Is access to education in developing regions more important than the

quality of education being provided?

A study into the United Nation’s second millennium development goal; ‘Achieve

universal primary education’ with respect to the education system in Livingstone,

Zambia.

Dissertation, 2014 Candidate Number: 1401981GG3001 Paper ID:AAAAA.

Acknowledgements

Firstly I would like to thank all the people and organisations that have made this study possible. African Impact have played an invaluable role in allowing me to carry out this study, going out of their way to accommodate my desired methods and access to the field. Next, I would like to thank the teaching staff and students I surveyed who were always enthusiastic and obliging to my research and I would like to pay particular thanks to Nakatindi Community School where I spent a large amount of time carrying out my research. Finally, I would like to thank my advisor, David Simon, whose knowledge of the subject was enormously helpful.

2

Contents

Abstract 4

List of Figures, Plates and Abbreviations 5

1. Introduction:- Context of research: Introducing Republic of Zambia 6- The education dilemma: The role of the UN 7- Research Aim and Questions 8- Paper Presentation 8

2. Literature Review:- Universal Primary Education 9- The role of the UN in global development 9- Understanding education quality 11

3. Methodology:- Access to Research Field 13- Non-Governmental Organisations as Gate Keepers 13- Participants 14- Sampling strategy 14- Sampling Methods

o Participant Observation 15o Interviews 15o Focus Groups 16

4. Results and Analysis:- Curriculum 17- Resources and Facilities 19- Teacher Background 21- Teaching style 24

5. Conclusion and Evaluation:- Main findings 29- Evaluation 30

Bibliography 31

Appendices 34

3

Is access to education in developing regions more important than the

quality of education being provided?

A study into the United Nation’s second millennium development goal; ‘Achieve

universal primary education’ with respect to the education system in Livingstone,

Zambia.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of education students receive in seven

schools in Livingstone, Zambia. The importance of quality education cannot be understated and yet

the majority of academic literature on education in developing countries continues to focus on

issues surrounding enrolment targets. The argument made in this dissertation is that appropriate

infrastructure must be in place before strategies focused on increasing enrolment are employed.

This challenges the United Nation’s standpoint which is that any increase in education enrolment

rates will have a positive effect on the development of a nation. The results from this study

represent a misinterpretation of policy makers in respect of education. This study focuses primarily

on the perspectives of teachers and students on the current education system in Zambia using

interviews, focus groups and participant observation.

4

List of Figures, Plates and Abbreviations

Figures

Figure 1: Map of Sub-Saharan Africa, Google Maps (2014)

Figure 2: Map of Livingstone, Google Maps (2014)

Figure 3: Graph of Net Enrolment in Zambia, World Development Indicators (2013)

Figure 4: Graph of Teaching Styles by Volunteers

Figure 5: Graph of ‘Favoured Punishments’

Plates

Plate 1: Nakatindi’s Grade 5 Classroom

Plate 2: Zambian Textbook

Plate 3: Corporal Punishment Poster

Plate 4: Nakatindi Community School

Plate 5: Nakatindi’s Grade 5 Class

Plate 6: Motto for Nakatinidi Community School

Plate 7: Afterschool literacy class, Linda Primary school

Plate 8: Mr Mwanda

Plate 9: Afterschool art class, Mwandi Community School

List of Abbreviations

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

UPE Universal Primary Education

MDG Millennium Development Goal

NER Net Enrolment Rate

5

1. Introduction

The study of education within the context of development studies has an extensive, rich

history. Academic studies have been undertaken all over the world to look into how investment into

school systems has linked with economic and social progression of the individual state. However,

this dissertation will focus on the importance of quality education, a term which is difficult to define

and even more difficult to measure. This research will create an alternative perspective on a topic

which is central to development practices with the objective of understanding the importance of a

child’s school environment and exposure to effective teaching approaches.

Context of research: Introducing Republic of Zambia

Zambia is a land-locked nation in sub-Saharan Africa which stretches across 291,586 sq.

miles. The Republic has a population of 12.8 million (UN, 2012) and is surrounded by neighbours;

Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola and the DRC. Zambia’s

former capital, preceding Lusaka, was Livingstone, a city named after its first European visitor;

David Livingstone. It is in this city, of 136,897 inhabitants, in which the research for this

dissertation was carried out, specifically in seven schools, in and around the city.

6

Figure 1. Source: Google Maps (2014)

1. Mwandi Community School 5. Malota Community School 2. Nakatindi Community School 6. Holy Cross Basic School 3. Zambezi Sawmills Community School 7. Linda South Primary School 4. Dambwa Christian Community School

Sub-Saharan Africa Livingstone

6.

7.

4.

5.

2.3.

1.

Livingstone

Figure 2. Source: Google Maps (2014)

The education dilemma: The role of the UN

‘Investing in education is the single most effective means of reducing poverty.’ This claim

by the Global Partnership for Education accurately describes the importance education has to

developing countries. With a strong education system in place, a nation can benefit from higher

average rates of income, lower crime rates, healthier citizens and also the promotion of equal rights

(Fuller, 1986).

The importance of education cannot therefore be overly stressed and it is for this reason that

in the year 2000, 189 United Nations member states committed themselves to help achieve the 8

Millennium Development Goals (MGDs), amongst which was a pledge to ‘achieve universal

primary education’, by 2015. Zambia achieved 99.1% net enrolment (see box below) in 2008, 7

years ahead of the stated target year of 2015. However, during the same period adult literacy

declined from 79% to 70% whilst youth literacy rates have also declined from 69.5% to an

estimated 64% according to the official site of MDG indicators. It is national statistics such as these,

(which are not only confined to Zambia but many other developing countries such as neighbouring

Mozambique and Zimbabwe) that have prompted many criticisms of the UN and the aims of their

development goals.

Therefore, the question which must be asked is why there is a negative correlation between

educational enrolment and attainment levels. The argument being made in this dissertation is that

the UN’s push to increase student attendance has led to the neglect of education quality. With more

children enrolling without a suitable increase in trained teachers, school buildings, resources and

other financial inputs the result has been a fall in academic achievement, measured by literacy rates

and arithmetic standards. The EFA Global Monitoring Report condemned the UN’s attempt to

promote education by highlighting that ‘these declarations and commitments are silent about the

quality of education to be provided’.

Research Aim and Questions

7

Net vs Gross enrolment: The primary school net enrolment ratio (NER) measures the percentage of children who are of primary education age who are enrolled in school. The NER therefore has a limit of 100%. Gross enrolment records the percentage of all aged children enrolled in school and can exceed 100% due to the number of students who

repeat grades or are late entering the education system. (Huebler, 2005)

Research Aim: To analyse, in accordance with western standards and international organisations,

the quality of education being provided in Livingstone, Zambia.

Research Questions:

Curriculum

How appropriate is the curriculum which has been adopted in Zambia?

Facilities and Resources

How do schools lend themselves to being effective learning environments?

To what extent is there a shortfall in resources and financial inputs?

Teaching

How effective is the teaching style in the primary schools of Livingstone?

What are the backgrounds of the teachers with regards to training?

The research questions above provide the framework for this dissertation. Investigating these three

areas offers measurable results regarding education quality which demonstrates the standard of

education being provided in light of the UN’s push towards; universal primary education.

