THE WORLD BANK EDT5So Discussion Paper EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERIES Report No. EDT5O Improving Teaching: A Key fo Successful Educational Change Adriaan M. Verspoor Janet L. Leno Textbooks as Instruments for the Improvement of the Quality of Education Adriaan M. Verspoor December 1986 Education and Training Department Operations Policy Staff The views presented here are those of the author(s), and they should not be interpreted as reflecting those of the World Barx Discussion Paper Education and Training Series Report No. EDT50 IMPROVING TEACHING: A KEY TO SUCCESSFUL EDUCATIONAL CHANGE Adriaan M. Verspoor Janet L. Leno TEXTBOOKS AS INSTRUMENTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION Adriaan M. Verspoor Policy Division Education and Training Department December 1986 The World Bank does not accept responsibility for the views expressed herein, .which are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank * -r its affiliated organizations. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the results of research or analysis supported by the Bank; they do not necessarily represent official policy of the Bank. Copyright( C1986 The Int:ernational Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank ABSTRACTS IMPROVING TEACHING: A KEY TO SUCCESSFUL EDUCATIONAL CHANGE This paper examines World Bank experience with teacher training programs designed to support the implementation of educational quality improvement and change in developing countries. The analysis of a sample of 21 such programs from The World Bank portfolio, demonstrates the critical role of in-service teacher training in the change process. The paper discusses four crucial design features of teacher training components in high outcome change programs. These include: providing locally available and permanent in-service training; creating effective systems of teacher supervision and support; designing the content of training programs in light of the teacher's knowledge and experience; and paying attention to teacher motivation. The paper also emphasizes the importance of matching change program design -- including teacher training components -- to a country's level of educational development. On the basis of the evidence from the case studies, the paper recommends increased funding for teacher training components in change programs,.teacher-centered program designs, and strengthened research efforts to enhance the understanding of the characteristics of effective teaching. TEXTBOOKS AS INSTRUMENTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION This paper explores how the design of textbook projects can be improved to optimize the contribution of investments in textbooks to the improvement of the quality of education in developing countries. Textbooks have a remarkable flexibility to serve a wide variety of quality improvement objectives under vastly different country conditions. The paper argues that constraints imposed by the stage of development of a particular educational system are crucial in selecting the most appropriate mode of intervention and designing effective implementation strategies. This has three practical implications. First, for maximum impact the educational objectives of textbook projects need to be integrated explicitly into a broad quality improvement strategy. Second, the size and the scale of the quality improvement program should determine the objectives of the textbook program, which can range from simple highly structured texts for educational systems in the early stages of development to the promotion of individualized instruction in more advanced systems. Third, the design of the implementation strategy and management systems needs to be congruent with the degree of innovation and the associated uncertainty regarding outcomes and implementation strategy. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This publication is based on two previous papers: "Improving Teaching: A Key to Successful Educational Change -- Lessons from World Bank Experience," presented at the annual International Management Training Education Consortium (IMTEC) Seminar held October, 1986 in Bali, Indonesia; and "Textbooks as r'.struments for the Improvement of the Quality of Education -- An Implementation Perspective," presented at the World Bank's Economic Development Institute Seminar on Economic Choices in the Production of Textbooks" held April 9-25, 1986 -n Washington, D.C. IMPROVING TEACHING: A KEY TO SUCCESSFUL EDUCATIONAL CHANGE TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. I. INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 II. THE RECORD OF LENDING FOR EDUCATIONAL CHANGE .... ....... 2 III. APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL CHANGE IN BANK-SUPPORTED PROJECTS ............................................... 3 - 5 IV. EDUCATION CHANGE AND TEACHER TRAINING IN WORLD BANK LENDING ..................................... 5 - 6 V. FEATURES OF TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS .... .............. 6 - 10 (1) Provide permanent and locally-available in-ser-vice teacher training ....................... 6 - 8 (2) Establish effective systems for supervision and support ....................................... 8 - 9 (3) Adjust the content of in-service training to the teachers' level of knowledge and experience ........................................ 9 - 10 (4) Encourage teacher motivation and commitment ....... 10 VI. TEACHER TRAINING AND STAGES OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.. 11 - 14 VII. CONCLUDING NOTE .................... 15 REFERENCES .............. 16 - 17 Table 1: MOST FREQUENTLY OCCURRING COMBINATIONS OF CHANGE OBJECTIVES ............................ 4 Figure 1: STAGES OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ............... 14 -1- I. INTRODUCTION 1. There is increasing concern about the quality of education being provided to students in the developing world. Although heavy investments in this sector by both governments and international donor agencies have led to an impressive increase in the quantity of education in many countries, questions of quality persist. Rapid expansion of educational systems in many countries has stretched available managerial, professional and financial resources beyond the limits of minimal effectiveness. Particularly in rural areas, as well as throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the quality of teaching and learning continues to be very low (Heyneman, 1980; Heyneman and Loxley, 1983; The World Bank, 1980). Functional literacy remains an elusive goal for most primary school graduates, and repetition and dropout rates are high. 2. The fiscal crisis of the last decade has affected in particular the non-salary inputs to education. Many schools in developing countries now face critical shortages of instructional materials and a crumbling administrative infrastructure. The challenge for many countries today is how to simultaneously increase access and improve the quality of education, under conditions of severe financial austerity. Nearly all developing countries have embarked on educational reform or change programs designed to address this challenge, frequently in partnership with the World Bank. 3. This paper examines the World Bank's experience with teacher training as an element in efforts to achieve educational change and quality improvement. In light of the critical role teachers play in the change process, it explores how teacher training programs can be designed to optimally contribute to the successful implementation of educational change. The paper notes that serious questions have been raised about the achievement record of quality improvement programs, and summarizes the findings of a recent World Bank review of Bank-supported educational change programs. 4. A more detailed analysis based on experience in 21 change programs demonstrates the critical role of teacher training in the implementation process. The paper discusses four features that characterize teacher training in the high-outcome change programs. These include: provision of permanent and locally available in-service training; creation of effective systems for supervision and support; development of training content appropriate to teachers' level of knowledge and experience; and attention to teacher motivation. It also emphasizes the importance of matching change program design -- including teacher training components -- to the level of a country's educational development. The paper recommends increased funding for teacher training, a strengthened research effort, and teacher-centered program designs. -2- II. THE RECORD OF LENDING FOR EDUCATIONAL CHANGE 5. Little systematic information is available on the record of achievement of educational reform programs. Completion reports of World Bank projects have frequently been issued too early to provide an accurate assessment of outcomes, and impact evaluations have been few. The impression, however, is that the record is mixed at best. Recent reviews of the experience of several Bank-supported projects tend to reinforce this concern. In a review of experience with lending for primary education, Romain (1985) concluded: "Little is known of how effectively the new curricula are being applied....Implementing large-scale national reforms of primary education, especially in regard to practical subjects, has proven to be quite risky..." and "The search should therefore be intensified for reforms which are replicable." Similarly, Searle (1985) reviewed World Bank experience with textbook projects and found: "...substantial achievements and significant shortcomings" "...completed projects provide evidence for shortfalls in every aspect of textbook provision...", and " ..both substantial improvements and continuing shortfalls in project design" for recently appraised projects. And Haddad's (1985) survey of experience with teacher training led him to conclude, with respect to the degree of fulfillment of project objectives: "Most of the teacher training components with qualitative objectives were not assessed. The few that were, fell more on the unsatisfactory side, either because human and physical resources were not adequate or because the attitude of trainees was negative." 6. The situation in this respect is not dissimilar to that of the United States as described by Berman and McLaughlin (1978). They reported that of the change programs that were adopted, few were successful, and even fewer were institutionalized. While this pessimistic assessment regarding the education change record in the U.S. is being questioned by some (Crandal, et. al., 1983), the impression of widespread implementation problems in the developing world persists. One of the reasons, according to Havelock and Huberman (1977), is that much of the knowledge accumulated in the developed countries, especially in Western Europe and the U.S., has not been adapted to the specific situation of developing countries. Moreover, it has not been incorporated in the tool kits of those designing projects in developing countries and international agencies. -3- III. APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL CHANGE IN BANK-SUPPORTED PROJECTS 7. Given the persistent questions about the record of achievement of programs aimed at improving educational quality, as well as recognition of how little is known about how to achieve quality improvement, the World Bank undertook a review of its experience in this area in order to enhance understanding of the process of quality improvement. 