Regional Study on Multigrade Teaching: Research Questions Research Framework for the Regional Study on Multigrade Teaching Min Bista, Coordinator a.i. of appeal unit UNESCO Bangkok

Research Objectives Overall Objectives: To examine current policies and practices on multigrade teaching in participating countries, identify key issues and challenges and identify evidence-based policy options for improving the overall quality of multigrade teaching.

Research Objectives Specific Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of national policies, institutional arrangements and implementation strategies that are in place to support MGT; To assess the overall contribution/role of MGT in promoting children’s access to primary education; To examine the prevalence of MGT in the country; To examine teaching learning conditions in schools that are employing MGT and how actual school and community conditions are facilitating the implementation of MGT;

Research Objectives Specific Objectives: (Cont’d) To study the provision of pre-service and in-service training for teachers teaching in multigrade settings as well as the working conditions of teachers; To document innovative and promising practices related to MGT; To assess the social and educational impacts of MGT on learners and local communities; To examine policy issues and practical challenges associated with MGT; To develop policy options and strategies for improving policies and practices related to MGT.

Key Research Questions What role do small or MGT schools play in promoting UPE? What is the extent/prevalence of MGT, and what are its key features? How effective are the policy frameworks, regulations, guidelines or institutional/administrative mechanisms and financing schemes designed to support MGT? What is the impact of demographic changes and migration on student enrollment in public schools?

Key Research Questions (Cont’d) How effective is school administration and leadership at the school level? What is the extent to which the existing physical, educational and instructional conditions of MGT schools support effective teaching and learning in MGT schools? How do curriculum, teacher training and assessment policies support MGT? How do policymakers, administrators, teachers, parents and other stakeholders perceive/view MGT as a pedagogical choice?

Key Research Questions (Cont’d) How do learners perform academically in comparison to those from monograde settings? What best practices, innovations and knowledge have been documented related to MGT? What is the extent to which local communities and parents are involved in the management, overall development and teaching learning of MGT schools? What are the major policy issues and practical challenges associated with MGT teaching, and what strategies are needed for improving it?

RQ1: What role are MGT schools playing in promoting UPE? What is the country’s overall progress on EFA, in particular Goal 2? Who are the most under-served, excluded groups? Where are they? What is the size of this group? What are the enrollment trends in the country at the primary level? (EFA)

RQ2: What is the extent/prevalence of MGT and what are its key features? What is the prevalence of MGT in formal and non-formal educational settings operating in different contexts of the country? What is the context under which MGT is being practised? What are the characteristics (geographical, cultural, ethnic, economic and social) of communities where multigrade teaching is in use? Does the country have a national definition of small schools? What is the threshold number to be called a small school? How many small schools are there in the country? (Prevalence and Context)

RQ2: What is the extent/prevalence of MGT and what are its key features? (Cont’d) What are the various designations to refer to the phenomenon of MGT teaching (e.g. small schools, rural schools, MGT schools, combined schools/classes)? What particular reasons have led to the adoption of MGT as an alternative option of education delivery? How can the use of MGT be characterized: de facto or de jure?

RQ3: What is the effectiveness of policy frameworks, regulations, guidelines or institutional/administrative & financing mechanisms designed to support MGT? Policy frameworks What policies, regulations, frameworks and/or guidelines are in place in the country with respect to MGT and small/rural schools? How do planning and financing systems respond to the needs of small or multigrade schools? How are schools operating in mountainous/ remote and rural areas financed? How are teachers allocated to different types of schools? Does the national EMIS gather, analyze and report statistics related to small or MGT schools?

RQ3: What is the effectiveness of policy frameworks, regulations, guidelines or institutional/administrative & financing mechanisms designed to support MGT?(Cont’d) Financing How are multigrade schools financed? What is the basis of funding (e.g. per capita funding, annual grant in aid)? What are the items financed by the government? Do the schools receive additional subsidies? Are schools authorized to raise funds locally? Does the school receive funds from other sources? What is the income and expenditure of a multigrade school in a given year?

RQ3: What is the effectiveness of policy frameworks, regulations, guidelines or institutional/administrative & financing mechanisms designed to support MGT?(Cont’d) Administration/coordination What institutional arrangements have been made to manage, coordinate and implement affairs related to MGT? Is there a dedicated section/unit or focal person with the responsibility of managing multigrade related issues? Where does it fit within the overall organizational structure of the Ministry of Education? Are there similar mechanisms at the provincial/regional and district levels?

RQ4: What is the impact of demographic changes and migration on student enrollment in public schools? What are the demographic patterns and shifts in the country? What are the migration trends in the country? What impact, if any, is there on student enrollment in public schools, rural schools or small schools as a result of these demographic changes and migration? How is private education expanding in the country? What has been the government response towards declining student enrollment? (Demographic patterns, migration & private schooling)

RQ5: How effective is school administration and leadership at the local level? How are schools being managed? Are there dedicated school heads? How do heads support multigrade teachers and teaching? How often do school supervisors supervise these schools? Are they supportive? How are district authorities supporting the school? (School leadership, management & supervision)

RQ6: What is the extent to which the existing physical, educational & instructional conditions of MGT schools support effective teaching & learning in MGT schools? What are the physical, educational and instructional conditions of schools using MGT? What are the specific needs, challenges and issues confronted by schools? What multigrade grouping arrangements/approaches are being employed in different contexts? What are class scheduling arrangements? What instructional strategies are in use, and how effective are these strategies in facilitating teaching learning in schools?

RQ6: What is the extent to which the existing physical, educational & instructional conditions of MGT schools support effective teaching & learning in MGT schools? (Cont’d) How are teachers assigned to teach? Is it subject-based or curriculum-wide (responsibility for teaching all subjects)? What teaching and learning materials are used by teachers? Do the learners have adequate supplies of learning materials of good quality and relevance? What are the language dynamics in the classroom? How are teachers dealing with ethnic/linguistic minority children?

RQ6: What is the extent to which the existing physical, educational & instructional conditions of MGT schools support effective teaching & learning in MGT schools? (Cont’d) School enrollment What is the current status of student enrollment in different grades in the sample schools? (Sex-disaggregated data needed.) What is the enrollment trend/pattern of the school during the last five years? How are students progressing between grades? What are the dropout, repetition and completion rates?

RQ6: What is the extent to which the existing physical, educational & instructional conditions of MGT schools support effective teaching & learning in MGT schools? (Cont’d) What is the state of the overall supply of teachers in the country? Are there areas/regions that suffer from teacher shortage? What are teachers’ perceived preparedness to teach in multigrade classes? How are teachers supported and supervised for MGT? What incentives are provided to teachers who teach in multigrade schools or small schools? How are teachers allocated? What is the PTR in these schools? What are the working conditions of teachers? What is the overall level of teacher morale, motivation and attitude towards the profession? (Teacher Supply and Quality)

RQ6: What is the extent to which the existing physical, educational & instructional conditions of MGT schools support effective teaching & learning in MGT schools? (Cont’d) What is the workload for teachers? How are teachers coping with the day-to-day demands of MGT? What are the academic and professional qualifications of teachers currently assigned to teach multigrade classes? Where do the teachers come from? Are these teachers local, or do they come from outside the communities? What are the specific characteristics of multigrade teachers, and how do they contrast with teachers in regular schools? How do supervisors, administrators, parents and community members assess the role and quality of teachers?

RQ7: How do curriculum, teacher training & assessment policies support MGT? Is multigrade pedagogy integrated into pre-service and in- service teacher training systems? What contents and skills of multigrade teaching are taught to prospective teachers and serving (in-service) teachers? Is the multigrade module offered as a mandatory subject or as an elective module? Is it mandatory for all or for only those who are to teach in rural areas?

RQ7: How do curriculum, teacher training & assessment policies support MGT? (Cont’d) Curriculum organization Does the curriculum organization of the country offer sufficient flexibility to facilitate multigrade teaching (e.g., thematic/ multiyear curriculum spans or annual and subject-based)? Are the school textbooks designed for use in individual and group-based learning?

RQ7: How do curriculum, teacher training & assessment policies support MGT? (Cont’d) Are assessment systems consistent with, regular and frequent formative assessment, including self-assessment and peer-assessment? How are children assessed? What are the various types/forms of assessment in schools? How frequently are students assessed? What is the balance between formative and summative assessment?

RQ8: How do policymakers, administrators, teachers, parents and other stakeholders perceive/view MGT as a pedagogical choice? Stakeholder Perceptions How do parents, children, teachers, community members, administrators, educators and policymakers perceive MGT as an instructional option for serving children in small schools? What are the perceptions and attitudes of different stakeholders towards MGT? Perceived benefits and impacts What are the social and educational impacts of multigrade teaching on learners and local communities as perceived by local communities, parents and other stakeholders?

(Learning achievement) RQ9: How do learners perform academically in comparison to those from monograde settings? Is there any data on the academic performance of multigrade students? Have these schools participated in national, regional or district level learning assessments? What is the overall performance of rural children as compared to urban children in the nation? How does the performance of MGT students compare with that of students in monograde settings? How do teachers, community members and parents assess the performance of these children? Are they learning or not learning? How do teachers and administrators of central schools (schools where MGT students go for middle or high school education upon graduation) assess the learning ability of MGT school graduates? (Learning achievement)

RQ10: What is the extent to which local communities and parents are involved in the management, overall development and teaching learning of MGT schools? Are there structures and mechanisms for community and parental involvement in school management and in the teaching and learning of schools? In what ways do communities and parents participate in multigrade schools? How are they supporting MGT schools? What is the role of communities and parents? Does the community use the school resources (e.g. classrooms, play ground or any other facilities)? What is the degree of ownership of the school by the community members and parents? (Community/Parental Support and Participation)

RQ11: What best practices, innovations and knowledge have been documented related to MGT? Documentation/Analysis/Advocacy What analytical work has been carried out to document the situation of multigrade schools? Which aspects have been analyzed and which have not? What efforts have been made in the country to advocate the improvement of teaching learning in multigrade settings? What knowledge products are available? Who is promoting the multigrade agenda? Donors? Government? NGOs? Innovative Approaches/Best Practices What examples of innovative approaches and promising practices related to multigrade teaching exist in the country?

RQ 12: What are the major policy issues & practical challenges associated with multigrade teaching and what strategies are needed for improving it? Policy gaps & challenges How do national policies address the needs and concerns of schools, teachers, and learners in multigrade contexts? What are the gaps in current policies and systems relevant to the whole provision of multigrade teaching? What are the challenges experienced by teachers, learners, and administrators?

RQ 12: What are the major policy issues & practical challenges associated with multigrade teaching and what strategies are needed for improving it? (Cont’d) Policy Options What feasible policy options and strategies need to be put in place in order to improve the overall quality of multigrade teaching?

Thank you! m.bista@unesco.org