Baseline Standard 3

7/29/2019 Baseline Standard 3

1/74

Malawi Institute of Education

BASELINE STUDY ON LEARNINGACHIEVEMENT OF STANDARDS 3 AND

7 LEARNERS IN MALAWI

Report

by

Department of Research, Evaluation and Policy Studies


2/74

August 2009

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Malawi Institute of Education would like to express its gratitude tothe Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for entrusting it withthe task of conducting this baseline study.

The Institute would also like to thank the British Department forInternational Development (DFID) for providing the funds for this studythrough the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. TheInstitute recognises the fact that without the financial support fromDFID this study would not have taken place.

Last but not least the Institute would like to thank the headteachers,teachers and Standards 3 and 7 learners in all the sampled primaryschools for the invaluable information they provided.

ii


3/74

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................ii

CONTENTS .............................................................................................iiiLIST OF TABLES .....................................................................................ivABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ..........................................................viEXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..........................................................................viiCHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................1

1.1 Background ..................................................................................11.2 Statement of the problem ............................................................21.3 Purpose of the study .....................................................................21.5 Rationale of the study ..................................................................2

CHAPTER 2 Literature review ................................................................32.1 Introduction .................................................................................3

2.2 Assessment of learning achievement ...........................................32.3 Factors affecting learner achievement .........................................52.4 Learner achievement studies carried out outside and insideMalawi ................................................................................................5

CHAPTER 3 Methodology ........................................................................83.1 Introduction ..................................................................................83.2 Research approach .......................................................................83.3 Development of test items and validation ....................................93.4 Sampling .......................................................................................93.5 Data collection ............................................................................113.6 Data analysis ..............................................................................12

3.7 Limitations of the study .............................................................12CHAPTER 4 Findings ............................................................................12

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................124.2 Achievement of Standard 3 learners .........................................124.3 Achievement of Standard 7 learners ..........................................254.4 Impact of school factors on Standard 3 learners achievement ..354.5 Impact of school factors on Standard 7 learners achievement ..384.7 Impact of home factors on Standard 7 learners achievement .. .484.8 Implementation of PCAR .............................................................544.9 Conclusion .................................................................................58

Appendix 1 Researchers, research assistants and test developers .....61

iii


4/74

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Sampled districts.....................................................................9

Table 2: Characteristics of schools sampled in a district......................10Table 3: Mean percentage scores of Standard 3 learners by learningarea......................................................................................................13Table 4: Mean percentage scores by learning area and sex................16Table 5: Analysis of variance between Standard 3 boys and girls meanpercentage scores in all the learning areas.........................................17Table 6: Mean percentage scores of Standard 7 learners by subject...25Table 7: Mean percentage scores and standard deviations by subjectand sex.................................................................................................28Table 8: Analysis of variance between Standard 7 boys and girls meanpercentage scores in mathematics, Chichewa, English and life skills. .28

Table 9: Analysis of variance between learner-to-teacher ratio and theachievement of learners ......................................................................36Table 10: Parentteacher interaction in relation to achievement oflearners................................................................................................36Table 11: Analysis of variance between teacher-learner ratio and meanpercentage scores in English, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills. .40Table 12: Teacher absenteeism versus learners mean achievement inEnglish, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills....................................41Table 13: Teacher qualification in relation to learners achievement inEnglish, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills....................................41Table 14: Parentteacher communication in relation to learnersachievement in English, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills...........43Table 15: Mean percentage scores of Standard 3 learners with regardto speaking English outside school ......................................................44Table 16: Mean percentage scores of Standard 3 learners with regardto their mothers/female guardians level of education........................44Table 17: Mean percentage scores of Standard 3 learners with regardto their fathers/male guardians level of education.............................45Table 18: Correlation between household asset score and learnerpercent score.......................................................................................47Table 19: Mean percentage scores of Standard 7 learners with regardto speaking English outside school.......................................................49Table 20: Sources of lighting at home and achievement of Standard 7learners................................................................................................49Table 21: Mean percentage scores of Standard 7 learners with regardto their female guardians/mothers level of education .......................50Table 22: Mean percentage scores of Standard 7 learners with regardto their male guardians/fathers level of education.............................51Table 23: Correlation between household asset score and English,mathematics, Chichewa and life skills .................................................52

iv


5/74

Table 24: Mean percentage scores and homework assistance ...........53Table 25: Extra tuition in subjects versus achievement in the subject 53