Paper Presentation

This dissertation will be split into four parts. The report first looks at the literature review

which will examine key arguments within the debate of education in the developing world. These

include the role of the UN as an actor in global development, defining what ‘quality education’ is

and the history of Universal Primary Education (UPE). The methodology will then present the

strategy for primary research and the methods employed to collect appropriate results. The results

of the study will then be presented and analysed followed by a conclusion to the study.

8

2. Literature Review Universal Primary Education

The target for achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE) has long preceded that of the

Millennium development goals (MDGs). It is therefore important to place the UN’s strategy for

developing education systems, beginning in the year 2000, within the context of previous attempts

towards the same objective. The most relevant strategy has been that of UNESCO, an organisation

which has strived for UPE since the mid-80s. In 1990, the World Conference on Education for All

was held in Jomtien, the first major event held on the global stage focused on aspects of developing

education. 155 countries agreed to ‘universalise primary education’ by the end of the decade.

However, the phrase ‘quality education’ did not appear within the framework’s objectives. The

significance of this omission was clear to see ten years on at the World Education Forum in Dakar.

The Forum’s report included 128 mentions of the word ‘quality’, with particular emphasis on the

failure to improve quality education in the 1990s and stressed the need to focus on quality in future

strategies alongside increasing enrolment. The omission within the World Conference was clearly

an enormous oversight, given the attention it was given in the Dakar framework in 2000.

The extract above is an important message to come from the Dakar Framework as it

indicates how important quality education is within the idea of education development. It is

therefore particularly surprising that the UN’s second development goal does not relate to quality

education but instead is solely focused on an enrolment based target; ‘Ensure that, by 2015, children

everywhere… will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling’. This return to UPE as a

primary objective raised a number of questions relating to the UN’s motives for global development

and their suitability as an organisation to be leading development strategies.

The role of the UN in global development

Criticism of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals has arisen in respect of means and

ends based goals. An ends based goal is one that is a measurable aspect of development, for

example, by 2015, 75% of children completing primary school should have achieved basic literacy

9

‘Recent assessments of learning achievement in some countries have shown that a sizeable percentage of children is acquiring only a fraction of the knowledge and skills they are expected to master. What students are meant to learn has not often been clearly defined, well-taught or accurately assessed.’ – Dakar Framework for Action (2000: 17)

and numeracy skills. A means based approach is one that does not directly link to a development

indicator but rather suggests that achieving primary education, for example, will lead to the

development of a country. The UN have adopted a means based goal with respect to education and

this has been criticised by such academics as Jeffrey James who regards this approach as largely

ineffective and inappropriate to the issue of development; ‘The mere meeting of a target – universal

primary-level education – may not deliver the desired end of an adequate education for the modern

world.’ (James, 2006; 448)

However, attempting an ends based approach is fraught with difficulties when undertaking a

global scheme, which the MDGs are. Willis (2005) describes the difficulties faced with collecting

results, which is a vital element in understanding whether a development goal has been achieved or

not. Selected data, such as school enrolment percentages, can readily be found on the internet for

the vast majority of countries around the world dating back three decades. However, attempting to

find educational attainment levels is far more challenging. This is because of a number of reasons

including data collection being disrupted by political unrest and the marginalisation of some groups

in a country due to geographical location, social status or economic status (Bulmer and Warwick

1993). It is clear therefore that whilst James is justifiable in his criticism of goals being too distant

from accepted development indicators, attempting to collect detailed and accurate data for an ends

based approach would be almost impossible, especially when trying to compare countries which use

different school syllabuses, exams and grade systems.

Rigg (2008) shares James’s criticism, arguing that the goals offer governments and

development agencies an achievable target whilst not addressing underlying problems. For

example, the first MDG; reduce by half the number of people living in extreme poverty (under $1 a

day), is purely an income based target and yet other forms of poverty are overlooked such as

political marginalisation and cultural rights. The effect this has is that governments and agencies are

inclined not to examine the root of the problem and address it, but rather, focus their attentions on

increasing average incomes. This argument is further evidence that the UN MDGs may not be

appropriate for tackling the issues surrounding development. Even if results are positive by 2015,

critics such as Rigg and James may argue that the overall programme may have put a cloak over the

real issues and this is surely a very dangerous result.

The final point to make on the UN is that the goals do not stand alone. All eight goals link

to each other, one way or another and a success in one area is reflected in another. For example, if

by 2015 the education target is achieved by a number of countries, there would be an expectation

that the rates of HIV/Aids will have fallen in these countries because more people are educated

about how the disease spreads and how to take precautions (Vandemoortele et al. 2004). This

multidimensional approach to development is the strongest argument for why the UN is the most 10

suitable actor in leading development strategies over individual governments and smaller

organisations.

Understanding education quality

Understanding quality education is a complex issue because it is a multidimensional, largely

incomparable service (between countries). A large number of definitions have been made on what is

quality education and the characteristics that should be associated with it. The definition that shall

be used in this study is that of the Dakar Framework, identified in the paper, Defining Quality in

Education. Five features of quality are identified as ‘learners, environments, content, processes and

outcomes’. These features have been designed to attempt to cover the entire schooling experience

and what should be expected in each area, with respect to quality.

i. Curriculum

The first area for investigation focuses on the national curriculum which is implemented in

schools. Two key points need to be made in relation to school curriculum concerning;

i) a curriculum which is tailored by local or national influences and

ii) a curriculum which is student-centred.

The first point focuses on who is setting the curriculum for a school. In western countries,

there is usually a government written curriculum which is employed in all schools with very little

local influence. Muskin (1999) argues that local level interests should be prioritised over a national

level in developing countries because social issues and cultural differences vary, far more, by

geographical location.

The second point is made by Glatthorn and Jailall (2000) who outline the necessary

characteristics for an effective syllabus. These include studying the most important areas of

knowledge in depth rather than broad coverage, and a structured curriculum which is sensitive to

differing student abilities and backgrounds. I shall be linking back to Muskin and Glatthorn when

analysing whether the syllabus in Livingstone reflects their points.

ii. Facilities and Resources

The second element of ‘education quality’ is that of how school resources and facilities

influence a quality education. This would seem initially to be an obvious correlation with increased 11

resources and better facilities the quality of education is raised and thus higher achievement levels

will be obtained by students. However from the numerous studies in this field, there has not been an

outright conclusion. Strictly within studies concerning developing countries, Al-Samarrai (2002)

finds that there is enough evidence to suggest that better school facilities and resources provide a

higher quality education; ‘education systems tend to be so severely under-resourced compared to

developed countries that marginal increases in resourcing are likely to have much larger impacts on

education outcomes than in developed countries’. When analysing the results to this study, I shall

be comparing results to a number of much smaller scale academic studies on facilities and resources

within schools.

iii. Teacher Background

The relationship between teacher background and the provision of quality education is the

third aspect of my study. Studies carried out by Avalos & Haddad, (1979); Husén et al, (1978) and

Fuller (1987) found consistently that student attainment levels were linked with ‘the number of

years of formal education received by teachers’ in a positive association, (Lockheed and Komenan,

1989: 94). 60% of a further 60 studies collated by Lockheed (1989) found positive relationships

although the 11 studies taken from African nations were less positive. I attempt to place the results

from my study into the context of the studies mentioned above and try to understand why there

would be a correlation.

iv. Teaching style

The final area for investigation focuses on the style of teaching which is adopted in schools.

