A Global Compact on Learning - Brookings Institution

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Figure 1.1. Disparities Related to Sex, Income, and Location, 2007 (percentage of 7- to 16-year-olds not enrolled in school in Pakistan) % of 7- to 16-year-olds who are not enrolled in school 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Pakistan national average Poorest 20% Richest 20% Rural Urban Rural Urban Poor rural female Poor urban female Poor urban male Poor rural male Rich rural female Rich urban female Rich urban male Rich rural male Source: UNESCO, EFA <strong>Global</strong> Monitoring Report 2011: The Hidden Crisis—Armed Conflict and Education (Paris: UNESCO, 2011), 43. and boys drop out of school for many reasons, including direct and indirect costs related to attending school, poor quality, lack of interest or the low value placed on education, and a lack of transportation. 42 In Bangladesh, a study identified a number of factors that explain the higher dropout risk for girls, including school safety, pressures to marry, parent’s attitudes toward educating daughters, and perceived low returns on girls’ education. 43 The grades in which children leave school vary by country. In some countries, the largest numbers are in grade 1 (however, this may be a result of repetition, rather than dropping out, because grade 1 can be used as a preschool year), in other countries, grades 2 or 3 or the transition to lower secondary school are where the largest percentage of drop outs occurs. The fact that millions of children are not completing primary school or transitioning to lower secondary school represents an enormous waste of human potential and investment. Recent research in Malawi found that children who drop out of primary school before mastering basic skills experience a fairly immediate loss of the minimal skills previously acquired in school. 44 Millions of children leave school without acquiring the most basic skills. In many countries, learning outcomes have stagnated or regressed during the past ten years. 45 Thanks in large part to civil society organizations, cross-national research studies, and ministries of education working on improving learning in lowand middle-income countries, there is an emerging body of evidence on the scope and scale of the Figure 1.2 Percentage of Students Who Could Not Read at Grade 2 Level Mali: Bomu Mali: Fulfulde Uganda, Lango Subregion: English Mali: Songhoi Mali: Bamanakan Uganda, Lango Subregion: Lango Gambia: English Uganda, Central Region: English Uganda, Central Region: Luganda Nicaragua Atlantic Coast: Miskito Liberia: English Honduras, Rural Schools: Spanish Mali: French 94 35 35 54 53 51 93 91 88 84 83 82 29 0 20 40 60 80 100 Source: End of Grade 2 Early Reading Assessments; complete reports available at www.eddataglobal.org. A <strong>Global</strong> Compa c t on Learning: Taking Action on Educat i o n in Developing Countries C e n t e r for Universal Educat i o n at Brookings 10
learning crisis (see figure 1.2). 46 In Uganda, more than one-quarter of children in grade 7 could not read and understand a simple story at the grade 2 level of difficulty. 47 In Mali, nine out of ten grade 2 students studying in French could not read a single word of connected text. Three out of ten youth cannot do basic arithmetic in emerging economies. 48 According to the 2010 Annual Status of Education Report, which surveyed 750,000 children across rural India, only 53 percent of students in grade 5 could read a class 2 text. Nationally, this number has not gone up in five years. In fact, the ability of children in India to do basic arithmetic has declined. 49 Despite an increase in education expenditures in India, learning outcomes have remained the same or gotten worse. 50 And these problems extend to secondary schools in many countries, where many children— sometimes a majority—perform well below the accepted gradelevel standards. 51 For example, in Peru, only 20 percent of fifteenyear-olds were able to identify one piece of information in a text. Learning outcomes for girls in conflict-affected countries are some of the worst in the world. 52 Universal primary education will not be achieved without paying attention to learning. Much discussion in policy discourse has been about expanding access or improving quality. Undoubtedly, providing high-quality education to more learners will cost more than when it was reserved for just the elite. However, there is no real choice between access and quality as a country will not achieve universal primary completion without also paying Mali Niger attention to learning outcomes. Cross-country data show a positive correlation between education coverage and average learning levels (see figure 1.3). 