LIST OF FIGURESFigure 1: Distribution of Standard 3 learners scores in numeracy andmathematics........................................................................................13Figure 2: Distribution of Standard 3 learners scores in Chichewa.......14Figure 3: Distribution of Standard 3 learners scores in English. .........14Figure 4: Distribution of standard 3 learners scores in life skills.........15Figure 5: Levels of achievement of Standard 3 learners in numeracy

and mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills.............................16Figure 6: Comparison of Standard 3 learners performance in all thelearning areas......................................................................................18Figure 7: Standard 3 learners achievement by location......................19Figure 8: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in numeracy and mathematics......................................20Figure 9: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in English ....................................................................21Figure 10: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in life skills education....................................................22Figure 11: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with different

competencies in Chichewa...................................................................23Figure 12: Levels of achievement of Standard 7 learners in numeracyand mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills.............................26Figure 13: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in English.........26Figure 14: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in mathematics.............................................................................................................26Figure 15: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in life skills.......27Figure 16: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in Chichewa.....27Figure 17: Standard 7 learners mean percentage scores by district andsubject..................................................................................................29Figure 18: Standard 7 learners achievement by location....................30

Figure 19: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in mathematics..............................................................31Figure 20: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in English.......................................................................32Figure 21: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in Chichewa...................................................................33Figure 22: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with differentcompetencies in life skills.....................................................................34

v


6/74

Figure 23: Mean percentage scores of learners with regard to learner-to- teacher ratio...................................................................................35Figure 24: School feeding programmes in relation to learnerachievement.........................................................................................38Figure 25: Standard 7 learner-to-teacher ratio versus learners meanpercentage scores................................................................................39

Figure 26: Presence of school feeding programme versus theachievement of learners in English, mathematics, Chichewa and lifeskills.....................................................................................................42Figure 27: Extra tuition in relation to Standard 3 learners performance.............................................................................................................48Figure 28: Areas Standard 3 teachers need most help .......................57Figure 29: Areas Standard 7 teachers need most help........................57

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CEED Central East Education DivisionCPD Continuing Professional DevelopmentCWED Central West Education DivisionDEM District Education ManagerDFID Department for International DevelopmentECD Early Childhood DevelopmentEFA Education for All

FPE Free Primary EducationIIEP International Institute for Educational PlanningJCE Junior Certificate of EducationLTR Learnerto-Teacher RatioMIE Malawi Institute of EducationMOE Ministry of EducationMoEST Ministry of Education, Science and TechnologyMSCE Malawi School Certificate of EducationNED Northern Education DivisionOBE Outcomes-Based EducationPCAR Primary Curriculum and Assessment ReformPEAs Primary Education AdvisorsSACMEQ Southern Africa Consortium for Monitoring EducationQualitySD Standard DeviationSEED South East Education DivisionSFP School Feeding ProgrammeSHED Shire Highlands Education DivisionSPSS Statistical Package for Social Scientists

vi


7/74

SWED South West Education DivisionUNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganizationVCR Video Cassette Recorder

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

IntroductionFollowing the conference on "Education for All", Malawi joined othernations of the world in declaring education a basic human right and

has accordingly enshrined its commitment in the country's constitution(MoEST, 2001). Further, the Malawi government is committed toenhancing the relevance and delivery of the primary curriculum(MoEST, 2008a). According to the Government of Malawi (2006),emphasis would be on equipping students, especially at primary schoollevel with basic knowledge and skills to enable them to function ascompetent and productive citizens; to provide the academic basis forgainful employment in the informal, private and public sectors; and toproduce a cadre of high quality professionals with relevant knowledge.