Quality of teachers is arguably the most important aspect of school life; however in a number of

studies into teacher quality in sub Saharan Africa, the results have been extremely poor relative to

western standards and ideologies. Verwimp (1999) documents a study in Ethiopia whereby nearly

50% of teachers interviewed admitted using corporal punishment at least once a week whilst Miske,

Dowd, et al (1998) cites the behaviour of a minority of male teachers in Malawi who were guilty of

sexually harassing girls even in the presence of outside observers. It is these accounts of teacher

behaviour which have been strongly criticised, with the UNICEF paper on education published in

2000 identifying that ‘learning cannot take place when the basic needs of survival and self-

protection are threatened, UNICEF (2000: 9). Teaching style is also closely linked with the first

three elements of quality education and so results associated with facilities, for example, are

manifested in the teaching style and are analysed within the context of the literature outlined above. 12

3. Methodology

Access to Research Field

In order to gather data concerning education quality in the Global South, this study was

carried out in seven schools in the surrounding areas of Livingstone, Zambia. To access these

schools I used the non-governmental organisation, African Impact, as gate keeper. African Impact

was founded in 2004, and since then has become one of the largest ‘voluntourism’ organisations in

Africa. The NGO has worked closely with the charity, The Happy Africa Foundation, which was

founded in 2008. The charity independently regulates development projects and initiatives run by

African Impact in the various communities on a non-profit basis. Its mission is to influence

communities through long-term development strategies with particular emphasis on education,

health and empowerment.

Non-Governmental Organisations as Gate Keepers

Potter and Desai (2006) write that there are a number of advantages and disadvantages

associated with working through an NGO to carry out fieldwork. NGOs offer a local entry point to

the field of study and usually employ local field experts to help with the running of on-the-ground

operations. This would therefore offer a researcher an easy access to the field of investigation

(schools for my study) and to be exposed to locals who have a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Furthermore these locals can help with language barriers between the researcher and the study’s

target population. NGOs are not generally footloose as the projects that they are attempting to set up

and operate may take many years. This means that they can grow a positive relationship and

reputation within the local community. With respect to this study, students I interviewed were used

to interaction with white, mostly European volunteers in their classrooms and not overly cautious of

a ‘Mzungu’ wanting to talk to them. However, this did have the potential to be a disadvantage too if

previous volunteers for African Impact had acted improperly in the same classrooms that I had

visited. This would immediately damage any relationship between me and the study’s participants,

and so obtaining accurate, detailed results would have been much more difficult.

Other disadvantages include the inflexibility of an NGO in accommodating the needs of a

researcher. The priority of a NGO will always be the day to day running of the development

projects and not setting up interviews and focus groups on behalf of their volunteers. Therefore I

13

had to clarify if it would be possible to carry out research whilst also volunteering and following the

desired plans of the NGO before travelling to the research area.

Participants

Before undertaking my research I needed to pinpoint which demographics I needed to

survey to be able to answer my research questions in the fullest and most accurate manner possible.

I decided to focus the basis of my results on three key demographics; teachers, students and African

Impact co-ordinators/volunteers. During my time in Livingstone I was able to complement these

demographics with the perspectives of a parent and school committee member, a Deputy Head

teacher and also a number of local Zambians who had an opinion on the school system in place. A

list of the participants can be found in appendix A on page 34.

Sampling strategy

My sampling strategy was not entirely flexible. Each volunteer is assigned to one school for

the duration of their time in Livingstone so that they are able to build a working relationship with

the students and the teachers they assist. I was assigned to Nakatindi Community School’s grade 5

(plate 1) and so spent each morning there from 8am- 12.30pm. I believe my study benefitted from

African Impact’s policy to keep volunteers with the same school as I was able to gain the trust of

students over a number of weeks and as a result they spoke freely and confidently in the focus

groups I held. In the afternoons volunteers alternate which schools they attend for literacy classes,

art classes or other after school clubs. These afternoon sessions were developed by African Impact

in conjunction with participating schools. Again I was assigned the schools I would be attending but

this aided my research as I was able to investigate six other schools in addition to Nakatindi.

14

Plate 1 Source: Authors own (2013)

To survey students I randomly selected 6 children for a focus group. I would look to alternate

the students in the separate focus groups if I had done more than one at a particular school. When

setting up interviews with teachers, I would be restricted by how many were available at the times I

visited the schools and so would usually interview teachers who were assisting with after school

clubs or at Nakatindi I was able to speak to two teachers and the Deputy Head during the students’

break times.

Sampling Methods

i. Participant Observation

This method is sometimes regarded as non-scientific, (Easthope, 1971) however participant

observation can be an effective way of supplementing a study with an outsider’s, objective

perspective. I used this method of research differently throughout the study. At times I was

passively participating when observing the classroom during lessons and studying the teaching style

and the interaction between teacher and student. At other times I actively participated by teaching

lessons myself, both academic lessons as well as sports and art classes. Participant observation is a

method described by Jorgensen as a description of ‘what goes on, who or what is involved, when

and where things happen, how they occur and why,’ (Jorgensen, 1989:12). By triangulating my

research methods I found that participant observation gave me a richer understanding of what

interviewees were saying.

ii. Interviews

Formal interviews are an effective way of gaining a large amount of detailed data on specific

aspects of the study. I interviewed teachers at 5 different schools, attempting to find a range in ages,

gender and background training as well as the Deputy Head teacher of Nakatindi School. As

mentioned above, it was not always easy to set up interviews with teachers who would often be

busy either taking classes or marking work. However, they were very helpful and we often found a

time after school or in lessons when the children had been set a task to be getting on with. The

transcription of these interviews can be found on page 36 of the appendix B.

15

iii. Focus Groups

I decided to set up a number of focus groups to survey students as this research technique has the

advantage of making the participants feel more relaxed compared with a formal one to one

interview. I believe this was an important factor when speaking to children who enjoy the company

of their classmates and their confidence to speak in a group is far greater than on their own. There

was no shortage of volunteers for focus groups as the students seemed to enjoy talking about their

school life. The only limitation I found holding focus groups was the language barrier, where some

of the children would struggle to understand the questions I asked. However in these situations,

students with a better understanding of English would help by translating. Part B of the appendix

gives the data from these focus groups on page 39.

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4. Results and Analysis i. Curriculum

The first aspect of the results which will be discussed is that of the curriculum which is used

in Zambian schools. The curriculum, written by the government, was adopted in all 7 of the schools

which were a part of this study. According to Ayeni (1989), an effective school curriculum has

great significance in developing countries. Ayeni argues that a school curriculum has a number of

key components, two of which are related to my study. Firstly, the curriculum is a selection of

appropriate content and secondly it is the choice of methods to be adopted in order to teach

students. It is these two components that are focused on in this section of the results. The reason I

have decided to investigate the curriculum first is to provide context for the remainder of the results.

A quality education begins with an appropriate, well-constructed curriculum. Without this, other

important aspects of the education system will be negatively impacted (Crossley and Murby 1994).

