Evaluating ICT for Education in Africa - Royal Holloway, University of ...

7.8 Monitoring and evaluation implicationsThe impacts of non-curricula behavioural change, learning through gaming,life skills and critical thinking are each notoriously difficult to quantify andmay be somewhat anathema to the dominant ethos of quantifying definablelearning outcomes. These aspects of education therefore present considerablechallenges in the realms of monitoring and evaluation, demonstrating adistinct omission from the current status quo and dominant emphases. Thiscan cause tension when conducting practical monitoring and evaluationexercises. This predilection for quantifiable indicators was apparent inconversation with Rolf (07/04/08) when he explained his reasoning forpursuing a quantitative framework for educational monitoring andevaluation:„I was wanting to avoid the soft factors because of the fact thateducationalists will say it is not valid. So, because of this, wesaid, let‟s get objective indicators and use them ... The more wecan measure the better – we will put it all in a database andcan include both hard and soft data.‟This leads into considering what constitutes appropriate indicators forassessing educational programmes. As indicated by Rolf‟s comment above,there is a widespread tendency to resist engaging with anything that cannotbe quantified and therefore presented to donors as having had ademonstrably beneficial impact (section 2.4). His fear resonates withobservations from the literature, with Alexander (2008) noting that asignificant factor driving the teaching establishment in Africa and elsewhereis the devising of tests which can more effectively prove a change inattainment. This contributes to the climate of absolute accountability inwhich educators are required to „produce a smoking gun: clear, irrefutable,scientific evidence‟ (Roblyer 2005 p.196) to justify their choice ofintervention (Boissiere 2004, DFID 2010). Although understandable whenconsidering the economic and political pressures shaping education, thereluctance to engage with unquantifiable factors reveals a partial304