We met Godfred a year ago, his family and teachers in Fosu in the east of Ghana.
We went back to visit him again this year to see how his learning journey has been this past year.
Our Spotlight series research shows that foundational learning is a critical building block for all children to be able to fulfil their potential, however, at most one in five on the continent who complete primary school will have achieved minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics.
We are following the learning journey of 4 children alongside the research in our Spotlight report series, aiming to demonstrate through their stories the love that they have for learning and what we have to lose if we don’t invest in their education.
“Since I have started class two, the new thing I have learnt is maths, English and science”, Godfred told us as he described how this year has been.
Godfred’s mother is pleased with the progress he has made this past year. “They call me Margaret and I am Godfred’s mum. Since you last came to interview us Godfred has been doing well at home and with school.”
Godfred is in Basic 2 and has 4 more years before finishing primary school. In order to pass from primary into secondary in Ghana, children have to take a Basic Education Certificate Examination. At present, the Ghana Spotlight Report showed that three in four children pass mathematics in that exam.
“Learning is very important, if you can’t add or subtract you will have money issues and you won’t be able to go forward in life.” Margaret continues.
The Spotlight Report, Learning Counts, looks at how children are taught mathematics in primary school in Africa. It shows that, while curricula explain what children should learn, they do not always show how they should be taught by teachers.
How learning takes place in the classroom is critical. Often, children may be in school but not leaving with basic literacy or numeracy. At present, over half of children who cannot read with understanding in sub-Saharan Africa have completed primary school.
Most children who do not learn have completed primary education
For Omane Paul, Godfred’s teacher, the secret to teaching mathematics with understanding to children is about breaking down the concepts into something they understand.
"Mathematics is a subject that needs practical exercises more than using theory. For example, Godfred needs more of the practical aspects, coding of the teaching and learning materials and manipulating them by himself."
“One thing that I would like to roll out is a play-based classroom where a child centered approach can be used in the classroom. Teaching math needs to follow a child centered approach where the learners can manipulate the materials that can be used for the lessons."
Godfred confirms that practical exercises help.
“What helps me when learning maths is using hands and counters. Today we learnt measurement using bottles and water”
This example illustrates the importance of there being alignment across the vision that a country may have for improving foundational learning, its curriculum and the teaching and learning materials that help teachers implement the vision in the classroom.
The Spotlight report found that the biggest gap in overall teacher knowledge, which comprises curriculum, subject and pedagogic knowledge, was in curriculum knowledge. Due to the lack of teacher training, teachers were unaware of the content of the syllabus, did not know what subject matter should be taught to which grade level and were unclear how textbooks related to the curriculum they were required to teach.
Omane Paul told us of how important that support was for him as a teacher: “We are supported through a professional learning community where teachers meet and discuss how best we can improve on learning outcomes. And during that we share ideas of some of the difficulties that we have in lessons. Sometimes too, we go for workshops organized by the district which help us to come up with new pedagogies that'll help us to improve our lessons."
Textbooks help to choose learning topics, decide how to approach them, select problems and exercises, and assess students.
Omane continued, “We need more textbooks. The learners have mathematics textbooks but there are not enough, unless you pair the learners. And some of the textbooks are not received on time. The content is good, but the examples that they provide are not enough. I think that they should provide a textbook and a teacher guide that will go with the curriculum.”
In Learning Counts, we recommend:
1. Give all children a textbook – and all teachers a guide.
Ensure that all children and teachers have teaching and learning materials that are research-based, aligned with the curriculum, and locally developed.
2. Make a clear plan to improve learning.
a. Ensure learning is not abstract; children need full understanding before moving to advanced concepts.
