Written by Salimah Samji
We developed a 12-week custom PDIA for Education Systems online action learning program for Education Development Trust (EDT), funded by United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), to help build the capability to improve foundational learning outcomes through practical action-oriented work. 56 education practitioners across 9 country teams from Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zambia, participated in this program from September to December 2022.
Each country that participated in the program had a senior level authorizer (Director General, Permanent Secretary, Special Secretary) and a team of 4-6 members from their ministry or department of education and a few partners from NGOs, research institutions, as well as FCDO advisors.
Authorizers attended virtual sessions and completed reflection exercises every two-weeks. They were provided with an overview of the PDIA process as well as content modules on leadership, building trust, delegation, and time management.
Country teams nominated a problem related to foundational learning and learned how to construct and deconstruct problems, identify entry points, find ideas to act upon, and then undertook four weekly iterations where they acted upon specific next steps they identified, reflected on their actions, and determined the next steps. They spent an average of 6-8 hours a week on the program. Each country team worked on the following problems:
- Ethiopia: Not Enough Time is Spent on Quality Teaching | Read blog
- India: Foundational Learning Outcomes are not being met in Punjab | Read blog
- Kenya: Low learning outcomes in the arid and semi-arid (ASAL) regions in Kenya | Read blog
- Malawi: 87% of Children in Malawi are not effectively acquiring basic foundational skills | Read blog
- Pakistan (Punjab): Teachers are unable to support students in early childhood education | Read blog
- Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa): Low learning outcomes in Primary Schools
- Rwanda: Low student performance in early grades | Read blog
- Sierra Leone: Low foundational skills and learning outcomes in Port Loko district | Read blog
- Zambia: Effective teaching is not taking place in the classroom | Read blog
Here are some quotes from participants:
“The course has changed the way I solve problems and interact with my colleagues and superiors at work in implementing programmes.”
“The idea of small teams collaborating to support a policy change process is the most compelling lesson I have learned. Second, the idea of legitimizing action by engaging different players is helpful. The implied idea in PDIA of the importance of the ‘agency of many’ is really helpful”
“I feel confident in applying this approach to different situations that come knocking at my door.”
“Very practical yet fully informed by theory.”
Some comments on Individual assignments:
“helped all of us bring in better and unique perspectives from each of our assignments. Hence, I could not only learn from mine but from others’ ideas as well.”
“pushed me to be more reflective than I would otherwise have been”
Some comments on team assignments:
“It was very helpful because we talked about real issues that are happening in the education sector. We were able to share ideas freely and everyone’s opinion was valued and respected. The ideas were collective, and it was indeed teamwork.”
“Peer learning group work laid the foundation of all of us working in sync with each other. It helped us share our thoughts, motivations, hardships and progress with each other and together we could learn more and better.”
Learn more about the PDIA for education systems program.