With this commitment, it is expected that there will be a substantial

reduction in absenteeism, repetition and dropout rates and an increasein the provision of high quality and relevant education at the primaryschool level (Government of Malawi 2006:5). The Malawi government istherefore implementing a number of reforms in order to improve thecurrent situation especially to increase access to and retention at alllevels , and improve the quality and the relevance of education(Government of Malawi: 2006:50)

vii


8/74

The Malawi government through the Ministry of Education, Science andTechnology (MoEST) introduced the new primary school curriculum inall primary schools starting with Standard one in 2007. This is in linewith the policy requirement that the primary school curriculum bereviewed after every 8 years (Livuza, 2007). The new curriculumreplaces the one which was introduced in 1991, more than 8 years

ago. In January 2009, the Ministry of Education introduced thecurriculum in Standards 3 and 7.

The new curriculum aims at addressing the social, economic andpolitical changes as well as other issues that have emerged since1991.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess Standards 3 and 7learners achievement levels in mathematics, Chichewa, English andlife skills in Malawi at the beginning of their being exposed to the newcurriculum in the two classes.

The objectives of the study were to:

establish the benchmarks of Standards 3 and 7 learnersachievement in mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills

show the areas of learners weaknesses and strengths in eachsubject

compare the performance of learners in schools by type, sex andlocation

explore family and home characteristics that are associated withlearner achievement in each subject

find out the impact of school factors on learners achievement

The study was carried out in 12 districts selected from all the sixeducational divisions of the country. Five schools were selected fromeach district to form part of the sample for this study. At each school,10 learners (5 boys and 5 girls) from eachStandard (ie 3 and 7) were selected randomly to participate in thestudy. Sixty (60) headteachers or their deputies and 60 class teachersof Standard 3 and 7 of the schools visited, formed part of the sample.The data was collected through tests and questionnaires. The testsshowed student performance at that time in mathematics, English,

Chichewa and life skills. Through the questionnaires, learners providedinformation pertaining to the availability of resources and facilities thatcan enhance student learning, in their homes and at the school. On theother hand the headteacher and teacher questionnaires providedinformation on the experiences of teachers and the challenges theyface as they implement the new curriculum.

Major findingsStandard 3 learners achievement levels

viii


9/74

In general standard 3 learners performed relatively better innumeracy and mathematics (with a mean of 24.76%) than in theother learning areas. Learners performance was lowest in English(with a mean of 5.79)

Standard 3 girls performed relatively better in English (with amean of 6.43%), Chichewa (mean 11.65%) and life skills (mean

7.05%) than boys. On the other hand, boys performed fairly betterin numeracy and mathematics (mean 26.74%) than girls (mean22.77%). However, analysis of the variances indicates that thedifferences in achievement levels between Standard 3 boys andgirls are insignificant in all the subjects tested except in numeracyand mathematics where (= 05, p=.000) in which boys performedbetter than girls.

Standard 3 learners from urban areas performed relativelybetter than those from rural areas across the board.

Only a few Standard 3 learners were able to display mastery

of the content areas that were assessed during the study. This wasbecause either they had not mastered the content they werelearning or they had not yet covered the work by the time the studywas being conducted.

Standard 7 learners achievement levelsThe findings indicate that standard 7 learners mean percentage scorein Chichewa (39.80%) was higher than that in English (14.87%) andmathematics (14.76%). The lowest mean percentage score was in lifeskills (10.47%).

Standard 7 boys did better than girls in mathematics, life skills

and English while girls did slightly better than boys in Chichewa.Analysis of the variances indicates there are no significantdifferences in achievement between boys and girls in Chichewa, lifeskills, and English. The difference in achievement was onlysignificant in mathematics between the two sexes.

Standard 7 learners from Lilongwe city and Blantyre cityperformed better than learners from the other districts in all thefour subjects. Standard 7 learners from Zomba rural were thelowest in all the four tests. This shows that learners from urbanlocations had higher mean percentage scores in Standard 7 thanthose from rural locations.

