Learning Levels and Gaps in Pakistan
Learning Levels and Gaps in Pakistan

Author: Jishnu Das

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: The authors report on a survey of primary public and private schools in rural Pakistan with a focus on student achievement as measured through test scores. Absolute learning is low compared with curricular standards and international norms. Tested at the end of the third grade, a bare majority had mastered the K-I mathematics curriculum and 31 percent could correctly form a sentence with the word "school" in the vernacular (Urdu). As in high-income countries, bivariate comparisons show that higher learning is associated with household wealth and parental literacy. In sharp contrast to high-income countries, these gaps decrease dramatically in a multivariate regression once differences between children in the same school are looked at. Consequently, the largest gaps are between schools. The gap in English test scores between government and private schools, for instance, is 12 times the gap between children from rich and poor families. To contextualize these results within a broader South Asian context, the authors use data from public schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Levels of learning and the structure of the educational gaps are similar in the two samples. As in Pakistan, absolute learning is low and the largest gaps are between schools: the gap between good and bad government schools, for instance, is 5 times the gap between children with literate and illiterate mothers.

School Education in Pakistan
School Education in Pakistan

Author: Asian Development Bank

Publisher: Asian Development Bank

Published: 2019-06-01

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 9292615297

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This publication describes the key issues facing the school education system in Pakistan, highlights the challenges, and suggests some possible directions for reform---with a focus on two provinces: Sindh and Punjab. While average years of schooling in Pakistan have increased along with life expectancy and per capita income, inequality remains high and, by other education measures, the record remains dismal. Illiteracy is widespread and almost 23 million children aged 5–16 are not in school---a worrying statistic for a country whose current workforce is young, mostly unskilled, and poorly prepared for productive employment.

Education Reform in Pakistan
Education Reform in Pakistan

Author: Shahid Javed Burki

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13:

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Washington seems to be in a season of worrying--some might say "obsessing"--About the education system in Pakistan. The 9/11 Commission, whose final report has become a fixture on the bestseller lists, has highlighted the links between international terrorism and Pakistan's religious seminaries, or "madaris", and recommended that the United States support Pakistani efforts to improve the quality of the education it offers its young. The The American government, with the U.S. Agency for International Development as the lead agency, plans to spend tens of millions of dollars this year alone on primary education and literacy programs in Pakistan. The international donor community has been active on this front for decades, but has significantly expanded its activities in recent years. But most of all, Pakistanis themselves have raised the alarm and encouraged this newfound interest in their schools. This volume explores an issue that Pakistanis themselves have identified as vital to their national well-being. Essays include: (1) Educating the Pakistani Masses (Shahid Javed Burki); (2) Education, Employment and Economic Development in Pakistan (Ishrat Husain); (3) Challenges in the Education Sector in Pakistan (Salman Shah); (4) Reform in Higher Education in Pakistan (Grace Clark); (5) Against the Tide: Role of The Citizens Foundation in Pakistani Education (Ahsan Saleem); (6) Reasons for Rage: Reflections on the Education System of Pakistan with Special Reference to English (Tariq Rahman); (7) Education Sector Reforms in Pakistan: Demand Generation as an Alternative Recipe (Jonathan Mitchell, Salman Humayun, and Irfan Muzaffar); (8) Report for Congress on Education Reform in Pakistan; (9) Education in Pakistan and the World Bank's Program (Michelle Riboud); (10) The Punjab Education Sector Reform Program 2003-2006; (11) Pakistan's Recent Experience in Reforming Islamic Education (Christopher Candland); and (12) Pakistan: Reforming the Education Sector. An introduction by Robert M. Hathaway is included. Individual papers contain tables, charts, notes and references.

Learning Levels and Gaps in Pakistan
Learning Levels and Gaps in Pakistan

Author: Jishnu Das

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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The authors report on a survey of primary public and private schools in rural Pakistan with a focus on student achievement as measured through test scores. Absolute learning is low compared with curricular standards and international norms. Tested at the end of the third grade, a bare majority had mastered the K-I mathematics curriculum and 31 percent could correctly form a sentence with the word "school" in the vernacular (Urdu). As in high-income countries, bivariate comparisons show that higher learning is associated with household wealth and parental literacy. In sharp contrast to high-income countries, these gaps decrease dramatically in a multivariate regression once differences between children in the same school are looked at. Consequently, the largest gaps are between schools. The gap in English test scores between government and private schools, for instance, is 12 times the gap between children from rich and poor families. To contextualize these results within a broader South Asian context, the authors use data from public schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Levels of learning and the structure of the educational gaps are similar in the two samples. As in Pakistan, absolute learning is low and the largest gaps are between schools: the gap between good and bad government schools, for instance, is 5 times the gap between children with literate and illiterate mothers.

A Dime a Day
A Dime a Day

Author: Tahir Raza Shah Andrabi

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: This paper looks at the private schooling sector in Pakistan, a country that is seriously behind schedule in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Using new data, the authors document the phenomenal rise of the private sector in Pakistan and show that an increasing segment of children enrolled in private schools are from rural areas and from middle-class and poorer families. The key element in their rise is their low fees-the average fee of a rural private school in Pakistan is less than a dime a day (Rs. 6). They hire predominantly local, female, and moderately educated teachers who have limited alternative opportunities outside the village. Hiring these teachers at low cost allows the savings to be passed on to parents through low fees. This mechanism-the need to hire teachers with a certain demographic profile so that salary costs are minimized-defines the possibility of private schools: where they arise, fees are low. It also defines their limits. Private schools are horizontally constrained in that they arise in villages where there is a pool of secondary educated women. They are also vertically constrained in that they are unlikely to cater to the secondary levels in rural areas, at least until there is an increase in the supply of potential teachers with the required skills and educational levels.

