7
Learning processes and systems
Interactive and engaging teaching approaches In all three countries surveyed, the majority of respondents fully or somewhat agree that teaching methods are engaging and effective, but many feel there is much room for improvement, as seen in Figure 54. In Georgia, youth with a history of absenteeism are much more likely to disagree that teaching methods are engaging and effective, which might contribute to their decisions to skip school. Youth in Tajikistan are particularly satisfied with teaching methods, but a relatively large proportion of them also fully disagree that teachers regularly engage them in the classroom. 23 Female youth, those with primary or basic education, dropouts and youth with a history of absenteeism are all less likely to say their teachers actively engage them in the classroom there. At the same time, in a separate question posed in the Tajikistan survey, more than half of youth fully agree that they are ready and willing to get involved in more interactive teaching approaches, as shown in Figure 55. Female youth especially agree. Figure 54. Teaching methods are engaging and effective. Percentages of youth agreement in Kosovo, Georgia and Tajikistan (by all)
60
Percent
50
56.1 43.5 46.1
40 28.8
30
34.5
28.1
20
10.4 11.6 10.3
10
10.4
14.8
4.6
0 Fully Agree
Somewhat Agree
Kosovo
Somewhat Disagree
Georgia
Fully Disagree
Tajikistan
Youth researchers conducting focus groups in Tajikistan remark, “Some rural youth are particularly [unfamiliar with] interactive methods,” and are “very shy and at times afraid.” One says, “Village youth have good ideas but are unable to express their opinion.” They suggest that these and other youth would benefit from “training sessions on interactive methods of communication” that would boost youth activity in and out of school. Many youth also say that students in Tajikistan are losing interest in school because “classes are boring.” A 14-year-old male in Panji Bolo town says, “I think our lessons are not interesting. A teacher writes the lesson on the board, and we copy what she writes. A school has never taken us to a museum or to other districts.” A 17-year-old male agrees, saying, “A teacher needs to attract children [to learn].” Youth studying in village schools in Asht District also support youth-to-youth learning and say that teachers should “involve good pupils and high achievers to work with pupils who do not study well.” Despite calls for more engaging and interactive lessons, more than half of respondents in each country say that their teachers show interest in their academic progress, as seen in Figure 56. Younger, primary- or basiceducated students in each case express this more often than their older, more educated counterparts. This might be explained by smaller class sizes and more personal relations between teachers and students at those levels compared with university lectures and their larger student/teacher ratios. This is also consistent
23
132
For the Tajikistan survey, the statement was worded: “At least 50 per cent of your teachers engage students in debate and discussion; small group work; and/or individual work in front of the class (e.g., doing problems on the board); in each or every other class session.”
Demand for Education Innovation: Adolescent and youth perspectives on education quality in the CEECIS Region