Utrecht UniversityResearch Master Human Geography

[International Development]Mid-term Presentation

5 February 2013

The mismatch between the national curriculum and the ‘classroom reality’ in government primary schools

in Namasale Sub-County, Amolatar District, Northern Uganda

Which factors are likely to support or hinder rural education?

Content

• Background

• Theoretical Framework

• Research Methods

• Preliminary Results

• Conclusion + Discussion

But first…

What made your school good?Which factors are important to make education possible?

[basic requirements, preconditions and capabilities]

Now think of these factors in a rural primary school in Northern Uganda…

…Think of your time in primary school

Factors affecting performance

Geography

Aim of this research

Aim: This research tries to explain the failure of a curriculum reform to improve the quality of education in rural government primary schools on the basis of unmet preconditions for implementation in rural areas

Themes:• General progress in the quality of education • Whether or not basic requirements, preconditions and other

capabilities for successful curriculum implementation are present (e.g.: presence of clean water, food, sanitation facilities, shelter, teacher training, remuneration)

• Additional factors which are likely to support or hinder teaching and learning, specifically in rural schools

Curriculum ImplementationThe analytical framework

Source: Altinyelken 2010: 153 (based on Rogan and Grayson 2003)

Capability ApproachCapability Approach towards school improvement interventions: School Development Index (Tao 2010)

Capabilities 1) Basic survival capabilities

2) Mental well-being, bodily integrity,

social networks, respect and

recognition,

voice, freedom to act and freedom to

aspire

3) Having a well-managed school with

adequate resources

4) Teacher capability to manage a class

5) Teacher capability of accessing in-

service training

6) Teacher capability of being

adequately remunerated

7) Student capability of parental

support

8) Student capability of accessing

appropriate pedagogies

School Development IndicatorsClean water

Sanitation

Shelter (teachers housing)

Fear of violence

Discrimination

Harassment by (head)teachers

Able to work without feeling hungry, tired and ill?

Respect and recognition

School Management

School infrastructure

Learning materials

Teacher workload

Enrolment ratios of teachers for in-service

training sessions

Teacher salary relative to cost of living

Completion rates

Parental support

Pedagogical methods used in classroom

Why combination of theories?

CA gives deeper insight in performance on school level vs. national level curriculum development

“The critical link between ‘the big idea’ and changing actual classroom practice must be acknowledged, ” (Chisholm and Leyendecker 2008)

“Bottom-up changes are most important: deep and enduring” (Sergiovanni 1998)

Research Methods

• 3 months in Uganda

• 10-day fieldwork in Namasale sub-county– 4 government primary schools

• 33 Semi-structured interviews

• 5 Group talks with (head-)teachers/students

• 8 Observation reports

• Additional: DevEd participatory assessment in July 2012.

Capabilities

1) Basic survival capabilities

2) Mental well-being, bodily integrity,

social networks, respect and

recognition,

voice, freedom to act and freedom to

aspire

3) Having a well-managed school with

adequate resources

4) Teacher capability to manage a class

5) Teacher capability of accessing in-

service training

6) Teacher capability of being

adequately remunerated

7) Student capability of parental

support

8) Student capability of accessing

appropriate pedagogies

School Development Indicators

Clean water

Sanitation

Shelter (teachers housing)

Fear of violence

Discrimination

Harassment by (head)teachers

Able to work without feeling hungry, tired and ill?

Respect and recognition

School Management

School infrastructure

Learning materials

Teacher workload

Enrolment ratios of teachers for in-service

training sessions

Teacher salary relative to cost of living

Completion rates

Parental support

Child Center Pedagogy: new teaching and learning

methods introduced

Result

Borehole present at schools, serves entire

community

Not enough and in very bad condition

Not enough and in bad condition

Corporal punishment present

Not observed

Not observed

Often no food provided by school and parents.

Child labour present + domestic chores

Little respect for profession

SMC active, but need training

Not enough and in bad condition

Very low Book-Pupil Ratio

Very high Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Not much training provided (in schools) or

distance to the tutor center is too far

Salary has been increased, but still too little to

support family.

No other remuneration

Low. Very high drop-out rate

Drop-out increases in higher classes

Some new teaching methods are used

Results [1]

Results [2]

Analytical Framework of Curriculum Implementation:

• Profile of implementation:– Coverage of learning areas > focus on literacy, numeracy & life skills– Language of instruction > PROBLEM!– Classroom interactions > still a lot of rote teaching– Assessment practices > Continuous assessment misunderstood & exam-oriented teaching

• Capacity factors: – Physical resources > lacking and in bad condition– School ethos and management > SMCs, but still in development– Teacher factors > low motivation, underpaid, little training– Student factors > low motivation, little parental support, NO FOOD!

• Support from outside agencies:– Teacher professional development > little to none. CCTs not able to provide in-service training. – Provision of physical resources > Problem!! Buildings are in bad condition and learning

materials absent.– Monitoring > monitoring and inspection is failing

Conclusion

• In general: very poor situation– Parents: not supportive of education– Teachers: absent, not motivated, underpaid, little training– Children: high drop-out rate [boys fishing, girls domestic chores

and married off]– Other stakeholders not doing what is needed

• Quality of education is under pressure and decreasing• Preconditions for successful implementation of curriculum not met

– In theory: good curriculum– In practice: not working– Capacity too small for implementation

• All capabilities under pressure– Even basic survival capability is not met completely

Discussion

“Survival is about fishing here and you don’t need to go to school to learn fishing”

Deputy-Chief Administration Officer, Amolatar District

Thank you