Most Standard 7 learners were not able to display competence inmost of the content areas for the subjects that were studied.

Impact of school factors on learners achievementThe study investigated the impact of some school factors on learnersachievement. It looked at learner-to-teacher ratio (LTR), parent

ix


10/74

teacher interaction, school feeding programme (SFP), teacherabsenteeism and teacher academic qualifications.

The results show that learners in classes with LTR less than 60, whoseparents interact more with teachers, whose teachers never absentthemselves from work and those whose teachers had higher academic

qualifications scored higher mean scores. The results also showed thatSFP may have had little impact on learners achievement in Standard7.

Impact of home factors on learners achievementThe study also investigated the impact of some home factors onlearners achievement. The home factors studied included speakingEnglish outside school, parents or guardians level of education,sources of lighting at home, household assets, extra tuition andassistance in home work.

The results show that learners who speak English at home, whoseparents have high academic qualifications, have more householdassets, have good source of lighting and get assisted with homeworkscored higher mean scores than those without these factors. It alsorevealed that extra tuition had significant impact on the learningachievement of Standard 3 learners.

x


11/74

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

1.1 Background

At the Regional Conference on Education for All for Sub-Saharan Africa,

Ministers of Education, representatives of civil society and internationaldevelopment agencies pointed out that:Only a small proportion of children are reaching theminimum required competencies and our educationsystems are not performing to the standards we expect ofthem; and that there is need to improve the quality andrelevance of education. We will review and redesigncurricula and teaching methods accordingly to make themrelevant to the cultural environment and to theeducational, psychological and socio-economic needs ofthe children; pay special attention to the life skills needed

for coping with such problems as the HIV/AIDS pandemic,children with special needs, people in areas of chronicconflicts and the abuse of drugs (UNESCO 2000: 28).

Following the conference on Education for All, Malawi joined othernations of the world in declaring education a basic human right andhas accordingly enshrined its commitment in the country's constitution(MoEST, 2001). Further, the Malawi government is committed toenhancing the relevance and delivery of the primary curriculum(MoEST, 2008a). According to the Government of Malawi (2006),emphasis would be on equipping students, especially at primary school

level with basic knowledge and skills to enable them to function ascompetent and productive citizens; to provide the academic basis forgainful employment in informal, private and public sectors; and toproduce high quality professionals with relevant knowledge.

Considering this commitment of the government, it is expected thatthere will be a substantial reduction in absenteeism, repetition anddropout rates and an increase in the provision of high quality andrelevant education at the primary school level (Government of Malawi2006:5). The Malawi government is therefore implementing a numberof reforms in order to improve the current situation, especially to

increase access and retention at all levels , and improve the qualityand the relevance of the education being provided (Government ofMalawi: 2006:50).

The Malawi government through the Ministry of Education Science andTechnology (MoEST) introduced a new primary school curriculum in allprimary schools starting with Standard 1 in 2007. This is in line withthe policy requirement that the primary school curriculum be reviewed

1


12/74

after every 8 years (Livuza, 2007). The new curriculum replaces theone which was introduced in 1991, more than 8 years ago.

The new curriculum aims at addressing the social, economic andpolitical changes as well as other issues that have emerged since1991.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The rollout of the new curriculum is following a phased approach. Itstarted with Standard 1 in 2007; followed by Standards 2, 5 and 6 in2008. In 2009, Standards 3 and 7 were introduced. It is the expectationof the Ministry that once all quality inputs are in place, the curriculumwill enhance pupils' learning, thereby making the whole system moreeffective (Livuza, 2007). It is, however, difficult to determine whetherlearning has been enhanced if the status quo is not known. This studyhas therefore been designed to establish initial learners knowledge

against which the effects of the implemented curriculum will becompared.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The primary purpose of this study is to assess Standards 3 and 7learners achievement levels in mathematics, Chichewa, English andlife skills in Malawi at the beginning of their being exposed to the newcurriculum in the two classes.