8. The first step in this review process was to assess the scope and nature of World Bank support for educational change -- the planned improvement of the educational system aimed at teaching practice, learning resources, or structure and organization with a view to enhancing student performance -- in its lending since the first education project was approved in 1963 (Verspoor, 1986). Change components were found in 225 of the 284 education projects financed by the Bank between 1963 and 1984. Through these 225 projects, at a cost of US$6.4 billion, the Bank has provided support to a wide range of education change programs that have addressed problems of quality at all levels of the educational system. In line with Bank lending policy statements since the early 1970s, basic education was a prime target of lending for educational change. Between 1974 and 1984, nearly 40 percent of the change components in these education projects supported reform of primary education and about 15 percent focused on adult literacy. 9. On the basis of judgments reported in completion and supervision reports, an assessment of the outcomes of these programs was made. Change programs were rated on a scale of 1 (no or limited achievements) to 4 (outstanding achievements). The average rating for all projects was calculated as 2.5. About 10 percent of the change programs had very limited success. Further review suggests that this percentage might in fact be as high as 15 percent. 10. The review identified four main obiectives of the change programs: curriculum, organizational, teacher and technological change. The first concerns the scope and content of curriculum reform. Programs with organizational objectives include those that make changes in educational administrative structures or systems, such as the creation of nuclear schools or of additional layers of supervisory staff. Efforts aimed at teachers attempt to bring about changes in their classroom behavior. This can be done through training them to apply new curriculum or technology, for example, or by increasing their mastery of the subject matter they teach. Finally, programs that include technological objectives are those that introduce new teaching aids or methods, such as radio, television or textbooks. 11. Table 1 indicates the way in which these objectives have been combined in the projects. The cluster that occurred most frequently, both as a component financed by itself and as an element in broader programs, is the combination of curriculum and teacher change. It was included in nearly 60 percent of the programs and financed as a free-standing project in more than 20 percent. The comprehensive approach to quality improvement, combining changes in the curriculum, teaching, technology and organizational arrangements, was the basis for the educational change strategy in 18 percent of the components. -4- Table 1: MOST FREQUENTLY OCCURRING COMBINATIONS OF CHANGE OBJECTIVES Number of Occurrences 1/ In Isolation Cumulative Clusters of Objective(s) No. % No. % Curriculum, teachers 66 22 172 58 Curriculum, teachers, 52 18 52 18 organization, technology Curriculum 41 14 257 87 Curriculum, teachers, organization 34 11 86 29 Curriculum, organization 23 8 118 40 Curriculum, teachers, technology 20 7 72 24 Curriculum, technology 12 4 93 31 Teachers, organization, technology 9 3 57 19 Teachers, technology 9 3 88 30 1/ Occurrences took place within a total of 296 change programs. 12. The available data do not permit a full analysis of the evolution of change packages over time. They do, nevertheless, convey the impression that change packages have become more diverse and comprehensive over time. For example, between 1964 and 1975 the seven most frequently occurring clusters accounted for 75 percent of the total number of change components, while between 1976 and 1984 they accounted for only 45 percent. This suggests that the strategies adopted for educational change are becoming more comprehensive, combining in one package curriculum change, organizational strengthening, teacher training, and teaching aids. In addition, textbook/materials components are becoming increasingly prominent. 13. Four major issues concerning the Bank's approach to supporting education change were identified. The first pertains to the predominance of curriculum change, which was found in 90 percent of Bank education change projects, as an instrument for quality improvement. In comparison, 66 percent of the components provided for teacher training, 40 percent for organizational change, and 32 percent for technological change. 14. The second issue concerns the relative neglect of institutional development and organizational change in the design of education change strategies. The data suggest that only limited attention has been paid to strengthening school support and supervision systems, improving the quality of school management, establishing a permanent capacity to develop curriculum and instructional materials, and measuring student achievement. -5- 15. Third, the review suggested that the Bank's approach to education change tended to emphasize the adoption of a change, rather than implementation at the classroom level. Only 30 percent of the change components supported a broad strategy of change that combined teacher training and curriculum change along with organizational change. Further, only 12 percent of change components included provision for professional support and assistance at the school level. This approach exemplifies what House (1981) calls the "technocratic perspective" on educational change. ]6. The fourth issue highlighted by the overview has to do with the disappointing performance of many African projects. In the 25 years since independence, Africa has been the scene of many ambitious attempts at educational change. Many of these reforms emphasized curriculum change and neglected institutional development and organizational strengthening. The review suggests the likelihood that this choice of priorities contributed to the low success rate among African projects. :rv. EDUCATION CHANGE AND TEACHER TRAINING IN WORLD BANK LENDING 17. To explore further the findings of this overview of Bank education projects, a more detailed analysis of a sample of 21 case studies of educational change was undertaken. The sample was drawn from the group of 225 projects, and was heavily biased toward cases with high and moderate outcomes (16 out of 21). 18. Examination of these case studies found three processes for accomplishing change to be closely associated with successful implementation of quality improvements: in-service teacher training, organizational development, and the building and maintenance of commitment to the change. Clearly, teachers are at the core of the educational change process. Teacher training efforts are directed at them, and organizational structures are frequently designed to provide them with support. Moreover, without teacher motivation and commitment, the change is likely to fail. 19. The case analysis identified four paths toward educational change: progressive innovation, incremental expansion, discrete change, and permanent pilots. The choice of the change path was affected by two contingency factors, the degree of innovation of the program and the certainty or stability of the external environment. The first two paths allow progress toward national application of ambitious change objectives. Progressive innovation is characterized by the sequential implementation of a series of relatively modest innovations, while incremental expansion relies on gradually expanding coverage of a relatively ambitious change program. The latter two paths generally lead to more limited success in the implementation of change objectives. In the case of discrete change, implementation is hindered by a shortage of financial resources or political turbulence, which permit successful implementation of only modest objectives in a limited number of locations. For similar reasons, some pilot projects -- even those that succeed in maintaining their original change objectives -- are unable to make the transition to the generalization stage, and thus remain permanent pilots. -6- 20. Irrespective of the change strategy taken by the program, a well-designed and effectively implemented in-service teacher training program was found to be a key element in the successful implementation and institutionalization of the change program (nearly all of the training provided in the change programs was in-service). The central place of in-service teacher training as an element in educational change is demonstrated by the fact that in the 21 change case studies, 21 percent of project cost was allocated for teacher training. This is more than double the proportion of Bank lending for teacher training in all education projects (9 percent), as determined by Haddad (1985). Moreover, since Haddad found that considerably less than half of this 9 percent supported in-service training (between 3 percent and 4 percent), the amount allocated for this purpose in change programs is many times greater than the amount that has been spent on in-service training overall. V. FEATURES OF TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS 21. Examination of the 21 change programs provides some valuable insights into improving the implementation of teacher training. In particular, this section reflects the lessons learned from those programs that achieved the highest and lowest change outcomes. Four elements stand out as key features of successful teacher training components, worthy of serious consideration by governments and international donor agencies as they design programs to improve the quality of teaching in developing countries. (1) Provide permanent and locally-available in-service teacher training 22. One critical variable in support of accomplishing educational change is a mechanism to provide teachers with ongoing in-service training at a convenient location. Whether carried out in the school itself, or at a local learning resource center within easy reach of area teachers, training provided to teachers as they go through the process of implementing reform programs has played an important role in the success achieved in a number of countries. 