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

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provided three avenues through which to connect with a wider group ofstakeholders and so contributed to the context specific data of the casestudies, making it more transferable, credible, dependable and confirmable(Baxter and Eyles 1997).3.6.1 Participatory workshopsI coordinated three half-day participatory workshops (Chambers 2002)regarding effective evaluation of ICT for education initiatives through theDelPHE partnership at the eLearning Africa conferences in Nairobi (2007),Accra (2008), and Dakar (2009). There were a total of 117 participants fromacross Africa, representing civil society, private sector, government, schoolsand international donors. The first workshop in Nairobi constituted asignificant formative aspect of the research, providing an opportunity toshape the research agenda in a participatory manner and identify significantstakeholder priorities from across the continent.The primary objective of the initial workshop was to identify the currentcentral issues and problems regarding monitoring and evaluation of ICT foreducation in Africa. The second workshop explored in more detail whatconstituted effective monitoring and evaluation, considering innovativeapproaches through case studies. The third workshop concentrated onmethods, tools and techniques for appropriate evaluation and consideredpotential ethical dilemmas arising. It was important for the research integritythat these issues, problems and solutions were defined by the stakeholdersand so the workshops were designed and conducted in a participatory,bottom-up manner (Mikkelsen 2005). Alongside this, the workshopsprovided a broader perspective regarding the level of consciousness regardingkey issues across the continent. An example of the way I adopted aparticipatory approach to the workshops is demonstrated through the designof the first workshop programme in Nairobi (2007). This involved sending anemail to all registered participants two weeks prior to the workshop, andrequesting that they rate what they considered to be the three most pertinenttopics for workshop discussion regarding monitoring and evaluation of ICT98
for education in Africa from a list of ten possible options (Appendix P). Themost popular participant choices of „donors‟, „baselines‟ and „impact onlearning‟ were then selected as the themes for the three breakout discussionsthat took place within the workshop.The Nairobi workshop served to generate considerable interest in myresearch and assisted in developing networks which I then built uponthrough meetings with key stakeholders and ongoing email contact.Following the workshop, reports from each of the breakout sessions wereemailed to all participants and uploaded to both the ICT4D Collective website(http://www.ict4d.org) and Moodle environment (http://moodleict4d.rhul.ac.uk//mod/resource/view.php?id=98).The report for thisworkshop and the subsequent workshops in Accra and Dakar can be viewedin Appendices Q, R and S. At the close of the workshop and throughsubsequent email communication I encouraged participants to continue thedialogue through a discussion forum on the Moodle environment. However,maintaining participant collaboration after the event proved to be asignificant challenge. I had intended that the workshop would serve ascatalyst for an online discussion forum for sharing relevant experiencesamongst participants throughout the year and that this in turn couldconstitute data for the analysis. In reality, the contributions to the Moodleenvironment were very limited and no ongoing conversation developed in themanner intended. Such reluctance to expend energy on sustaining onlinecommunities has been widely noted (Butler et al. 2002, Cummings et al.2002). Despite this unanticipated set back, an alternative form of discussiondid develop amongst several of these participants throughout the research asmany of them also attended the subsequent workshops in Accra (2008) andDakar (2009).3.6.2 Interviews with related stakeholdersThe InWEnt workshop in Zschortau in February 2008 provided opportunityto conduct 11 semi-structured interviews and one focus group with eLearningpractitioners from across the developing world. Participants were encouraged99
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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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Page 51 and 52: 2.6.2 Maturing of the disciplineEar
Page 53 and 54: that conceptualises ICT for develop
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Page 57 and 58: attempt to impose overarching solut
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Page 61 and 62: Garcia-Montes et al. 2006). This is
Page 63 and 64: However, despite such claims and th
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Page 71 and 72: 3. Methodology3.1 IntroductionThe p
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Page 81 and 82: 3.3.1 EuroTalk LtdEuroTalk (http://
Page 83 and 84: further two weeks in Ethiopia in De
Page 85 and 86: I was invited by InWEnt to particip
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Page 91 and 92: drawings was as a precursor to anci
Page 93 and 94: Photo 3.3: Students completing the
Page 95 and 96: prior to implementation of the prog
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Page 103 and 104: partially based on the flawed notio
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Page 107 and 108: motivational and aspirational techn
Page 109 and 110: In the light of the complex challen
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Page 113 and 114: Embrace the heterogeneity of commun
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Page 119 and 120: Figure 4.1: ICT for development pol
Page 121 and 122: Photo 4.1: Students exploring the I
Page 123 and 124: and engaged with children, teachers
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Page 131 and 132: in order to reflect the involvement
Page 133 and 134: Photo 4.4: Students in Ethiopia exp
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Page 137 and 138: Photo 4.6: Teacher training in Rema
Page 139 and 140: 4.3.10 Programme futureThe XO 5000
Page 141 and 142: 4.4.3 The importance of ICT for edu
Page 143 and 144: theme focussed on the lack of budge
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Page 147 and 148: 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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The aim of providing free and unive
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Photo 7.4: Lessons in Malawi conduc
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Photo 7.5: Girls in Rema herding go
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teachers working in primary schools
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Teachers in Rema (22/04/08) gave a
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disaster. The contrasting potential
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2006). This is demonstrated by the
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Indeed, between these two extremes
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„I use the laptop a lot at home f
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Critical thinking constitutes a sig
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misconception regarding the nature
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Bloom’s Original Taxonomy(1956)An
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associated negative consequences to
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adherence to a flawed promotion of
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„We are not interested with the t
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failing to complete primary educati
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has received some attention (Naraya
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The traditional dominant narrative
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Children reported that they felt mo
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from Golgota eagerly affirmed this,
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and 2 compared to Standard 3 and 4.
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two case studies from Ethiopia. It
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as a good way to communicate with p
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increasingly apparent that Rema was
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evaluation and sustained an overly
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symbol of something good that Malaw
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aspiration could be viewed as poten
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journalist whose article was publis
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and powerful if we have OLPC here i
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If every child in Ethiopia who is e
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population live on less than $2 per
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However, as is now explored, the ve
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the right to profit from sale of al
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8.5.2 Private sector needs creation
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merely another context within which
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Commodity fetishism through aspirat
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The absurdity of the situation was
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„As we are a part of globalizatio
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of aspiration. Engaging effectively
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(Ellul 1964) does delegitimize uncr
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motivations for partnership. The im
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educational challenges and opportun
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choice of theoretical foundation, w
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It is therefore my hope that the me
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9.2.5 Ongoing potential for transfo
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undoubtedly become more so in the f
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esearch undertaken for this thesis.
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9.5 Education: a final wordThe thes
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BibliographyAAG, 2009. Statement of
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Batchelor, S., Evangelista, S., Hea
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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
Page 395 and 396:
Fadel, C. and Lemke, L. 2006. Techn
Page 397 and 398:
G8, 2007. Growth and responsibility
Page 399 and 400:
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
Page 405 and 406:
Illich, I., 1969. Celebration of aw
Page 407 and 408:
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
Page 415 and 416:
Mutume. G., 2006. Harnessing the in
Page 417 and 418:
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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