Understanding and Implementing Active Teaching and
Learning in Secondary Schools in Malawi
Universiteit van Amsterdam Master Thesis Educational Sciences
Jonna Coornaert
Student number: 10533397 Supervisor: Dr. Hülya Kosar-Altinyelken Second reader: Dr Els Kuiper Date: 23 December 2019
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Inhoud
Acknowledgements ... 4
Abstract ... 5
1. Introduction ... 6
1.1. Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: Malawi Case ... 6
1.2. The Need for Qualitative Interventions on Pedagogical Practices... 8
1.3. Research Objectives and Questions ... 9
1.4. Thesis Outline ... 10
2. Theoretical Framework ... 11
2.1. Defining Active Teaching and Learning and its Implementation ... 11
2.2. Outcomes, Benefits and Sustainability ... 12
2.3. Implementation Challenges and Strengths ... 13
2.3.1. Students ... 14
2.3.2. Teachers and headteachers ... 15
2.3.3. Policy and context ... 17
3. Contextual Background ... 19
3.1. Malawi and its Education System ... 19
3.2. Project Background ... 20
4. Method ... 22
4.1. Participants and Schools ... 23
4.2. Data Collection ... 27
4.2.1. Interviews ... 27
4.2.2. Observations ... 28
4.3. Data Analysis ... 29
4.4. Limitations of the Study ... 30
4.5. Ethical Considerations ... 31
5. Results ... 32
5.1. Project Implementation Process ... 33
5.1.1. Process, participation criteria and roles ... 33
5.1.2. Headteacher-, management- and NGO-support ... 34
5.2. Definition of ATL, Education Quality and Perceived Benefits ... 36
5.2.1. Definition of ATL and education quality ... 36
5.2.2. Benefits ... 38 5.3. Classroom Implementation Practices, Teacher Cooperation and Observations 40
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5.3.1. Implementation practices ... 41
5.3.2. Teacher cooperation and support ... 42
5.3.3. Observations ... 43
5.4. Implementation Challenges ... 44
5.4.1. Cultural challenges ... 44
5.4.2. Resources and workload ... 45
5.4.3. Poverty and dropout ... 45
5.4.4. Competency and proficiency of teachers and students ... 46
5.4.5. Recommended improvements ... 48
5.5. Outcomes & Sustainability ... 49
5.5.1. Changed practices and improvements ... 49
5.5.2. Dropout and absenteeism ... 50
5.5.3. Desired outcomes ... 51
5.5.4. Sustainability ... 52
6. Conclusion ... 53
6.1. How do the different actors define ATL and education quality? ... 54
6.2. How do the different actors perceive the benefits of ATL? ... 55
6.3. What kind of support do teachers receive from EEDF, Edukans, school management and from colleagues? ... 56
6.4. How do teachers and students implement ATL in their classrooms? ... 57
6.5. What challenges do the different actors encounter in implementing ATL? ... 57
6.6. Which outcomes do the different actors observe or expect in the schools/classrooms? ... 59
6.7. Policy recommendations ... 61
6.8. Future research suggestions ... 62
7. Literature ... 63
Appendix 1: Teacher Interview ... 71
Appendix 2: Head-teacher Interview ... 74
Appendix 3: Student-group Interview ... 77
Appendix 4: EEDF Interview ... 79
Appendix 5: Edukans Interview... 81
Appendix 6: Code List ... 82
Appendix 7: Observation Schemes ... 83
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Acknowledgements
In this section I would like to express my appreciation to several people and institutions whom without this research could not have taken place. To start with, I would like to thank the participants; the teachers, headteachers and students. They shared their time, knowledge, views and perspectives and made us feel welcome in the schools and in Malawi. Meeting and speaking with them has been insightful. Second, special gratitude towards all the people from EEDF and especially Robert Mponela, George Katunga, Moffat Njati, Lekeleni Mbewe and Steve Kamwendo. Besides sharing their indispensable knowledge and expertise, they also supported and guided us during our stay in Malawi. You all have made Malawi a special place for us. Third, a big thank you to Edukans and Mark Hoeksma in particular, who introduced us to EEDF and helped us in preparation and during our stay. Thank you for creating this opportunity and introducing us to so many inspiring people.
A very big appreciation towards my supervisor Hülya Kosar-Altinyelken, for all your time, support, feedback and your patience. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have made this master thesis such an incredible experience. I valued our conversations greatly, both the ones on the subject of my thesis as well as the conversations about work, society and education. I think you are an inspiring teacher and researcher whose critical views are refreshing and have encouraged me to keep an open mind and think outside the box.
I also want to thank my fellow researcher, Shiwa Nizak. I am so very happy to have done this research with you. I couldn’t have wished for a better travelling partner, colleague and friend to share this experience with. Lastly, I want to thank my friends and family, for their support. For listening and reading, for all the constructive feedback and the critical questions. Thank you for motivating and inspiring me. Especially to Suzan Bazaz, Ellen Aarts, Jokelies Knopper, Lucas van der Lende en dr. Karlein Schreurs.
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Abstract
In the past decade several institutions have expressed their concerns on the ‘global learning crisis’ and the low quality of education in developing countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, this crisis is pressing and in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, the need for qualitative educational interventions is high. In this research, the findings of a qualitative case study on the STAR-school intervention in secondary schools in Malawi are presented. This intervention aims to train teachers in applying Active Teaching and Learning (ATL) practices. Data consisted of 27 interviews with teachers, headteachers, students and NGO-officers and 10 classroom observations at 5 secondary schools across Malawi. Findings revealed that participants were very positive about the ATL method. Amongst other benefits, it would lead to better
student-performance and lessen the work for teachers. However, there were also challenges in the implementation process. Challenges were found in cultural differences, lack of resources, workload, poverty, dropout and absenteeism and competency and
proficiency of students and teachers. Teachers applied ATL practices in the classroom, like group work, discussions and engaging students to participate actively, though not all aspects of ATL seemed to be internalised. Students were motivated but had some
trouble adjusting to ATL because of their unfamiliarity with the method and the hierarchal culture in the schools. Differences between participants existed, though similarities in answers were greater. Not many school-differences were found. Overall, it is concluded that though the secondary schools in Malawi are challenged by many
factors in their creation of qualitative education and in implementing ATL, participants are overwhelmingly positive and the implementation of ATL seems promising.
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1. Introduction
In this thesis, the findings of a qualitative case study on a project in secondary schools in Malawi are presented. This project, STAR-school, aims to improve pedagogical practices in several developing countries. One of the aims of STAR-school is to train teachers through the training Active Teaching & Learning (ATL). This training gives teachers tools and skills to become inspiring, motivated, active teachers (Edukans, n.d.). For this study, 5 secondary schools in Malawi were visited to obtain knowledge on the
implementation of ATL. At these schools, teachers who had received the ATL training were interviewed and observed. Interviews were also conducted with students, headteachers and officers from the NGO’s Edukans and EEDF.
