Malawi and Active-Learning Pedagogies:

Haley Dervinis | Drexel University | EDGI 502 | Winter 2010

Through the Lens of World Culture and Cultural Anthropology Theories

Research QuestionsResearch Questions What is the history of the Malawi education

system? Who is influencing their policies? What are current pedagogy reforms? Are the reforms working? Why or why not? What effects are the global having on the local and

vice versa?

World Culture TheoryWorld Culture Theory

sees culture as

accepting and imitating

others

believesculture

is converging

believesglobalizationhas created

universal modelsof life

primarily uses

cross-nationaldesigns of

quantitativeresearch

seeks tounderstandhow world

models influence

individuals

how the global effects

the local

Cultural AnthropologyCultural Anthropology

sees culture

as a ‘work in progress’

believesculture

is diverging

understandsglobalization

by frictioncreated through

info sharing

primarily uses

qualitative, ethnographic

research techniques

seeks tounderstand

how individualsees themselves

within the context of the

world

how the local effectsthe global

About MalawiAbout Malawi 52% of population

classified as poor One of the highest

rates of HIV/AIDS in the world

Life expectancy rate of 44.5 years old

(MOEST, 2008)

Education SystemEducation System Education is intended to “to enable people to acquire relevant

knowledge, skills, expertise and competencies to perform effectively as citizens, workforces and as leaders of Malawi, thereby reduce poverty amongst the people of Malawi” (MOEST, 2008, p. 7).

With the election of a multi-party government in 1994, progress was started towards Education For All (EFA)

Early childhood through higher education systems are present Movement through education is exam based Gender parity and teacher shortages are issues Improvement is shown through progress towards goals such as

decentralization, maintaining transparency, eliminating discrimination, more community and private sector involvement, increasing access and improving quality

(MOEST, 2008 & USAID, 2010)

Teacher TrainingTeacher Training Government has tried increase number of

teachers by providing training programs such as the Malawi Integrated In-Service Teacher Education Programme (MIITEP, 1994-2005) and its successor The Initial Primary Teacher Education (IPTE, 2005-Present)

IPTE is linked to curriculum reform and is outcome-based

Assigns each student a mentor to guide them through the classroom experience

Other projects such as Malawi Education Support Activity (MESA) and the Malawi Teacher Training Activity (MTTA) enacted in 2003 sought to change teaching methods at the classroom level

MESA aimed to improve whole school by improving teacher skills, community involvement and integrating life skills

MTTA provides active-learning practices

(UNESCO, 2008 & USAID, 2010)

Primary school teachers: one year in collegeone year in the classroom

Secondary school teachers: four years in collegeone year in the classroom

Active-Learning PedagogyActive-Learning Pedagogy Introduced through MESA and MTTA

programs into four out of 27 districts Government supports because believe it

will: Improve quality and relevance Make learning more enjoyable, meaningful

and exciting Classroom will mirror democratic

principles that dominate country Participants in MESA/MTTA unanimously

agreed that the student-centered methods were better than teacher-centered

Some drawbacks include: Doesn’t work well with large class size Created more pressure because took away

from preparing students for exams More time required to plan lessons

(USAID, 2010)

Positive Results of Positive Results of Active-Learning PedagogyActive-Learning Pedagogy

Increased student subject mastery and discovery Less shyness when working in small groups Improvement in critical thinking, problem solving,

creative thinking, reasoning and considering consequences

More occasions of student to student help, female participation, attention to school work, raises in self-confidence

Higher acceptance rate into secondary schools Quicker accusation of reading and writing skills

(USAID, 2010)

FindingsFindings What is the history of the Malawi education

system? Malawi history indicates that there has always been the presence

of outside forces within their country. Malawi was introduced to the western style education system because it was a British colony until 1964. From 1964 until 1993 education was present, but the government abused human rights, managed donor funds without transparency, allowed only one language (Chichewa) in school, and censorship laws prevented teaching and publication of information about democracy, HIV/AIDS, gender, and human rights. It was not until 1994, with the election of a new multi-party government, that any progress was made towards EFA.

(World Education Forum, 2000)

FindingsFindings Who is influencing their policies?

USAID has been present in Malawi since 1960 and have provided $664 billion dollars in development assistance from 1960-2002

Aid has also come from the World Bank, United Nations, the European Community, and the African Development Bank

UNESCO’s EFA movement and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals are also guiding their path

(UNESCO 2003/4, UNESCO 2005, UNICEF 2007 & USAID 2010)

FindingsFindings What are current pedagogy reforms?