23. In Ethiopia, for example, a nationwide effort to introduce a new primary curriculum depended heavily on a series of seminars and workshops, four- to six-week residential in-service programs at 11 teacher training institutes, as well as a one-year pre-service training program. These activities are followed up with training at the Awraja (district level) Pedagogical Centers where teachers have the opportunity to become familiar with new instructional materials and techniques. Teachers are encouraged to be creative and innovative, and their feedback (based on classroom experience) is incorporated into the revision of materials. Training at the Awraja Centers is also provided to primary school administrators. The availability of continuous training provided through these centers proved to be crucial to successful implementation of the curriculum reform. -7- 24. Similarly in Bangladesh, reforms to strengthen primary education benefited greatly from the central role played by recurrent in-service teacher training. Each teacher and assistant teacher receives approximately two months of intensive training on general topics. Then, every other month teachers receive three days of training on common teaching problems. Training content concentrates on subjects that are important to learning achievement, such as practical methods of teaching each major subject, ways to adapt the curriculum to the social and physical environment of the pupil, understanding the ways children develop and learn, elementary methods of evaluating teaching and learning, management of classrooms (particularly for multi-grade classrooms), and effective methods of parent-teacher and community relations. Preliminary indications were sufficiently promising that the training has been made a permanent feature of the primary education system, and a coordinating committee was formed to extend the project training model nationwide. 25. In Egypt, ongoing training was also made available at the school level. Consultants -- including resident and short-term specialist experts -- were responsible for providing valuable in-service training to technical teaching staff in the context of a project to introduce a new curriculum and upgrade technical education for secondary students. Although expensive overseas fellowships had been envisioned at the outset of the project, they were ultimately replaced by this effective in-service training component carried out at the school level. 26. In Senegal, a Bank-supported project to establish science and technology centers for lower secondary school students relied on a strong element of training for teachers, center directors, and directors of feeder schools. This included initial training plus annual refresher courses. In this case, ongoing teacher training was provided at the centers themselves through visits by members of the national project coordinating team. While this project in Senegal was implemented with a fair degree of success, implementation of a nearly identical project in Mali failed, in part due to the lack of ongoing in-service training that left teachers unprepared to implement the new curriculum and make use of the new instructional equipment. 27. Finally, training can be effectively brought to the school level through the "echo" (or "cascade") training method. Such systems rely on initial training of a small core of personnel, who in turn train a larger group, who then train a still larger group, and so on. This technique has been widely used in East and South Asia, where large numbers of teachers have had to be trained as quickly as possible. In a project to diversify the secondary education curriculum in Thailand, the National Curriculum Development Center staff were able to train all teachers, administrators and community leaders through four levels of progressively expanding intermediaries. In order to avoid dilution of the original message as the training moved further from its point of origin, detailed training manuals were prepared and distributed to all those participating in the training. However, in Pakistan, a cascade system broke down after only one round of training. Failure to create a permanent mechanism to train teachers hindered efforts to improve the quality of primary school education and to expand access for girls. If dilution of the message can be avoided, and if -8- the system can be institutionalized, the "echo" approach can be an effective means of providing in-service training to large numbers of teachers at the school level. (2) Establish effective systems for supervision and support 28. The availability of school-level supervision and support was found to be another critical element in successful project implementation. As the following examples illustrate, supervision can be strengthened by creating an additional layer of supervisory staff, by establishing a nuclear system, or by providing more school visits carried out by project staff. The extent to which teachers receive regular and frequent visits from inspectors, supervisors, or other project staff whose job it is to provide pedagogical support and supervision (rather than administrative support), the greater the likelihood for successful implementation of the reform. 29. Experience with project implementation in Bangla:desh provides support for this conclusion. The strategy to strengthen primary education in rural areas depended on recruitment of 250 Assistant Upazilla Education Officers (AUEOs) to provide direct supervision to teachers and headmasters. The quality of the AUEOs was particularly high, since they had been selected from a field of 5,000 applicants who had already met minimal qualifications. The new supervision system relied on regular visits to the classroom by AUEOs, as well as surprise visits by headteachers. This approach worked well to improve teacher attendance in project areas, which is expected to improve student performance over time. 30. Despite the breakdown of cascade training in Pakistan noted above, the change program in that country was aided by strengthened supervision. This was accomplished through creation of new posts of Learning Coordinator (LC) and Supervisor, which were located below the district level. LCs were responsible for providing pedagogical support to primary school teachers, as well as conducting recurrent in-service training. Supervisors supported these efforts and provided training for LCs. As a result of improved supervision, community support for primary education grew, thereby encouraging student attendance and improving student performance. An evaluation of the two provinces that had the most generous supervision arrangements has led project staff to conclude that giving LCs a fairly small caseload of schools, which they can visit often and get to know well, may be an important prerequisite to the success of this type of intervention. 31. In Paraguay, improved supervision was achieved within a nuclearization program that aimed to increase the accessibility and efficiency of primary school. Under this nuclear system, well-equipped community learning centers were surrounded by 10 to 15 associated schools in a limited geographic area. Directors were expected to supervise all schools in the nucleus, replacing the conventional supervisor's role. Directors were given motorbikes to enable them to visit otherwise inaccessible schools. In the context of this Bank-supported project, this system contributed to the improvement of school supervision and administration in rural areas. A survey of directors and teachers found that a key to successful implementation is to free the directors from teaching -9- responsibility and allow them to focus exclusively on supervision. Unfortunately, failure to attend to this issue, as well as failure to provide sufficient recurrent financing to support the maintenance of the motorbikes, led to erosion of initial success in Paraguay. 32. A successful project to increase access to secondary school in Malawi also benefited from increased supervision. The Malawi Correspondence College (MCC) provides guidance in the use of distance learning materials to students who do not gain entrance to traditional secondary schools. The program has been strengthened by regular visits to MCC centers from headquarters staff who provide instructor training and supervision. In Haiti, where school supervision was bolstered (temporarily) through the use of mobile supervision units, higher test scores were found in schools in which teachers were properly supervised. (3) Adjust the content of in-service training to the teachers' level of knowledge and experience 33. The third key variable associated with "high outcome" projects pertains to the appropriateness of training for the teachers who receive it. It is critical to pay careful attention to the level of teachers' knowledge of relevant subject areas and teaching experience in the design of training programs. When training courses fail to take teachers' level of knowledge into account, implementation of the reform will be hampered. This problem can be avoided in two ways: through visits by trainers to classrooms in order to observe teacher performance, and through initial testing of teachers to determine areas of strength and weakness. 34. In Senegal, staff of the project coordinating unit relied on observation of teachers to design effective in-service training programs. They found that much of the equipment to be used in the new science and technology centers was too advanced for many of the center teachers. Project staff thus introduced the equipment to the teachers only very gradually over a three-year period, as teachers gained the necessary knowledge and experience to allow them to use the equipment effectively. Attention to the teachers' ability to profit from training and make use of the technology, and the subsequent restructuring of the teacher training program based on classroom experience, produced the foundation for successful implementation of the new science and technology curriculum. Again, comparison with Mali underlines the point. In that country, project management's failure to adjust training to teachers' ability to use the sophisticated equipment led to underutilization of the completed science and technology centers, and thus to unsuccessful implementation of the reform. 