1.1. Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: Malawi Case
There has been a global trend of education expansion in developing countries, thus many more children across the world are going to school. Though this appears to be a positive development, several institutions have expressed their concern on the low quality of education in these countries (World Bank, 2018; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO], 2019; Kaffenberger, 2019). Education systems are not equipped for the increase of students and many children are not
educated properly. Education quality is measured by learning outcomes of students and though there are some cultural differences in what are considered essential skills, core aspirations are skills such as reading, writing, calculating and socio-emotional skills. In developing countries, these skills are often below minimum proficiency. It is estimated that about 825 million young people globally will not have obtained basic numeracy, literacy and digital skills by 2030 (Albright, 2019). In 2012, over 89% of Malawian and Zambian students could not read at the end of grade 2 (World Bank, 2018). Low
performance is especially seen amongst the poorest quartile of the population, which results in higher inequality (World bank, 2018). Low quality of education has its effect on society as a whole and is both the cause and the outcome of high poverty (Kadzamira & Rose, 2003). World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim argues that good education helps new generations to obtain a life with employment, good health and welfare. It helps societies to innovate, to strengthen and it creates social cohesion. But this is only
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the case if education is of good quality and developing countries are both in the greatest need of good education and lack it the most. In fact, one can speak of a real learning crisis (World Bank, 2018).
In Sub-Saharan Africa this ‘learning crisis’ is pressing: the growth in school-age population is greatest in this region (UNESCO 2016), education is often of low quality, classrooms are overcrowded and teachers are generally poorly trained. About 40 percent of secondary school teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa are under-qualified (UNESCO, 2019). In Malawi, these problems are tremendous. Education quality is compromised due to multiple factors and the country has one of the highest numbers in teacher-shortage (UNESCO, 2013/2014); the student-teacher ratio in secondary
education was measured 72:1 in 2018 (World Bank, n.d.). Some of the main resource-issues that Malawian schools are dealing with are lacks in quality teachers, buildings and materials. Rural schools appear to have even less quality-resources and quality school-processes than urban schools do (Zhang, 2006).
Since the introduction of fee-free primary education in Malawi in 1994, many more children have started to attend primary schools. Consequently, the attendance rate at secondary schools has risen from 16.82% in 1994 to 40.82% in 2018 (World Bank, n.d.), and obtaining a diploma in secondary education became more important for employment (Kadzamira & Rose, 2003). This policy has led to an increased demand for teachers, both in primary and secondary education (Kunje, 2002), which the
government has been trying to resolve by hiring unqualified teachers (UNESCO, 2019). These unqualified teachers have led to a decrease in quality of education, as mentioned in the World Bank Report on the global learning crisis (Worldbank, 2018). To improve education quality it is essential to train, support and motivate teachers, instead of solely hiring teachers to lower the student-teacher ratio (UNESCO, 2015). Unqualified or poorly trained teachers lack both pedagogical skills and subject knowledge (Worldbank, 2018). Also, a risk in poor teacher training is low feelings of self-efficacy amongst
teachers. To attract more teachers, who are and feel competent in their profession, improvement in teacher training is necessary (Kadzamira, 2006). Learning to apply pedagogical practices in the classroom is an equally significant aspect of teacher training as subject knowledge (Lingard, Hayes & Mills, 2003). Hardman, Kadir and Smith (2008)
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even argue that pedagogical practices are the most essential factor in improving quality of education.
1.2. The Need for Qualitative Interventions on Pedagogical Practices
In Africa, the pedagogical practices are often of an authoritarian and teacher-centred nature, which usually does not lead to a positive learning environment (Altinyelken, 2010). Alternatively, learner-centred methods can be used. One of these learner-centred approaches is Active Teaching and Learning (ATL). ATL is an umbrella term for
pedagogic methods focused on student activity and engagement (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013). Other similar concepts are ‘learner centred education’ and ‘child-centred pedagogy’ (Schweisfurth, 2011; Altinyelken, 2010). Many educational programmes in Africa have been focused on a shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred education (Mtika & Gates, 2010). However, implementation of these educational programmes does not always go as intended. Schweisfurth (2011) explored the results of 72 articles on learner-centred interventions in developing countries and found discrepancies between intended policies and practical outcomes at the school in
developing countries. Altinyelken (2010) found similar findings in her study in Uganda on pedagogical renewal in education. To improve interventions on pedagogical practices it is important to evaluate current interventions thus determine their strengths and weaknesses.
A project that aims to improve education quality in developing countries is the STAR-school project. This project is developed by the Dutch non-governmental
organisation (NGO) Edukans and implemented in Malawi in 2017 in collaboration with the organisation Education Expertise Development Foundation (EEDF). STAR-school works with EDUstars, a school quality model that focuses on five pillars: the
environment, the learner, the teachers, the management and the community. An essential aspect of this project that especially focuses on improving pedagogical practices (thus the learner and the teacher-pillars) is the training Active Teaching and Learning. In Malawi, STARschool is implemented in government funded schools called Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS’s). In this project 16 CDSS’s participate, (Edukans, n.d.) five of which were visited for this study.
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There are several pressing matters that ensure the academic and social relevance of this study. Though ATL and similar education strategies have been a recurrent theme in aid programs in the global South (Schweisfurth, 2011), little research has been found on ATL-practices in secondary schools in Malawi. Therefore, this study will look at the ATL-training of the STARschool intervention in the context of secondary schools in Malawi. It will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the training and the challenging or reinforcing contextual factors surrounding its implementation. This will be done by researching the teachers who have received the ATL-training and headteachers at the schools. Furthermore, the students’ perspective will be added, as much research on ATL-practices is mainly focused on teachers (Schweisfurth, 2011). Also, this research focuses on schools in rural Malawi because, as seen above, education quality is compromised mostly in rural areas. Implementation processes might be very challenging in Malawi, considering the problematic educational situation. However, this problematic situation simultaneously stresses the importance of qualitative interventions to induce
improvement. The global learning crisis calls for change in education around the globe. This study can contribute to knowledge on implementation processes of educational programmes in developing countries. With this knowledge, educational programmes can be improved. Specifically, knowledge on the usability of ATL in these programmes is obtained.
1.3. Research Objectives and Questions
To conclude this introduction, the main objective of this research is to obtain knowledge on the implementation of ATL in rural secondary schools in Malawi. This will be done by researching teachers’ and students’ understanding and the perceived benefits of ATL in secondary schools in Malawi. Also, this research aims to see which ATL-practices are applied in the classroom and determine factors that influence the implementation of ATL. This will be done through qualitative research. The participating actors in this study are teachers, students, headteachers and NGO-officers from Edukans and EEDF. The overarching research question in this study is; From the perspectives of
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implemented in secondary schools in Malawi, for what purposes and with what consequences? This question is answered with the following sub-questions:
1. How do the different actors define ATL and education quality? 2. How do the different actors perceive the benefits of ATL?