1.4 Objectives of the studySpecifically, the objectives of the study were to:

establish the benchmarks of Standards 3 and 7 learnersachievement in mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills

show the areas of learners weaknesses and strengths in eachsubject

compare the performance of learners in schools by type, sex andlocations

explore family and home characteristics that are associated withlearner achievement in each subject

1.5 Rationale of the study

The purpose of a baseline study is to provide an information baseagainst which to monitor and assess an activitys progress andeffectiveness during implementation and after the activity iscompleted (Government of Australia, 2005). This study will thereforeassist in providing an information base against which the progress andimplementation of the new curriculum will be monitored. Theinformation gathered during this study will be compared with thatwhich will be obtained at the end of the 2009 academic year. Theseresults will enable curriculum implementers, policy makers and other

2


13/74

stakeholders to make informed decisions aimed at improving thequality of education in Malawi.

CHAPTER 2 Literature review

2.1 IntroductionAssessment of learners achievement has been an integral part of theteaching and learning process. National and international assessmentshave become popular tools for determining the quality of education.Further, several studies have been conducted on the same both atnational and international levels.

Kellaghan and Greaney (2001: 30) observed that the increase in thepopularity of national and international assessments reflects twoimportant developments. First, it reflects increasing globalization and

interest in global mandates, including Education for All. Second, itrepresents an overall shift in emphasis in assessing the quality ofeducation from a concern with inputs (such as student participationrates, physical facilities, curriculum materials, and teacher training) toa concern with outcomes (such as the knowledge and skills thatstudents have acquired as a result of their exposure to schooling).

This chapter presents a brief review of work on assessment of learningachievement, factors that affect learner achievement and studies onlearner achievement that have been carried out in and outside Malawi.

2.2 Assessment of learning achievementThere are several reasons why assessment of learning achievement iscarried out. These include: to monitor progress, to guide instruction, topromote learners to the next class, to provide system accountabilityand inform stakeholders such as learners, teachers and parents oflearning progress.

3


14/74

The need for assessment of learning achievement has also beenhighlighted by Article 4 of the Jomtien Declaration which states thatthe focus of basic education should be on actual learning acquisitionand outcome, rather than exclusively upon enrolment, continuedparticipation in organized programmes and completion of certificationrequirements (UNESCO,1990: 5). More recently, the Dakar

Framework for Action (UNESCO, 2000), which was produced at the endof the 10-year follow-up to Jomtien, again highlighted the importanceof learning outcomes. Among its list of seven agreed goals was toimprove:

all aspects of the quality of education ... so thatrecognised and measurable outcomes are achieved by all,especially in literacy, numeracy, and essential life skills by2015 (UNESCO, 2000: iv, 7).

UNESCO (2007) also observes that the best way to measure progresstowards the goal of quality education would be to assess how well

learners achieve learning outcomes, what the learning environment islike and how well the learning process is managed. Assessment oflearning achievement helps to establish the knowledge, skills, attitudesand values the learners have gained after a period of instruction. Thiscan be done at primary or secondary level of education and atclassroom, national or international level through the use ofassessment tools such as achievement tests.

Malawi, like many countries, has tried hard to make basic educationaccessible to all. The introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE) in1994 was a step toward achieving education for all. However, in

achieving education for all there are other aspects in education thatwere neglected such as quality of education at all levels. This resultedin learners achievement becoming unacceptably low, teachers andlearners absenteeism was a common practice, very high teacher-to-learner ratio, (in some cases up to 1:200), high numbers of unqualifiedteachers and poor teaching and learning environments. This is not inline with the Jomtien Declaration, Article 4 which states that the focuson basic education should be on learning outcomes rather thanexclusively on enrolment.

According to Greaney and Kellaghan (2008), for countries pledging toachieve the goals of Education for All (EFA), efforts to enhance thequality of education will have to be accompanied by procedures thatwill provide information on students learning.Assessment at national level provides data for a national educationaudit carried out to inform policy makers about the key aspects of thesystem. In addition to administration of achievement tests,headteachers, teachers and learners may be asked to providebackground information, usually through questionnaires, which, when

4


15/74

related to student achievement, can provide insights about howachievement is related to factors such as household characteristics,levels of teacher training, teachers attitudes toward curriculum areas,teacher knowledge, and availability of teaching and learning materials(Greaney and Kellaghan, 2008).