The curriculum is taught in English, Zambia’s national language, despite the fact that only

2% of the population speak English as their first language. However, it is the country’s most

common second language and with over 70 different languages spoken around the country it is

argued by the government that the only way to set a national curriculum was to write one in the

lingua franca of Zambia - English. During my study, the difficulties involved with teaching in a

second language became immediately apparent. The most prominent issue was that if a child

struggled to learn English early on in their education, they would then struggle to learn maths,

integrated science and every other subject as they would all be taught in English.

In an interview with Nakatindi’s grade 5 teacher, Mr Mwanda (May 19th, 2013), I asked

what the implications were for teaching in English rather than the local language spoken in

Livingstone - Tonga. Mr Mwanda replied that it made lessons go at a slower pace as children who

did not have a good grasp of English would struggle to keep up and he would have to clarify points

in Tonga for the students. He went on to say that all the textbooks used in the class were printed in

English and so it made setting work particularly difficult for some students. However, the varied

abilities in English meant that students who were comfortable speaking and understanding English

would help those around them who were less sure. In my first focus group I found this out when I

posed questions to a group of six students from grade 5, they would often confer with each other in

Tonga before two of the more competent speakers of English would reply.

The issue of teaching lessons in English is greatly contested in Zambia at present. A move

by three of the largest teacher unions in Zambia has put pressure on the government to introduce

teaching in local languages from preschool to grade 4. As a result pilot schemes have been

17

introduced with the intention of adopting the scheme in all schools in Zambia. Hilary Chipango,

head of the Basic Education Union of Zambia (BETUZ) argued that in countries such as South

Africa, Namibia and Botswana the introduction of local languages in schools had been successful

and Zambia should follow suit. From my results I believe that teaching in local languages would not

only be more beneficial to students but also for teachers. In part three of the results I analyse teacher

backgrounds and found that many teachers were untrained and unqualified; therefore they also

struggled with having to teach in English. I believe that if the proposal to introduce local languages

into Zambian schools is approved, the level of quality education would be raised.

Ayeni’s second component for an effective curriculum is the selection of content. UNICEF

(2000) outlined the characteristics of a quality curriculum which includes; ‘clearly defined learning

outcomes… [for] literacy, numeracy, life skills and peace education’ (UNICEF 2000: 11).

The Zambian curriculum covers all these characteristics including a particular focus on

contemporary Zambian societal issues such as the

HIV/AIDs epidemic which is introduced to children in

grade 5. Education is regarded universally as a key tool in

addressing contemporary developmental barriers and my

experience in Zambia reaffirmed this. ‘Life Skills’ play an

important role in the Zambian curriculum with an

example of this shown by plate 2. Grace Siamani, a parent

and committee member for Nakatindi school, stressed the

importance of the ‘life skills’ element of the curriculum

saying that whilst learning about HIV may not give a

child skills to get a job, it could save their life. Mrs

Siamani recalled that in her childhood she did not receive

lessons on such things as preventing diseases and she

believed this has attributed to the current situation in

Zambia with the high rate of HIV and various other

diseases. It was therefore very important to her that

children were now being taught about these aspects of

health.

Mrs Siamani went on to say that it was also important to have flexibility with the

curriculum. As Nakatindi is a community school, the community have an equal say in key decisions

at the school alongside the staff. Of the seven schools I visited in Zambia, five were community

schools and two were classed as basic schools. It was common that at the community schools, 18

Plate 2 Source: Authors own (2013)

including Nakatindi, the curriculum would be manipulated to suit the attitudes of the community

and what they wanted their children to be learning. For example, Mrs Siamani spoke about how

Nakatindi had recently set up a garden patch on the school grounds to educate children about

agriculture; ‘there are few opportunities for children to go to secondary school so most will go on to

be farmers, manual labourers or work in industry,’ - Siamani, G (28th May 2013). It was therefore

felt by the community that children’s prospects after school were fairly narrow and that teaching

them skills relatable to common employment was of equal importance to literacy, numeracy and

other aspects of the government set curriculum. This opinion perhaps stems from the fact that there

are over 80 primary schools in the Livingstone area with just 4 secondary schools. Nakatindi’s

Deputy Head teacher ominously labelled the situation as ‘survival of the fittest,’ - Musonda, C (25th

May, 2013).

From my research into the Zambian curriculum I would conclude that the education system

has a quality basis for learning. The curriculum covers all the aspects outlined by UNICEF to offer

students a good education. However, I do believe that it could be considerably more efficient by

teaching in local languages as is being put into action at present (January 2014). The emphasis on

particular developmental issues such as the spread of HIV is covered in depth in the curriculum and

has the potential to significantly tackle the problem which currently directly impacts one in three

people in Livingstone. The true effectiveness of a curriculum, however, is manifested through the

teaching style which will be explored in part 4 of the results. It will be in the section where I will

analyse how the curriculum is being taught to offer a quality education.

ii. School facilities and resources

The next aspect of the study focuses on school facilities and resources. The physical

learning environment of a school and the presence of adequate learning materials are crucial in

enabling a quality education, argue UNICEF (2000). Within my research, however, the inadequacy

of school buildings and the lack of appropriate materials were themes that were repeatedly brought

up. Over 90% of the students felt that they found it hard to concentrate in lessons with the most

common reason being that they would be distracted by their classmates. This problem stems from a

combination of small classrooms and a large number of children in each year. Average numbers of

pupils in a single moderately sized classroom would exceed 50. Three quarters of the interviewed

group of students felt that they found it difficult to follow the lesson when there would often be

fighting around them over stationery, books and space on the congested benches. However when

asked if they would prefer to have smaller class sizes the majority said no because they didn’t want

to be spilt up from friends (25-26th/5/2013).19

Teachers felt similarly with respect to the size of classes, with one saying that half of the

lesson time was spent breaking up fights and trying to keep the noise down. This was attributable to

the fact that students were so cramped around desks.

The buildings ranged in quality between different schools. Nakatindi School had benefitted

from a donation from a private individual who had helped finance the building of five new

classrooms equipped with blackboards and desks. However, schools in poorer areas such as

Mwandi suffered from having poorly designed buildings. Volunteers who worked in this particular

school believed teaching was made significantly more difficult beyond eleven o’clock in the

morning as the classroom’s corrugated iron roof and lack of windows made the small classroom

extremely warm; the large number of students in the classroom further exacerbated the problem.

Jenny Evans, a volunteer from the UK, described the classroom as a ‘sauna’ and went onto say that

children would become tired more quickly compared with other schools because there was little

natural light which entered the classroom - Evans, J (2nd June, 2013).

The lack of learning materials such as text books also became an issue of great frustration

for teachers. One teacher explained that with the very inadequate number of text books for the

number of children in the class, setting work from books was not always an option and homework

would have to be set with this in mind. The effect this issue has on students is also significant as

shown by the case study.

There has been no shortage of studies into the effects of quality of school buildings and

availability of educational resources on attainment levels. Two studies carried out by Pennycuick

(1993) in Botswana and Nigeria and by Willims (2000) in Latin America have shown a strong

correlation between the quality of a learning environment and test scores as well as grade repetition.

