Education for all – activities

Activity 1 – What makes a good education?An opinion continuum

This activity aims to engage young people in thinking critically about what makes a ‘good education’. Its purpose is to encourage young people to identify the elements of a ‘good education’ that they feel most strongly about.

An opinion continuum (or opinion line)[1] is a simple way of encouraging young people to think through their position on an issue. It is a helpful means of exploring complex issues and diverse viewpoints.

The statements to consider, along with brief background information to use in subsequent discussion, are provided below and on slide 3 of the accompanying slideshow. Statements may be omitted depending on the time available. Statements 1–6 are more suitable for younger learners.

At the end of the exercise, ask learners to note the three or four statements they agree most strongly with and why.

Statements

1. A good education means that all children complete primary school.

This was the main objective of MDG2. On the one hand, children learn theessential skills of literacy and numeracy by the time they complete primary school. On the other hand, more sophisticated knowledge and skills are not taught until secondary school, and a goal that omits secondary or further education may not be considered very ambitious.

2. A good education means that every child has a textbook.

Many schools have insufficient or inadequate textbooks. Frequently only the teacher has a textbook.

3. A good education means that all children leave school able to read, write and count.

250 million children, many of whom will have attended or even completed primary school, cannot read or count, and 775 million adults are illiterate. A recent survey found that only 44% of Year 8 pupils in rural India can do simple divisionin mathematics, so attending school is no guarantee of learning basic skills.

4. A good education means that all children are taught by a qualified teacher.

The world is short of 1.7 million teachers. In many schools class sizes are extremely large and/or classes are taught by unqualified teachers.

5. A good education means that girls and boys have equal opportunities.

Over half the children out of school are girls, and two thirds of the world’silliterate people are women and girls. This is despite the significant impact that girls’ education has on family health and well-being.

6. A good education means that all schools have drinking water and toilets.

A lack of water and sanitation is a significant barrier to children, particularly girls, attending school.

7. A good education means that all children are enrolled in school.

Enrolment is important but no guarantee that children attend or complete school.

8. A good education means that all children go to school between 9am and 3.30pm for five days per week.

These are the standard school hours in the UK. However many schools in developing countries operate shorter school shifts in the mornings, afternoons and/or evenings. This may be to overcome classroom overcrowding, or to accommodate children who also have to work or single-sex learning.

9. A good education means that all children are taught in classes of no more than 30 pupils.

A class size of 30 has become the norm in most UK schools. Many classes in developing countries have over 100 children. Many argue that class sizes of 40 or 50 are an achievable target.

10. A good education means that the needs of children with ALNare met.

Disability is a major barrier to children attending school. One third of thechildren who are out of school live with a disability.

11. A good education means that children are safe and secure at school.

Half the children who are out of school live in conflict-affected countries. The three countries with the largest numbers of out-of-school children are Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. All three countries are experiencing internal conflicts that contribute towards (but don’t exclusively cause) their large numbers of out-of-school children. Incidents such as the shooting of Malala Yousafzai, and the kidnapping of 279 girls from their school dormitory in Chibok, Nigeria, have prompted campaigners and policy-makers to pay closer attention to the issue of school and children’s security

12. A good education means that the home culture and language of the child is respected by the school.

Children are frequently taught in a language other than their home language (for example in English or French). Not understanding the content of lessons is frequently a barrier to school attendance.

Activity 2 – What makes a good education?A diamond nine

The purpose of a diamond nine[2] is to promote discussion or reflection about the relative importance of a range of factors. It encourages a focus on the single most important factor, then the next two, the next three and so on, for example, to discuss priorities in education.

In this activity there are nine of the statements describing a good education that pupils considered in the opinion continuum (Activity 1). By the end of the activity, pupils should have decided the three or four most important elements they would prioritise if they were to provide all children with a ‘good education’.

This activity could be differentiated by asking younger pupils to distribute 20 counters or stickers among the different boxes to reflect which statement (or statements) they feel is the most important. Pupils should be told that there is no minimum or maximum number of counters for any statement, in other words, some statements could have none and they could put all the counters on one if they want.

Print and cut out the diamond nine cards on the next page. A further option is to add blank cards for pupils to write their own ideas.

Allow time at the end of the activity for pupils to share their ideas as a whole class.

