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Session Submission Summary

In Pursuit of More Engaging and Equitable Learning Environments: Three Examples from Uganda

Tue, February 21, 2:45 to 4:15pm EST (2:45 to 4:15pm EST), Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Independence Level (5B), Independence F

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Young people are the engine of innovation and progress in Uganda. Unfortunately, most of them are not adequately prepared by the formal schooling system to think critically, communicate effectively, or set (and achieve) personal goals, thus undermining their agency and successful transitions to adulthood. A World Bank/Association for the Development of Education in Africa report from 2008 succinctly describes the challenges young people face in Uganda’s formal scholastic environment: “The prevailing pedagogy is didactic and teacher-centred – primarily focusing on teaching to tests and rote memorization. The existing curriculum (in common with that of many countries that are either developing or in transition) is a static one in which learners, driven by the need to succeed in a high-stakes examination, are forced to learn a mass of knowledge that is largely abstract, fact-centred, decontextualized and irrelevant.” Additionally, the same report points out the rigid teacher-student relationship and its detrimental effects on students’ acquisition of core competencies, such as problem-solving, applying knowledge in novel situations, and working constructively in teams. Thus, it is no wonder that in addition to financial constraints, a 2014 UNICEF report listed “disinterest” and “poor classroom environment” as significant factors in school dropout.

It is evident that education systems, parents, and communities are not sufficiently supporting children in attaining life skills or thinking critically. This is partly due to our traditional education systems and focus on passive consumption of knowledge. Students are being prepared for habitual and fixed procedures, yet they are facing numerous and complex problems which require a radically different form of thinking that demonstrates greater adaptability and sensitivity to divergent points of view. Additionally, the unequal power dynamics in schools make facilitating factors, like questioning, exploration, and meaningful participation all the more difficult to implement in school settings.

These gaps could be due in part to the inadequacy of the different solutions being put forward. For example, teacher education curricula and continuous professional development policies often do not nurture teachers’ competencies in enhancing life skills due to lack of clarity on the pedagogical practices. A lack of evidence also exists on whether teachers possess the life skills needed to properly prepare learners or assess these competencies in the classroom.

A 2019 study by the Echidna Giving Life Skills and Mindset Change Project found that for several decades, ministries of education and civil society organizations in East Africa have appreciated the usefulness of life skills in combating HIV/AIDS and sexual and gender-based violence, as well as resolving conflicts, promoting peace, nurturing leaders, empowering girls, and advancing gender equality. Although governments are clear about the need for life skills among young people, they do not elaborate on conceptualization and enhancement of these competencies, nor do they adequately prepare for their integration into the school system. For example, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have all rolled out competency-based curricula, yet there is limited evidence of what actually works in the classrooms (Deitz, R., Lahmann, H., & Thompson, T., 2021; Rosekrans, K. & Hwang, T., 2021).

The time has now come to mitigate the socio-economic challenges youth face in the 21st Century. There is a growing complexity of economic and societal systems that demands robust life skills, critical thinking, and meaningful participation among young people in East Africa. The three organizations represented on this panel are working to build a system of learning in Uganda that prepares young people for the realities they will face upon leaving school.

The first paper describes the innovative Do It Yourself (DIY) Clubs initiative. DIY is rooted in a Positive Youth Development approach, specifically the framework created by the USAID Youth Power Learning Project in 2016. This framework assesses change across four domains—assets, agency, contribution, and enabling environment. Through helping young people develop their life skills and agency, and facilitating shifts in entrenched power dynamics, DIY leads to safer, more equitable, and engaging school environments. The paper presents findings from a study conducted in 13 schools (nine intervention and four comparison) that compares student data collected in 2019 and 2022. The presenters will address changes in student lifeskills and school environment, as well as how the DIY program might have affected students’ resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second paper presents the process and the lessons generated from the activities conducted during the development of a critical thinking assessment tool, as well as the findings of the assessment that used the developed tool. The lessons to be shared will include: (i) the systematic review of the literature conducted in regard to the understanding and assessment of critical thinking skills in sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) the tool development process involving cognitive testing sessions and pilot testing with lower secondary school students; and (iii) results from the application of the tool in assessing secondary school learners’ critical thinking abilities. These lessons and findings shall be used to inform various stakeholders on the process of developing contextualized tools for the assessment of generic skills such as critical thinking, etc. The findings will also be used to inform stakeholders on the critical thinking abilities of Ugandan lower secondary school students.

The third paper will focus on using Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to prepare secondary school students, especially girls, in developing the soft skills that are demanded by employers in the contemporary society. Since the end of the conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, studies show wide differences between females and males in literacy, likelihood of continuing to secondary education, exposure to domestic violence, family and community conflicts. While girls and women fall behind boys and men in most indicators of wellbeing, there are indicators that it is possible to close this gap through education and soft skills development. The presenters will discuss an intervention that has reached over 1,500 girls using SEL approach to help girls in processing and acquiring core competencies.

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