However, the issue has been left largely inconclusive as measuring aspects of student backgrounds

20

Case StudyA co-coordinator for African Impact described how lack of resources desperately needed

improving and to increase the availability of text books in school. She spoke about how it was often the case that one book would have to be shared between up to ten students which resulted in a number of children having to read upside down. This was particularly the case for one boy who became so used to the practice of having the book facing away from him that he learnt to read upside down. This was discovered when a volunteer had taken the boy aside to offer one to one help and the boy had to hold the book upside down in order to read the text. The coordinator went on to say that it took more than three months to teach the boy how to read the right way round and how difficult it had been to adjust.

(Shelley Tomkins, 24/5/2013)

and their response to their surroundings has been very difficult. From the study, it would not be an

unfounded conclusion to make that the standard of school buildings does influence education

quality. Whilst the evidence showing that the proportion of children going on to secondary schools

from better equipped primary schools is very high, this does not totally prove that there is a

relationship. However, the interviews with teachers and volunteers show that it is far more difficult

to teach in a poorly designed and constructed school building and therefore this study would seem

to conform to others in academic literature.

From my study into the standard of facilities and resources within Livingstone’s schools I

would put forward the conclusion that quality education can be provided in Livingstone. Whilst the

quality of classrooms ranges a great deal, generally they are conducive to learning accompanied

with good quality text books and desks. However, this assumes that in these classrooms there would

be at most, 25 students. Having double this number downgrades the quality of the physical learning

environment immensely. These findings can directly be linked to the UN’s movement to increase

enrolment in the Global South, with two arguments arising. Firstly, supporters of the UN’s second

MDG will argue that the education system in Zambia is more equal in offering opportunities to

children compared with 10-15 years ago. However, I would counter this by highlighting that the

drive to increase student numbers has not been met with appropriate increases in the number of

schools textbooks, desks and the construction of new schools and classrooms. Therefore I believe

that all children attending the schools in my study have been dealt a huge disservice by attending

schools which are not effective learning environments and consequently receiving a lower standard

of education. In part four of the results I will be discussing how inadequate classrooms and

resources has a detrimental effect on teaching style, further worsening the quality of education

being provided.

iii. Teacher Background

The third element of my results looks at teacher quality and particularly the training required

to be a teacher in a school in Livingstone. From my study I found that there was a significant

shortfall in the number of qualified teachers in the seven schools I visited.

One school I worked closely with during my time in Zambia was Nakatindi Community

School. It was here that I learnt first-hand of the problems of staffing a school in Livingstone. The

5th grade teacher I assisted was a volunteer from the community who had been asked to fill in for a

teacher who was on extended leave for illness. Mr. Mwanda had been filling in for the past three

months, coming from the local college to teach over 50 children. In order to find out why a 19 year

21

old college student with no formal teaching qualifications had been drafted into the school I spoke

with the Deputy Head teacher of Nakatindi; Christopher Musonda.

Mr. Musonda said that the school would always look towards hiring trained and experienced

teachers, but with the lack of finances for wages it was impossible to have fully trained teachers in

each class. At the time the study was taken (May - June 2013) there were 10 trained teachers at the

school, 8 paid by the government and 2 that worked on a voluntary basis. In a school of 610

students therefore, there was one qualified teacher per 61 students. In addition to these there were

three community members working at the school that had no training whatsoever in teaching,

including Grade 5’s Mr Mwanda. The problem outlined by the Deputy was that it was the policy in

Zambia that the government supplies one teacher per grade for a community school, regardless of

the number of children enrolled. Therefore, the number of qualified teachers afforded to the school

had to be supplemented by untrained volunteers.

Memory Mundia, a project co-ordinator for the Happy Africa Foundation said in an

interview that the situation at Nakatindi with reference to staffing was better than most community

schools - Mundia, M (3rd June, 2013). She estimated from her time spent working in the schools

around Livingstone that at least 30% of teachers were not fully trained, offering two key reasons

why. Firstly, the surge in enrolment during the past decade had not been met with appropriate

increases in trained teachers and secondly that the spread of HIV/AIDS within the teacher

population had been extremely serious.

The reasons for a lack of teachers as argued by Memory Mundia are reinforced in a number

of academic studies. Grassly et al. (2003) made a number of key findings in their study on the

impact HIV/AIDS has on the economic cost of teaching in Zambia. Grassly found that in 1999

HIV/AIDS had an opportunity cost of an estimated US$1.4 - $3.0 million. Over the next decade,

post-MDGS, Grassly found that the virus could eventually account for over $40m in government

spending in education. 70% of this figure includes the cost of paying salaries to absent teachers,

such as Nakatindi’s grade 5 teacher, and a further 23% of this cost would be spent on training

teachers needed to replace those affected by HIV. These figures would appear to complement my

study and show that there is an enormous shortfall in finances to deal with the HIV epidemic in the

education sector. Schools such as Nakatindi do not have the resources to continue paying teachers

on extended leave and then employ trained replacement teachers too.

Whilst the evidence given by Grassly et al. is hugely significant, the evidence for many

other African countries is that even without the AIDs epidemic exacerbating the problem of a lack

of trained teachers there would still not be enough teachers being trained to keep up with increased

enrolment over the past decade which has averaged around 2.5% per annum in Zambia (World

Development Indicators, 2013). The Malawian education sector is an important case study to 22

consider here. In 1994 primary education was made free, leading to an immediate increase in

enrolment. 17,000 untrained teachers were given 3 week courses and sent into schools around

Malawi to cope. This forced the percentage of untrained teachers in schools up to around 42% in

Malawi (Kunje and Stuart, 1999). A similar situation has occurred in Zambia. With the introduction

of free education in 2002, net enrolment leapt up by 18% by 2004, but there was no accompanying

increase in trained teachers. Mullens et al. (1996) consider teacher training as essential in the

context of a quality education. They argue that student achievement is largely dependent on

teacher’s knowledge of subject matter, particularly beyond basic skills. Therefore, with the

situation in Zambia as it is with reference to trained teachers, education quality is suffering.

The results of this imbalance have been shown in this study and the conclusion makes

another criticism of the UN’s second MDG. The goal for attaining 100% enrolment has diluted the

number of qualified teachers to students in Zambia and so quality education has suffered despite

UNESCO and their Education for All movement highlighting the importance of education quality.

As mentioned in the previous section of the results, the second MDG aims to achieve equality in the

form of offering every child access to education. However this section of the results show that

education systems, such as the one in Zambia, is not fair nor equal. Whilst many children benefit

from learning from a fully qualified, engaging and enthusiastic teacher others are expected to

progress from primary school having learnt from community volunteers whom may have only

achieved primary school education themselves. This evidence is clearly contradictory to the UN’s

aims therefore and completion of 100% universal enrolment would mask important underlying

problems such as the high proportion of unqualified teachers being employed.

The true impact of using unqualified teachers in schools will be best shown in the final

section of the results as this part looks at teaching style. Teaching style is critical with regards to a

quality education and is greatly influenced by teacher backgrounds.

23

Figure 3. Zambia’s adjusted net enrolment rate. Source: World Development Indicators (WDI), October 2013

iv. Teaching style

The final aspect of the results focuses on the teaching styles which are employed within

Zambian schools. Appropriate teaching style is debated as much in the Global North as it is in the

South as it is undoubtedly hugely important within the context of quality education. In this section

results from the previous three research questions will be tied in to show how teaching style is

influenced by the physical environment and the backgrounds of teachers.

