Do Postgraduate Qualifications Enhance Teaching Outcomes? The Perspectives of Iraqi English Teachers

Abstract

Postgraduate study is wdely assumed to make teachers better at their work. In many educational systems, it is formally rewarded through promotion, salary scales, and eligibility for senior positions. However, the evidence base for this assumption is rarely examined, and almost none of it is drawn from Iraq. This study examined whether Iraqi teachers of English believe that holding a master's degree or a doctorate improves what they achieve in the classroom. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used. In Stage1 of the study, 214 Iraqi EFL teachers working in public secondary schools completed the Perceived Teaching Outcomes Scale (PTOS), a 28-item instrument with four subscales. One-way analyses of variance compared teachers holding a bachelor's degree only (n = 118), a master's degree (n = 74), and a doctorate (n = 22). In Stage 2, 12 survey respondents were purposively sampled for semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Quantitative results showed large, statistically significant differences by qualification on Pedagogical Content Knowledge, F(2, 211) = 12.87, p < .001, η² = .109, and on Professional Agency and Research Literacy, F(2, 211) = 32.46, p < .001, η² = .235, but no significant differences on Classroom Practice or Perceived Learner Outcomes. Interview data show that teachers described postgraduate study as transforming how they understood their work and how they positioned themselves professionally. On the other hand, structural conditions such as examination washback, a prescribed textbook, class sizes above forty, and limited pedagogical autonomy constrained what they could translate into practice. The findings suggest that in the Iraqi context postgraduate qualifications operate more powerfully on teacher cognition and professional identity than on observable classroom outcomes.