35. In the secondary school diversification project in Thailand, teacher training took into account the level of knowledge and experience of project teachers. The training program was designed to address three groups of teachers: (a) those with no professional qualifications but with experience in teaching; (b) experienced and qualified teachers with no training in practical arts; and (c) experienced and qualified teachers who need to be introduced to the concept of greater community participation. -10- 36. Experience in two countries demonstrates how implementation can suffer when training is not geared to teachers' level of education and ability. In Pakistan, for example, research has shown that only 25 percent of the project teachers had an adequate grasp of the math and science curriculum. The training component's failure to address teachers' need for training in basic subject matter hampered project implementation. And in Haiti, although teacher training has been useful, an evaluation of the reform found that teachers did poorly on a linguistic ability test. The evaluators suggested that in the future, teacher training in that country go beyond pedagogical training to include a strong dose of linguistic skills. (4) Encourage teacher motivation and commitment 37. Although a number of projects included a range of incentives to attract and retain teachers; it is not clear that most of these incentives were effective. The provision of housing for teachers in rural areas and the promise of salary increases, for example, had little effect on the employment of female teachers in Pakistan and Haiti, respectively. 38. Teachers did respond positively, however, to projects that supported their professional development and allowed them to be active participants in -- rather than mere recipients of -- the reform. The case studies show no evidence of endemic conservatism or rejection of innovation on the part of teachers. On the contrary, when teachers believe that a change program can improve the quality of education, they welcome the opportunity to do a better job and to contribute to the reform in a meaningful way. In Senegal, for example, where teachers had the opportunity to wark along with central project staff, they developed an "esprit de corps" and a sense of commitment to implementing the new science and technology curriculum. Similarly, the reform in Ethiopia was strengthened by support from teachers, whose input and ongoing feedback were considered key to project implementation. Providing Ethiopian teachers with the freedom to adapt the national program to local conditions and stimulating their creativity also had a positive effect on local level commitment. 39. In addition, provision of pedagogical support, training, and instructional materials and equipment are critical to sustaining teacher morale and commitment. Where these inputs are lacking, commitment to the program rapidly disappears, as demonstrated in Liberia and Malaysia. In Liberia, efforts to train teachers to teach practical subjects and adult literacy failed, in large part due to the absence of ongoing support and the failure to promote and explain the project to the teachers expected to implement it. The situation in Malaysia was similar. In that country a project to introduce educational radio and television in rural areas failed to provide sufficient training, support and instructional resources. As a result, teachers had neither the means nor the incentive to try to implement the reform. -11- VI. TEACHER TRAINING AND STAGES OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 40. From the World Bank experiences discussed above, it is clear that teacher training programs vary widely in terms of design, content and objectives. This variation reflects, to a large extent, differences in the level of educational development among countries. In a country like Pakistan, for example, where local residents with little formal education serve as "assistant teachers" in rural primary schools, training had to focus first on basic issues of school organization and knowledge of subject matter, and school-level support was essential. Concerns about pedagogical techniques or innovative curricula were deliberately relegated to second order priorities. In a relatively advanced country like Thailand, on the other hand, the system was sufficiently advanced to train teachers, administrators and community leaders to implement a diversified secondary school curriculum, as well as to provide guidance and carry out program evaluation. At this more advanced stage of educational development, education systems will be able to allow for flexibility in the implementation of innovative curricula and provide for professional exchange among teachers. 41. Beeby (1966, 1986) has conceptualized educational development as a four-stage growth process through which countries must proceed in order to reach full maturity. Although he focused particularly on the primary level, with some modifications, similar stages can be distinguished for the secondary level. In the first stage, which Beeby calls the "dame school stage," most of the teachers are ill-educated and have little, if any, training. The syllabus is quite limited (consisting of little but mechanical drill on the three Rs), memorization is encouraged, and the connection between symbol and meaning is lost. In the second stage, called "formalism," teachers are trained, but are still ill-educated. Since they are teaching to the limits of their knowledge, teachers hold tightly to the prepared syllabus, too insecure to accommodate student inquiry. The result is a stiff and highly formalized relationship between teachers and students. At the third, or "transition," stage, teachers will have had some secondary education as well as professional training. The gap between what they know and what their pupils know is greater than at the earlier stages, so the teacher feels sufficiently secure to permit (if not to encourage) questions from students. More instructional materials will be available to students, and teachers will be permitted to go beyond the bounds of the official syllabus, although only the adventurous few will take advantage of this new freedom. 42. It is only at stage four, the "stage of meaning," that teachers have not only greater education and training, but a new, wider conception of education. Here, as memorization gives way to meaning and understanding, children are encouraged to think for themselves, requiring teachers to pay more attention to the interests and aptitudes of individual students. According to Beeby, a stage four school should also respond to the emotional and aesthetic life of the child, and allow for classroom discipline that is more relaxed and positive than at the earlier stages. This model, which has intuitive appeal for practitioners, should be interpreted with considerable care. Critics contend that the stages are not sufficiently distinct, that the model over-generalizes from the experience of British-tradition South -12- Pacific schools, and that its equation of western teaching with good teaching is unsupported and may not be valid in many developing countries (Guthrie, 1980). 43. Nevertheless, there are important similarities between the processes of national educational development hypothesized by Beeby (which in the end are aggregations of changes in the behavior of individual teachers), and the findings of Hall (1978) on the behavior of teachers in the U.S. who were confronted with innovation. Hall specifies eight different "levels of use" of educational innovations as a means of assessing people's involvement in change. Stated briefly, these begin with Non-use, then proceed to Orientation, Preparation, Mechanical Use, Routine, Refinement, Integration and Renewal. 44. The critical stages of Hall's model in terms of its actual use seem to be Non-use, Mechanical use, Routine use, and an ultimate stage of Professional use (combining Refinement, Integration and Renewal). These .correspond roughly to Beeby's four stages. At the level of Non-use, teachers tend to be ill-educated and untrained, and often find themselves isolated and lacking in motivation. By the time they progress to the Mechanical use level, they often have a secondary education, but little professional training. Their subject mastery is moderate, and their contact with colleagues through in-service training and interest in professional improvement is limited. At the Routine level, however, teachers tend to have adequate education, training and subject mastery, and begin to take an interest in improving student performance. By the time teachers have reached the Professional level they are not only well-educated and well-trained, but take advantage of contact with colleagues and professional publications. 45. Figure 1 attempts to combine Beeby's conceptualization with Hall's findings and link them with the key elements of educational change. The model points out the severe limitations on what can be achieved with respect to educational change in the short-term. These limitations derive principally from the fact that educational change, by definition, seeks to bring about changes in the behavior of the teacher. There is ample evidence that bringing about such change is a process that takes a considerable amount of time even in developed countries. In developing countries, where the level of the teacher's general education and experience with change are limited, and the school environment is often unfavorable, this process is likely to be even more hazardous (although it may not be fundamentally different). Beeby (1966) estimates that the process evolves over a prolonged period of time, noting that it "may take ... a decade or two to make the most of new buildings, new equipment, and hardest of all, new freedom." World Bank experience confirms this. In Haiti, for instance, the Bank has been supporting a reform of primary education through a series of projects begun in 1978 that are expected to continue well into the 1990s. In Ethiopia an ongoing primary education reform program has received Bank support since the early 1970s. -13- 46. The figure also underlines the need for a degree of consistency among the various elements of the change strategy. It is unrealistic -- and a certain recipe for failure -- to expect teachers at the "unskilled" stage to make effective use of training or instructional materials designed for teachers who are in the "professionalism" stage. This might seem obvious, yet in many instances educators decide to aim for the "best," or most innovative, program, rather than for one more appropriate or feasible. Finally, change programs need to be designed as developmental operations. They must correctly assess the beginning stage the educational system is in and assist the system to grow from there to more advanced stages. -14- Figure 1: STAGES OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ST I - Unskllj.d II - NMchanical III - Routine IV - Professional sDmD Dame School Formalism Transition Meatiing zLL Mon-use Mechanical-Use Routine Use Rafinemnt Integration (Rinewva) ZS I1l-educated, untratned Basic general education, Adequate general education We11 edueated: well questionable mcastery, of but little professional and subject mastery; tralned; good subject subject content or training; moderate subject trained: Incidental mstery; frequent contact teaching techniqusg; msetery, incidental contact with collsages; with colleagues; reader often isolated and contact vith colleegues interested in improving of profesetonal poorly sotivated. through in-service student performance if publications: intere*ted in improving itudent performance. cmXCULR Subject content narrow Highly structured. Curriculm goals begtn Meaning and understanding and unfamiliar to KEphasie on three Rs; to broaden, but syllabus stressed in somewhtL vider teacher; emphasis on standards Imposed bY still heavily dominsted curriculum. Allowence thres As. Low examinations; repetition by examination; although made for variety of standards. high wastage accepted as a mens in principle content and seLhods. accepted. to mintain uniformity, opportunities for Automatic promotion. adaptation and Considerable attention experimentation exist. to motional and creative Little attention to development. emotional/crestive developmnt of child. Ain is prevention of failure. iTzDS/ One textbook per class One or two textbooks per Several textbooks/titles Droed availability of KATUIALS used by teacher. Near student in core subjects. available; deviations textbooks, suppleentary total absence of Minimal instructional and saelective use of reading materials and instructional materials, materials, available text begin to reference hooks. occur. Supply of Well-stocked school materials adequst. library. Variety of Small school library. instructional materials. TUACSll ReCitation, rote Memorization; slavish MOrization still plays SeLf-generated habits of TZCUIIQOES learning and memorizing; sdhirence to syllabus an important role, but Learning; ability to students copy from and curricul there are incresasingly investigate new ideas; blackboard, sequences. Emphasis on attempts to introduce longer-term instructional No individualization. short-term activtties 'learning-by-doing.- planning allo teacher and objectiv-s: rigid Medium-tarm planning to adapt use of materials application of one allows teacher to use and curriculum sequence instructional tachnique. textbooks and materials to student needs. in a more goal-oriented Individualized or way. Limited variation. uiti-group instruction. Some tracking of students may occur. SDPUISICIU/_________ ____ SWPotT Sporadic, focused on Occastonal; focused on Supervision becnens more Headmaster becomes source administrative control compitance, In-service frequent and is Less of pedagogical support. and complIance with training available oriented towards Ezternal support and regulations. infrequently, focused on compliance. In-service assistance is availabLe dissemination of training becomes sore as needed. Training structured programs. frequent. Training emphasizes the development Training emphasizes emphasizes the of professional skills, standardized application application of teaching. allowing teacher to of curricula and Role of headmaster as select aporopriate materials, source knowledge becomes instructional approach in sore important, each situation TACrM DECTI(M Ignorance, confusion Uncertain about use; Skeptical about ieeditate Needs of pupil is central TO INNOATIOU and non-application. focused on personal effects, but willing and focus. WilLing to try mastery. Dilution in able to sake honest and test aLternative order to adaVt innovation effort; will try to adapt approaches, confident to personal, professional innovation for ease of about own ability to capacity and motivation, classroom management and master and adapt standardized application. innovation to fit needs of ParticulAr xroups of students. PUSItUX CUAICS Strengthen school Broaden curriculum, Teaching more focused on Innovation becomes supervision and support; increase subject -astery understanding; aome permanent feature. bring order to the training; introduce a diversity and flexibilitY Teachers behave and school; provide highly- few additional, still can be introduced in the perceLve themselves as structured teschers relatively siple, curriculum. Curriculum professionals. guides, textbooks and techniques. Teachers' objectives can be minimal instructional guides and textbooks set broadened to include materials; train teachers standards enforced by soe attention to in subject matter and a exam. Increase emotional/creative few basic teaching confidence of teachers development. Promote techniques. belp through training and tsacher professional teachers prcei-ve need school-level support, exchange between for and possibility of teachers. improvement. Soure.s: A.M. vo--oor. ad.vted frin C.F. geebv (1967), Cene E. MalI (1978), and S. Hevnean (1986), -15- VII. CONCLUDING NOTE 47. The World Bank's experience with teacher training programs, in particular with those designed to support educational change, illustrates the central role played by teachers in the change process. It also strongly supports Fullan's (1982) observation: "Educational change depends on what teachers do and think - it's as simple and as complex as that." 48. Successful educational change is built on effective teacher training. This paper has identified five crucial design features of such programs. First, effective teacher training programs contain strong elements of on-the-job training, and tend to become institutionalized as permanent systems. Second, a decentralized administrative structure is essential for the effective delivery of support and supervision. Third, assessing teachers' mastery of pedagogical and subject material is crucial in the design of effective training programs. Fourth, successful change programs supported professional development and gave teachers a sense of investment in successful implementation. Fifth, teacher training -- like educational change -- is a developmental process that builds on the existing knowledge and experience of teachers and assists them and the educational system to grow from there. In sum, successful programs are teacher-centered; that is, they are driven by the needs of teachers, rather than by the needs of the innovation. 49. Perhaps the most important lesson of the review is the discovery of how little we know about teaching in developing countries and how much we still have to learn. There is little systematic knowledge about the working conditions of teachers in developing countries. There has been little research on the characteristics of effective schools. Teaching techniques appropriate for the small rural schools remain to be developed and tested. The relationship between teacher education (general and professional), class size and instructional materials is poorly understood. In addition, the effects of programs on pupil achievement have rarely been tested. Only in two of the sample cases included in the educational change review was an attempt made to collect basic data on outcomes. The problem is aggravated by the fact that there is no mechanism to adequately share the little knowledge that is available. In general, there have been few attempts to analyze the record of achievement of educational change programs. If implementation of these programs and their teacher training components is to be improved, countries and donor agencies must begin to learn from failures and to build on successes. More research on teaching, teachers and schools is called for. 50. Finally, the review triggers concern about the adequacy of the funding for in-service teacher training components supported by the Bank. The average allocation of 3 to 4 percent of project cost for in-service training seems less than adequate, especially when compared with the allocation of 21 percent in high-outcome change projects. If teacher training programs are to be improved, better program design will not be enough: funding levels will also have to be increased. -16- References Beeby, C.E. 1966. The Quality of Education in Developing Countries. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Beeby, C.E. 1986. "The Stages of Growth in Educational Systems." In The Quality of Education and Economic Development, Stephen P. Heyneman and Daphne Siev White, eds. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Berman, P. and M.W. McLaughlin. 1978. "Federal Programs Supporting Educational Change." In Implementing and Sustaining Innovations. Santa Monica, California: Rand Corporation, R-1589/8-HEW. Crandal, D.P. and Associates. 1983. People, Policies, and Practices: Examining the Chain of School Improvement. Andover, Massachusetts: The Network, Inc. Fullan, M. 1985. "Change Processes and Strategies at the Local Level." The Elementary School Journal. Vol. 85, No. 3. Guthrie, Gerard. 1980. "Stages of Educational Development? Beeby Revisited." International Review of Education. Vol. 26, No. 4. Haddad, Wadi. 1985. "Teacher Training: A Review of World Bank Experience." Mimeographed. World Bank Discussion Paper, Education and Training Series Report No. EDT21. Washington, D.C. Hall, Gene E. 1978. "Concerns-Based Inservice Teacher Training: An Overview of the Concepts, Research and Practice." Mimeographed. Bournemouth, U.K.: R&D Report No. 3057. Havelock, R.G. and A.M. Huberman. 1977. Solving Educational Problems: The Theory and Reality of Innovation in Developing Countries. Paris: UNESCO, IBE. Heyneman, S.P. 1980. The Evaluation of Human Capital in Malawi. World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 420. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Heyneman, S.P. and W.A. Loxley. 1983. "The Effect of Primary School Quality on Academic Achievement Across Twenty-Nine High and Low Income Countries." American Journal of Sociology. No. 88(6). House, Ernest. 1981. "Three Perspectives on Innovation." In Improving Schools, R. Lehming and M. Kane, eds. Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publication. Romain, Ralph. 1985. "Lending in Primary Education: Bank Performance Review, 1962-1983." Mimeographed. World Bank Discussion Paper, Education and Training Series Report No. EDT 20. Washington, D.C. Searle, Barbara. 1985. "General Operatonal Review of Textbooks." Mimeographed. World Bank Discussion Paper, Education and Training Series Report No. EDT 1. Washington, D.C. -17- Verspoor, Adriaan M. 1986. "Implementing Educational Change: The World Bank Experience." Mimeographed. World Bank Discussion Paper, Education and Training Series Report No. EDT 44. Washington, D.C. World Bank. 1980. "World Development Report." Washington, D.C. -18- TEXTBOOKS AS INSTRUMENTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION -19- TEXTBOOKS AS INSTRUMENTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. I. INTRODUCTION ..................... ...................... 20 - 21 A. The Record of Educational Investment in Developing Countries ................................ 20 - 21 B. World Bank Assistance for Quality Improvement ....... 21 II. TEXTBOOKS AND STAGES OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ........ 22 - 26 A. A Model of Educational Development .... ............. 22 - 24 B. An Innovation Profile of Textbook Projects .... ..... 24 - 25 C. The Role of Textbooks in Quality Improvement .... ... 25 - 26 III. DESIGNING THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ........ .......... 26 - 29 A. Strategic Planning .26 - 29 B. Management Systems ............ ..................... 29 IV. CONCLUSIONS ............................................. 30 REFERENCES ........................................... 31 Figure 1: STAGES OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ..... .......... 23 Figure 2: INNOVATION PROFILES ....... .................. 24 Figure 3: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES ..... .............. 27 Figure 4: MECHANISTIC AND ORGANIC FORMS ............... 29 -20- I. INTRODUCTION A. The Record of Educational Investment in Developing Countries 1. Investments in education in developing countries have been most notably successful in respect of their quantitative objectives. Two decades of World Bank lending for education alone has provided 4 million school places to children in the developing world. Extensive and persistent efforts to develop a permanent national capacity for the management of physical implementation processes have, in many countries, been remarkably successful. As a result, physical implementation of Bank projects typically takes place within cost and with only moderate time overruns. This is a considerable achievement. 2. The record in respect of qualitative project objectives is, however, much less clear. Not much systematic evidence is available, but the impression is that many projects have had considerable difficulty attaining the qualitative performance levels anticipated at the outset. Recent reviews of the experience of Bank-supported projects tend to reinforce these concerns. 3. Romain (1985), in a review of experience with lending in primary education, found: "Little is known of how effectively the new curricula are being applied... Implementing large-scale national reforms of primary education, especially in regard to practical subjects, has proven to be quite risky..." and "The search should therefore be intensified for reforms which are replicable." Hawkridge (1986) reviewed the World Bank experience with distance education projects. The most common types have been nonformal adult education projects and primary school broadcasts. He found no convincing evidence of the cost-effectiveness of these "add-on" programs and the experiences were typically not replicated. On the other hand, partial or complete "teacher replacement" projects were somewhat more successful. Haddad (1986) has reviewed the experience with teacher training. He concludes in respect of the degree of fulfillment of project objectives: "Most of the teacher training components with qualitative objectives were not assessed. The few that were, fell more on the unsatisfactory side, either because human and physical resources were not adequate or because the attitude of trainees was negative." Searle (1985) reviewed World Bank experience with textbook projects and found: "...substantial achievements and significant shortcomings," "...completed projects provide evidence for shortfalls in every aspect of textbook provision" and "...both substantial improvements and continuing shortfalls in project design" for recently appraised projects. -21- 4. The questions raised by these reviews are of crucial importance. Without quality improvement, many of the potential benefits associated with the tremendous growth of enrollments in developing countries may never come about. Research evidence (Heyneman, 1978) and Bank experience indicate the considerable potential contribution that textbooks and other instructional materials can make to effective teaching and the improvement of the quality of education. This paper explores how textbook projects can be designed to optimally marshall this contribution. 5. This question is explored from two angles. First, the paper explores issues related to the choice of the intervention strategy and second, the paper reviews issues in respect of the choice of an appropriate implementation strategy. The paper argues that constraints, imposed by the stage of educational development of the country, are crucial considerations in the choice of the most effective intervention and the design of optimal implementation strategies. The paper suggests a typology of projects and sketches briefly the key features of an implementation strategy for each of these projects. A close fit between the level of educational development, the nature of the intervention, and the implementation strategy is an essential condition for optimizing the contribution of textbook projects to the improvement of educational quality. B. World Bank Assistance for Quality Improvement 6. External agencies have long recognized the improvement of the quality of education as an important objective of investments in education. Nearly 80 percent of the education projects financed by the World Bank between 1964 and 1984, included important components (often in conjunction with important quantitative objectives) aiming at the improvement of the quality of education. The total cost of these components amounted to US$6.3 billion, or nearly 60 percent of Bank lending for education during that period. 7. A review of quality-improvement (or educational change) programs, supported by the World Bank -- which focused on those projects or project elements which aimed at planned improvements in student achievement either in a purely cognitive sense or as measured against the criterion of labor market performance -- found that the principal vehicle used to bring about quality improvement was curriculum change. More than 85 percent of the education change components included support for this purpose. Furthermore, the crucial importance of good teachers for quality education has consistently been recognized and teacher training -- included in 65 percent of the change programs -- has been the second major element of quality-improvement strategies in Bank projects. Other frequently-supported change strategy elements were organizational strengthening (50 percent), the provision of textbooks (32 percent), and the provision of instruction through distance education. 8. In the first decade of Bank lending for education, lending for textbooks and educational materials was relatively insignificant and rarely linked to broader quality improvement programs. In many cases the provision of textbooks was designed as one of a set of isolated, unsupported inputs. Such projects have virtually disappeared and at present the provision of textbooks is most frequently designed in conjunction with other elements of comprehensive educational change efforts such as the introduction of curriculum change, organizational strengthening and the provision of related teacher training. -22- II. TEXTBOOKS AND STAGES OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT A. A Model of Educational Development 9. Textbook projects vary tremendously in their educational objectives. While all provide children with written materials to enhance educational achievement, the specific project objectives vary tremendously. In a country like Sierra Leone, for example, where there are no books in the classrooms and where many teachers have no professional qualifications, the objective will be to bring simple, relatively structured books and teachers guides into the classrooms rapidly. Curriculum and content considerations will be secondary in these early stages of quality improvement. In a comparatively advanced country like Malaysia, on the other hand, the provision of improved and diversified reading materials, including textbooks is a key element of a comprehensive quality-improvement program introducing a major change in curriculum content and teaching methods. The variation in the design of textbook projects reflect to a large extent variations in the level of educational development between countries. 10. Beeby (1967, 1986) has conceptualized educational development as a growth process with four stages through which countries must proceed to reach full maturity. His model, which should be interpreted with considerable flexibility, can be broadened to include a number of key ingredients of quality improvement, and thus provides some important clues as to the role of textbooks and educational materials in educational development. Figure 1 brings together various elements of the phases of the process of educational quality improvement by combining empirical research findings of Hall (1984), suggestions of Heyneman (1984) with Beeby's model. -23- Figure 1: STAGES OF QUALITY IDPROVEMENT STAGE I - Unskilled II - Mechanical III - Rouctne IV - Professonai seR T Doe School Formlism Transition Meaning hiLL Non-uos Mechanical-Use Routine Use Refinement Integration (Renewal) TZ*5 Ill-educated. untrained Basic general education, Adequate general education Weli educated; well questionable meetery of but littte profeseional and subject motery; trained; good subject subject content or training: moderate subject trained; ineldental aesterv; frecuent contact teachitg techniques; mastery. incidental contact with colleages; with collesgues: reader often isolated and contact vich colleagues interested in improving of professional poorly motivated. through in-service student performance if publications. interested in improving student performance. CZXC tU Subject content narrow highly structured. Curriculum goals begin Meaning and understanding and unfmailiar to Emphasis on three IA; to broaden, but syllabus stressed in somewhat wider teacher: emphasis on standards imposed by still heavily dominated curriculum. Allowance thre Re. Low exameinations; repetition by exsmination; although mode for variety of standards. High wastag, accepted as a means In principle content and eethods. accepted, to maintain uniformity. opportunities for Automacic promotion. adaptation and Considerable attention experientation eist. to eotional and creative Little attention to deveiopment. emotional/crestive developmnt of child. Aim is prevention of fallure. TUTUOO/ One textbook per class One or two textbooks per Several cextbookmltiCIes Broad availability of KATULALS used by teacher. Near student in core subjects. available; deviations textbooks, supplemntary total absence sf Minimal Instructional and selective use of reading materials and tnstructlonal materials. saterials. available text begin to reference hooks. occur. SuppLy of Well-vtocked school materials adequate, library. Variety of Seasl school library. instructional materials. TZAC511C Recitation, rote Memorization; sLavish Memortiatlon still plsys Self-generated habits of TZCUII5 learning and memorizing; adherence to syllabus an important role, but learning; ability to students copy from and curriculum there are inereasingly investitgate new ideas: blackboard, sequences. emphasls on attempts to tntroduce longer-term instructional No lndividualization. short-term activities l-emrnineby-doing.