The first aspect of teaching style which I investigated concerned the use of learning by rote

and meaningful learning techniques. The former practice concerns learning through repetition

whilst the latter focuses on the transferring of knowledge. Each technique has its place within broad

teaching styles, but Richard Mayer documents the most effective means of teaching and it is this

framework that I shall be using to analyse teaching style in Zambia.

Figure 4 represents the results given by African Impact volunteers when asked which style

of teaching they witnessed taking place most often in the classrooms they were assisting in. All 15

volunteers reported that the teachers they were assisting would regularly teach through learning by

rote methods with just 6 saying that meaningful leaning techniques were also often employed.

Richard Mayer (2002) found that a combination of learning by rote and meaningful learning were

crucial for a quality education; ‘two of the most important educational goals are to promote

retention and to promote transfer,’ (Mayer 2002: 226). Mayer found that learning by rote only

teaches a child to absorb knowledge but not to make sense of it and therefore means they are unable

24

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Number of volunteers

Figure 4 Data taken from focus group at African Impact, 28th May, 2013.

Teaching Styles used in Schools

to reconstruct this knowledge in different academic situations and problems. Whilst learning by rote

is perhaps an important aspect of a young student’s education, academic literature shows that there

must be progression in teaching style as a child gets older (Haskell, 2001).

From my study, I found that learning by rote is by the far the more common practise

employed in schools. Repetition and memorization formed the basis of learning in lessons taken by

teachers. In lessons I took the results of learning by rote were clear to see. For example, children

would easily be able to repeat times tables but when they were presented with a singular

multiplication; 3x9 for instance, they would immediately recite the entire three times table to obtain

the answer. This shows that the transfer of knowledge from initially learning something is not well

developed in children; this is a result of the teaching style. Leaning by rote is not simply restricted

to maths; it is used in every subject from grammatical rules to HIV education.

The facilities used to teach in and the training teachers receive has significant influences on

teaching style. Ruth Banda, a grade three teacher, explained that having fewer children in the class

would allow for more interaction in lessons, but with the classroom restrictions, this was not always

possible. She went on to say that dictating in lessons was the easiest and most efficient way of

reaching the whole class before acknowledging that, for the individual, it is more difficult to learn

this way. Ruth Banda is an experienced, qualified teacher and yet she uses a teaching style which is

widely criticised, however, given the environment she must work in, it is perhaps her only option –

Banda, R (26/5/2013).

A further impact class sizes have on teaching style concerns feedback on work. When I

assisted Mr. Mwanda I found that work is always marked with a tick or a cross with very few

corrections or annotations. In an interview with the teacher, an explanation was given for this. He

felt that it was far too time consuming to be able to fully correct each student on each piece of work

they would complete, especially as there were over 50 students in his class and he only had the

opportunity to mark work during break times which lasted 30 minutes. This issue of feedback is

related to the learning by rote approach. It is easiest to mark work that has a right and wrong answer

rather than a discursive answer, which would be different for each child. Furthermore, he discussed

how learning by rote was the simplest method for teaching such a large class and as he had not

completed a diploma in teaching this was the only method he felt comfortable with. Teaching style

is therefore closely linked to the backgrounds of the teachers and the physical environment they

work in.

The second aspect of teaching style which I investigated was corporal punishment, a

practice which is illegal in Zambia but one that is still common in classrooms. Government posters

such as the one shown over the page (Plate 3) are found in many classrooms as a reminder to 25

teachers that physical punishment is not an approach that should be taken to discipline children. 11

out of 15 volunteers I surveyed had witnessed teachers physically punishing students. These

punishments ranged from clips around the ear to hitting children on the legs 4 or 5 times with

implements such as a length of garden hose. One volunteer spoke about how students from other

classes had been sent to see her teacher she was assisting

just so that they could be punished with a stick.

In two informal focus groups with 6 children in

each, over half had experienced physical punishment at

some point in school. When asked if they disliked the use of

corporal punishment, 3 students said they were fearful of the

teacher and being hit, 2 felt that the punishments did not

hurt them whilst many of the others felt it was a fair way of

stopping fighting in the classroom and keeping quiet.

In an interview with the Deputy Head Teacher of Nakatindi, Christopher Musonda, the

acknowledgment was made that corporal punishment was being exercised by many of the teachers.

He reluctantly argued that with such large classroom sizes the build-up of noise and fighting

between students occurs so frequently that the use of physical punishment was required. He went on

to say that the students, particularly the younger ones, needed to learn to respect their teacher and to

behave appropriately. Corporal punishment therefore is regarded in schools as a means to display

authority, and by doing this the children would understand that their teacher was in charge.

The effect corporal punishment has on the education of a student has been debated strongly.

One report commissioned by Save the Children on corporal punishment in Zambian schools looks

at how children can be negatively affected by the threat of physical violence in school. The report

shows how continuous threats of punishment led to higher rates of absences. This is often the

decision of parents who don’t allow their children to go to school if they are being hit and beaten.

UNICEF (2000:9) also argue that corporal punishment is not an appropriate method of discipline;

‘learning cannot take place when the basic needs of survival and self-protection are threatened.’

Regular attendance at school by pupils is an obvious requirement in achieving a good

education and so factors which influence higher rates of absence must be taken seriously. Fuller

(1999) examines how a student’s ‘opportunity to learn’ has a clear relationship with achievement.

Numerous studies, including that of Miske, Dowde et al, (1998) found that in Malawi, children who

attended regularly achieved more in their studies and had a lower rate of repeating the year. It is not

clear from my study as to whether absences attributable to corporal punishment are frequent. The

most common reason for absences, given by students, was in order to care for sick family members,

not through fear of being physically punished at school. What can be drawn from this study is that 26

Plate 3Source: Authors own (2013)

some children are affected by corporal punishment more than others. Within the context of the

report from Save the Children, the students who admitted they were fearful of the teacher indicated

that their classroom was not an effective learning environment. As for the students who did not

seem concerned by being hit by the teacher, there is the possibility that they did not want to come

across as afraid to their peers in the focus groups for this study, or were perhaps worried that their

teacher may not approve of what they were saying. Whilst the use of corporal punishment is

regarded by the West as a cruel and ineffective method of teaching, the situation is very different in

Zambia where class sizes are so large and the practice is viewed by teachers and approximately

55% of students as an effective means to control the class. When asked what the students believed

to be a better punishment (Figure 5) such as being sent out of lessons or made to stay in the

classroom during break, the children categorically rejected these alternatives and accepted that

occasionally being hit on the legs was more favourable. The attitude of the vast majority of children

was that missing any school lessons was the most severe punishment and was the most upsetting,

more so than physical punishment. Perhaps, therefore, whilst corporal punishment in schools is

strongly condemned by much academic literature, this study found that the more pressing issue was

to reduce class sizes rather than criticise teaching methods in extremely difficult conditions.

Furthermore, the use of corporal punishment as a means to control a class indicates a lack of

appropriate training. A fully qualified teacher should be able to hold the class’ attention without

needing to resort to violence. However, as it has been shown in the teacher background element of

the results, not all teachers have been trained to deal with large classrooms and disobedient children

in a way that is conducive to learning.

