Improving teaching and learning in low- and middle- income countries – what works? Evidence from studies in Ghana, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Schools in low- and middle-income countries are facing a learning crisis. By grade 3, in half of the countries analyzed in round 6 of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2017-2021), only 30 percent of the children had foundational reading and 18 percent had foundational numeracy skills (UNICEF, 2022). These problems have been exacerbated because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this panel, we explore the role that different actors in the education hierarchy can play in addressing teaching and learning and addressing challenges to foundational learning in low- and middle- income countries. The three papers explore these from a leadership, management, accountability, and organizational learning lens.

The first paper in this panel focuses on the role districts play in improving teaching and learning in Ghana. Using data from three districts, the research uses a case study methodology to understand why some districts with similar contextual challenges outperform others in learning outcomes in basic education. Each case explores the influence of different management practices, political dynamics. and relational trust with schools on district effectiveness to improve teaching and learning. The second paper maps the educational ecosystem in Malaysia to understand how school leaders make effective decisions about teaching and learning. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, the study identifies key actors in the Malaysian education system who interact with school leaders and influence their decision-making; specify the principal-agent relationships of accountability between school leaders and key actors across the educational hierarchy, including district and state-level bureaucrats; unpack the alignment(s) as well as the incoherencies within the system; and explore ways to address the misalignments between what actors are mandated to do versus actions they take to improve teaching and learning. The third paper brings the focus to foundational learning and the specific role that school level actors – principals and teachers – play in influencing student outcomes. Using pilot data from 25 schools where a foundational literacy intervention was implemented, the study unpacks the role that training teachers and school principals can play in bringing about improvements in student learning.

Together, these three papers add to our understanding of the learning crisis faced by schools in low-and middle-income country contexts and the practices of different actors at the national, subnational and school-level that influence teaching and learning. The findings from these papers offer insights for policy makers looking to address the learning crisis. Broadly, the preliminary findings from the research suggest that accountability is effective, only if it’s coupled with autonomy and avenues for problem-solving for all actors in the system; a centralized system may impede decision making processes around teaching and learning. Finally, involving principals directly in foundational literacy programs, as opposed to limiting their role to administration and management, has potential to improve learning.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Minahil Asim, University of Ottawa

Individual Presentations

• The organizational and political drivers of effective district support to teaching and learning: a study of Ghana’s education districts - Sheena Bell, O.I.S.E. University of Toronto

• Mapping the Education Ecosystem in Malaysia - Minahil Asim, University of Ottawa