people and planet

10
Multiple factors influence the time students spend
learning in early grades. In Ethiopia, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mozambique and Nepal, after combining time
losses due to schools being closed, teachers being absent
and students being either absent or, especially, off task,
schools used less than 50% of the available time for
instruction (Moore et al., 2012).
Other factors further reducing time on task include teacher
strikes, late student registration, lack of supplies at the
start of term or schools closing earlier than planned. Taking
these into account, primary school students in Senegal
were on task during 388 of the 1,090 intended annual
instructional hours, or 36% of the time (Niang, 2015).
In Bauchi and Sokoto states, Nigeria, only one-quarter of
grade 2 time is allocated to teaching, partly because what
is supposed to be a 45-minute literacy lesson is actually
much shorter, and because only half the teachers in the
classrooms are teaching literacy skills during the lesson
time (RTI International, 2016b) (Figure 10.8).
Classroom observations do not just record time
allocation. They can also record teaching practices – and
commonly show that teacher–student and student–
student interactions are limited. In Cambodia, a tiny part
of mathematics class time in lower secondary schools
was spent doing applied individual or group work. There
were limited opportunities for interaction or creative
FIGURE 10.8:
In northern Nigeria, only one-quarter of time is used for instruction
Allocation of grade 2 Hausa lesson time, Bauchi and Sokoto states, Nigeria, 2014
Teachers (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45
Source: RTI International (2016b).
Minute of lesson
No activity
Other
Literacy
instruction
thinking. About 61% of class time was spent receiving
various forms of instruction, of which one-third involved
copying; and another one-fifth of the time was spent
on recitation, mostly involving students responding to
teacher queries (Benveniste et al., 2008).
In Uganda, a study of 742 lower secondary school
classrooms showed teachers struggling to make
connections to students’ everyday life experiences
and unlikely to provide specific feedback (Seidman et
al., 2015). In Ethiopia, a study of 776 primary school
mathematics classes assessed implementation of
government policy to shift away from teacher-oriented
learning methods. The target was 30% of class time spent
on student-centred activity, but only 11% was reached,
compared with 74% on teacher-oriented activities and
15% off task (Frost and Little, 2014).
Classroom observation tools expect observers to use
varying levels of subjective judgement. Low inference
tools gather information on environments, time use
and interactions between the teacher and students
without drawing immediate conclusions. They focus
on directly observable actions that are easy to code
using checklists. Tools are administered by experts for
research, monitoring and evaluation purposes and by
district supervisors or instructional coaches to provide
feedback to teachers as part of a support mechanism
(RTI International, 2016a).
High inference tools are more informal and open-ended.
Observers must use their own judgement about what
happens in the classroom and code teacher practices
and student behaviour with more nuance. While these
tools provide more insights, they are costly because
they require extensive training to ensure reliability
and consistency.
Whether classroom observation tools can be used for
comparing classroom instruction across countries is
debatable. Classroom behaviour depends on systemlevel
factors, such as government education policies,
and differences in the home, such as household living
conditions. In addition, classroom practices vary according
to cultural beliefs and expectations. No single tool can
meet the needs of all countries (Jukes et al., 2006).
Yet, despite these limitations, the studies reviewed here
often agree on what inhibits learning in classrooms
around the world. The availability of broadly consistent
monitoring tools can bring critical issues of pedagogy
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CHAPTER 10 | TARGET 4.1 – PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION