Africa- Asia Dialogue Reflective Meeting Malawi Presentation

An investigation into the relationship between selected donor educational inputs and rates of achievement at the basic educational level in the South West Educational Division in Malawi A Reserch proposal By Demis Kunje Dorothy Khonje Nellie Mbano

Outline of presentation Introduction Methodology Progress so far Pilot work Cooperation with Kobe University Challenges Plan

Introduction Background Statement of the problem Research questions Significance of the study Limitations

Indicator2002 GDP per capitaMK10, Literacy rate58% Literacy rate male66% Literacy rate female 44% Indicators

Infant mortality rate (per 1000 children)104 Maternal mortality rate (per live births) 1120 Under 5mortality rate (per1000 live births189 % Children under weight30% Fertility rate6.1 Life expectancy39

Basic Education Number of teachers45,784 Pupil to qualified teacher ratio118 Dropout rate12% Repetition rate15% Female enrollment48% Pupil to specialist teacher ratio (visually impaired) 48 Number of Adults enrolled in ALC37,500

Basic education 1. Expand concept of Basic Education 2. Decentralisation 3. Increase Basic Education Budget 4. Reduce Drop out and Repetition Rates 5. Increase Community Participation 6. Reform Assessment System Improve Special Needs Education

Free Primary Education More children are in school following the introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE) in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is 132% (2004). Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) of the 6-13 year olds is, however, below 80%, but much higher than before FPE. Disparities in enrolment rates between regions, districts and income groups have narrowed since introducing FPE.

FPE has made education popular amongst all stakeholders, the communities, CSOs, development partners, parents and Government. There is collective commitment Gender disparities in enrolment rates at primary level have narrowed since introducing FPE. Up to 1990s boys’ NERs were much higher than those of girls. Now the NERs for boys and girls are almost the same.

Challenges High drop out rates (12%) High repetition rate (15%) Low completion rate (30%) In adequate teaching and learning materials Poor learning environment (Some classes still being held under trees, inadequate furniture inadequate water and sanitary facilities High pupil-class ratio (70:1) High Qualified-pupil ratio (72:1)

Challenges (contd) The impact of HIV/AIDS Very high absenteeism Limited access and facilities to persons with disabilities Mobilisation of Funding for the sectors programmes

Statement of the problem Basic education is seen as a necessary condition for development. In addition, it is seen as a right for every child. In Malawi the introduction of free primary education in 1994 resulted in increased enrollments without accompanying improvements in quality. The issue of quality is being addressed in a piecemeal way, in trickles and in an uncoordinated manner. Thus it is not known which inputs or combinations of inputs have impact on the quality of education

Research Questions What are the relationships between inputs namely infrastructure, in-service, school feeding, teaching and learning materials, community sensitization and advisory services on the one hand and the quality of basic education in terms of levels of pupil achievement on the other hand? What combinations of inputs are associated with pupil achievement in mathematics, Chichewa and English in std 5 and std 7?

Research questions cont. 1. How are the donor - sponsored inputs in schools utilized to improve the quality of basic education?

Significance of the study Understand relationships Show appropriateness Indicate Minimum levels of resources Describe usage and management Complement other studies

Limitations of the study Inputs may age Limitations in collecting information Limited sample Limited time

Some research findings SACMEQinvestigated pupil, teacher and school factors and how they related to the achievement of minimum levels of literacy and numeracy. The main findings were that the majority of the pupils in Malawi primary schools are performing below minimum and desirable levels of reading and mathematical skills

Some research findings A similar study by MIE(2005) in 12 districts shows that learner achievement in four subjects at the primary school level was below expected levels and that less than 10% of the learners were adequately prepared for the next higher class they were to move into.

Some research findings NIPDEP(2003) showed that there were slight increases in performance in mathematics and English after JICA introduced some interventions such as infrastructure, teacher in – service and teacher support in schools

Some research findings PLAN(2005) report of some increases in the percentages of pupils gaining mastery in Chichewa after teachers in two districts had undergone some specific training

Prospects This shows that there is some hope that achievement can be influenced in some ways and this provides a basis for further enquiry into what best represents positive influences on achievement in the Malawian context.

Methodology Quantitative -Using existing Raw Data e.g SACMEQ -Collect data on educational inputs and achievement Qualitative Study utilisation of resources and inputs in schools

Phase 1: Relationship between inputs and achievement DIVISION (1) Rural(160 schools) Unsupported Donor supported Urban(20 schools) Unsupported Donor supported

Instruments School Profile Achievement tests Class 5 and 7 Mathematics, English and Chichewa

Data ananlysis Descriptive statistics Multi level analysis

Phase 2: How inputs are utilised RuralSupportedSuccessful Not successful UnsupportedSuccessful Not successful UrbanSupportedSuccessful Not successful UnsupportedSuccessful Not successful

Instruments and target participants : FocusMethods Community participation Interviews and Focus group discussion ManagementInterviews and Focus group discussion Teaching and learning Observations, Interviews and Focus group discussion In-service trainingInterviews with teachers Use of resourcesObservations, Interviews and Focus group discussion

Data analysis Themes Triangulation Activity profiles

Progress Report Briefing Ministry of Education Proposals to UNESCO and JICA Seminars: MOE, Higher Education, School Community Pilot Study Refining Instruments

Class 5 Results

Class 5: Girls and boys MathsEnglishChiichewa Overal13.5(4.2)18.2(6.1)22.9(3.3) Girls13.6(4.4)18.2(5.9)23.1(3.4) Boys13.5(4.0)18.2(6.3)22.8 (3.2)

Class 5: Correlation MathsEnglish 0.53 Chichewa

Class 5: by school MathsEngChic Dyeratu Dinde Mphande Likulu Chichiri

Class 7 results

Class 7: Girls and boys MATHSENGCHIC Overal9.5(3.4)17.8(8.1)20.6(4.1) Girls9.3(3.8)17.0(8.2)20.1(3.8) Boys9.7(3.0)18.6(8.0)21.1(4.4)

Correlation MATHSENGLISH 0.66 CHICHEWA

Class7: by school MathsEngChic Dyeratu Mphande Likulu Chichiri

Schools LocationOwnerSupport DyeratuRuralGovtseveral DindeRuralGovtseveral MphandePeri UrbanMissionseveral IikuluPeri urbanMissionseveral ChichiriUrbanGovtnone

Cooperation with Kobe University Revision of Proposal Testing and revision of instruments Collecting data Analysis of existing raw data ( training) Collection and data analysis Planning for qualitative study

Challenges Funding

Plans Collect data in South West Education Division Analyse SACMEQ data Do qualitative Study Disseminate information to stakeholders