Why Transforming teacher education enhances learning experiences of learners at all levels
“I had the privilege of attending what was considered a posh public school, or at least, that’s what we were made to believe in the late 1980s into the early 1990s, when schooling was a truly unique experience. The staffroom was a place to be feared, and the classroom was where discipline was firmly instilled. Teachers were the ultimate authority; they spoke,…
Rethinking Africa’s Learning Crisis: From Deficits to Possibilities
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, the “learning crisis” becomes clear the moment you step into a typical classroom. Millions of children go to school every day, yet many still leave without basic reading and maths skills. This quiet issue, often called “silent exclusion” shows that being in a classroom does not guarantee…
Building the blocks through evidence to end learning poverty in Africa.
In Africa, millions of children wake up every morning to go to school. They spend hours in school premises apparently not learning but schooling. In Kenya, if you sample 10 school-going-age children (aged 6 and 17 years), six of them are likely to not read and comprehend a simple text.…
We can end the learning crisis in our time
Give a child in grade 4 a grade 3 English text to read. Four in ten or forty percent of them will read. This means that 60 percent of them are promoted from one grade to another without having achieved the expectations of that grade level. This is according to…
Education researchers must prioritize evidence to inform and support teachers
“One must ask the essential question: “Just how much research is there which (i) demonstrates conclusively that if teachers change their practice from x to y there will be significant and enduring improvement in teaching and learning and (ii) has developed an effective method of convincing teachers of the benefits…