1. 1 An investigation into the relationship between educational inputs and achievement at the basic education level in the South Western Educational Division in Malawi By Demis Kunje

2. 2 Presentation Background The problem Research questions Significance of the study Limitations Theoretical framework Literature review Methods Pilot Main study Sample Instruments Procedure Analysis

3. 3 Background Free primary education in 1997 Enrolments soared 1.2 to 3m A success story Educational system under stress infrastructure teachers books facilities and teaching and learning materials

4. 4 Considerable efforts Recruited 22,000 teachers –GTZ Built more school blocks – DfID,WB, EU, ADB Bought more textbooks – CIDA Trained PEAs – DfID Constructed TDCs DfID, WB Developed DEP – DfID, JICA Implemented DEP- JICA All were busy trying to support the FPE

5. 5 A decade later Pop: 11,937,934 Pop growth: 3.32% Pop of 6 – 13yr: 21.3% GER: 126% NER: 33.1% Adult Lit: 60.9% RuralAL: 58.7% T/P 1:83 Classroom/p 1:106 Trained teachers: 85% Completion rate: 30% Drop out rate: 15% Attendance: 88% Age range: 6 –13yr vs 4- 18+yrs Std 5: 10 yrs vs 8 –18+ yrs Std 7: 12yrs vs 9 –18+yrs

6. 6 The problem The provision of educational inputs in an effort to improve quality especially achievement is uncoordinated, In trickles Not prioritised Not holistic Unsustainable Pupil achievement has remained low

7. 7 Research questions 1 What are the relationships between school level, classroom level and pupil level factors and achievement in mathematics, Chichewa and English in std 5 and std7? 2 What combinations of school, classroom and pupil factors are associated with achievement in mathematics, Chichewa and English? 3 How are the resources in schools utilised to improve achievement in basic education?

8. 8 Significance of the study Understand relationships that exist between resources and achievement Some idea of minimum levels of resourcing schools for optimum achievements Pupil characteristics which influence achievement Provide a predictive model of resources, pupil characteristics and achievement Salient features of school ethos which matter in improving efficiency The study complements efforts to identify effective schools in consonance with EFA goals

9. 9 EFA goals Creating a conducive learning environment Promoting higher achievement levels Improving the availability of teaching and learning materials Promoting effective monitoring and evaluation of education quality

10. 10 Limitation of the study Complex nature of cause effect studies Many factors at work Only considering basic factors Studying ethos require adequate time to cover a school year

11. 11 School a critical entity School climate Enabling conditions Teaching and learning process Outcomes Participation Academic achievement Social skills Economic skills

12. 12 Schooling influenced by Supporting Inputs Pupil characteristics Context Parents and community International System supportCultural Material supportPolitical economic

13. 13 Literature Review Inspired by effective schools research in the 1980s Ifelunni(1990) studied correlates of academic achievements Pennycuick(1997) summarised results from effective schools research Cautious with results – easily reach spurious conclusions Multi level analysis offers a more acceptable approach Malawi’s problem very basic Overwhelming evidence that achievement levels are low.

14. 14 Literature SACMEQ performing below minimum desirable levels of reading and mathematical skills MIE categorically showed only 10% are ready to move on to the next class Evoked need to investigate what contributes to learner achievement

15. 15 Method Piloting Main study

16. 16 Pilot Main aim: Pilot instruments and collect characteristics of schools for sampling Sample: 1 urban school and 4 rural schools - Std 5and std 7 - Std 5 persevered so far and moving on to senior classes needing sound background - Std 7 about to complete primary need to know what they have as they graduate Instruments: Tests in maths, English and Chichewa - school profile: enrolments, staffing, availability of textbooks, infrastructure, facilities and NGO support

17. 17 procedure Std 5 and std 7 teachers designed tests to cover curriculum Checked by PEAs Verified by researchers Researchers designed school profile Administered tests Marked Item analysis Produced final tests and school profile as well as pupil background questionnaire

18. 18 Results of pilot Std 5 girls did better than boys in mathematics and English Girls in urban school were worse than girls in rural in Chichewa Std 7 urban schools scored much higher than rural schools in all areas except Chichewa composition

19. 19 Sample frame: SWED 70u:544r LocationT/p ratioNo. of schools UrbanLow= 20-494 UrbanMedium=50-704 UrbanHigh=71-3454 RuralLow=20=4917 RuralMedium=50-7029 RuralHigh=71-34542

20. 20 Pupils and instruments Random sample of 30pupils in std 5 in 100 schools 3000 std 5 pupils Random sample of 30 pupils in std 7 3000 std 7 pupils Boys and girls selected separately Instruments Maths: multiple choice Chichewa and English std 7: composition and multiple choice School profile Pupil background

21. 21 Procedure 5 teams I researcher and 1 res. Asst 20 schools in 10 days Teachers to assist invigilation Invigilators to assist pupil background Head teacher to fill school profile Teachers marked tests Code school and pupil profiles

22. 22 Challenges Some schools not accessible and changed T/P criterion Many absentees - difficult to identify pupils and spent considerable time Test conditions uncomfortable

23. 23 Coding school profile LowMediumHigh code123 Teacher/p1:20 – 1:491:50 – 1:701:71–1:345 Classrm/p1:15 – 1:491:50 – 1:701:71–1:345 Desk/p1:1 – 1: 31:4 –1:10None Mathstext/p1:1 – 1:51:6 – 1:101:11 - Engtext/p1:1 – 1:51:6 – 1:101:11 -

24. 24 Coding pupil profile StandardagecodeageCode 5- 12113 -2 7- 14115 -2

25. 25 Sex: Male = 1 female = 2 SESLowMediumHigh Code123 Roofing Floor Water Toilet Lighting Hh effects Books

26. 26 Parents’ education LevellowMediumHigh Code123 Moth EdStd 8JC, MSCEAbove Fath EdStd8JC, MSCEAbove

27. 27 Variability locationTeach/pmathsEngChich UrbanLow UrbanMedium UrbanHigh RuralLow RuralMedium RuralHigh

28. 28 Textbooks locationMathstext/pMaths mean scores UrbanLow UrbanMedium UrbanHigh RuralLow RuralMedium RuralHigh

29. 29 Correlations: Pupil characteristics mathsEngChich Male Female LowSES MediumSES HighSES

30. 30 Hierarchical multi level modeling How much of the variability in attainment is attributable to differences between schools and between students? Can we find factors at the student and school levels which account for the variability at each level? Allows us to determine the relative impact of each level of the hierarchy and to identify the factors at each level that are associated with that level’s impact How much these two analyses support each other

31. 31 End of Phase one Phase two: Qualitative analysis of a sample of schools with high achievement rates