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

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Identifying the power and politics within technology and the impact ofaspiration within technology is therefore of central importance. Indeed,„whether by virtue of their presence or their absence – or indeed the specificnature of the presence – ICTs have a “politics” and these politics affecteveryone‟ (Mansell 2005 p.84). The pertinent challenge is therefore to„understand the politics of today‟s ICTs‟ (Mansell 2005 p.85), recognisingtheir position within a global narrative heavily influenced by conceptions ofmodernity, capitalism and consumption as all indicative of development(Wainwright 2008).There are ideological and practical parallels between the current optimismsurrounding ICT for education and previous enthusiasm for the large,infrastructure-based, development programmes of the 1960s and 1970s.Indeed, the bold approach to development that provoked such a backlashthrough the rise of critical development theory (Simon 2006, Simon 2007,Wainwright 2008) is the same ethos that is often witnessed in ICT foreducation initiatives today. It is not unlikely that some current, large scaletechnology in education projects will be assessed in hindsight to have beenthe industrial „large dam‟ equivalent of the early 21 st century. Simon (2003)notes that at their heyday, modernisation-as-development projects such aslarge dams, power stations, hard industry, airports and harbours wereconstructed with little regard for their impacts on human and environmentalwell being. One can see substantive similarities with the uncritical nature ofcurrent major digital technology programmes, such as OLPC or the NEPADeSchools initiative, exhibiting familiar traits large-scale donor funding andpolitical backing, alongside limited foresight and prospect for sustainability.There have been critical voices expressing such sentiments since theinception of the projects (Unwin 2009), however they continue regardless,often due to the underlying financial, political and ideological drivers.In the light of this, Appadurai‟s (2004) assertion that the ability to aspire isan inherent good because it is synonymous with the ability to make thingshappen seems to be misplaced. Aspiration does not necessarily translate intoan increased ability to instigate change. In fact, within the context of ICT, the336
aspiration could be viewed as potentially delusional because the symbolenables people to believe that they are connecting with the development theydesire, without necessarily understanding the underlying substance thatsustains it.8.4 OLPC: a case study in the impact of aspiration8.4.1 IntroductionHaving explained the issues surrounding aspiration, I now ground myanalysis in a detailed examination of the implementation of OLPC inEthiopia. The ethos of OLPC provides a lens through which to assess theeffect that aspiration may have on the worldview, self-perception andpractical engagement of an organisation. The purpose of the example is todemonstrate how aspiration towards an objective, combined with confidencein its attainability, can lead swiftly to marginalising reflection, self-criticismand ultimately monitoring and evaluation.OLPC is the non-profit association that develops, promotes and distributesthe XO laptop, also commonly and somewhat misleadingly termed the $100laptop (http://www.laptop.org accessed 25/06/09). Significant levels ofmedia attention surrounded the launch and subsequent development of theXO, due both to the innovative nature of the concept and the effective globalpublicising from Nicholas Negroponte, founder of OLPC and founder andChairman Emeritus of the Media Lab at MIT (Krstic 2008, Vota 2009,Madden 2009). Despite a failure to reach initial projected sale targets, theprogramme has been credited with catalysing the proliferation of low-costcomputing options for the developing world (Pal et al. 2009) and is the mostfamous of the many similar options now available (Trucano 2008). Themachine is currently being deployed in a variety of countries includingUruguay, the first country to embark upon a national roll-out (Flores andHourcade 2009, Nugroho and Lonsdale 2009), Nepal, Peru, Rwanda andEthiopia (Hollow 2009a).337
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the research findings to emphasise
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3.4.5 Drawings ....................
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5.4.1 Plurality of methods ........
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8.3 Implications of aspiration ....
