The pedagogical approaches emphasized in these innovative programmes
and projects included establishing a child friendly environment; encouraging
positive learning experiences; working cooperatively in groups; supporting
interactive learning; fostering creativity; participatory learning; ‘play way’
learning; joyful learning; individualized teaching-learning; project work;
dancing, drama and storytelling for learning (Arts in Education); continuous
assessment; remedial instruction; and fostering critical thinking skills. The
evaluations of these programmes and projects indicated that outcomes had
been positive and that classroom practices had improved. Such practices
included lesson structuring, timed activities, provision of materials and
community involvement, as illustrated in the examples below.
- In a three-year pilot project (CERID, 1989, pp. 53–54), the percentage of school
teachers in the targeted schools using student-centred approaches rose from
34.8 per cent in the base year to 87.5 per cent in the third year, whereas there
was no improvement in the control school. An evaluation of the project
found that at the beginning of the project the most common technique
of evaluation used by teachers was oral questioning. By the end of project,
the teachers in the targeted schools employed other techniques as well,
such as administering written tests, assigning homework, checking exercise
books, evaluating student participation in classroom activities, discussing
with students and fellow teachers, and evaluating student performance in
small groups. The evaluation report noted that ‘in general, the achievement
levels of project school students present an encouraging picture, indicating
the effectiveness of the inputs and instructional strategies adopted by the
project. The dropout rate of the project schools also shows a declining
pattern’ (CERID, 1989, p. 138). - A study by Kafle and Bhattarai (2004) found that the supplementary teacher-
training provided through the Community Owned Primary Education
Programme was able to bring about desired changes in the classroom
performance of the participating teachers. By the end of the project, the
majority of the teachers were ‘strong’ in their questioning techniques and
were confident in presentation and in the use of instructional materials.
These teachers were found to be ‘satisfactory’ in defining new or unfamiliar
terms for the students, giving examples, pointing out real world applications
of knowledge, implementing a continuous assessment system, facilitating
the learning of students from disadvantaged groups, and maintaining eye
contact (p. 32).