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Mitigating the learning crisis: Evidence and Lessons from literacy remedial programs in Kenya, Zambia, and Lebanon

Mon, March 11, 9:45 to 11:15am, Hyatt Regency Miami, Floor: Terrace Level, Tuttle North

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Equipping children with strong foundational literacy skills is critical for individual countries to boost their productivity, earnings, economic stability (when citizens enter the workforce), self-reliance, and long-term recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and attaining SGD4 on providing quality education. Before school closures due to COVID-19, levels of learning poverty - students unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 were 87% in sub-Saharan Africa [SSA], which have increased to 90% (World Bank, 2020,2022). Prolonged school closures have resulted in excessive learning loss among students from poor socio-economic backgrounds due to missed learning opportunities and deterioration of the foundational skills acquired before school closures (Angrist et al., 2021; Conto et al., 2020; Moscoviz & Evans, 2022). It is critical for education stakeholders to implement recovery measures, including adjusting the curriculum and teaching approaches to meet the learning needs of disadvantaged children. The lack of strategic interventions for students who have fallen behind may result in disengagement in learning and ultimately dropping out of school and risk reverting to illiteracy. These low literacy rates will only further increase the inequities between students and countries who suffer from low levels of literacy and those that do not.
Narrowing the gap for these students requires instruction tailored to their specific needs as part of their right to an equitable education. In the post-Covid era, many governments, in collaboration with development partners, are implementing remedial/Catch-up programs that target foundational literacy and numeracy. Teaching at the Right Level is currently being implemented in Zambia, South Africa, and Botswana, among others. The key features of these remedial programs include the provision of teacher-guided materials, training on best practices of differentiating instruction, the adaptation of assessment tools, creation of context-appropriate learning activities, the definition of goals that align with national and regional curriculum standards, scheduling, grouping, monitoring support, and evaluation and review, structuring learning activities based on student groups (Piper & Dubeck, 2021). There is limited evidence on best practices for remedial programs implemented in the post-covid era in low, middle-income contexts.
Proposed intervention strategies that could improve learning outcomes of foundational literacy skills and meet the learning needs of students at risk of falling further behind include: introducing structured pedagogy, assessment-informed instruction, remedial support, training on effective pedagogical approaches for foundational literacy, providing targeted instruction to a child's level, instruction in familiar language, and providing reading resources, assessing learning level regularly, prioritizing teaching fundamentals, and developing psychosocial health and well-being (World Bank et al., 2022). A targeted instruction approach includes using structured lesson plans, access to the teacher and student books, teacher training/professional development training, and instructional support (Angrist et al., 2021). Remediation programs that have demonstrated a significant positive impact on improving the literacy outcomes of students at risk of reading failures include assessment, grouping, focused instruction, time beyond the regular lesson, monitored progress, and well trained teachers (Norman et al., 2022) One well known example is Pratham’s Teaching at the Right Level, which started in India and is currently being implemented in multiple contexts in Africa and other Low Middle-Income Contexts.
This panel shares evidence and lessons learned from three different remedial programs implemented in Kenya, Zambia, and Lebanon to improve the quality of learning and literacy outcomes among students at risk of reading difficulties. Participants will be invited to discuss the lessons on effective practices of remedial programs, the impact of the remedial programs on learning outcomes, and the challenges in implementing remedial programs. The panel will also discuss policy recommendations that will be useful for similar contexts.

References
Angrist, N., de Barros, A., Bhula, R., Chakera, S., Cummiskey, C., DeStefano, J., Floretta J., Kaffenberger M., Piper. B., & Stern, J. (2021). Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe: Estimating learning loss from COVID-19 school shutdowns in Africa and facilitating short-term and long-term learning recovery. International Journal of Educational Development, 84, 102397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102397.
Conto, C.A., Akseer, S., Dreesen, T., Kamei, A., Mizunoya, S. and Rigole, A. (2020). COVID-19: Effects of School Closures on Foundational Skills and Promising Practices for Monitoring and Mitigating Learning Loss, Innocenti Working Paper 2020-13, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Florence.
Fuchs, L. S., & Vaughn, S. (2012). Responsiveness-to-intervention: A decade later. Journal of learning disabilities, 45(3), 195-203.
Moscoviz, L., and Evans. D. K., (2022). Learning Loss and Student Dropouts during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Evidence Two Years after Schools Shut Down. CGD Working Paper 609. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development. Retrieved from https://www.cgdev.org/publication/ learning-loss-and-student-dropouts-during-covid-19-pandemic-review-evidence-two-years
Norman, J., Ralaingita, W., Davidson, M., & Long, E., (2022) Remediation in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: A How-to Guide. In Prepared for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the Science of Teaching grant. RTI International Research Triangle Park, NC.
Piper, B., & Dubeck, M. (2021). Structured Pedagogy Literature Review. In Prepared for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the Science of Teaching grant. RTI International Research Triangle Park, NC.
Richards-Tutor, C., Baker, D. L., Gersten, R., Baker, S. K., & Smith, J. M. (2016). The effectiveness of reading interventions for English learners: A research synthesis. Exceptional Children, 82(2), 144–169.
RTI International, “Structured Pedagogy Series,” https://scienceofteaching.site/how-to-guides/learning-outcomes/.
Scanlon, D. M., & Anderson, K. L. (2020). Using context as an assist in word solving: The contributions of 25 years of research on the interactive strategies approach. Reading Research Quarterly, 55, S19–S34. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ rrq. 335
Word Bank. (2022). The state of global Learning Poverty. 2022 Update. https://www.unicef.org/media/122921/file/StateofLearningPoverty2022.pdf
World Bank et al., (2022). The State of Global Learning Poverty.
World Bank. (2020a). Education Emergency Response to COVID-19: Project Information Document. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/339361603916667593/Djibouti-EducationEmergency-Response-to-COVID-19-Project.docx

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