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List of figuresFigure 2.1: MDGs (UN
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List of appendicesAppendix A: Resul
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NOLNet Namibian Open Learning Netwo
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I began this PhD two weeks after mo
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number of ICT for education program
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innovative alternatives, and the ce
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2.2 Substance, rationale and approa
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progress towards the EFA goals has
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The critique posed to the market th
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etween these two extremes as a resu
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promoted to become „the character
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appropriate application in recognit
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can instigate both harm and good, i
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Such an undertaking is central to t
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- Availability of computer networks
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assisting towards this end. The imp
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eing rooted in specific socio-cultu
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evaluation: „An evaluation carrie
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Central within this is recognising
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2.6.2 Maturing of the disciplineEar
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that conceptualises ICT for develop
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2006). This also requires the adopt
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attempt to impose overarching solut
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currently the lowest available „p
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Garcia-Montes et al. 2006). This is
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However, despite such claims and th
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into knowledge and applied in life
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dependent upon an increased emphasi
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that ICT is having on education in
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3. Methodology3.1 IntroductionThe p
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2004) and instead focused on utilis
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evaluation of ICT and development p
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ICT for development programmes (Hee
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organisations, explanation of the p
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3.3.1 EuroTalk LtdEuroTalk (http://
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further two weeks in Ethiopia in De
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I was invited by InWEnt to particip
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planning and implementation they co
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the one on the adjacent line. This
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drawings was as a precursor to anci
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Photo 3.3: Students completing the
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prior to implementation of the prog
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provided regular opportunity for se
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for education in Africa from a list
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conversations with respondents, as
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partially based on the flawed notio
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in the research then all those unab
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motivational and aspirational techn
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In the light of the complex challen
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It cannot be guaranteed that resear
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Embrace the heterogeneity of commun
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The majority of the research encoun
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which each received 20 devices for
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Figure 4.1: ICT for development pol
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Photo 4.1: Students exploring the I
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and engaged with children, teachers
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the programme with all of them havi
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widespread lack of textbooks and in
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esources but also that it serves to
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in order to reflect the involvement
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Photo 4.4: Students in Ethiopia exp
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on the donation of solar panels fro
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Photo 4.6: Teacher training in Rema
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4.3.10 Programme futureThe XO 5000
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4.4.3 The importance of ICT for edu
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theme focussed on the lack of budge
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esponses, three dominant themes eme
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The experience of interacting with
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„In the institutions we have work
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Access to a wide variety of resourc
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assessment that emphasised the tran
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have been mitigated had the project
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and the need for sustained probing.
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Descriptionof methodFocus groupsLoc
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Classroomobservations24 in Malawi a
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5.3.1 Baseline testingDiscussion at
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indicated that although apparently
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The lack of evidence from the basel
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Choose the correct answer and write
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eflection upon the format suitabili
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you can follow that. It gives you g
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Following the final iteration of gr
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the method within its appropriate c
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more innovative approach to catalys
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to identify significant themes that
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„Everything that the teachers wro
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(Shurmer-Smith 2002, Herbert 2000).
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5.4 Lessons for effective operation
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and be provided with research assis
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problematic problem but it is the o
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elieving that methods that are base
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teachers maintaining many external
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weekend then they will be there and
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coffee and dancing together in a ro
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emphases can serve to reinforce eac
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eferring back to previous experienc
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Tilahun reflected on the reasons be
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The limited emphasis on quantifying
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5.5 Implications for capacity devel
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improve and build capacity. Similar
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These issues allude to the bigger p
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esponses to questions regarding par
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Month Activity Challenges Strengths
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communicate alternative withappropr
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EuroTalk are keen for thefindings t
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6.2 Why partnership?The contributor
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(Unwin 2005b). The notion of tri-se
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assess the efficacy of the partners
