Children鈥檚 learning practices in Ethiopia: observations from primary school classes
Abstract
This paper explores questions of relevance to Ethiopian primary education policy. It examines (i) the match/mismatch between government-prescribed pedagogy and actual student learning practices and (ii) the relationship between those practices and school, class and teacher level factors. The paper employs evidence from government documents on curriculum and pedagogy, time-based observations of 5,088 students in 776 mathematics classes and interviews with teachers. In recent years the government has prescribed a shift away from teacher-oriented towards student-centred methods of learning for both the first (Grades 1鈥�4) and second (Grades 5鈥�8) cycles of primary education with a target that 30% of class time be spent on student-centred activity. We find that student-centred activities accounted for just 10.7% of time spent, teacher-oriented activities 74.5% and 鈥榦ff task鈥� 14.7%, with first cycle students more 鈥榦ff task鈥� and second cycle students more 鈥榯eacher-oriented鈥�. In both cycles a student is more likely to be 鈥榦n task鈥� rather than 鈥榦ff task鈥� if taught by a teacher with a Diploma or a degree, who has not been absent recently and has received supervision within the last four weeks; and more likely to be engaged in student-centred rather than teacher-oriented activity if taught by a female teacher with a Diploma. In the first cycle, 鈥榦n task鈥� activity is associated with female teachers; in the second cycle with male. In the first cycle student-centred activity is associated with class sizes of less than 26; in the second cycle with class sizes of more than 26 and with less experienced teachers. Policy implications are explored.
Citation
Frost, M.; Little, A.W. Children’s learning practices in Ethiopia: observations from primary school classes. Oxford Review of Education (2014) 40 (1) 91-111. [Special issue: School quality counts: evidence from developing countries] [DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2013.873526]