3. What kind of support do teachers receive from EEDF, Edukans, school management and from colleagues?
4. How do teachers and students implement ATL in their classrooms? 5. What challenges do the different actors encounter in implementing ATL? 6. Which outcomes do the different actors observe or expect in the
schools/classrooms?
1.4. Thesis Outline
The thesis is structured along the lines of the topics of the research questions. These topics are: definition, benefits, implementation, support, challenges and outcomes and sustainability. These topics return in each chapter, though not all in the same order. In the following chapter, the theoretical basis of this thesis is described. The relevant concepts are explored and defined. In the third chapter the method is presented. After this, the results of the research are presented and analysed, also with the areas as guidelines. In the last chapter, these results are connected with the theoretical framework by which the research questions can be answered.
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2. Theoretical Framework
In this chapter, the key concepts of this thesis are explained. The first concept to be defined is Active Teaching and Learning (ATL); how it is described in current empirical literature, what its practices and characteristics are and its current role in education. Second, this chapter considers existing research on outcomes and sustainability of these types of programmes and the benefits of ATL. At last, possible challenges and strengths for implementing ATL in the Malawian context are explored.
2.1. Defining Active Teaching and Learning and its Implementation
ATL is an educational vision that aims to bring about deep understanding and creation of knowledge, through active and constructive processes (Roehl, Reddy & Shannon, 2013). Where teacher-centred learning is focused on teachers transmitting knowledge to passive students, learner-centred learning focuses on active knowledge construction of students and their learning processes (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000). ATL is about offering meaningful learning activities where students have to be aware and critically think about what they are learning. This is contrasted to traditional teaching where passive information-receival is common, which leads to more superficial understanding (Prince, 2004).
Prince (2004) describes two essential aspects of ATL; introducing activities in the classroom and promoting student’s engagement. Methods that can be used to achieve ATL, are the introduction of group-based instructional methods and assignments that lead to collaboration. This way the students learn through interaction with one another. Another possible method to achieve ATL is to introduce Problem Based Learning
(Prince, 2004), where relevant and authentic problems are introduced to students (Schmidt, Loyens, van Gog, & Paas, 2007). Important in ATL-implementation in the classroom is to support and encourage learners and to regularly assess their learning process and give feedback. The teachers should manage the classroom by creating a safe learning environment for their students (Niemi, 2002). The role of the teacher in ATL-methods is that of the facilitator of learning. They create an environment in which students learn necessary skills for society by thinking creatively and critically (Mtika & Gates, 2010). Furthermore, lesson planning and preparation is important (Niemi, 2002).
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Many educators world-wide consider the introduction of active teaching methods to be an improvement in education as opposed to passive teaching styles (Michel, Cater III, & Varela, 2009). The past three decades the introduction of learner centred
approaches has been encouraged by Sub-Saharan African national governments and international agencies (Lattimer, 2015) which led many educational programmes in Africa to focus on learner-centred education (Mtika & Gates, 2010). The Malawian government implemented a new curriculum reform in 2015, in which student-centred learning has a central role (Robertson, Cassity, & Kunkwenzu, 2017).
2.2. Outcomes, Benefits and Sustainability
The trend of implementing ATL is justified by the alleged benefits of ATL. These benefits can be found on several levels. First, on the cognitive level, students control and process the content better and have higher intrinsic motivation. Second, on the emancipatory level; it frees students and enables them to look at themselves and society critically. Lastly, on the preparatory level students are equipped with necessary skills and knowledge for their current society (Schweisfurth, 2013). These benefits are further explored in the next section.
There are several expected outcomes after the implementation of the ATL approach. According to a literature-review on engaging millennial students through ATL, possible effects are higher order thinking skills and improved creativity (Roehl, Reddy, &
Shannon, 2013). For teachers, it was found that using ATL-practices reduces effort that teachers have to put into preparation and lecturing in class, which creates time for activities and supporting students (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013). According to Prince (2004), when ATL-methods are implemented properly, several positive outcomes can be found. He did a review of existing research on the effectiveness of Active Learning. Though not all findings were equally strong, both student engagement and attitudes, academic achievement, better memorization and retention rates had improved when using ATL methods (Prince, 2004). In a research on effects of problem-based active learning practices in science classes, improvement in academic achievements was also found. Students’ attitudes towards science-classes and conceptual learning skills also improved. This study was conducted amongst 7th graders in a public school in Turkey
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(Akınoğlu & Tandoğan, 2007). Positive effects were also found in a study on students in history and political science classes in an American University by McCarthy & Anderson (2000). They did two experiments that compared classes with active learning
techniques to teacher-centred classes. Their study suggests that ATL techniques can result in better information processing than traditional teaching techniques (McCarthy & Anderson, 2000).
Another possible outcome of ATL is a decrease in absenteeism and dropout. The dropout and absenteeism rates are problematic in schools in Malawi, both in primary and secondary (Mzuza, Yudong & Kapute, 2014; Grant, Lloyd, & Mensch, 2013).
Important reasons for dropout and absenteeism for both boys and girls are the lack in meaningful learning activities, overcrowded classes and the lack in resources
(Chimombo, 2009). If ATL introduces meaningful learning activities into the classroom, one could expect a change in absenteeism and dropout.
Sustainability of educational interventions depends on its contextual and cultural sensitivity. By ignoring indigenous knowledge and culture in implementing curricula, quality of education can be in danger (Breidlid, 2009). The chances of sustainability can be increased by matching the characteristics of the intervention with the system where it is implemented, or by making an adaptive programme that can adjust to that system. Whether the organisation or system where the intervention is implemented supports the intervention is also a predictor and so are well-trained and well-informed
implementers (Barrera, Berkel, & Castro, 2017).
2.3. Implementation Challenges and Strengths
As seen in the previous sections, the implementation of ATL methods has been a global trend in education. Though the expectations were high, it has become apparent that in many occasions implementing learner centred practises in the global South is
challenging. This was found in a literary review of 72 articles on learner-centred education (Schweisfurth, 2011).
Mtika and Gates (2010) confirmed these findings in their study: learner-centred
education has not settled well in Malawian classrooms (Mtika and Gates, 2010). In other, similar, contexts these findings were confirmed: in everyday teaching practices in
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Kenyan secondary schools, little changes in the pedagogical practices were found despite the many learner-centred interventions (Lattimer, 2015). In this section implementation processes will be explored, by looking at possible challenges and strengths of interventions. Factors that influence implementation can be found on several levels. First, the student level will be explored. Second, factors on the teacher level are described and lastly the influence of policies and context. Woven into these three levels, are influencing factors on the school, community and society level.