Analysing the teaching style being used in Zambia is a complex issue because of the range

in teachers. Whilst much of my results has criticised teachers using rudimentary teaching techniques

and excessive disciplinary actions I would conclude that I found the teachers in Livingstone to be

extremely dedicated and hard working. Teachers in Livingstone have immensely difficult jobs

given the resources and conditions they must work under. Therefore, if there was a significant 27

0246

'Favoured' punishments for students

Number of students

increase in the number of schools and provisions of resources as well as a greater drive to train

teachers, the results could be miraculous in terms of student attainment levels. Despite this, the

UN’s millennium development goals do not emphasise the importance of these factors. The huge

increase in student enrolment since the inception of the MDGs has exacerbated the number of good

quality schools and teachers leading to a decline in quality as shown by the fall in attainment levels

over the same period.

5. Conclusion 28

Main Findings

From my research I have made a number of key findings linking back to my research questions:

- The curriculum used in Zambian schools is well structured and offers teachers and students

a quality basis for learning as it conforms to UNICEF’s characteristics for a quality

curriculum.

- The school buildings in Livingstone and the quality of resources within them, more often

than not, offered an effective learning environment. The buildings were designed and

constructed to a high standard with few exceptions. However the capacity of these schools

has been far exceeded and so in effect the schools are not effective environments. The

construction of new schools is desperately needed to dilute class sizes.

- The number of untrained teachers in Livingstone has impacted upon the style of teaching

which is inappropriate and ineffective compared with western methods and concepts.

- Quality education is not being provided in Zambia due to the shortfall in funding for

resources, facilities and the training of teachers.

Having established these key findings above, I would conclude that the UN’s ends based

method for setting development goals has not achieved meaningful results. In 2015 it is more than

likely, given the progress that has been made in the past 14 years, that Zambia along with many

other developing nations will report back to the UN that they have successfully achieved 100% net

enrolment. Whilst this is a substantial accomplishment, it masks other significant elements of the

education system, in particular, the quality of education being provided.

This study is important as it shows that whilst an ends based goal is the only option for a global

scale development project, this method lacks accuracy in attempting to bring about positive change

(Rigg, 2008). This has led me to the conclusion that perhaps the UN is not an appropriate

development actor as Global South countries are far from homogenous and attempting to develop

them all under an umbrella scheme is doomed to fail. Furthermore, the damage caused by achieving

this development goal could be extensive. Financial aid flows are likely to slow in response to the

‘success’ Zambia has achieved with respect to its education system as donors may believe that

financial support is no longer needed (Baulch, 2006). However, Zambia needs aid more than ever to

help its education sector provide more schools and more trained teachers. Only when these two

huge problems have been resolved can Zambia start offering quality education to its student

population and thus experience all the benefits that a strong education system can bring in the socio-

economic development of a nation.

Evaluation

29

I believe this study has made important steps towards measuring education development in

the Global South beyond quantitive methods focused on enrolment percentages, attainment levels

and grade repetitions. Quality education can only be measured effectively by methods similar to the

ones used in this study such as participating in the classroom environment and interviewing the key

groups involved, namely, teachers and students. I would therefore argue that more academic

literature needs to be focused on the qualitative aspects of education to measure progress and to

consider the effectiveness of development schemes.

The extensiveness of this study was limited by time and cost constraints. However, if I was

to expand on this study in the future I would look towards assessing the state of education in more

rural areas. The reach of development schemes is often restricted to urban areas and so the results in

more geographically isolated places would add to the findings of this study which was confined to

Livingstone. Furthermore, I would have liked to investigate how development targets which were

focused on primary school education had influenced secondary schools.

Words: 9,596

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Appendix A

Interview Participants:

i. Christopher Musonda Deputy Head teacher at Nakatindi 25.5.2013

ii. Mr. Mwanda Primary school teacher 19.5.2013

ii. Ruth Banda Primary school teacher 26.5.2013

iv. Grace Siamani Parent and school committee member 28.5.2013

v. Shelley Tompkins Volunteer co-ordinator at African Impact 24.5.2013

vi. Memory Mundia Co-ordinator for Happy Africa Foundation 3.6.2013

vii. Jenny Evans African Impact Volunteer 2.6.2013

African Impact Volunteers: Jonny Carter, Katie Evans, Axie Finch, Sat Nadarajah, Sigurbjörg Jóhannsdóttir, Tina Fagen, Susan Baker, Paula Reynolds, John Caravello, Leanne Farish

Focus Groups:

i. Nakatindi Community School 25.5.2013

ii. Nakatindi Community School 26.5.2013

iii. Linda Primary School 2.6.2013

iv. African Impact volunteers 28.6.2013

34

Interviews Questions:

Deputy Head and Teacher – Christopher Masonda

- What is your opinion of teaching in English rather than Tonga?- What is the importance of teaching the ‘life skills’ course?

- In the UK, class sizes rarely exceed 30 students; how difficult therefore is it to teach a class of 50-60 students?

- Is there a shortage of adequate learning materials? (If so) What impact does this have?

- What qualifications/training is required to become a teacher at (….) school?- What are the implications of having untrained teachers in school?- What is the most common reason for teacher absences?

- Which teaching method do you favour; learning by rote or meaningful learning? (Clarity needed)

- What techniques do you use to control your class?- What is your opinion of corporal punishment? Do you ever employ this form of

punishment?

Parent and school committee member - Grace Siamani

- What influences do the community have in making decisions at Nakatindi School?- What is the importance of teaching the ‘life skills’ course?- How flexible is the curriculum at Nakatindi? - How often is a community member drafted in to the school to act as a voluntary teacher?

Volunteer co-ordinator at African Impact - Shelley Tompkins

- Do you regard the quality of school buildings as conducive to learning in Livingstone?- What are the priorities for African Impact concerning Livingstone’s schools?

Project co-ordinator for Happy Africa Foundation Memory Mundia

- How widespread is the issue of untrained teachers in Livingstone and Zambia?- What aspects of quality education is the Happy Africa Foundation attempting to target?

African Impact Volunteer Jenny Evans

- What problems did you encounter having over 50 students in the class?- How did you alter your teaching style in Zambia, compared with the UK, given the

conditions?

- How often, if at all, would the teacher for your class be absent?

35

- Which teaching method did you observe most often; learning by rote or meaningful learning?

- In the classroom how would the teacher attempt to control the students?- Did the teacher ever use corporal punishment?

Focus Groups

Nakatindi + Linda:- How do you feel about learning all subjects in English?- What do think about having a class with over 50 students in it?- Do you find the pace of lessons goes quickly or slowly?- What do you feel about being hit by your teacher?- Do you think being punished by being hit is fair?- What punishments would you favour instead?

African Impact:- What would be the most common teaching technique used by teachers they were assisting?- What were the difficulties involved with taking lessons they found?- How many volunteers witnessed the teacher they were assisting hit the students?- How often would a volunteer be left alone with the class as the teacher was absent?

Appendix B

Interview Results

Deputy Head Teacher – Christopher Masundo

Despite the curriculum being printed in English, teachers often clarify points in Tonga, to help students understand different points.

‘Life Skills’ is very important given the current situation in Zambia concerning HIV/AIDs and malaria. Schools have an important part to play in educating children not just on literacy and numeracy but an awareness of present day Zambia too.

You can’t complain about class numbers, you just get on with it. Yes there are too many children in each class but… (Reluctant acceptance). It is survival of the fittest for which students go on to secondary schools. Over 80 primary schools in Livingstone but just 4 secondary.

