Grève enseignante et réussite scolaire en Haïti: cas des élèves du secondaire 4 de la ville de Jacmel de 2018 à 2023

case of secondary 4 students in the city of Jacmel from 2018 to 2023

Abstract

This article examines how teacher strikes have affected the academic achievement of Grade 10/Secondary 4 students in Jacmel, Haiti, over the period 2018–2023, against the backdrop of recurring disruptions in public service delivery. The study aims to clarify the causal pathways through which instructional stoppages weaken learning outcomes and to identify the institutional drivers sustaining conflict in the education sector. Methodologically, it adopts a qualitative design, combining questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (school leaders, teachers, and students), and triangulating these accounts with available administrative data on official examination results. Findings indicate that repeated strikes significantly reduce instructional time, hinder syllabus completion, and translate into measurable and perceived declines in performance—particularly for examination cohorts—through heightened demotivation, repetition, dropout risks, and failure. The analysis also highlights how precarious employment conditions, unpaid arrears, and ineffective human-resource management contribute to strike recurrence and exacerbate systemic instability. The paper’s contribution lies in linking labor action, the legal-institutional framework of strikes, and student outcomes, while advancing policy-relevant avenues for reform, notably the stabilization of teachers’ employment status, timely compensation, and continuity mechanisms to protect learning during industrial action.