The document discusses a research program called EdQual that aims to generate knowledge to improve education quality in low-income countries. It is a consortium of several universities in Africa and the UK funded by DFID. There are 5 large projects related to curriculum change, ICTs, language/literacy, leadership/management, and school effectiveness. One focus is on the role of head teachers in promoting gender equity and a child-friendly environment. Challenges for head teachers in disadvantaged communities include a lack of training. The research also looks at targeting interventions toward disadvantaged students based on factors like socioeconomics, gender, disability. A TV drama in Kenya aims to disseminate research findings to the public.

1. Research into Policy and Practice Session 8

3. Research influencing (your) practice?

4. Research influencing policy?

5. Research knowledge change

6. Mechanisms Journal articles

7. Community Anti- poverty Education.. Who is producing the knowledge? How is it produced? What are the different stakeholder roles? What mechanisms of influence are there? What mechanisms of dissemination are there?

9. AIMS to generate new knowledge to assist governments in low income countries, DFID and the international development community to implement initiatives that will improve the quality of education in ways that will benefit the poorest people in the world and will promote gender equity.

10. EdQual A DFID funded Research Programme Consortium on Implementing Education Quality in Low Income Countries University of Cape Coast, Ghana University of Witwatersrand, South Africa University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Kigali Institute of Education, Rwanda University of Bath, United Kingdom University of Bristol, United Kingdom

11. 5 Large Scale Projects Implementing Curriculum Change South Africa , Rwanda, Pakistan Use of ICTs in Basic Education Rwanda , South Africa, Chile Language and Literacy Development Tanzania , Ghana Leadership & Management of Change Ghana , Tanzania, Pakistan School Effectiveness & Education Quality Bristol , Southern & Eastern Africa

12. Leadership and Management of Change (Ghana/Tanzania) Head teachers’ capacity to perform the following seem to be critical to school quality: effective management of teachers manage cultural values that affect teachers’ performance & pupils’ learning promote harmony and effective links between the school and the community promote gender awareness cultivate a child-friendly environment in which pastoral as well as academic needs of children are recognized and met The main challenges head teachers in Ghana face in implementing quality initiatives in disadvantaged communities are lack of leadership-related in-service training

13. Quality and Disadvantage It is important to develop indicators of deprivation that take account of a range of intersecting dimensions of disadvantage including socio-economic background, gender, disability, language, remoteness, over-crowded etc.; There is a need to more effectively target resources and interventions at disadvantaged learners and schools serving disadvantaged communities.

14. Governance issues A key aspect of improvement in quality How could the governance process encourage all educational leaders to be accountable for quality? What balance should there be between centralised direction and decentralised innovation? How might Action research best complement other policy making approaches

15. Makutano Junction.. Kenyan Weekly TV drama Direct influence research to people Kenyan TV serial… 6.5 million people watch.. DFID funded Themes are research led (e.g. RPCs generate themes, created into storylines) SMS - questions SMS – for leaflets Evidence that it does impact on behaviour

16. On-going work A personal piece on your engagement with the topic of quality Education A review of an academic paper An analysis of the educational legacies in your case study context A model of quality education applicable in your case study context A critique of an existing initiative implemented in your case study context A biographical narrative of a person from your case study target group A literature review of an area relevant for your case study. A group class presentation of what quality education would mean in a specific context in a low –income country. Session 9/10 Done session 7 Drafted session 6 Anytime Will discuss now DONE

17. Literature reviews I will create a references ‘page’ on the blog. I will post some references, divided into themes. If you come across a particularly helpful reference, you can post a comment on that page with the details of the reference, and perhaps a couple of lines of what the reference is about, and why you think it is helpful. I suggest that we go for quality over quantity.. and so, if each person suggests maybe 2-5 high quality references that will be a great help to all. I would expect that you would be doing this as you start to prepare for the assignment, so probably during April. Will this work? Will it be helpful?