- planning allows teacher and objectives: rigid Medium-term planning to adapt use of materials application of one allows teacher to use *nd curriculum sequence instructional techtniqu. textbooks and materials to student needs. in a more goal-orientsd Individualized or way. Linted variation, multi-group instruction. Some tracking of students nay occur. SPPOID T Sooradic, focused on Occasional. focused on Supervislon becnmes fsore Headmaster becomes source admIniscrative control complIance. In-servtce frequent and Ls less of pedagogical support. and coMpLLonce witLh training available oriented towards Externsl support and regulations. infrequentLy, focused on compLiance. In-service assistance Is available dissemination of training becomes more as needed. Training structured programs, frequent. Training emphasizes the development Training emPhasLzes emphasizes the of professional skilLs. standardized appLicstion application of teschlng. allowtng teacher to of curricula and Role of headmaster as select appropriate materials, source knowledge becomes instructional approach in More iaportant, each nituatton. TZACHIL UZACT70 Ignorance, confuston Uncertain abouC use: Skeptical about Immediate Needs of puolil Is central TO ItNW&TIOt and non-application, focused on personal effects, but wilLtig and focus. Wtiltng to try mastery. Dilution in *ble to make honest and test 4lternative order to adapt innovation effort will try to adapt approaches, confidenc to personai, professional innovation for ease of about own ability to capactLy and motivation, classroom managemenc and master and adapt standardized applIcation. Innovation tO fit needs of particular wroups of students. FrASILE CHAWZ Streangthen school Broaden curriculum. Teacoing more focused on Innovation becomes superviston and support; increase subject mastery understanding: some permatnent feature. bring order to the training: Introduce a diwersit, and flexibility Teachers behave and school; provide highly- few additional, still can be introduced in the perceive thesselves as structured teachers' relatively simple, curriculum. Curriculus professionals. guides, textbooks and techniques. Teachers' objectives can be minimal Instructlonal guides and textbooks set broadened to include materials; train teachers standards enforced by some attention to in subject Matter and a exams. Increase emotional/creatlve few basic teachtng confidence of teachers devetopment. Promote techniques. Help through training and teacher professional teachers pe-celve need school-level support, exchange between for and possibility of ceschers. improvesent. -24- 11. The point that Figure 1 attempts to make is that educational quality improvement is a comprehensive developmental process. Beeby (1962) calls it a growth process and estimates that it "may take.. .a decade or two to make the most of new buildings, new equipment, and hardest of all, new freedom." Bank experience confirms this. In Haiti the Bank has been supporting a reform of primary education since 1978 through a series of projects and the reform process is expected to continue until well into the 1990s. In Ethiopia the Bank has supported a primary education reform program since the early 1970s, and the reform process is still continuing. 12. A second point worth noting is the need to have some reasonable consistency among the various elements of the change strategy. It is unrealistic and a certain recipe for failure to expect teachers who are at the unskilled stage to use effectively textbooks designed for use by teachers who are in the stage of professionalism. Bank experience clearly demonstrates that successful quality-improvement interventions were nearly always designed as comprehensive programs addressing most, if not all of the change elements included in Figure 1. They also need to be designed as developmental operations beginning at the existing phase of development of the education system and assisting the system to grow from there to more advanced phases. B. An Innovation Profile of Textbook Projects 13. To assess the fit of a particular textbook project with the phase of development of the educational system and the nature of the overall change intervention, it is often helpful to analyze the nature of the textbook project in respect of some crucial design variables. Like most quality-improvement programs, textbook projects can be classified according to the size of the innovation and according to the scale of the program. The size of the innovation is the extent to which a deviation from routine classroom procedures and practices is planned. The scale of the program refers to the geographical coverage, i.e. the number of schools affected by it. Size and scale can be grouped in four different combinations as illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 2: INNOVATION PROFILES Innovation Size High Low Textbooks produced and Supply textbooks to High distributed to all all schools, using an schools as part of new existing curriculum national curriculum innovation Scale Testing books and Supply textbooks to a Low materials developed for few schools, using an new curriculum as a pilot existing curriculum in a few schools -25- 14. The low/low case presents the fewest problems and has occurred in Bank projects mainly as part of the equipping of new project institutions. It is not a case where textbook provision has been conceived as part of a broader quality-improvement effort and need not concern us further in the context of this paper. The low scalelhigh size case is often used as a first step towards more ambitious high scale/high size operations. The high scale/low size will often be appropriate in desperate situations, where putting textbooks in schools is the top priority. The high/low distinctions represent, of course, no clear cut division, but rather a continuum along which projects can be placed. C. The Role of Textbooks in Qualitv Improvement 15. It is interesting to look at these prototype project models in relation to the phased approach to quality improvement proposed in Figure 1. For programs trying to move an education system from the unskilled stage to the mechanical stage, the high scale/low size variation would often be appropriate. Such an approach would fit the situation of many African countries, where many teachers are untrained, poorly motivated, working in isolated rural areas without much contact with professional colleagues or support from district or central-level staff, where even the most minimal supplies of textbooks and materials are conspicuously absent, where curriculum subtleties are quite irrelevant, and where teachers have no experience with experimentation and innovation. In those situations, getting some of the most fundamental ingredients for quality improvement delivered to schools is a top priority and a first building block of a longer-term, quality-improvement program. 16. Once the "fundamentals" in terms of a minimum of teacher training, essential instructional materials, and basic operational discipline and supervision structures have been taken care of, the system has moved in the mechanical stage. At that point, attention can be given to the introduction of some diversity in instructional techniques. Textbooks and teachers' guides are the essential instruments to help teachers overcome their uncertainty and become more confident in respect of their subject mastery and their dealings with the students. Gradually, more ambitious innovations can be introduced and some allowance for diversity can be considered and multigrade teaching (probably not more than two or three grades) can be introduced. 17. When the teachers have gained sufficiently in subject mastery and self confidence and reached the upper levels of the mechanical stage, the quality-improvement objectives that are being pursued can become more ambitious. As the basic teaching techniques become increasingly routine, the focus of the quality-improvement efforts can shift gradually from the teacher to the pupil. A beginning can be made with the introduction of some flexibility in the teaching process, introducing a variety of teaching techniques and allowing teachers some latitude to adapt the syllabi to the need of groups of pupils. At that stage, teachers will have become sufficiently self-confident to handle diversity in the classroom. The scope for diversity and flexibility remains limited, however, since the teaching will continue to be heavily dominated by the requirements of examinations. The availability of textbooks and instructional materials, at this stage, becomes much more diversified to accommodate the beginning diversification objectives. A small school library fits the instructional objectives at this stage very well. -26- 18. At the higher levels of the routine stage, the curriculum objectives can move gradually away from memorization and passive learning to the discovery of meaning and investigation. Instruction in the classroom can become increasingly individualized, with teachers behaving as professionals, diagnosing individual learning potentials and problems, providing learning opportunities, and helping pupils to overcome difficulties in ways that are adapted to the particular needs of the student. Automatic promotion becomes natural at this stage. A large supply of textbooks, reference books and instructional materials from which the student and teacher can choose in relation to the needs of the moment is available to accommodate the large variety of learning needs at the moment. 