Relevance of education: A focus on science & maths, language and skills in relation to market demands

Kalafunja M. O-sakiUniversity of Dodoma

Prepared for the Annual Education Sector ReviewMinistry of Education and Vocational Training5-7 October, 2009

Concepts relating to ‘relevance’ Quality -Intentions, visions, goals-Inputs/resources/infrastructure-Implementation processes: effective teaching

& learning, management (resources, time) assessment. . .

-Attainments: examination achievement, character, skills (social, work, life. . .)

Standards- setting (benchmarking) raising them for all learners, bright, weak, disabled, . . ., in various disciplines

Market-employers

State of the secondary sector

2003 Participation rate 7% Proportion of recurrent budget in

education 7% Regional variation very great Exams the main indicator of

quality Insufficient prof devt of teachers Govt schools under-resources (in

eqpt) than non govt schools Poor performance of girls in

NECTA exams Failure of curriculum to respond

to labour market demands

2008 Participation rate 24% of 17-19

year olds 28% of total budget now in edu Regional variation closing down?

(See data on preschool services) Exam performance still main

indicator Supply of graduate teachers high,

but where are they? Performance of girls same?

Improved? Govt schools lagging behind non

govt? More students choosing business

& commerce, fewer in science

Relevance of science & maths

ESR philosophy: inquiry, critical, liberated

School based projects focusing on ESR

-African Primary Science Program[SEPA]-School Science/Maths Project SSP /SMP-Self Reliance Activities & projects S-R and development of work skills:

SR projects

Challenges of ESR

Productive projects more important than academic?

Expensive science labs in the SSP Setting the `right` Examination Pre service teacher edu & Training Demise of Inquiry in the classroom

Interventions in recent years

Science Edu in Secondary Schools-Textbooks; labs; INSET in 15 schools STIP-Starter Experiment Approach TEAMS-NUFFIC/UDSM-Restructuring UG teacher edu; INSET

development, back to inquiry; Capacity devt: PG training & devt. Research

Education II: INSET materials, TOT`s

Lessons learned

No good science edu. without inquiry Needs of students who will go deep

into science; and those who need science only to live well in the society

Good curriculum needs testing and prototyping before fll implementation

Language in class and in books must be understood by learners

Teachers must be competent in subject knowledge and in pedagogy

Lessons contd

Most schools invest in exams success; not in proper education, a disastrous practice hence:

-Stop ranking schools in terms of exams alone, broaden the criteria of a `good performing` school

-promote subject based associations or clubs -e.g STAURT, Bio, Chem, etc

-Reward quality teaching & school improvement-Find ways to supervise practical work cf.C-Reward performance in science fairs, olympics,

camps. . .

Language & Communication challenges 1968: Kiswahili as MOI in primary No program to develop Kiswahili

teaching as a first language; Instead, English devt thro: Learning thro language, Baseline, F1ELOC, etc

BAKITA, IKR (TATAKI??) not seriously dealt with Kiswahili language education in school

Neglect of vernaculars out of fear Confusion in language policy; failure

to take advantage of Kiswahili

First language development principles

Natural environment of lang usage Time for language to develop and be used

to level of fluency Warm usage and support from native

users of the language and the media Sufficient exposure to listen, read, speak

and write Cf: French; Portuguese; American English Lingua franca vs first lang vs MOI

Work & Life skills

Work as a basic concept in ESR projects and later, compulsory national service for all children

1977; Diversification and vocationalization of sec schools: technical, home econ, agric, commercial, declined after 1995 due to academic focus

Work skills, life skills, social skills Core skills for the 21st century?

Diversity of skills to developWork skillsFarming, & gardening CarpentryTechnicalDrivingManagementCooking, washingBuildingTeaching

Life skillsSelf conceptSelf defenseCritical thinkingPersonal value systemOpen mindInterpersonalSpatialKinesthetic/body Sense of humourResilience, Acceptance

Social skillsCommunication-verbal & non verbalActive listeningExpressing feelingsNegotiationAssertivenessRefusalEmpathyCo-operationAdvocacyPersuasion