2.3.1. Students
An essential actor in educational implementation processes is the student. Mtika and Gates (2010) found that students often have trouble to adjust to ATL-practices, because they are completely unfamiliar with the teaching method. The culture in schools in Africa is usually quite authoritarian (Altinyelken, 2010) and when one looks at the central role of critical and creative students in ATL there might be a discrepancy between the practices that students are used to and desired ATL-practices (Serbessa, 2006). Also, the quality of metacognitive skills and amount of motivation and initiative influences their participation and thus success of ATL practices (Niemi, 2002).
Student’s achievement is influenced by human and material resources (Lee & Zuze, 2011). Human resources refers to (qualified) teachers and headteachers. Material resources range from pens and books to tables and buildings. The lack in resources grew the past decades in Sub-Saharan Africa due to the growing school population (Lee & Zuze, 2011) and is greatest in rural areas (Zhang, 2006). Students in rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa often have low levels of family SES (Zhang, 2006) which can influence performance levels of students (Farooq, Chaudry, Shafiq, Berhanu, 2011). According to Zhang, (2006) students from low SES-families often show lower
performance in literacy skills than students with higher SES backgrounds, who have more options to attend better resourced schools (Zhang, 2006). Parents of low SES families often have trouble paying school fees (Farooq, Chaudhry, Shafiq, Berhanu, 2011) and children are not prepared to learn due to malnutrition or illness (World Bank, 2018).
Issues concerning poverty and lack in resources can complicate implementation processes. As seen in the previous section, dropout is a big challenge and one of the
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reasons for it is lack in resources (Chimombo, 2009; Mzuza, Yudong, & Kapute, 2014). For older girls, dropout is often caused by early marriages and/or pregnancy (Mzuza, Yudong, & Kapute, 2014). Also, a lack in lavatories and menstrual supplies is a reason for adolescent girls’ absenteeism. As Mulongo (2013) found, poverty and the absence of food at schools impedes ATL-methodologies. For girls, challenges appear to be even greater: they dropout more often and their performance is lower than boys’. It is considered a national priority in Malawi to improve girls’ access to higher quality education. Though more girls are attending secondary school, their performance still seems to lack behind (Robertson, Cassity, & Kunkwenzu, 2017).
Language is another aspect that is of possible influence to implementation and education quality in general. In the language debate in education in Africa there are primarily two views, one being that teaching in the official/foreign language (in many cases English) is desirable, the other advocates for the use of mother tongues (Ouane & Glanz, 2011). Studies show that teaching in mother tongue languages is helpful for motivation of students and communication with teachers (Ouane & Glanz, 2011). Also, proficiency in the first language is a good basis for learning a second language (Shin, Sailors, McClung, Pearson, Hoffman, & Chilimanjira, 2015). Implementation of learner-centred pedagogies is complicated by the use of foreign languages that are unfamiliar to students. Using foreign languages often forces teachers to rely on teacher-centred and traditional pedagogical practices, because students are unable to understand
assignments or are unable to communicate with each other and the teacher. Other several negative effects of foreign languages of instruction for students were found, such as anxiety for learning new languages, speaking up in class and feelings of shame
surrounding the mother tongue (Ouane & Glanz, 2011). 2.3.2. Teachers and headteachers
The influence of teachers on implementation starts with their teacher training. Research indicates that implementing learner-centred practices with student-teachers in Malawi was impeded by inadequate preparation during teacher-training. Student-teachers’ understanding of the concept appeared to be too superficial to apply learner-centred practices successfully (Mtika & Gates, 2010). Also, practicing ATL-practices during teacher-education is essential for full understanding of the concept and it’s execution
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(Niemi, 2002). According to Spillane, Reiser and Gomez (2006) implementation processes and their success are highly dependent on cognitive processes of the local agents. When policies have a complex nature and teachers lack the cognitive basis to grasp the concept, they tend to interpret and execute the policies incorrectly. Therefore, in implementation processes, the teacher’s understanding of relevant concepts have to be guaranteed in order for the implementation to succeed (Spillane, Reiser, Gomez, 2006).
Moreover, changing teaching practices is influenced by the teachers’ self-efficacy; the matter in which teachers believe in their own competences and abilities, which highly affects their motivation and behaviour (Bandura, 1977). When teachers’ self-efficacy, thus motivation, is low, they tend to put less effort in classroom practices and learning new teaching techniques, since they expect it to be useless (Tschannen-Moran & McMaster, 2009) which in turn hinders implementing ATL (Mulongo, 2013).
Kadzamira (2006) stresses that teacher motivation is not only influenced by self-efficacy, but also by low payment, bad working conditions, low status of the profession and failure of teacher-training programmes. In Malawi, the working conditions are especially bad in rural areas, with enormous classes, heavy workloads, shortage in materials and inadequate training (Kadzamira, 2006; Meke, 2013). Lack in resources, both human and material, play an important role in implementation processes (Meke, 2013). Large class sizes, lack in time during classes and lack in qualitative learning materials are considered big impediments for ATL-implementation for teachers (Mulongo, 2013; Niemi, 2002).
Furthermore, Mtika and Gates (2010) found another influence on the teachers’ role in implementation processes; school culture and teacher cooperation. Newer
teachers tend to copy the behaviour of older teachers, so when teacher-centred methods are embedded in the school culture it is likely that those methods will continue to be used (Mtika & Gates, 2010). Also, cooperation between teachers and their individual views on projects can influence implementation processes (Niemi, 2002). Support within the school, and specifically from the headteacher, helps teachers in applying learner-centred practices (Brodie, Lelliott, & Davis, 2000). The school culture should change into a learning society for both teachers and students to create ATL-processes. In this learning society, cooperation and support between all actors is essential. Actors
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include parents, communities, head-teachers, other professionals, etc. (Niemi, 2002). In other words, creating change in teaching practices has to be done schoolwide. The headteacher has an important role in the school culture and implementation processes. In a literature-overview on school-leadership, it appeared that good school leadership leads to improved teaching and learning, mostly by influencing teacher motivation, their commitment and working conditions (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008).
2.3.3. Policy and context
In implementation processes, coherent and clear policies are essential. In these policies, structural support has to be incorporated; how much, what kind of support and by whom (Desimone, 2002). This support works best if it is sustainable and not just during training or single moments. In other words, in-service support, like mentoring, is needed for interventions to succeed. Furthermore, it is important that the support given by trainers during training sessions, matches the support that teachers receive in the schools and in the classrooms (Schweisfurth, 2011).
Also, problems can occur when there are discrepancies between policy and practice. Previous research has shown that policies on pedagogical practices often do not work out at the school level as intended. According to Desimone (2002), who did a literature review on comprehensive school wide reform (CSR), reforms are most successful when they have five policy attributes. First, they have to be specific in their goals and needs; what is the reason for the reform and what is needed to achieve its success. Second, the reform needs to be consistent with school and state-policies and culture. Third, the reform needs to have authority, which means that it is either founded in the laws of the school or it is a part of the social and professional norms. In other words, it needs to have a foundation that is supported by the actors within the school. The fourth is related to authority: a balance between power from above and authority within the school needs to exist. When a reform is simply implemented top-down, there is no commitment amongst teachers but support from powerful institutions is also necessary. That comes to the last point: politics and context. This influences school reform because of the influence from larger institutions like the government, and contextual issues such as poverty and mobility of students (Desimone, 2002).