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6.3.1 Contrasting bottom linesPartn
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to engage with the development pote
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that could be distributed specifica
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sector was the most significant cha
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My suggestion that I might speak wi
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approach is found in assessing the
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the fieldwork. The effect of the ob
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(13/04/08). Although prevented from
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„We should have worked more close
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since the language being used faile
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demonstrated in an interview with E
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discussions and various unsuccessfu
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of partnership (Marriot and Goyder
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„‟When we think of monitoring s
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the impact on ECBP from spending ti
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„It has to do with the history of
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6.7.2 Potential to redefine practic
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monitoring and evaluation can provi
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Photo 7.2: Desks and benches in cla
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quantifying educational outputs. It
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of technology within education in A
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pedagogies, and new approaches to t
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eLearning in Africa. Training was h
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Second, alongside the enthusiasm ma
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in Ethiopia meant that the monitori
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„Akili has big potential - becaus
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„The main problem we are facing i
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colonial approach‟ (09/12/08) to
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Page 287 and 288: Photo 7.4: Lessons in Malawi conduc
Page 289 and 290: Photo 7.5: Girls in Rema herding go
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Page 293 and 294: Teachers in Rema (22/04/08) gave a
Page 295 and 296: disaster. The contrasting potential
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Page 301 and 302: „I use the laptop a lot at home f
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Page 317 and 318: has received some attention (Naraya
Page 319 and 320: The traditional dominant narrative
Page 321 and 322: Children reported that they felt mo
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Page 343 and 344: If every child in Ethiopia who is e
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Page 347 and 348: However, as is now explored, the ve
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Page 351 and 352: 8.5.2 Private sector needs creation
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Page 371 and 372: It is therefore my hope that the me
Page 373 and 374: 9.2.5 Ongoing potential for transfo
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Page 379 and 380: 9.5 Education: a final wordThe thes
Page 381 and 382: BibliographyAAG, 2009. Statement of
Page 383 and 384: Batchelor, S., Evangelista, S., Hea
Page 385 and 386: Development Department Education Gr
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learning: a sourcebook for evaluato
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evaluation in education. Studies in
Page 391 and 392:
DFID, 2008. Private sector developm
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EFA, 2001. Dakar framework for acti
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Fadel, C. and Lemke, L. 2006. Techn
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G8, 2007. Growth and responsibility
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Greene, J., 2005. Mixed methods. In
Page 401 and 402:
Harrow, J., 2001. Capacity building
Page 403 and 404:
Hine, C., 2005. Virtual methods and
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Illich, I., 1969. Celebration of aw
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Oliver, G., (ed) 2005. Maitland+20:
Page 409 and 410:
Lasonen, J., Kemppainen, R., and Ra
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Mansell, R., 2005. The fragility of
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Mercer, C., 2006. Telecentres and t
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Mutume. G., 2006. Harnessing the in
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Olukoshi, A., 2006. African scholar
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Paul, R. and Elder, L. 2005. The mi
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Roy, S., 2005. Globalisation, ICT a
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Shadish, W, Cook, T. and Campbell D
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Sperling, G., 2008. A global educat
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Thomas, J, 1996. Introduction: a de
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UNESCO, 2006a. Teachers and educati
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Unwin, T., 2009a. Conclusions. In U
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Walker, J, 2005. Self-determination
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Winch, C., 2005. Autonomy as an edu
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Appendices437
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439
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441
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Interviewee Company Details of Resp
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UK LtdJohn Connell Cisco Brief resp
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Appendix C: Sample of Malawi indivi
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Tell me, when you see a school like
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Appendix D: Sample of Ethiopia stud
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classes‟.For final question promp
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Children InformationInformation fro
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Appendix F: Sample of Malawi focus
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Appendix G: Sample of Ethiopia teac
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esponsibility of being apilot schoo
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laptop make to the livesof the chil
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How have you found thisdiscussion?O
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demonstrate, the eight questions an
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the technology solution and initiat
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made that rule. At the weekend I pl
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When you are writing the diary plea
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Do you think the laptops and Akili
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done?..............................
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...................................
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Appendix M: Baseline test in Malawi
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HIV?a. Yesb. No5. Are there medicin
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It is important that the test is co
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Teachers can teach students how to
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Maths1. What is the LCM of 5, 10 an
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HealthPlease explain how you can co
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- Please explain why you think thes
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495
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In wanting to do the best evaluatio
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Baselines (inc. retrospective const
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Appendix Q: Report from eLA worksho
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Incorporating more qualitative meth
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Breakout workshop 3 - DonorsProblem
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It is difficult to ensure the objec
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appease donors and secure future fu
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to demonstrate thatsomething works
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Insights regarding effective evalua
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Appendix S: Data table from Malawi
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A 10% increase in correct answers r
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with headgain overall perspective o
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