2.3 Factors affecting learner achievementThe available evidence indicates that generally the quality of learningoutcomes in Malawian primary schools is poor. Greaney and Kellaghan(2008) indicate that lack of systematic monitoring of learningoutcomes through conducting regular assessment of learnerachievement makes it difficult to gauge the overall levels of learnerachievement, to assess the relative performance of particular sub-groups, and to monitor changes in performance over time. It alsomakes it difficult to determine the effectiveness of government policiesdesigned to improve outcomes in these and other areas.

Aijaz (2001) observes that there are several reasons that can beassociated with poor learner achievement. These can be categorizedinto school, teacher and learner-related factors. School related factorsinclude the absence of school libraries, over-crowded classrooms, poorphysical facilities, absence of teaching and learning, absence ofassessment, lack of parent-teacher communication, infrequentsupervision, a curriculum that is too heavy and difficult, level ofdifficulty of textbooks, absence of teaching and learning resources,lack of provision of remedial teaching, poor school administration anduse of national rather than local language (Aijaz, 2001).

According to Aijaz (2001), teacher-related factors include teachersattendance irregularity, late coming of teachers, low teacherqualifications, inappropriate teaching methods, non-completion ofcourses of study, lack of facility for professional development, lack offacilities for improving methodology and heavy teaching loads.Finally, Aijaz (2001) observes that learner related factors include lackof parents bothering about their childrens education, lack of guidanceat home, learners failure to respond to teaching, time lost incommuting to and from school, learners failure to bring writingmaterials to school, lack of cooperation of parents and lack of

motivation due to a dull school environment.

2.4 Learner achievement studies carried out outsideand inside Malawi

There have been several studies on learner achievement. According toJohnson, Hayter and Broadfoot (2000), most of these studies collectdata on student achievement based on standardised achievement

5


16/74

tests which tend to focus on the acquisition of traditional knowledgeand skills. Examples of student achievement studies that have beencarried out in different countries in Africa are:

IIEP Primary School Quality Study- which was carried out inZimbabwe in 1980

Namibia National Learner Baseline Assessment The Botswana Junior School Study

World Bank Project Designs and the Quality of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

How schools improve- which was carried out in Ethiopia

Profiles of learning in South Africa (Johnson et al, 2000)These and many other studies on learner achievement had one maingoal of collecting learners achievement scores which was to informstakeholders of the quality of education that was being offered in therespective countries and regions.

In Malawi, like in other countries, several learner achievement studieshave also been conducted. These include the Southern AfricaConsortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ ) studies in2001 and 2005, the Monitoring Learner Achievement studies in 1994and 2005, Assessing Learner Achievement studies in 2005 and 2008and PCAR Baseline study for Standard 1 in 2006. These studies aresummarised as follows:

2.4.1. SACMEQ studiesEmerging evidence from the Malawi SACMEQ studies (Milner,

Chimombo, Banda and Mchikoma, 2001; and Chimombo, Kunje,Chimuzu, and Mchikoma, 2005) indicate that it is easier to achievereforms which secure increased access to schooling than it is toenhance robust improvements in schooling quality. This was due to theincrease in the enrolment of learners in schools as opposed to thedecrease in their achievement. Several initiatives were done toincrease the accessibility of basic education in Malawi such as the FreePrimary Education. However, Malawi needs to move towards higherlearner achievement. The SACMEQ studies suggested that the poorlearning conditions and the consequent deterioration in quality shouldbe of major concern to planners and policy makers in Malawi. The

results from the studies confirmed the extent to which the poorlearning conditions were impacting the achievement levels of learners.

