Pathways to Equity in Foundational Learning: What can we learn from comparing cases

• In Event: Roundtable Group 10

Group Submission Type: Refereed Roundtable Session

Proposal

This roundtable aims to delve into the significant issue of learning equity, focusing on different pathways to achieve equity through research, practice, and policy. The pathways explored and discussed revolve around the three key pillars that heavily influence children’s foundational years, especially post-COVID-19 – teachers, parents, and technology.

Despite significant strides in broadening access to education over decades, the learning quality, especially for marginalized groups, has fallen mightily short of the ambitious goals set for 2030 (World Bank, 2021). It is clear that every dimension of marginalized groups (based on gender, language, geographic location, race, disability, etc.) experiences unequal learning opportunities, leading to long-lasting disparities through generations. To tackle this issue, this roundtable aims to explore pathways to equity through case studies from two countries – India and Malawi.

Children from underprivileged and disadvantaged backgrounds often struggle with low learning outcomes. Studies indicate that these learning gaps, once established in the early years, tend to widen as children progress through their education. This increasing gap can make it difficult for these children to catch up, eventually leading some to drop out of school entirely (Ward, 2018; Rose & Alcott, 2015). Therefore, if we aim to center learning equity, addressing these issues early on is crucial. Three presentations will be presented.

In the pursuit of equity, the first presentation explores the importance of training quality in India. Nevertheless, this need becomes even more crucial for disadvantaged students, particularly in the context of developing countries (Luschei & Chudgar, 2017). Quality education that is both inclusive and equitable is mainly dependent on such teachers and, inevitably, their professional development. While there is substantial research on underprivileged groups’ access to teachers, studies examining the impact of teacher professional development and quality teachers’ ability to cater to these students’ unique needs are still sparse. A study by Akyeampong and colleagues (2018) suggests that teachers believe there need to be improvements in teacher training programs, specifically in offering more practical experience in applying strategies and skills that can assist the learning of disadvantaged students. Through the case study of a TPD Program in India, the roundtable aims to explore how continuous teacher professional development affects the foundational learning of children from different marginalized communities and investigates which teacher training strategies effectively cater to the educational needs of the most disadvantaged students.

In the second presentation, we consider how to better understand the heterogeneous effects of an educational program’s impact can help disentangle issues of learning equity. By recognizing subgroups with varying results, issues of equity can be diagnosed and support future interventions. This presentation includes the results of a heterogeneity analysis on the impact of a technology-based educational RCT (n = 525) in urban India (Mumbai, Maharashtra) to decompose subgroup effects tied to learning equity. Technology-driven home-based learning has been widely explored as an avenue for reaching households with lesser access to quality materials but with varying effectiveness. Continuing to examine why these effects vary and the influence of any subgroup demographic factors has been a widely recommended approach in this field with the potential to address learning equity. Additionally, bringing to focus investments in under-resourced areas, and understanding the drivers of change in these contexts, is a core issue in addressing equity and justice in the Indian context.

Educational technology has gained prominence in addressing learning disparities, particularly in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). In the third presentation, a study of how EdTech has been embraced in Malawi considers its reach into marginalized populations, providing learning content in a personalized manner. As governments and donors race to cut the striking rates of learning poverty in LMICs through technological investments in foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills, the traditionally at-risk groups in schools, i.e., children with disabilities, continue to be socially excluded due to extra needed conditions that countries in these contexts cannot cater for. This has negative implications for their participation in the society. Thus, there is a critical need, an equity need, to ensure that technological interventions in education do not create further barriers to individuals' access to learning. Therefore, the proposed research findings from Malawi will shed light on the role of educational technology in providing inclusive education for primary school children with disabilities in Malawi. Specifically, the findings will shed light on the equity gaps in inclusive education as mediated by technology. Overall for Malawi, the proposal will investigate and further its vision of providing foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills to all its primary school learners through innovation and technology.

The roundtable will be conducted in two parts:

(1) 60-minute presentation: Introduction and overview by the chair (10 minutes), 3 / 4 presentations (10/15 minutes each, 40/45 minutes total)
(2) 30-minute discussions: Comments by the discussant (10 minutes). Questions and answers among the chair, discussant, presenters, and the audience. The discussion will focus on gathering feedback, questions, and comments, which will be addressed during this time or replied to via writing.

Equity often remains unaddressed because of inconsistency and insufficient details in measuring aspects of equity. Through these case studies, the papers aim to present useful evidence from educational interventions to understand who is left behind, why this is the case, and to understand how these interventions either meet or miss the unique needs of subgroups of marginalized populations. Furthermore, these studies aim to develop evidence that can further teaching and learning practices centered around equity (Omoeva, 2017).

The roundtable will form part of a broader discourse on inclusive education, shedding light on issues of learning equity and pathways to achieve it. With a particular focus on the triad of teachers, parents, and technology, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, it aims to tackle the systemic learning inequities that marginalized groups grapple with.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Daniel A Wagner, University of Pennsylvania

Individual Presentations

• Formative Research to inform the Future Design of an Inclusive and Cost-effective EdTech component within Malawi’s flagship EdTech Programme, BEFIT - Jimmie Chengo Odhiambo, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

• Bridging West-East Dichotomy through Reciprocal Learning: An Inquiry into Canadian and Chinese Principals' Collaboration - Yishin Khoo, University of Windsor; Shijing Xu, University of Windsor

Discussant

• Amrit Thapa, University of Pennsylvania