders. The objective is to uncover gaps in contextual factors that influence learning and identify areas of inefficiency. The study employs non-parametric bootstrap data envelopment analysis to calculate relative efficiency scores for different countries. Countries that utilise educational inputs in mathematics and science most effectively include Denmark, Germany and Hungary. These regions operate near optimal levels, nearly maximising input utilisation to produce the expected educational outputs. Conversely, Montenegro, the United Arab Emirates and Bosnia-Herzegovina are the least efficient. Further analysis using Tobit regression in the second stage of the study suggests that resource utilisation and management significantly impact the input-focused efficiency of schools in various countries. The findings reveal that the schools' inefficiencies arise from a lack of mathematics and science education resources and poor management and utilisation.