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In many cases, problems occur with converging policy into practice due to contextual differences and cultural insensitivity of policies (Schweisfurth, 2011; Altinyelken, 2010). Altinyelken (2010) found that in primary schools in Uganda,
problems with curriculum implementation occurred not because of lack of motivation or resistance amongst teachers, but due to a lack of resources and discrepancies in
curriculum design and implementation. It is argued that pedagogical innovations are often considered to be universally applicable, instead of recognising that they are culturally sensitive (Tabulawa, 1997). One can wonder whether ATL practices match with the cultural values in Malawi. As previously mentioned, in Sub-Saharan African culture children ought to be respectful and not disagree with elderly, this could interfere with their possibilities to be critical in the classroom (Serbessa, 2006). Another cultural aspect that has to be taken into account is that of gender roles. As previously mentioned, early child-marriages and pregnancies are just some of the issues that young girls are confronted with and that could interfere with implementation (Mzuza, Yudong, & Kapute, 2014).
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3. Contextual Background
3.1. Malawi and its Education System
To understand this research, the intervention and its implementation, it is of importance to describe the context of Malawi and its education system. Malawi is located in south-east Africa, landlocked between Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. It has a population of 17.5 million people, which is growing rapidly: it is expected to double by 2038 (World Bank, 2019). Currently, 39,5% of the population is between 5 and 19 years old, and this growing population is putting pressure on the educational and social services of the country (Unicef, n.d.). Malawi has been colonized by the British from 1883 until 1964 (Kamwendo, 2016). The political situation in Malawi has been stable since its
independence and the most recent democratic elections were held in May 2019 (World Bank, 2019). The official languages are English and Chichewa though there are many other local languages such as Chitumbuka, Chiyao and Chilomwe (Kamwendo, 2016).
As said in the introduction, it is one of the poorest countries in the world (World Bank, 2019). Over 70% percent of the population live below the poverty line (Unicef). The economy is mainly build on agriculture; about 80% of the population depends on it for employment. The country is often exposed to climatic shocks, one of which happened during the research when hurricane Idai hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi
(Oxfam, n.d.).
The education system in Malawi operates on a system of 8 years of primary school (standard 1 to 8), 4 years of secondary school (form 1 to 4), 4 years of bachelor’s degree and 1-2 years of master’s degree. At the end of the four years of secondary school, students take the Malawi School Certificate Examination (MSCE), which determines whether students can attend higher education (Robertson, Cassity, & Kunkwenzu). Attendance rate of secondary education was 17% in 2015 (National Statistical Office [NSO] & ICF, 2017). In secondary education 80% of students attend public schools. Opposed to primary education, public secondary education is not free and school fees for CDSS’s are around 18,000 Malawian Kwacha, which corresponds to 22 euro’s per term (ActionAid, 2017).
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3.2. Project Background
Edukans is a Dutch NGO that focuses on children, youth and education development in developing countries (Edukans, n.d.). They started the STAR-school project in Malawi because of the contacts they already had there. They have been active in Malawi since 2006, implementing several projects with different partners. One of these partners is the Malawian NGO EEDF. One of Edukans’ aims is to train the people from EEDF so that eventually they can take over the responsibility of implementing STARschool.
This project at 16 CDSS’s lasts three years, with two teacher-trainings on ATL-practices a year, so six teacher-trainings in total. At the moment of data collection, the teachers had had two trainings. Each training lasts four days, in which the teachers work with group assignments, peer coaching, theory and workshops in order to learn ATL-practices. Besides the four-day-training, school visits, observations and individual teacher-training with video-feedback take place. At the schools, headteachers and teachers organise ‘in-service’ trainings multiple times a year, usually after the official training takes place. They are usually one day. At these ‘in-service’ trainings the trained teachers share their knowledge with the nontrained teachers and they discuss the ATL method.
In addition, head-teachers received a leadership training to enable them to support the teachers in applying ATL-practices. The training of ‘future-trainers’ is done simultaneously with the ATL-training for teachers, where they practice giving the training while being supervised by two staff-members from Edukans. According to an EEDF-participant, the teachers at the schools were selected for participation in the ATL-training via the headteacher, but also via advisors from the government. These advisors are called Secondary Education Method Advisors (SEMA’s) They advised not only on the teacher-selection, but also on which schools should participate in the project.
Besides EEDF, Edukans and the schools, other actors played a role in the project. The SEMA’s are involved in the monitoring of the project. Also, together with teachers from the Domasi Teacher Training College, the SEMA’s are trained to become trainers. Monitoring of the progress at the schools is done by staff members of EEDF together with the SEMA’s and students from Domasi-college, after which they report back to Edukans. Another actor is Mastercard Foundation, which funds the project. Edukans
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reports back to them and the members of Mastercard are involved during the project by paying visits and giving feedback. The Ministry of Education in Malawi was involved in the policy development before the project started. At last, the community and parents are also involved in both the funding and decision-making at the school-level. All schools have a Parent Teacher Association (PTA). How often the PTA meets and what their tasks are differs somewhat per school.
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4. Method
The chosen design was a qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews and observational schemes. With this design, the relatively small sample could be studied in-depth, which was appropriate for answering the research questions. The interviews were semi-structured to avoid overlooking important underlying constructs and
phenomena, which is one of the risks when using heavily structured instruments (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Semi-structured interviews leave room for follow-up questions and clarifications by both interviewer and interviewee (DiCocco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006). The data-collection was carried out in Malawi in January and February 2019, except for two interviews with Edukans and EEDF. These were conducted via Skype in the
Netherlands. Analysis of the data and writing of the thesis took place in Amsterdam between March and November 2019. The data collection was done by two student-researchers from the University of Amsterdam. All participants participated voluntarily and before participation they all signed an informed consent-form. These forms
informed the participants on the study, its procedures, privacy guarantee and relevant contact information.
The type of sample is a criterion sample, these are defined as ‘all cases that meet some criterion; useful for quality assurance’ (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p.28). The
criteria were decided upfront; teachers should be trained and should vary in gender. For students the criteria were also gender (four boys and four girls at each school) and basic English proficiency. The head-teacher asked the trained teachers to participate and the teachers asked the students. The only criteria for schools was that they should be a CDSS and should be in different districts, to obtain a representative view of Malawian CDSS’s. In the group-interviews, boys and girls were separated. The reason for the separation was because gender equality is problematic in Malawi (United Nations, n.d.) and girls might not have dared to speak up when boys were present. From Edukans, one of the coordinators of the programme was interviewed. He developed the training programme for both the teachers and the future-trainers and currently gives the trainings. From EEDF, two officers were interviewed; they are addressed as EEDF 1 and EEDF 2.
