Using existing technologies to support learning in low-resource environments

• In Event: Exploring digital technologies to enhance the inclusion of out-of-school children

Proposal

Migration to Thailand has surged in recent years, with the latest report estimating around 4.9 million non-Thai residents in the country, a significant rise from the 3.7 million reported in 2014 (UN Thematic Working Group on Migration in Thailand, 2019). Thailand has implemented inclusive policies ensuring migrants access essential services like education and healthcare irrespective of legal status. However, practical barriers persist. In 2021, it was estimated that there were between 300,000 to 400,000 migrant children in Thailand, yet only 170,928 non-Thai children were enrolled in Thai public schools (UNICEF, 2022).

Through the ASEAN-UK SAGE programme, EdTech Hub has expanded its Helpdesk offering to the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Office network. In March 2023, EdTech Hub received a Helpdesk request from SEAMEO TROPMED to identify effective ways to leverage technology to enhance teaching and learning at the border schools in Thailand. The goals of this work included:
1. Identifying accessible and appropriate technologies for teachers’ use to enhance teaching and learning
2. Defining other forms of technologies that can support teachers and students in other areas
3. Capturing and incorporating perceptions of students and teachers on the use of appropriate technologies
4. Supporting building the ability and confidence of school officials and teachers to use technologies through the provision of capacity building and development of necessary resources

Through stakeholder consultation and a desk review, we conducted an intervention scan and learned that there have been substantial investments in EdTech in Thai border schools, however very little publically available evidence about effectiveness. Literature about procuring and implementing EdTech for low-resource environments highlights the value of using devices communities already have access to (Mazari et al., 2023) and so, it became pertinent to explore what this entails in a real setting. This paper combines a desk review and stakeholder engagement with the voices of teachers to understand the extent to which existing resources can be repurposed for the unique needs of marginalised learners in the context of a school along the Thai-Myanmar border. To capture the needs of teachers and how they use existing technology, EdTech Hub conducted interviews and focus group discussions with them in July 2024 at the Rujirapath school along the Thai-Myanmar border, supplementing it with surveys to identify the school's infrastructural capacity. Although the research is context-specific, it addresses a critical evidence gap around the practicalities of leveraging and contextualising available digital solutions in low-resource settings for learners who are at risk of dropping out of school.

Authors

• Amal Hayat, EdTech Hub

• Rebekka Flam, EdTech Hub; Results for Development

• Haani Mazari, EdTech Hub

• Kate Radford, EdTech Hub