Active-Learning has been introduced though programs funded by USAID (MESA/MTTA)

A focus on agriculture, conservation, HIV/AIDS, democracy, human rights, and gender discrimination are topics that have been included in curriculum updates

Are reforms working? Why or why not? Active-learning has been met with teacher and parent resistance Teachers continue to rely on the “old” way of teaching (teacher-

centered) because it is believe students will be more prepared to pass exams

There is a noticeable gap between policy and practice thus implementation has been uneven

Lack of teachers and money to pay them and inadequate resources are also issues

Positive results, however do show promise that this style will be introduced into more districts

(MOEST, 2008 & USAID, 2010)

FindingsFindings What effects are the global having on the local

and vice versa? The influence of global actors is dictating the

polices in Malawi Yet local ideas about the purpose of school, gender

roles, values and rituals are causing problems during policy implementation

Through the Lens of…Through the Lens of… World Culture Theory - It is clear from researching the

educational system in Malawi that they are borrowing and adopting strategies from major global actors such as UNESCO, the World Bank, USAID etc in order to reach goals that are heavily influenced by a set of fundamental globalized ideas.

Examples include: The idea that all children should be educated School can be used to elevate poverty and improve economy A focus on democracy, human rights and gender discrimination in

curriculum Implementation of active-learning pedagogy

(UNESCO 2003/4, UNESCO 2005, UNICEF 2007, MOEST 2008 & USAID 2010)

Through the Lens of…Through the Lens of… Cultural Anthropology - A cultural look at Malawi would

show deeply rooted beliefs about the roles of men, women, and children, rituals and values that are not aligned with ideas from the numerous NGO’s and other organizations trying to ‘help’.

Examples include: Resistance of active-learning pedagogy

Classroom instruction should prepare students for exams More familiar and comfortable with teacher-centered styles

More boys than girls in school The continued spread of HIV/AIDS due to rituals and beliefs

(USAID 2010, MOEST 2008 & UNESCO 1999)

Recommendations and Recommendations and ConclusionsConclusions

Malawi’s history and culture present a challenge for NGO’s and other donors thus the complexities of Malawi should be taken into consideration when attempting to guide the government in implementing universal policies.

Ideas such as the need for education, HIV/AIDS prevention and democracy are just blossoming therefore a mesh of world culture and cultural anthropology can serve to expose cultural feelings of the citizens and situate them within the global context

Aligning NGO’s and other donors, engaging the culture and allowing more citizen input from both young and old can foster democracy and understanding within the population

Personal ReflectionPersonal ReflectionAfter learning more about the world culture theory and then researching After learning more about the world culture theory and then researching

Malawi’s education system, it was clear to me that global forces were Malawi’s education system, it was clear to me that global forces were present and heavily influencing their path. present and heavily influencing their path.

In reaction, the cultural anthropology perspective provided me hope that In reaction, the cultural anthropology perspective provided me hope that the friction caused by the Malawi people would propel their the friction caused by the Malawi people would propel their

government to listen to their desires. government to listen to their desires.

This case is unfortunately not uncommon as NGO’s and others strive to This case is unfortunately not uncommon as NGO’s and others strive to instill democracy, human right ideals and universal education around instill democracy, human right ideals and universal education around the world. From this project and the content of this course it has been the world. From this project and the content of this course it has been further reinforced to me that progress will be slow and difficult if the further reinforced to me that progress will be slow and difficult if the

solutions are not tailored for the people they intend to effect. The solutions are not tailored for the people they intend to effect. The global and local are heavily intertwined and therefore one cannot be global and local are heavily intertwined and therefore one cannot be

thought of without the other.thought of without the other.

ReferencesReferences Ministry or Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) & Malawi National Commission for UNESCO.

(2008). The Development of Education: National Report of Malawi. Retrieved from: www.ibe.unesco.org/National_Reports/ICE_2008/malawi_NR08.pdf

UNESCO. (1999). A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care: Malawi’s Experience Country Report. Retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001222/122214e.pdf

UNESCO. (2003/4). Lessons from good practice. In Education for all global monitoring report. Gender and Education for All: The Leap to Equality (p. 155-189). Retrieved from: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=23023&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNESCO. (2003/4). Education for all global monitoring report. Gender and Education for All: The Leap to Equality, Chapters 3, pp. 115- 153; Chapter 4, pp. 155-189. Retrieved from: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=23023&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNESCO. (2005). Education for all global monitoring report 2005. Education for all: The quality imperative. Chapter 1, pp. 28-37; Chapter 2, pp. 40-56; Chapter 6, pp. 224-232. Retrieved from: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=35939&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNICEF. (2007). The State of the world’s children 2007. Chapter 1, pp. 1-15; Chapter 5, pp. 69-87. Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/report/report.php

USAID. (2010). Active-Learning Pedagogies as a Reform Initiative: The Case of Malawi. Retrieved from: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e1-ActiveLearningSynthesis.pdf