Learning and Doing Policy Analysis in Education: Examining Diverse Approaches to Increasing Educational Access
Learning and Doing Policy Analysis in Education: Examining Diverse Approaches to Increasing Educational Access

Author: Maria Teresa Tatto

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-09-17

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 9460919332

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This book originated in a policy analysis class at Michigan State University taught during 2010. Using Professor Tatto’s unique approach to teaching policy analysis, the professor and students agreed to construct a class that represented a reflective and grounded experience in the policy analysis of a current and relevant issue with global ramifications; we began exploring policies that were developed at the global level and that were implemented locally. We investigated the surge of globally developed standards and regulations in an effort to improve education. Our goal was to learn cross-nationally about policies that seek to reform curriculum and instruction under efficiency and global competitiveness arguments, such as Education for All (EFA) and its USA cousin No Child Left Behind (NCLB). We knew our work would be bounded by the time available in a one-semester class, and by resource constraints. We did exploratory inquiry supported by literature reviews, reports on rigorous research studies, and in one case an exploratory case study. The policies we chose to explore, such as EFA and NCLB, offered us the opportunity to examine current reform tendencies that are intended to provide access to quality education for all children, the preparation of teachers to support diverse populations, the organization of schools to accommodate these children in response to vague policy mandates, and power issues affecting the different constituencies and stakeholders. The effects of these and other policies were difficult to track because research is scant and decisions are frequently made based on ideology or political persuasion. Our purpose was to explore the critical issues that originated such policies, and to search for documented evidence regarding policy implementation and effectiveness. We investigated the factors that seemed to interfere with successful implementation, from conceptual, theoretical, and methodological perspectives. In this class we learned that there are not ready-set frameworks for policy analysis, but rather that these have to be constructed according to the issues that emerge as policies are conceptualized and implemented to fit local contexts and needs. The book pays particular attention to the contexts of policy, including the evolving conceptualization of global and local systems of governance, knowledge regimes, and policy spaces. The book is designed for faculty and doctoral students in education who are interested in understanding diverse frameworks for policy analysis, and for those in the general public who are interested in the policies we analyze here.

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Educational Research
Multidisciplinary Approaches to Educational Research

Author: Sadaf Rizvi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-06-17

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1136583858

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This book provides an original perspective on a range of controversial issues in educational and social research through case studies of multi-disciplinary and mixed-method research involving children, teachers, schools and communities in Europe and the developing world. These case studies from researchers "across continents" and "across disciplines" explore a range of interesting issues, including the relevance of research approaches to very different national settings, and to the kinds of questions being asked; the barriers of language and culture between researcher and researched; articulating the thinking and feelings of very young children; the challenges of dealing with "partiality" of data; issues of identity, subjectivity and reflexivity; and transferring research approaches from one national setting to the problems posed in another.

Early Childhood Education
Early Childhood Education

Author: Harry Morgan

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1442207442

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Harry Morgan lays the foundations of what early childhood education is by integrating the history of the field with the philosophy and theories behind this discipline. With lucid and engaging prose, Morgan delineates the beginnings of early childhood education and how it has become an important field of study in education today. In this updated edition, a new chapter about critical race theory and its implications on early childhood education has been included.

Teacher Shocks and Student Learning
Teacher Shocks and Student Learning

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13:

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"A large literature examines the link between shocks to households and the educational attainment of children. The authors use new data to estimate the impact of shocks to teachers on student learning in mathematics and English. Using absenteeism in the 30 days preceding the survey as a measure of these shocks they find large impacts: A 5 percent increase in the teacher's absence rate reduces learning by 4 to 8 percent of average gains over the year. This reduction in learning achievement likely reflects both the direct effect of increased absenteeism and the indirect effects of less lesson preparation and lower teaching quality when in class. The authors document that health problems-primarily teachers' own illness and the illnesses of their family members-account for more than 60 percent of teacher absences; not surprising in a country struggling with an HIV/AIDS epidemic. The relationship between shocks to teachers and student learning suggests that households are unable to substitute adequately for teaching inputs. Excess teaching capacity that allows for the greater use of substitute teachers could lead to larger gains in student learning. "--World Bank web site.

What Works in Girls' Education
What Works in Girls' Education

Author: Gene B Sperling

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2015-09-29

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0815728611

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Hard-headed evidence on why the returns from investing in girls are so high that no nation or family can afford not to educate their girls. Gene Sperling, author of the seminal 2004 report published by the Council on Foreign Relations, and Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education, have written this definitive book on the importance of girls’ education. As Malala Yousafzai expresses in her foreword, the idea that any child could be denied an education due to poverty, custom, the law, or terrorist threats is just wrong and unimaginable. More than 1,000 studies have provided evidence that high-quality girls’ education around the world leads to wide-ranging returns: Better outcomes in economic areas of growth and incomes Reduced rates of infant and maternal mortality Reduced rates of child marriage Reduced rates of the incidence of HIV/AIDS and malaria Increased agricultural productivity Increased resilience to natural disasters Women’s empowerment What Works in Girls’ Education is a compelling work for both concerned global citizens, and any academic, expert, nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff member, policymaker, or journalist seeking to dive into the evidence and policies on girls’ education.