DIAMOND NINE RANKING

A good education means that all children are enrolled in school. / A good education means that all children complete primary school. / A good education means that all children go to school between 9am and 3.30pm for five days per week.
A good education means that every child has a textbook. / A good education means that all children leave school able to read, write and count. / A good education means that all children are taught by a qualified teacher.
A good education means that children are safe and secure at school. / A good education means that girls and boys have equal opportunities. / A good education means that all schools have water and toilets.

Activity 3 – Education in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is located in West Africa[3] and has a population of 6.3 million. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and is ranked 182nd out of 186 countries in the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index.[4] Sierra Leone is still recovering from a brutal ten-year civil war that ended in 2002. However the country has seen significant improvements in education since hostilities ended.

In 2011 Oxfam visited Sierra Leone and interviewed children about their experiences of school. The case study testimonies of four children follow, along with a description of a primary school located in a slum community on the outskirts of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, as well as a set of education statistics from Sierra Leone.

The purpose of this activity is for young people to review their thoughts about ‘good education’ in the light of real children’s experiences and evidence. Slides 5–8 of the accompanying slideshow introduce the four children whose stories are presented in the case studies.

Parts 1 and 2 of the activity are suitable for all pupils and should be preceded by a discussion of what they consider to be a ‘good education’. Part 3 (shaded in the grid below) is more appropriate for older and more able pupils. Teachers should therefore adapt the template accordingly.

To complete the activity,pupils should review the case studies and evidence, and complete the table provided below. They should weigh up the extent to which the different children have received a ‘good education’ and, in the extension activity, how far the needs of children in different circumstances are met by the changing Global Goals.

Education in Sierra Leone

1.
Have they received a ‘good education’?
Why/why not? / 2.
What is missing from their education?
What are their needs? / 3.
How far would Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) meet these needs?
Adama
Hawanatu
Gbessay
Fatmata
Pupils at Pamaronkoh Primary School
Children in Sierra Leone

Case study: Adama

When Oxfam met Adama, she was a Year 6 pupil at Pamaronkoh Community Primary School, just outside Freetown in Sierra Leone. She was 12 years old.

‘When I was in Year 5 my mother couldn’t afford to pay the 9,000 Leones (£1.40) charge for the school development fund. This is the money parents have to pay so the school can buy things like furniture and equipment. Once she couldn’t pay I had to stop going to school. I was out of school for one year. All the time I was living here, right next to the school.

‘My mother took my sister and me to the market and we sold gari (cassava flour) every day. I didn’t like working in the market. It’s of no benefit to the child and all I thought about was what I was missing in school.

‘I spoke with my parents. I told them I didn’t want to sell in the market. I said please try your hardest to send me back to school.

‘I was really happy when my parents told me I’d got my place in school back. I had to start Year 5 again and now I’m in Year 6 preparing me for my final exams. I like school because school benefits me for the future. When I’m older I want to be somebody like a nurse or a lawyer.

‘I appreciate school and study really hard. I want to pass my exams and go to Junior Secondary School.’

Case study: Hawanatu

When Oxfam met Hawanatu she was at work chopping vegetables in the street in Pamaronkoh, just outside Freetown in Sierra Leone. She was 13 years old.

‘I attended every year at primary school through to Year 5. Then my father died just as I was about to enter Year 6. I live with my auntie and she couldn’t afford the money the school charges, so I had to leave school without completing my primary school exams.

‘I’m not feeling at all good about this because I’m overworking. My auntie sells eba (cassava dough), salt and onions from a stall outside our house. I work all day fetching water, sweeping and preparing food. I also have to help out tidying the house.

‘My brothers and sisters don’t go to school either. Since my father died none of us go to school.

‘One reason I’d like to go back and finish school is that this work is too much for me. But I’d also like to be a nurse and that’s totally impossible if I don’t complete school.’

Case study: Gbessay

Oxfam met Gbessay at Grassroots, a vocational training centre in Pamaronkoh just outside Freetown in Sierra Leone. Gbessay had never been to school and enrolled at Grassroots to learn dressmaking. She was 15 years old.

‘I’ve never been to school. There was a school near my house when I lived in the village but I never attended. My parents are very poor and they didn’t get the money to pay for me to go to school.

‘I felt bad about missing school. I was taken to the family farm and I had to work there. I felt bad about that. I started working when I was six years old, doing things like weeding and driving the birds away. I worked on the farm for five years with no school at all. My friends in the village wouldn’t talk with me. They went to school and I didn’t, so when they saw me they wouldn’t speak with me.

‘I felt neglected because I’m a girl. I talked with my parents and begged them to send me to school. They told me they didn’t have the money. It’s only now that parents are sending girls to school.

