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Every child in school and … learning well?

Every child in school and … learning well?. Evidence and experience from India. Lahore April 4 2012. Recent evidence. Schooling & learning : How much do we know about the “what” and the “why”?. ASER 2005 – 2011 (Annual Status of Education Report) All rural districts (575)

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Every child in school and … learning well?

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  1. Every child in school and … learning well? Evidence and experience from India Lahore April 4 2012

  2. Recent evidence Schooling & learning : How much do we know about the “what” and the “why”? • ASER 2005 – 2011 • (Annual Status of Education Report) • All rural districts (575) • Every year since 2005 • ASER is household survey • Basic assessment of : • Type of school • Reading • Arithmetic • INSIDE PRIMARY SCHOOLS 2011 • Study by ASER Centre, India • Followed a cohort of the same children (Std 2 & Std 4) in sample of govt. schools for 18 months • 5 states • 15 districts • 2009-2010 ~ 600,000 to 700,000 children each year ~ 300,000 households ~ 15,000 schools 900 schools 1700 classrooms 2200 teachers 24000 children

  3. Assumptions and reality -1 Assumption: High enrollment means children are in school Reality: Attendance varies a lot across the country Nationally, child attendance in primary schools has dropped from 73.4% in 2007 to 70.9% in 2011. This figure varies by state.

  4. Assumptions and reality -2 Assumption: Children start school at age 6 (RTE law in India) Reality: Many children are in school much before 6 • RTE guarantees education for the age group 6 to 14. • But ASER 2011 shows that in rural India, 57.8% of all five year olds are enrolled in school. • These figures vary by state. But very high proportion of 5 year olds in school in Punjab (77%), UP (65%), Rajasthan (76%). Source : ASER 2011

  5. Assumptions and reality -3 Assumption: Children in each class/grade are homogenous Reality: Class composition is complex… Std 4 class in Bihar AGE 51% children in Std 4 are 9 or 10 (“right age”) Rest of the children are younger or older LANGUAGE 53% of children sampled in ASER 2011 in Bihar speak a different language at home from the medium of instruction in school. (This data not aggregated by grade) MULTIGRADE 67% of Std 4 classes sit with at least one other grade if not more Source : ASER 2011

  6. Assumptions and reality -3 Assumption: Children in each class/grade are homogenous Reality: Diversity in learning levels in every grade …. Std 5 24% can read at Std 1 level 48% can read at Std 2 level This is the status of basic reading in 2011 in rural India. Huge implications for instruction & equity. 13% can read letters or less 15% can only read simple words Source: ASER 2011

  7. Assumptions and reality -4 Assumption:Every year the country’s capability to deliver education is improving …. Reality: India is in a “big stuck” & may be “declining” … %Children who can read at Std 2 level “Desired” level What are we doing year on year to move children from the actual level towards the “desired” level of basic reading? Actual level Source: ASER 2006-2011

  8. Assumptions and reality -4 Assumption:Child in any grade/class has mastered content and skills expected in previous grade/class . Reality: Most children are at least two grades behind… % Std 4 students who can: % Std 2 students who can: Expected in Std 3/4 Expected in Std 1/2 Source : Inside Primary Schools (2011). 24,000 students tracked - 18 months.

  9. Assumptions and reality -5 Assumption: Textbooks are at appropriate age/grade level Reality: Textbook level for a specific grade is too difficult for most children % Std 2 students who could only read two letter words and not more Extract from the Std 1 language textbook in Rajasthan Source : Inside Primary Schools (2011).900 schools visited 3 times in 2 years.

  10. Assumptions and reality -6 Assumption: Anyone can teach primary classes, its easy. This study explored teacher capability to teach in new ways Teachers’ capacity to teach assessed using following domains Example from teacher survey : • Identifying mistakes made by children & helping to correct them • Explaining content in simple and systematic ways • Summarizing/explaining text • Generating your own problems using local context (maths) Source : Inside Primary Schools (2011)

  11. Assumptions and reality -6 Assumption: Anyone can teach primary classes, its easy. Reality: No, it isn’t… Here is an example from arithmetic Teachers were asked to do these questions (Std 4/5 level) Source : Inside Primary Schools (2011)

  12. Assumptions and reality -6 Assumption: Anyone can teach primary classes, its easy. Reality: No, it isn’t… Here is an example Teachers were given a section from a Std 4 text book chapter and asked to summarize the main points in simple language that children could grasp. Source : Inside Primary Schools (2011)

  13. Assumptions and reality -7 Assumption: Knowing theory is enough to change practice. Reality: Teachers understand the importance of child friendly practices. But classrooms are not friendly at all. • None of 6 ‘child friendly’ indicators observed in 40% of all classrooms • >3 ‘child friendly’ indicators observed in 9% of all classrooms

  14. What works –Case 1 : Punjab Assumption: Teaching by grade level is the best thing to do Reality: Re-grouping children by level accelerated learning Example : Purrho Punjab : Clear set of basic learning goals For 2 hours a day, primary school was reorganized – from grade wise grouping to level wise grouping. Each group was called “mahal”. All training, materials, monitoring aligned to support the achievement of basic learning goals.

  15. What works –Case 2: Bihar Assumption: Teachers cannot bring about the change needed Reality: Teachers could make a big change Example : Bihar 2008 Summer Camps All across Bihar in every school there was a summer camp in June 2008 for one month. This camp was for children in Std 3-4-5 who were not yet at Std 2 level. School teachers taught in these camps. JPAL-MIT did a randomized evaluation. Findings : Significant improvement in basic reading and arithmetic for the target children. This increase gave the children an advantage for more than 2 years. Non-target children did not benefit as much .

  16. Concluding thoughts Almost every child is in school. Urgent thinking and action is needed in order to guarantee eight years of quality education to every child and adequate learning outcomes. • On goals : Clear achievable learning goals need to be articulated by government and understood by parents & teachers. • On the teaching side, specifying minimum qualifications is necessary but not sufficient to ensure good teaching. Serious thought needs to be given to developing ongoing systems to provide teachers with the abilities and skills they need in order to teach well. • On the learning side, each school’s resources (people, time and space) need to be organized using children’s current abilities as the starting point. In particular, textbooks need to be realistic, designed with clear learning goals and sequenced in developmentally appropriate ways. Special focus on and care for the first two grades in school.

  17. Future directions What do we want our children to learn? We need to set standards. Goals should be achievable. Raise basic reading, writing and arithmetic levels. Lower the curricular expectations. All activities related to teaching and learning need to be aligned to achieving these learning standards in our schools and within the system. This includes teacher training, on-going monitoring in schools, curriculum, assessment and review. Large scale immediate corrective action is needed in primary schools to strengthen basic skills and then to move children towards grade level learning.

  18. For more information : rukmini.banerji@pratham.org contact@asercentre.org info@pratham.org ASER Centre is an autonomous unit of Pratham ASER Centre B 4/54 Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110 029 +91 11 2671 6084 contact@asercentre.org

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