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4.1. Participants and Schools
In this study, participants were gathered from five rural CDSS’s in Malawi that
participate in the STAR-school project, and are addressed in this thesis as School A, B, C, D and E. Data on the schools are presented in table 1. One school was located in the northern region, two in the central region, and two in the southern region of Malawi. What dominantly the religious background of students was, was answered by the headteachers.
Table 1.
School information
School A School B School C School D School E
Students, n 341 177 +/- 500 270 395
Teachers, n 16 10 * 13 *
Classes, n 4 4 8 4 7
Religion Christian Muslim ** Christian/Local Christian
*Amount of teachers was unknown for school C & E **Religious background was unknown for C
In all schools trained teachers were observed and interviewed, except for school D (table 2). Due to absenteeism of regular teachers the headteacher was interviewed both as headteacher as well as trained teacher since he went for the teacher training instead of the leadership training. To do so, the interview was slightly adjusted to combine the
Table 2
Sample
Total School A School B School C School D School E EEDF Edukans Headteachers, n (% male) 5 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 1 (100%) - - Teachers, n (% male) 9 2 (50%) 2 (50%) 2 (50%) - 3 (67%) - - Students, n (% male) 40 8 (50%) 8 (50%) 8 (50%) 8 (50%) 8 (50%) - - NGO-officers, n (%male) 3 - - - - - 2 (50%) 1 (100%)
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headteacher- and teacher-interview. His class was also observed. In the last school one extra teacher was interviewed to make up for the lack in trained teachers in school D. In each school, two student group-interviews were conducted; one girl-group and one boy-group. In total there were 57 participants, with whom 27 interviews were conducted. 10 classes were observed.
There are three types of qualifications: certificate, diploma and bachelor’s degree (table 3). The teachers who have a certificate for qualification, started teaching at
primary school and then moved up to secondary. This means that they were not officially trained for teaching in secondary education. A diploma is a valid qualification for teaching at secondary school as is a bachelor’s degree. Under the column ‘years of experience’ one can see that some teachers also taught primary education (PE) before teaching secondary education (SE). As shown, all teachers teach more than one subject and more than one form. Some information is not filled in because teachers either did not answer that question or the question was not asked. In the tables the headteacher from school D is addressed as T17/H4 since he was interviewed and observed as both. The teacher-numbers start at 11, because during data collection nontrained teachers were also interviewed and were numbered 1 to 10. This data is not used in this research.
Table 3
Teacher information
School A School B School C School D School E
T11 T12 T13 T14 T15 T16 T17/H4 T18 T19 T20
Gender F M F M F M M M M F
Age 42 39 50 45 43 36 50 50 31 33
Qualifications Diploma Bachelor’s
degree Certificate Certificate
Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree Diploma Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree Years of Experience 26 (16 PE, 10 SE) 13 24 (16 PE, 8 SE) 11 (6 PE, 5SE) 9 10 25 (6 PE, 19 SE) 23 * 10 Subjects Life skills, biology, chemistry, social studies History, agriculture, geography Chichewa, social studies Geography, social studies, life skills, English English, Chichewa Chemistry, mathematics Bible knowledge, social studies Geography, bible knowledge Math, chemistry Chichewa, English
Forms * * 3 & 4 1, 2, 3 & 4 1 & 3 1, 3 & 4 * 1, 3 & 4 1, 2, 3 & 4 1 & 2
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In the table below, one can see the information on headteachers. Again, headteacher 4 is addressed as ‘H4/T17’. In this table the column ‘training’ is added, because not all headteachers received the leadership training. In the column ‘years of experience’, both the total amount of years that they have been teaching is presented, as well as the amount of years being headteacher. Only the headteacher in school A started at primary school (which is why he started with a certificate), after which he got his diploma and started working in secondary education. After that he also obtained a bachelor’s degree. Table 4 Headteacher information School A H1 School B H2 School C H3 School D H4/T17 School E H5 Gender M M M M M Age 56 50 36 50 39
Training Leadership training Leadership training Leadership training ATL training Leadership training
Qualifications Certificate Diploma Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree
Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree
Years of experience 27 total * 26 total 22 head 13 total 1 head 24 total 7 head 11 total 4 head
Subjects Geography English Biology,
mathematics
Bible knowledge & social studies
Chemistry, agriculture &
physics *Unknown
Lastly, the tables with student information are presented (tables 5 and 6). The question about the age at which students started learning English was not consistently answered: some students did not say their age, but the standard (primary school grade) in which they started learning English. Since there are no age limits set for grades it is impossible to define an average age at which students started learning English. What is clear though, is that the age and standard at which students started learning English, differed greatly per student.
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Table 5
Student information, boy groups
School A School B School C School D School E
Boy 1 Boy 2 Boy 3 Boy 1 Boy 2 Boy 3 Boy 4 Boy 4 Boy 1 Boy 2 Boy 3 Boy 4 Boy 1 Boy 2 Boy 3 Boy 4 Boy 1 Boy 2 Boy 3 Boy 4 Age 17 18 15 16 20 19 18 18 20 19 18 18 19 17 16 16 17 13 17 17 Form 3 4 2 1 4 4 3 3 4 4 3 3 4 1 3 2 4 2 4 3 Home language* C C C C C/E C C C C C C C C C C C T T T T Age/standard English 15 ** 4 ** 13 ** 14 ** 7 St 1 5 St 5 *** St 3 *** St 1 16 St 5 12 St 5 14 St 7 5 ** *** St 6 *** St 1 *** St 7 *** St 5 *** Pre 8 St 5 *** Pre 6 St 1
*language students speak at home: C=Chichewa, T=Chitumbuka, Y=Chiyawo, E=English **Standard in which they started learning English unknown: Pre=preschool
***Age at which they started learning English unknown
Table 6
Student information, girl groups
School A School B School C School D School E
Girl 1 Girl 2 Girl 3 Girl 4 Girl 1 Girl 2 Girl 3 Girl 4 Girl 1 Girl 2 Girl 3 Girl 4 Girl 1 Girl 2 Girl 3 Girl 4 Girl 1 Girl 2 Girl 3 Girl 4 Age 17 17 14 16 18 16 18 17 16 16 15 15 15 15 16 17 16 18 17 16 Form 3 4 1 2 **** **** **** **** 4 4 3 3 2 2 4 3 2 4 3 4 Home
language* C C C C C/Y C C C/Y C C C C C C C C T T T T
Age/standard English 6 ** 7 ** 8 ** 7 ** 6 St 1 5 St 1 5/6 St 1 5/6 St 1 8/9 St 4 9 St 5 8 St 2 8 St 2 *** St 1 *** St 1 *** St 2 *** St 5 4 St 1 8 St 3 6 St 1 11 St 5
*language students speak at home: C=Chichewa, T=Chitumbuka, Y=Chiyawo, E=English **Standard in which they started learning English unknown: Pre=preschool
***Age at which they started learning English unknown **** Form unknown
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4.2. Data Collection
4.2.1. Interviews
The interviews were developed by the researchers before departure to Malawi. During the interviews, the previously developed questions were asked and the researchers elaborated on questions whenever necessary. Participants were free to ask questions at any time during the interview. Five type of interviews were designed; teacher interview (appendix 1), head-teacher interview (appendix 2), student-group interview (appendix 3) EEDF interview (appendix 4) and Edukans interview (appendix 5). Preparatory to starting the interviews, confidentiality and anonymity were ensured to the participants and all participants signed an informed-consent form in duplicate. Interviews were taken either outside separate from the other students and colleagues, or inside in a private room. After visiting school A, the interview questions were revised where necessary. During four out of five school visits, EEDF was present at the school
simultaneously with the researchers. They were never present at the interviews though. All interviews were divided into seven sections; general questions, definition, benefits, implementation, support, challenges and outcomes. The general questions gave background information about age, gender and background. The definition section gave insight in the participant’s understanding of ATL. The questions on benefits aimed to identify if and what benefits the participants expect or see in ATL. Questions on implementation aimed to clarify their views on their own and other teacher’s
competence, feelings of self-efficacy, cooperation with colleagues and the way they think ATL is being implemented in the school and the classroom. The support section aimed to identify the type of support there’s being given in the implementation processes and by whom. Questions on challenges aimed to determine the challenges that participants see, expect or experience on implementing and practicing ATL. If not mentioned, follow up questions on resources, cultural differences and other possible challenges were asked. Lastly, outcomes showed which outcomes the participants observe or expect to happen.
