Deconstructing the Capacity for Quality Instruction in Science, Mathematics and Language Teaching and Learning in a Prim

1. 1 Deconstructing the Capacity for Quality Instruction in Science, Mathematics and Language Teaching and Learning in a Primary School 16 November 2006Makerere University, Uganda Promoting A Self-Reliant Approach To Basic Education Development in Africa Programme Loyiso C. Jita loyiso.jita@up.ac.za Matseliso L. Mokhele lineomats@yahoo.com University of Pretoria, South Africa

2. 2 Brief Recap of the South African Project Main Research Questions Approaches and Frameworks Feedback on Progress to date Future Plans and Way Forward Discussion of some findings “Deconstructing the Capacity for Quality Instruction”

3. 3 Phase 1 (2005/2006): Phase 2 (2006/2007): Phase 3 (2006/2007): Pilot phase (2 schools): develop and refine the instruments & techniques & data analysis approaches. Thorough discourse and training on instruments & methods. Identify collaborators & research students. Schools Workshop I: Identify schools/launch research Full Study (additional 2 schools) Focus of Investigation: Research Question 1, 2 (limited extent), 3 & 4. School’s Workshop II (Feedback & Discussion of Findings) Full Study (continued…add 2 more schools) Focus of Investigation: Research Question 2 & 5. Continue exploration of longitudinal aspects (how capacity changes over time; how it is lost, maintained and/or replenished over time). School’s Workshop III (Discussion of Final Report)

4. 4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: What makes two schools, with similar sets of resources, offer instruction of radically different qualities and/or to have markedly different student achievement levels?

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8. 8 Effective Schools Research (ESR) School Improvement Research (SIR) Improving Educational Quality (IEQ) Project

9. 9 CRITIQUE OF THE RESEARCH ?Plethora of studies (USAID/WB): developing a LIST of school characteristics & teacher behaviours associated with effective schools. Capacity viewed as deficit at school level (labs, textbooks, etc.) or at the level of teachers (knowledge, qualifications).

10. 10 Instructional Capacity Framework

11. 11 Longitudinal Qualitative Study (3-year period) Selection of School Sites: ? 6 schools ? Groups of 2 per area (different in terms of performance & quality of instruction). ? Sample Characteristics: mix of schools originally designed to serve the different population groups in RSA ? Special group of 2 rural schools.

12. 12 Phase 4 (2007/2008): Development of a Research Report and Several Articles for Publication. Conference Attendance and Presentation Dissemination and Sharing of Findings (Policy Briefs; Seminars; Newspapers etc.)

13. 13 Case Study Approach (in-depth analysis of complex issues involved in the construction of schools’ capacity). Multiple Case Studies… Although our unit of analysis: schools, the research is designed to capture the multi-dimensionality of the concept of capacity. Data Collection Techniques: Mixed Method (interviews—individual & focus groups, observations, etc.).

14. 14 Background Instructional Practices Reform practices and strategies Learner engagement Classroom discourse & Role of the teacher Conclusions and implications:

15. 15 Background located close to SA border with Mozambique and Swaziland Oldest school in the area (Build in the 60s) Educated many of the township’s older residents. learners reside in informal settlements ( mostly immigrants) few live in the oldest part of the village with grandparents less than 20% of parents can afford school fees of R80p/y-$12 lost a number of students and staff in five year period through the arrangements in the informal settlement and redeployment policy:750,697,650, 571,573 in 2002,2003,2004,2005 and 2006. 10 in 20 teachers were lost and 6 replaced. no principal for a few months (leadership uncertain)

16. 16 Background and Location

17. 17 Instructional Practices All teachers were experienced ( 12-22) years. Not all of them were certified to teach the subjects Reform practices and strategies all teachers engaged reform practices e.g. Relevance to real life , engagement in hands on activities and experiments. Learner engagement Engaged students fully (maths lessons) Made efforts, struggled with content knowledge (science lessons) Made efforts, failed to involve 80 % of the learners Classroom discourse & Role of the teacher Learner centered (maths lessons) Teacher talk dominated ( science lessons) Between the reform oriented maths and non reformed science lessons (English lessons)

18. 18 Conclusion One A school’s Capacity for Instruction is defined more accurately in terms of BOTH the individual and the organizational resources Implication of the Conclusion To construct a school’s Capacity for Instruction, we need to focus not only on adding individual teachers or other such resources BUT also to focus on institutional culture, development practices and the use of such resources in each organizational context.

19. 19 Conclusion Two Resources upon which Instructional Capacity is built are variable AND multifaceted. Implication of the Conclusion To help school’s construct their Capacity for High Quality Instruction, we need to do a careful analysis and description of all the different kinds of resources a school has access to and not just the monetary or physical resources.

20. 20 Conclusion Three A number of factors – some internal (to the school) AND others external (from the socio-political-economic environment) determine & shape a school’s Capacity for Instruction. Implication of the Conclusion School districts or regions can help schools build and retain Capacity for Instruction through some deliberate centralized and decentralized planning. Some interventions, e.g. on post provisioning need to be planned centrally for all schools in a area while other issues like allocations of subjects to teach still require careful planning at the school level.

21. 21 The study contributes to a broader understanding of what goes into making a school effective & in fostering quality learning in the specific subject areas. Findings present several characterizations of capacity in schools & the factors affecting its development & use under different conditions. School practitioners & policy-makers are presented with several models of how capacity has been constructed & utilized (for better or worse) in the different case study schools, thereby encouraging informed debate & choices in the service of school development and reform.