53 In fact, countries that have done well in one respect have also generally tended to do well in the other, Burki and vice versa; 54 actions that improve learning outcomes help meet attainment goals. Conversely, there is a direct relationship between low learning levels (as measured by test scores) and dropout rates. 55 Impressive gains in access will only be sustained by improving both the developmental status of children before they enter formal schooling and the teaching and learning processes employed during the lower primary years. 56 Although the overall envelope for education spending needs to be bigger, this report seeks to outline where those increased investments should be targeted to better link components of the system across a child’s life span, improve efficiency and effectiveness throughout the education system, and increase the return on investment through higher social, economic, and political benefits. Figure 1.3. Correlation between Learning Levels and Enrollment, 1990–2003 (average of primary and secondary school net enrollment ratios) TIMSS 1999 equivalent scale 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 Tanza Mozam Madag Cote Ugand Zambi Lesot KoreaJapan Hong Hunga Nethe Belgi Macao SwCzech Liech itz Austr Canad Slove Irela Unite Unite Franc Sw Finla ede Germa Bulga Malay Latvi Cuba Polan Icela New Spain Luxem Denma Norw Z Greec a Serbi Roman Portu Lithu Italy Armen Tunis Trini Moldo CypruIsrae Seych Mexic Maced Jorda Brazi Turke Iran- Kenya Indon Mauri Alban Argen Leban Egypt Pales Parag Colom Kuw Chile Bahra ai Boliv HonduDomin Peru Venez Saudi SwZimba azi Botsw Phili Moroc Beliz Ghana Malaw Namib SouthAfr 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Source: L. Crouch and P. Vinjevold, “South Africa: Access before Quality, and What to Do Now?” Profesorado: Revista de currículum y formación del profesorado 10, no. 1 (2006). Interventions targeting gender differences have focused on access, not learning outcomes. Addressing gender gaps in education has mainly been defined in terms of access rather than looking at gender inequalities in educational quality. 57 However, gender A <strong>Global</strong> Compa c t on Learning: Taking Action on Educat i o n in Developing Countries C e n t e r for Universal Educat i o n at Brookings 11
Page 2 and 3: A GLOBAL COMPACT ON LEARNING TAKING
Page 4 and 5: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was wr
Page 6 and 7: put in place the national education
Page 8 and 9: which are necessary but not suffici
Page 10 and 11: competencies, both cognitive and no
Page 12 and 13: hundreds of millions of young peopl
Page 16 and 17: parity in enrollment may not be an
Page 18 and 19: need for their future lives and liv
Page 20 and 21: Specific actions to advance learnin
Page 22 and 23: oys, which are detailed in this cha
Page 24 and 25: planning and finance—working on i
Page 26 and 27: The first needed action is to encou
Page 28 and 29: Figure 3.1. Strategies and Actions
Page 30 and 31: how children learn to read and mani
Page 32 and 33: important for girls, who often have
Page 34 and 35: 4 PRIORITY 3: Providing post-primar
Page 36 and 37: Strategy 3A: Reduce Barriers That P
Page 38 and 39: Box 4.2. Lower and Upper Secondary
Page 40 and 41: do not necessarily translate into h
Page 42 and 43: learning facilities. For example, i
Page 44 and 45: Girls must be encouraged to take sc
Page 46 and 47: 5 Strategies common to all three pr
Page 48 and 49: teaching; and focus on specific ski
Page 50 and 51: location, disability, and gender, a
Page 52 and 53: 6 Conclusions and Policy RECOMMENDA
Page 54 and 55: y supporting promising and proven a
Page 56 and 57: donors spent at least 60 percent of
Page 58 and 59: APPENDIX A: CHART SUMMARIZING PRIOR
Page 60 and 61: 26 Save the Children, “Last in Li
Page 62 and 63: 87 M. A. Rihani, Keeping the Promis
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144 R. Dumatog and D. Dekker, “Fi
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212 Shell communication, March 10,
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Abadzi, H. Absenteeism
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Crouch, L., M. Korda, and D. Mumo.
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Holter, Ø.,et al. Gender Equality
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Lonigan, C. J., and T. Shanahan. Ex
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Sabates, R., et al. School Drop Out
Page 78 and 79:
———. “Partnership, Particip
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