The separate interviews had somewhat different aims and differed in questions or added sections. Teacher interviews aimed to determine the participants’
understanding of ATL, whether they see any benefits, the practices that are applied in the classrooms, the challenges they see in implementing ATL, the support that they
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experience and the outcomes they observe and/or expect. In the general questions, the teachers were also asked about their qualifications, their years of experience, which subject and grade they teach. Also they were asked why they became a teacher to
determine their motivation for the profession. The teacher interviews lasted between 20 and 45 minutes.
The head-teacher interviews aimed to clarify similar information as the teacher interviews. It should also give insight in the role of the head-teacher in implementation, the support they give to teachers in the training-process and the support they receive from EEDF and Edukans. They were also asked about their qualifications and years of experience. The head-teacher interviews lasted between 30 and 50 minutes.
For the students it was decided to do group-interviews so that a larger amount of students could be interviewed, which increased the representativeness of the student body. Another reason was that students might feel more comfortable in a group. The student group-interviews aimed to clarify the students’ knowledge on ATL and the project, whether they noticed any changes in the school and whether they liked the changes. Also, their view on possible challenges was asked. In the student group-interviews the ‘support’ section was removed. Added to the general questions were What language do you speak at home and When did you start learning English, to determine their English proficiency and possible differences between students in their English proficiency. The student interviews lasted between 10 and 30 minutes.
The interviews with EEDF and Edukans aimed to clarify their view on ATL and the project, its benefits and challenges. Also, two sections were added, namely process (of the implementation) and collaboration (between Edukans, EEDF and de schools). These participants were also asked about their qualifications and years of experience in the educational field (see appendix 4-8).
4.2.2. Observations
The observations aimed to determine how ATL is being implemented in the classroom. In addition, discrepancies between the interview-data and actual practices could be observed. Observations were done with two observation schemes: one focused on Learning and the other on Teaching (appendix 7). The observation schemes were developed by Edukans and are usually used by EEDF and Edukans for quality
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assessments at the schools. Both schemes had 8 aspects on which the teachers’ and students’ behaviours could be scored. These aspects contain indicators of ATL practices on learning and teaching. Each indicator could be scored from 1-4: weak, moderate, good and excellent. Another option was N/A (not applicable). After each aspect was a short comment section. All observations were done by both researchers inside the classrooms, sitting amongst the students, usually in the back of the class. The researchers did the observations independently. All classes were 40 minutes. During two observations there were people from EEDF observing at the same time , one at school C and one at school D. In school B the headteacher stayed in the classroom during one observation.
4.3. Data Analysis
After completing the data collection, codes were determined for coding the interviews. The first codes were mainly based on the research questions and the literature as described in the theoretical framework, such as ‘Definition of ATL’ and ‘Benefits’. Other codes emerged while transcribing and coding the interviews. These kind of codes were based on observed similarities or differences between participants or notable quotes. These were codes like ‘Differences between teachers’ and ‘Active participation and critical thinking’. While coding and reading the interviews, these codes were added to the
original code-list. Eventually all interviews were re-coded with the final version of the code list (appendix 6). After coding all the interviews printouts were made and
quotations and pieces of text were underlined based on similarities, differences and remarkable aspects. These underlined aspects were organised into mind-maps and eventually analysed and presented in the results.
The observations were analysed as follows. After the researchers independently scored the observation schemes, they compared and discussed their scores and
comments. This was done immediately after the observation. Then the researchers decided whether a teacher scored weak, moderate, good or excellent on the individual indicators. After this, an average ‘overall score’ was given to the teachers based on the indicator-scores. Some indicators focused more on student behaviour than teacher practices, these were taken into account, but not taken along in the ‘overall score’.
Data was compared both within as between head-teacher, teachers, students, EEDF and Edukans. First, differences and similarities within groups were identified to
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see whether the training had the same effect on each participant and if not, which factors cause the differences. Also, differences within teachers in the way they define ATL and the way they show ATL-practices in the observational schemes were analysed. Second, analysis was done between groups to see whether different groups of
participants understand ATL and its practices in the same way and if not, which factors cause the difference.
4.4. Limitations of the Study
There were several limitations during the data collection of this study. First, some student-factors played a role. The student interviews were complicated due to the language barrier, but also due to the fact that students were very shy and submissive. Since the students were chosen by either the teachers or the head teacher and English proficiency was a criterium, it is possible that only the best-performing students were interviewed. Also, one can wonder whether the students participated voluntarily, taking into account the authoritarian nature of teacher-student relationships. They might not have been able to decline after the teacher asked them to participate in the research. During observations some of the aspects, such as Learner’s ‘critical and creative thinking’, could not be scored due to shy-ness of the students and the fact that they spoke in their mother tongue during group-work. Learners’ critical and creative thinking had to be determined by their behaviour towards the teachers and during the
interviews. This language barrier was a limitation in general. Although it was largest with students, it was also noticeable with other participants. This language barrier might sometimes have caused unclarity in answers and questions during the interviews.
