We have been beating the drum about quality education and its definition for some time now and about how important it is BEFORE any claims can be made about improvements. As regular readers will know we have repeatedly castigated educationalists and politicians in Nepal for littering their "speak" with the words "quality education" but never being able to define it or to justify claims of improvement.
Such a stance may be OK for governments who get massive grants of overseas aid, but as a UK charity we are answerable to our donors who expect value for money and who, quite simply, would stop donating unless we could prove a positive impact from our work.
So here goes. Take a look at the numbers below before we explain them:
(MALS) (1)68 (2)68 (3)75 (4)75
(QEQ) (1)68 (2)74 (3)83 (4)83
MALS (Myself As A Learner Score) is a self perception inventory of 20 questions completed by children related to themselves as learners. Higher scores will indicate a higher positive self image and greater confidence in personal ability to learn. It is a proprietary test developed by Professor Burdon at Exeter University, UK.
QEQ (Quality Education Questionnaire) is also a self perception inventory of 20 questions completed by children related to THEIR view of a number of aspects at their school, specifically the Curriculum, Teacher Style, Assessment, Values & Ethical environment. Higher scores will indicate a more positive impression of teachers and the school. It is a private test developed by psychologists within NSA.
The scores above show the results of the same group of children in Classes 3,4,5,6 at Lalit Kalyan School in Lalitpur, Kathmandu at four different times in the last 12 months, April 2011, September 2011, December 2011, and March 2012. Clearly, the scores have increased on the children's perceptions of themselves as learners and on their perceptions of teachers and teaching. A more detailed inspection of the scores shows differences within some classes and between males and females, but the general trend is UPWARDS!
Why might this have occurred?
Firstly it is undoubtedly connected to the efforts of the Principal and Teachers at Lalit Kalyan school who have worked hard to improve standards and develop a more child centred approach.
Secondly, it is worth looking at the inputs made to the school by Nepal Schools Aid during this period:
- An eight days teacher training programme run by UK volunteers in April 2011
- Follow up workshops run by NSA Tutors across the summer months of 2011
- An inspection visit to the school in October 2011 with developmental feedback
- Installation of four computers at the school to be used by staff for lesson planning and resources creation
- Observation and demonstration of Phonics lessons and Values For Children lessons made by NSA's Senior Consultant for a month
- Further advanced workshops for teachers run by NSA Consultants
Lalit Kalyan were a school adopted by NSA two and a half years ago and are now working with us to consolidate their learning from us so as to be sustainably independent in the coming months and years. They have reciprocated our efforts by trying hard to implement everything we have given them, by allowing us to experiment some new techniques in their school, and even by providing us with two voluntary part time Tutors to assist on our courses.
They are indeed worthy of being branded as a Quality Education School and of being a partner of Nepal Schools Aid to further quality education across Kathmandu.
1 comment:
Well done to Lalit Kalyan for engaging in the staff training opportunities provided by NSA. Congratulations to the staff for building on the training to begin to transform teaching and learning and also for sharing the early signs of effective change taking place. This shows true commitment from the school and NSA in evaluating training outcomes on the quality of learning in classrooms. Well done all round!Keep developing skills Lalit Kalyan and showing other schools what is possible.
Post a Comment