‘My gran brought me to Freetown when I was 11. She wanted me to learn something. I came to the centre (Grassroots) and began to learn new skills. I learnt to read when I was 13. It felt really good to be able to write my first few words.

‘I’m now learning dressmaking. I’d like to establish my own enterprise if I can raise the funds. Looking back I’d like to say how important it is for a girl to go to school. The reason? If a person is illiterate then it’s very difficult for them in life.’

Case study: Fatmata

When Oxfam met Fatmata she was a Year 9 student at St Joseph’s Junior Secondary School in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Fatmata was 16 years old.

‘I live in Mashimbra village outside Makeni. The primary school was quite near my house but the secondary school is in town and far from home. I get up at 5am so I can walk to school in time for classes at 8am. I leave straight after lessons finish at 4pm and walk home, getting back to the house at 7pm. I then eat, do my homework and help my parents in the house. I have seven brothers and four sisters.

‘At the weekend my parents expect me to help with the farm. Sometimes I say I want to do extra classes but my parents say: don’t do more school, come and help your parents. Neither of my parents are educated. They want me to be a lawyer, but they also need me to help.

‘Sometimes I miss school because I’m so tired, but I’m determined to do well and I want to be a lawyer. Some of my friends are no longer at school. Either they have no money for school or they are needed to work. They do things like selling in the market or working in the fields carrying wood. I always advise them that education is very important. Education will never disappoint you. Lots of girls who don’t go to school end up giving birth, and then it’s impossible to return.’

Fatmata’s teacher said she was an excellent student but complained she was often late for school and tired. She would have liked Fatmata to stay in the afternoons for extra-curricular activities.

Case study: Pamaronkoh Community Primary School

Pamaronkoh Community Primary School is located in Pamaronkoh, a slum area in the eastern suburbs of Freetown, Sierra Leone. When Oxfam visited, the school had 1,000 pupils studying in two shifts. Years 1, 2 and 6 came to school in the morning and Years 3, 4 and 5 came in the afternoon.

There were between 60 and 70 pupils in the classes Oxfam visited. All the pupils had a desk and chair, wrote in an exercise book and wore a school uniform. In the lesson Oxfam observed, the teacher wrote mathematics problems on the board and talked the class through the calculations. The pupils put up their hands to answer and worked out calculations in their exercise books, but there was no discussion or group work. Books had been regularly marked.

The teacher taught from a textbook but the pupils did not use their own textbooks during the lesson. However there were small sets of up-to-date textbooks for some subjects on the teacher’s desk, although not nearly enough for every child in the class. The classroom was decorated with posters, such as an old periodic table of elements.

There were two single latrines serving the whole school; one was locked and reserved for teachers, the other was exclusively for pupils. The latrines were not maintained and were overflowing onto the school playground. There was a strong and unpleasant smell around the latrines and on one side of the playground.

Oxfam met a parent in the school yard who had come to meet the head teacher. She complained that the total cost of entering her child for public examinations was greater than her monthly income and she couldn’t afford it. The school usually passed the costs of registering pupils for the exams and buying the necessary examination textbooks on to parents.

Children in Sierra Leone

These statistics provide an overview of children’s experiences in Sierra Leone.

Total population: 6.319 million (2015)

Ages of compulsory education: 6 to 11 (2015)

Compulsory school-age population: 952,000 (2015)

Adult literacy: Total: 48%, Female: 38%, Male: 59% (projected – 2015)

Youth literacy (ages 15–24): Total: 68%, Female: 59%, Male: 76% (projected – 2015)

Net primary school intake: Female: 70%, Male: 72% (2014)

Percentage of children out of school: 21% (2014)

Primary school completion rate: 72.6% (2013)

Percentage of trained primary school teachers: 57% (2013)

Pupil–teacher ratio (trained and untrained teachers): 35 (2013)

Transition from primary school to lower secondary school: 77% (2012)

Spending on education: 2.9% of GDP (2012), 15.2% of government spending (2013)

Activity 4 – My education goals

Finally, pupils could produce their own education goals that would ensure that all children, including children in very poor countries like Sierra Leone, receive a ‘good education’.

Education goals might be to train more teachers, build more schools and so on.

Extension questions for older and more able pupils include:

●Are the priorities outlined in SDG4 the correct priorities? Slide 11 has an edited version of the SDG 4 detailed targets for comparison.

●Have any important priorities been left out in the wording of the new goal?