Second, the fact that people from EEDF were present at the schools at the same time of the data collection, could have interfered. The independence of this study might for some participants not have been clear, which could have led to more socially
desirable answers. The authenticity of the classes during the two observations that EEDF was also present might have been influenced. Some of the people from EEDF interfered with the classes and started conversations with the students during group work. Also, the classes were filmed by them. Though one could also note, that the
authenticity of the classes could be questioned because of the presence of researchers in general, even without EEDF. Furthermore, some of the interviews were taken in places
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where the participants could be heard by teachers, students, or the headteacher. This did not necessarily change the answers, but the possibility remains that this also resulted in more socially desirable answers.
Third, the two researchers did not systematically compare their way of coding during the coding-process. The same code-list was used, but one researcher coded large pieces of text, whereas the other coded shorter pieces. Also, one of them gave one piece of text multiple codes, whereas the other more often used one code. Due to inexperience in coding of the researchers this risk was not calculated upfront. This complicated the analysis somewhat because it slowed down the process. However, eventually all
interviews and pieces of text were coded and analysed, though with somewhat different coding methods.
4.5. Ethical Considerations
To close the method section, some ethical considerations have to be made. As much as the researchers tried to be objective during the research, one cannot completely exclude the frame of reference from which these researchers work and construct knowledge. Both being raised and educated in the Netherlands, gives a western-focused view on education and communication. Another ethical consideration, is the way the researchers were perceived by the participants, considering their nationality and gender. The
relationships and communication between men and women in Malawi might be of a different nature than they are in the Netherlands. To limit the influence of the frame of reference, citations from the interviews were paraphrased in the results. Furthermore, during interviews the researchers regularly confirmed with participants what they had said and whether they were understood correctly. Also, several people from EEDF, with Malawian nationality, read the teacher-, headteacher- and student-interviews upfront to look for any unclarities or possible cultural issues.
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5. Results
In this chapter the results of the study are presented. First, information is given on how the implementation process with its different actors developed and what the given support by headteachers, management and the NGO’s looked like. In the second section, the way participants defined ATL, education quality and the perceived benefits of ATL is described. The third section addresses the implementation practices that participants applied or saw in the schools and the way teachers cooperate and support one another. Furthermore, the results from the observations are presented here. In the fourth section the perceived challenges are described. Lastly, the results on perceived outcomes and sustainability are noted. Interestingly, not many differences in answers were found between schools.
Most differences were between individual participants or between the groups of participants (for example students versus teachers). Only in school D there were some noticeable differences. The school seemed less organised and structured than the other schools; classes did not start on time or not at all, students were less disciplined, often hung outside the classrooms and did not listen to the teachers nor the headteacher.
Other than that, differences were mostly found in student-numbers, amount of buildings and resources. All schools coped with lack of resources, though some more than others. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between male and female participants amongst the teachers. During the interviews they all seemed equally motivated and comfortable to speak with the researchers. For the students there also weren’t noticeable differences between boys and girls during the interviews; they were all quite shy and reserved. In some classroom boys did seem somewhat more
comfortable to speak up and respond to the teachers, but girls also participated and responded so the differences were negligible.
To clarify, in this section some information is presented about nontrained teachers. When the term ‘teachers’ is used it concerns only trained teachers. The nontrained teachers are indicated as ‘nontrained teachers’ and only where necessary ‘trained teachers’ are addressed as such. Some information on nontrained teachers is relevant, but the focus of this research is on the trained teachers.
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5.1. Project Implementation Process
5.1.1. Process, participation criteria and roles
EEDF and Edukans were quite positive on the implementation process thus far. The following quote is representative for their views.
“So far, in my opinion we seem to be on the right path. Because in terms of what we had planned, what we wanted to deliver and the follow up and monitoring which are taking place…so far, we are getting good feedback that the methodologies where the teachers are exposed to and train in, most of them are implementing in their schools. Probably at this moment it is a bit early to see much impact but I would say so far we are having positive impressions of what is going on” (EEDF 2)
According to the Edukans-participant a strong aspect of this project is that there is a lot of attention for contextual flexibility: the goal of the project is not to implement the ATL methods in a rigid way, but by shaping it in a way that it matches the context. This contextual flexibility could be a reason for some unclarity in the process, which is a risk of non-rigid interventions but possibly necessary for this context.
“Dus het ook best wel open in dat opzicht, in de aanpak zelf als je gewoon ruimte laat in de contextualisering, het is niet dat we heel veel voorschrijven. Dat maakt ze juist actief om dingen te bedenken die in hun context goed passen.” (Edukans participant)
There have been some discrepancies between the views of the EEDF/Edukans participants. To start with, some unclarity seemed to exist on teacher participation in the ATL training and how this was organised. The Edukans-participant said there should be both male and female teachers, a variety in age and different teaching-subjects.
Subjects and gender were also mentioned by EEDF 2, although he explained that it was difficult to meet the ‘gender’ criteria because of the general lack of female teachers. EEDF 1 only mentioned one requirement for teachers: the inclusion of ‘section heads’ (of the sections science, language and humanities). She did not say anything about gender, subjects or age. The Edukans-participant noted that the process on teacher-selection was not completely clear to them and was mostly handled by EEDF.
Despite this apparent unclarity, the teachers who participated met the described criteria. As seen in the methods section, there was diversity in gender, subject and age amongst the participating teachers. About 40 percent of the participating teachers in
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this research were women, (although one has to note that none of the headteachers were). At some schools the participating teachers were indeed section heads, but since not all teachers were specifically asked whether they were section heads, it is unclear how many of them actually were. On school-selection in the project the criteria seemed clearer amongst the participants. Both EEDF participants and the Edukans-participant said the schools were selected for their proximity and collaboration with primary schools that already participated in the STARschool project. The EEDF participants added that after these schools were located, they chose the schools in rural areas. They would benefit the most from the training, because of low quality and lack in qualified teachers.
According to the Edukans-participant and EEDF 2, EEDF is responsible for the communication with the schools and the follow-up. The planning is that eventually, the EEDF office and staff members will retrieve most responsibilities, give trainings
themselves and Edukans will step back. For the most part, ideas on task-division seemed to be the same between Edukans and EEDF.
5.1.2. Headteacher-, management- and NGO-support
When asked about support that teachers received from the headteachers and the management, two things were mentioned by all teachers. First, every teacher named that the headteacher provided material support that is needed for ATL-practices. Second, eight out of ten teachers explicitly mentioned the in-service training weekends that headteachers organised after the initial ATL training, where the trained teachers could share their new knowledge and experiences with the nontrained teachers.
“Like, they would offer the trainings, after the training we have with EEDF, coming to this side then organise a training with those who did not attend so that we can acquire that knowledge and also the use of the materials they do provide. The materials that can be used in teaching, that is in terms varying the method which can promote Active Teaching and Learning” (Teacher 19, school E)
All headteachers also considered these two things to be important forms of support. They also mentioned that they observe classes and give advice when needed. They considered all trained teachers to be and feel competent. Headteachers at school A, B and E seemed to be involved closest with the teachers. School C was relatively large
