Measuring Quality Beyond Test Scores: The Impact of Regional Context on Curriculum Implementation (in Northern Uganda)

Abstract

Although global initiatives have brought attention to the lack of quality in education systems worldwide; the question remains, how do we implement quality education? Teachers, a vital component of the education process, are not usually included in these global conversations; this results in government initiatives missing key obstacles faced by teachers daily. In this article, we used a rights-based approach to examine the Quality Educators Initiative, specifically its curricular component, as it tries to assist teachers in northern Uganda, an area whose schools and communities are vastly under-resourced and dealing with post-conflict effects. Using a mixed-methods approach, we highlight teachers' experiences with the National Thematic Curriculum and reveal through our findings that regional contextual factors, and teachers' voices and changing roles due to these factors, must be taken into consideration when rolling out new education policies.

The role of technological infrastructure in relation to the digital divide and the digital literacy in hundred educational institutions of Colombia.

“…Asimismo, y en consonancia con las afirmaciones de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, 2015), este análisis permitió dilucidar que en los resultados de la prueba estandarizada de calidad educativa Saber 11 no se está evidenciando el impacto de una alfabetización digital que trascienda la formación instrumental y la dotación de infraestructura tecnológica a instituciones educativas. En general, la débil relación entre la prueba Saber 11 y las características tecnológicas de las IE puede asociarse con la falta de escenarios auténticos de integración de las TIC en el aula, en los que los diferentes agentes educativos lideren procesos de apropiación educativa (Spreen & Knapczyk, 2017), a partir de las capacidades adquiridas en programas orientados al desarrollo de competencias para la integración de tecnologías. Asimismo, la relación entre estas variables (prueba Saber 11 y características tecnológicas) también puede dar cuenta de un bajo nivel de madurez en los procesos de integración de las TIC en estas instituciones educativas (Barrera-Osorio & Linden, 2009).…”

Incentives and Girl Child Education in Ghana: An Examination of CAMFED’s Support Scheme on Enrollment, Retention and Progression in Garu-Tempane District

“…A number of studies have found that investing in girls’ education is a cost-effective strategy for developing countries aiming to improve their standard of living (Ananga, 2011; Glewwe & Muralidharan, 2016; Sperling & Winthrop, 2015). Considerable social and welfare benefits accrue from the education of girls including lower fertility and infant mortality rates (Amin et al, 2017; Owusu-Darko, 1996; Shabaya & Konadu-Agyemang, 2004; Sperling & Winthrop, 2015; Spreen & Kweri, 2013). Investigating maternal education and child survival in Ghana, Owusu-Darko (1996) discovered that the higher the education level of the mother, the better the survival rate of her children.…”

“…Investing in girls’ education has been found to be cost-effective for developing countries aiming to improve their standard of living (Ananga, 2011; Glewwe & Muralidharan, 2016; Sperling & Winthrop, 2015). Studies have also shown that considerable social and welfare benefits accrue from the education of girls including lower fertility and infant mortality rates (Amin et al, 2017; Owusu-Darko, 1996; Shabaya & Konadu-Agyemang, 2004; Sperling & Winthrop, 2015; Spreen & Kweri, 2013), increases in wage earnings (BBC, 2015; Sperling & Winthrop, 2015), and decrease in malnutrition (Sperling & Winthrop, 2015; Spreen & Kweri, 2013). By not educating the girl child to comparable standards like the boy child, it is estimated that low- and middle-income countries lose around 92 billion dollars each year in gross domestic product (Diaw, 2008; Monkman & Hoffman, 2013).…”

The mediating role of lecturer biographic factors on curriculum implementation in universities

“…In the context of the current study, and in line with ecological systems theory, microsystem factors represent lecturer characteristics that either directly or indirectly influence the implementation of curricula in universities. These factors either hinder or promote effective curriculum implementation (Bediako 2019;Spreen and Knapczyk 2017). Lecturer characteristics fall under the technical dimension of curriculum implementation.…”