Teaching and learning

Achieving quality for all

Name: Event:

Location, date 2014

By 2015, many countries will still not have reached the EFA goals.

There is a global learning crisis that is hitting the disadvantaged hardest.

Good quality education can only be achieved with good quality teachers.

Global education goals after 2015 must track progress of the marginalized.

Post-2015 goals must include specific targets to finance education.

Key messages

EFA goals will not be reached by 2015

Goal 2: Universal primary education 57 million children are out of school, half of whom live

in conflict-affected countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 23% of poor, rural girls

complete primary education.

Goal 1: Early childhood care and education 1 in 4 children under 5 suffer from stunting, because of

malnutrition. 50% of young children have access to pre-primary

education, but only 17% in low income countries.

Goal 3: Youth and adult skills 69 million adolescents are out of school. In low income countries, only 37% of adolescents

complete lower secondary education, and only 14% of the poorest.

EFA goals will not be reached by 2015

The number of adolescents out of school declined slowly

South and West Asia

22 22

40

31

Sub-Saharan Africa

Source: UIS database.

107

57

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Mill

ions

Out-of-school children

101

69

81

73

Out-of-school adolescents

EFA goals will not be reached by 2015

Goal 4: Adult literacy 774 million adults are illiterate, a decline of just 1% since

2000. Almost two-thirds of illiterate adults are women.

Goal 5: Gender parity and equalityThere are fewer than 9 girls for every 10 boys: in 17 countries at primary level in 30 countries at secondary level.

By 2015, many countries will still not have reached the EFA goals

Source: Bruneforth (2013).

Percentage of countries projected to reach a benchmark for five EFA goals by 2015

Failing to reach the marginalized

Fall in aid threatens education in the poorest countriesThere is a financing gap of $26 billion per year

Source: OECD-DAC (2013)

Yet, aid to basic education fell by 6% between 2010 and 2011

Only US$1.9 billion of basic education aid was allocated to low income countries in 2011.

3.0 3.3 3.6 4.2 4.6 5.1 5.2

6.2 6.2 5.8

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

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1 U

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billi

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After 2015, financing targets should be set for countries to allocate:

at least 6% of GNP on education; only 41 had reached this level by 2011

at least 20% of their budget on education; only 25 had reached this level by 2011

Financing targets should also apply to aid donors so that all funders are held to account for their promises.

Targets must be set so no one is left behind due to lack of resources

Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all

250 million children are failing to learn the basics

Many children in the poorest countries are not learning the basics

The cost of the learning crisis

Poorer children learn lessChildren completing primary school and achieving minimum learning standards in mathematics, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America

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Poor

One-quarter of those aged 15 to 24 in poor countries are unable to read a single sentence.

Poor quality education leaves a legacy of illiteracy

Four strategies for providing the best teachers

Strategy 1: Recruit the best candidates

Source: UIS (2013)

Replacement for attrition

3.7 million

Additional teachers

1.6 million

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• 1.6 million additional teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015

• On current trends, 29 countries will not even have filled their primary school teacher gap by 2030

• 5.1 million additional teachers will be needed to achieve universal lower secondary education by 2030

Policy-makers must attract the best candidates to teaching

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS:

All trainees need, at a minimum, to have completed secondary education with good grades.

There should be a good balance of male to female teachers.

Teachers from a diverse range of backgrounds need to be attracted to the profession.

Pupil/trained teacher ratio

Source: UIS database.

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Strategy 2: Train all teachers well

In one out of three countries, less than three-quarters of teachers are trained to national standards

Teachers must have good subject knowledge.

Teachers must be equipped to meet the needs of those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Teachers need training in the use of assessment tools to detect and address learning difficulties early.

Teacher trainees should have classroom experience and new teachers need support of mentors.

Training must not stop once teachers are in the classroom.

Teacher educators need training too.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Policy-makers must provide good quality pre-service and ongoing teacher education

Strategy 3: Allocate teachers to reach the disadvantaged

1. Urban bias

2. Ethnicity and language

3. Gender

4. Subjects

The unequal allocation of teachers is affected by four main factors

Teachers should be provided with incentives to work in remote areas

Local recruitment of teachers helps to ensure sufficient teachers are working in difficult areas

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Policy-makers must allocate the best teachers where they are most needed

Strategy 4: Provide incentives to retain teachers

0 10 20 30 40 50 60MoroccoMexicoKenyaNigeriaEstonia

HungaryMauritania

U. R. TanzaniaPoland

Slovak RepublicEthiopiaEritrea

 Côte d'IvoireCape Verde

SenegalAngolaBenin

MalawiBurkina Faso

CameroonBurundi

S. Tome/PrincipeCongo

MaliNigerTogo

GambiaSierra Leone

GuineaChad

RwandaComoros

MozambiqueUgandaZambia

MadagascarD.R. Congo

Guinea BissauLiberiaC. A. R.

Daily salary of a primary school teacher, 2011 PPP US$

Source: Pole de Dakar database; OECD (2013b).

In Liberia, where a family needs at least US$10 per day, teachers are paid only US$6 a day.

Teachers in some poor countries are not paid enough to live on

Strategy 4: Provide incentives to retain teachersMany West African countries have a teaching force made up largely of people on short-term contracts

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Civil servant Contract

Source: Pôle de Dakar database.

Teachers should be paid enough to meet at least their basic needs, and offered the best possible working conditions.

Teachers also need an attractive career path that rewards those who address diversity and support weak students.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS:

Provide incentives to retain the best teachers

Measures are needed to address teacher misconduct:

to tackle gender-based violence

to reduce teacher absenteeism

to prevent teachers offering private tuition to their own students.

Strengthen teacher governance

Support learning from the earliest years delivered at an appropriate pace

Provide education in relevant languages

Promote inclusion through the curriculum

Provide accelerated second-chance programmes

Identify and support low achievers with classroom assessment

Provide appropriate curriculum & assessment strategies

Policy-makers must ensure teachers are supported by strategies that:

Make teachers part of the solution

www.efareport.unesco.org

Blog: efareport.wordpress.com#teachlearn / @efareport