19. The preceding discussion has shown that textbooks have an important contribution to make to the improvement of the quality of education in all stages of educational development. They can be effective across the size/scale continuum and can be designed to fit the specific conditions prevailing in each country. To move from the unskilled to the mechanical stage, a low size/high scale type of project will often be the most appropriate. To move from the routine stage to the professional stage -- or to make progress within the professional stage -- high size/high scale operations will need to be envisaged. Movement from the mechanical to the routine stage falls in between these two types in respect of size and scale of the intervention proposed. As mentioned before, the high size/low scale model is often appropriate as a testing ground for later larger-scale applications. Such testing is often necessary in the light of the need to ascertain the effectiveness of a particular intervention in a particular setting. Teaching is a very idiosyncratic activity, especially at the more advanced stages of educational development, and there are few general recipes for effective teaching that have universal applicability. III. DESIGNING THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY A. Strategic Planning 20. A well-designed implementation strategy has to address at least the following four issues: (i) delivering the program; (ii) sustaining the program; (iii) dealing with uncertainty; and (iv) procuring the inputs; For each of the types of projects that were discussed above, the strategy will have to be different. This is sunmmarized in Figure 3. -27- Figure 3: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES Low Size/High Scale High Size/Low Scale High Size/High Scale Project Type Provision of textbooks Testing of new textbooks Provision of new conforming to existing supporting innovative textbooks; curricula. curriculum. introduction of innovative curriculum. Implementation tasks Operational management Intensive central Only strategic centralized; management by management centralized; dissemination of specialized operational management well-structured professionals; decentralized, allowing directives to local monitoring and for participation of implementers; evaluation crucial; beneficiaries and local supervision of direct supervision of implementers; compliance with work local implementers. incremental expansion, work procedures. supervision focused on performance; demand mobilization often necessary. Sustaining the program Developing competent Increasing cost- Developing competent central agencies; efficiency of program; central and local building grassroot piloting larger-scale implementing agencies; support with rewards applications; attention building support for compliance; to stability of systems for local publicity for commitment to project implementers; frequent achievements. goals of key supporters; measurement and building professional publication of results. support group. Dealing with Insulacing project from Solve problems as they Open-ended design; uncertainty unstable environmental occur; frequent personal flexible implementation influences; more contact between managers strategy; local-level detailed planning and and implementers; authority to adjust instructions to local readiness to revise resource allocation; implementers. objectives and rapid data feedback implementation system; learning by strategies. doing. Input procurement Standardized, large- Small scale and cost of Crucial pre-condition scale often done by marginal importance to for project success; specialized staff; project success. batch procurement dominant PIU task. with changes as implementation proceeds specialized staff nearly always required. Management system Mechanistic. Highly organic. Input procurement: mechanistic; program management: Organic -28- 21. The implementation strategy for a textbook project, which aims at the delivery of textbooks to schools without further curriculum innovation ambitions (large scale/low size, often appropriate in countries in the early stages of educational development) is characterized by careful operational planning and dissemination of detailed plans of operation to local implementers. Since the technical details of the tasks are well known, the process can be standardized and is replicable. A few test runs will often be sufficient to get the bugs out of the system. Supervision focuses on compliance with standardized procedures. Nevertheless, unforeseen events in the task environment are often frequent and obviate in many instances the implementation of carefully crafted plans. When the task environment is particularly unstable, the project will need to be protected from the most damaging vagaries of the task environment. The most effective response is probably the creation of a more or less autonomous agency, with a stable source of funding. This will also enhance the long-term sustainability of the program. Furthermore the achievements of the project will need to be effectively communicated to decisionmakers to develop and/or maintain commitment, the second crucial element of sustainability. Input procurement also can be carefully scheduled and often be done in large packages to take advantage of the cost savings offered through (international) competitive bidding. 22. At the other end of the spectrum, there are the textbook projects which are integral parts of ambitious educational reforms (high size/high scale). Such programs typically make considerable demands on the professional capacity and motivation of teachers, and are often only feasible at the higher levels of educational development. They are particularly appropriate to move educational systems towards the upper end of the routine phase or into the professional phase. For such projects, detailed operational planning at the central level is often not possible and field experience of local implementers and the reaction or beneficiaries will need to be incorporated into the project design. Supervision will be very much performance oriented. There will be considerable uncertainty in respect of the task environment, as well as in respect of the effectiveness of the educational intervention in specific local settings. The design of such projects will often have to be very open ended, the implementation strategy flexible; there will be considerable learning by doing and extensive testing and trials of curricula and supporting materials will be required. Management needs to be close to the implementation process; effective local institutions with real authority to adjust resources allocations are crucial. Central management will only be able to pay attention to strategic issues and should be kept informed of the progress of implementation by means of simple and rapid feedback systems. As in the low size/high scale type of project, sustainability will depend very much on the effectiveness of the institutional development effort and effective communication of achievements. Input procurement in this type of project frequently faces considerable challenges. Many attempts to implement quality-improvement programs have faltered on the rocks of procurement problems. Bulk procurement is often difficult and the adjustments and changes in the project, during implementation, call for frequent tendering and contracting, affect nearly always the effectiveness of the procurement process. 23. Progress in both the mechanical and the routine stages will make new demands on teachers. Testing of the impact on student achievement and the reaction of teachers to newly-developed curricula is nearly always a crucial phase in every quality-improvement program that is at least mode-rately ambitious. Projects that support programs in these developmental phases are -29- often managed by educational professionals, who are typically in very close contact with the local implementers. Uncertainty is high. Program revisions are frequent, expected and easily accepted. Monitoring and evaluation of outcomes are essential. Cost of these experimental and pilot operations are often small and procurement problems are rarely important. B. Management Systems 24. The nature of these implementation strategies are an important factor in the design of the management system. Recently the Education Department of the World Bank published a paper discussing in detail issues pertaining to the design of the management arrangements of quality-improvement projects (Verspoor 1986). For the purpose of this paper, it is enough to describe briefly (Figure 4) the main features of two organizational prototypes: the mechanistic and the organic organization. Figure 4: MECHANISTIC AND ORGANIC FORMS Mechanistic Organic 1. Tasks are broken down 1. Employees contribute into specialized, to common task of separate tasks. department. 2. Tasks are rigidly 2. Tasks are adjusted defined. and redefined through employee interactions. 3. Strict hierarchy of 3. Less hierarchy of authority and control. authority and control. Many rules. Few rules. 4. Knowledge and control 4. Knowledge and control of tasks are centralized of tasks are located at top of organization. anywhere in the organization. 5. Communication is vertical. 5. Communication is lateral. Source: R.L. Daft, Organization Theory and Design. The low sizelhigh scale type of project will typically be managed by an organization with heavily mechanistic characteristics, the small scale/high size project will be managed by a strongly organic organization, and the high size/high scale project will have features of both. -30- IV. CONCLUSION 25. The attractiveness of textbook projects as instruments for the improvement of the quality of education in developing countries is their remarkable flexibility to serve quality-improvement objectives in a wide variety of country conditions. At all stages of educational development, textbooks can make a crucial contribution to quality improvement. Textbooks are familiar and non-threatening to teachers. They are low cost and require little or no maintenance. They are ideally suited to support progressive diversification and individualization in the classroom, which is perhaps the dominant objective of all quality improvement programs beyond the unskilled stage and the one teachers have the most difficulty with. Quality improvement is a gradual and continuous process. Textbooks play a critical role in supporting this process at the classroom level. Stable funding and strong institutions managing the textbook development, manufacturing and distribution processes, are necessary to support the process of educational quality improvement over the long term. -31- REFERENCES Beeby, C.E. "The Stages of Growth in Educational Systems" in The Quality of Education and Economic Development. S.P. Heyneman and D.S. White (eds.). pp. 37-44. Washington D.C.: The World Bank, 1986. Daft, R.L. Organization Theory and Design. (second edition) St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1986. Haddad, W. "Teacher Training: A Review of World Bank Experience" Mimeographed. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Education and Training Discussion Paper Series, Report No. 21, November, 1985. Hall, G. E. "Concerns-Based Inservice Teacher Training: An Overview of the Concepts, Research and Practice" Mimeographed. Bournemouth, U.K.: R&D Report No. 3057, March 2-3, 1978. Hawkridge, D. General Operational Review of Distance Education" Mimeographed. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Education and Training Department, December, 1985. Heyneman, S.P. "Improving the Quality of Education in Malaysia" Mimeographed. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Education and Training Department, October, 1984. ------------, J.P. Farrell, and M. Sepulveda-Stuardo. "Textbooks and Achievement: What We Know" Washington, D.C.: World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 298, 1978. Romain, R. "Lending in Primary Education: Bank Performance Review, 1962-1983" Mimeographed. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Education and Training Discussion Paper Series, Report No. 20, November, 1985. Searle, B.W. "General Operational Review of Textbooks" Mimeographed. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Education and Training Discussion Paper Series, Report No. 1, July, 1985. Verspoor, A.M. "Project Management for Educational Change" Mimeographed. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Education and Training Discussion Paper Series, Report No. 12, December, 1985.