The school would always attempt to hire trained professionals but with a lack of finances this was very difficult. Government quota of teachers is to have one per grade and so at Nakatindi there should be 8 trained teachers paid by the government. This still left a shortfall as in most the grades there were 2 classes. Volunteer teachers were needed at the school to cope with the shortfall. Often coming from the community.

Most common reason for absence is illness in teachers.

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Corporal punishment was exercised by some teachers despite the government saying this was an ineffective and unlawful way of treating students. With such large class sizes it is argued that CP displays authority and the class can be controlled better.

Community member and temporary teacher – Mr. Mwanda

Teaching in English has its difficulties and often means explaining points twice, once in English and again in Tonga. As the textbooks are printed in English it means that some children struggle to work independently from the book.

One issue with teaching such a large class was that it makes marking work very time consuming. As a result he would usually mark with a tick or a cross rather than a lot of annotations and feedback.

Learning by rote was the easiest method of teaching he felt as he had not completed a diploma in teaching.

Parent and committee member – Grace Siamani

The community has an equal say in school decisions along with the head teachers. Decisions for example on staffing, curriculum and arrangements with NGOs are all discussed.

Learning about life skills may not get a child a job but it could save their life. It is a very important aspect of school life, one that did not exist in my time at school. The fairly recent introduction of life skills explains the current situation in Zambia with the high rates of HIV and other viruses and diseases. The education of these issue should help to combat the problem in future.

The curriculum is largely left alone as the government text books and syllabus are of good quality. However, at Nakatindi new schemes have been introduced to teach children about more relevant topics such as agriculture. Most of our children will not have the opportunity to go on to secondary school; instead they are likely to go into agriculture or become manual labourers or factory workers. It is therefore relevant to teach them about agriculture as well as numeracy, literacy and other common aspects of the curriculum.

Community members are usually drafted into the school when teachers are absent or the school cannot afford to pay for a trained teacher. Mr.. Mwanda for example was a college student from the community who had been asked to work for the past 3 months.

Volunteer co-ordinator at African Impact - Shelley Tompkins

The quality of school buildings in Livingstone is good compared with other regions she has worked in such as Zimbabwe but they cannot accommodate the sheer number of children in the classroom. This means that it is still hard to learn despite having a good quality classroom. Similarly the lack of text books is a massive problem facing schools. 7 or 8 children sometimes have to share one book meaning that there are often children who have to read the textbooks from upside down. Repetition of this situation led to one child learning to read upside down, without the ability to read normally. It took three months of one to one tuition by Shelley to teach the student how to read correctly.

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The priorities for African Impact are to get children learning to read and write in English. It is this skill that most children struggle with most and yet it is also one of the most important as the curriculum is taught and written in English. Generally volunteers are English speaking; British, American, Canadian, Australian and so they can have greatest help in teaching English, both reading and writing.

Project co-ordinator for Happy Africa Foundation - Memory Mundia

Estimates that around 30% of teachers were not fully qualified in Livingstone. This is due to a combination of; a shortage in training of teachers by the government to keep pace with increased enrolment and HIV rates in teachers are very high and so the number of trained teachers has fallen.

The Happy Africa Foundation attempts to correct two key statistics; Around 38% of Sub-Saharan Africa (167 million people) still lack basic literacy skills (UNESCO). Four out of ten children in Africa do not complete primary school (UNESCO 2002/03). Their strategy attempts to improve basic English skills as well as addressing the high rates of grade repetition and student absence.

African Impact Volunteer - Jenny Evans

Compared with the UK, the number of children in each class is shocking. It makes it very difficult to control the class as there are always arguments going on somewhere. Also, it is very difficult to try and help individuals as there are too many children who need help for one teacher to address. It is therefore similarly difficult to give feedback on work as marking 50 exercise books is very time consuming.

It is very frustrating trying to teach a class as big as the one in Livingstone because it is more difficult to build up interaction between the teacher and individual student. The teachers in Zambia have an incredibly difficult task but do an amazing job given the conditions.

During the two weeks she spent with her class the teacher missed 4 days. Her second day at the school, she was left on her own as the teacher was absent. She therefore had to improvise with no lesson plans and very little knowledge of the timetable, student abilities and teaching material. It was explained to her later on that her teacher had missed the days at school because she was studying for her diploma in teaching (which she had not yet obtained). Speaking to the students of her class, Jenny found that when the teacher does not turn up and there are no volunteers, the students turn around and walk home as there will be no teacher for them. They found this frustrating as they love to go to school.

Learning by rote and meaningful learning were used equally in different lessons. The teacher would often hit the children if they were misbehaving. She would use a cane

around 3ft long to hit children on the legs. It was also the case that children would be sent from other classrooms to be punished by the teacher.

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Nakatindi: English is very difficult for them to learn. Some of them find it easier than others. They

prefer when their teacher speaks Tonga in lessons. They found my lessons difficult sometimes to understand what has happening as I was not able clarify points in Tonga. They will help each to understand English. They think it is important to learn English as many of them want to be teachers when they are older and so know that they will need to learn English well to do this.

Having 50 of them makes it difficult to concentrate. There are often fights and arguments in the classroom because they are cramped on benches and have little amount of space on their desks. But they would not want smaller classes because they like being at school with their friends. Instead they would like bigger classrooms with more desks and benches. Another problem is that there aren’t enough text books, however if each of them had their own text book and exercise book they would not have enough space on the desks so sharing books is not too bad.

2 of them found lessons went slowly saying that if they were set an exercise from the book they could finish well before the end of the lesson and so would have nothing to do. 4 others felt the lessons went quickly and found it difficult to keep pace with what was being taught particularly in English and maths lessons.

3 students did not like being hit. 2 felt that the punishments did not hurt and so didn’t deter them. Many others felt it was a fair way of stopping fights and keeping the class quiet. Favoured punishments were 6 – corporal punishment, 5 – writing lines, 1 for tidying classrooms.

African Impact: All 15 volunteers reported that teachers they assisted would regularly use learning by rote

methods. 6 said that meaningful learning was as common in the classes they were in. 7 found lessons engaging and interactive, 8 found the opposite.

11 volunteers had witnessed first-hand teachers hitting the children. Punishments ranged from clips around the ear to being hit 4 or 5 times around the legs with implements such as a length of garden hose.

Problems: teaching at Mwandi was significantly more difficult than elsewhere. The design of the school was very poor and meant that the classrooms would get very hot, combined with the number of students, the classrooms felt like saunas. Also little natural light would come into the classrooms. All the volunteers found that fighting was common but it was understandable given the cramped nature of the desks. Students were always eager to learn and do well which meant they would regularly cheat off each other.

Most volunteers were always with their teacher in the classroom. 4 had at least 1 day teaching without supervision.

Appendix C

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Plate 4: Nakatindi Community School. Source: Authors own (2013)

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Plate 5: Nakatindi’s Grade 5. Source: Authors own (2013)

42Plate 9: Afterschool art class taking place at Mwandi Community School. Source: Authors own (2013)

Plate 8: Mr Mwanda, Nakatindi’s grade 5 teacher. Source: Authors own (2013)

Plate 7: Afterschool literacy class taking place at Linda Primary school. Source: Authors own (2013)

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