2.4.2 Assessing learner achievement in English, mathematics,Chichewa and science in Malawian primary schools inStandards 3, 5 and 7.This study was carried out to assess learners achievement inmathematics, English, Chichewa and science in Standards 3, 5 and 7.

6


17/74

The study was carried out by Kishindo, Susuwele, Ndalama and Mwalein 2005 and revealed that:

In all the four subjects, less than 10 per cent of learners wereadequately prepared for the higher Standard into which they werepromoted

Learner achievement was highest in Chichewa followed by

mathematics, English and then science Urban districts achieved higher scores in most of the points ofcomparison than rural schools

Female learners seemed to achieve relatively higher meanscores in the languages especially in Standards 3 and 5 and startedto achieve lower scores in Standard 7

There was no significant difference in achievement betweenlearners in small and large schools.

Learners in private schools achieved relatively higher grades inall the subjects than those in public schools.

2.4.3 PCAR Standard 1 baseline studyThis study which was carried out by Chimombo, Mwale and Ndalama(2006) revealed that the performance of Standard 1 learners wasbelow average in both basic literacy (ie Chichewa and English) andbasic numeracy. Most learners did not achieve the required basicliteracy and numeracy skills by the end of their Standard 1. The worstachievement levels were in basic literacy where learners achievedmean marks of 2.97 and 2.76 in English and Chichewa respectively,more than 7 points less than the expected mean of 10. This wasevidence that most Standard 1 learners could not read and write

simple words and sentences at the end of their first year in school.Some of the learners could not copy given words and let alone writetheir names. It was observed that there were many challengesaffecting Standard 1 learners in rural areas as compared to those fromurban areas. Apart from hunger, learners from rural areas face thechallenges of long distances to and from school, inability to understandthe language of instruction and poverty. Further, the poor teaching andlearning conditions in most schools were contributing to an associatedlow level of learner achievement. Overall, the results demonstrate thechallenges faced by Malawi in providing learners with high qualityeducation.

2.4.4. Monitoring learner achievement in lower primary schoolThis study was carried out by the Ministry of Education in 2005. Thestudy assessed Standard 4 learners achievement in English,Chichewa, mathematics and life skills.The results of the study showed that the mean score for life skills wasthe highest at 72.13%, followed by Chichewa at 48.69%, English at42.22% and mathematics at 36.54%. The lower means in English and

7


18/74

mathematics were attributed to the learners poor reading skills inEnglish.

2.4.5 Assessing learner achievement in English, chichewa andmathematics in Standards 2 and 5This study was carried out by MIE (2008). The results showed that

Standard 2 learners scored mean percentages of 58.4% in numeracyand mathematics, 9.5% in English and 26% in Chichewa. Standard 5learners scored 54.88% in Chichewa, 28.27% in English and 26.63% inmathematics. The study also revealed that most Standard 2 learnerswere unable to display reading and writing skills both in English andChichewa.

These and other studies carried out in Malawi reveal the challengesfaced by the country in providing learners with high quality education.

CHAPTER 3 Methodology

3.1 Introduction

This chapter presents all the steps that were followed to undertake thebaseline study to assess the learners achievement in English,mathematics, Chichewa and life skills in Standards 3 and 7 in primaryschools in Malawi. It looks at the research approach, the developmentof test items, validation of tests, sampling and data analysis. It alsooutlines the limitations of the study.

3.2 Research approach

The study was designed in such a way that quantitative data werecollected from 1, 200 Standards 3 and 7 learners drawn from primaryschools throughout the country. Six hundred learners were selectedfrom each Standard. Half of these were girls. Sixty schools from 12educational districts participated in the study. Learners achievementscores in Chichewa, English, mathematics and life skills tests providedquantitative data.

Qualitative data were collected from 60 Standard 3 teachers, 60

Standard 7 teachers and 60 head teachers through questionnaires. Theparticipants provided information onthe availability of resources and facilities at the school, andheadteachers and teachers school and classroom experiences, andthe challenges they faced while implementing the PCAR curriculum.

8


19/74

3.3 Development of test items and validation

Learners were required to sit for tests in four subjects or learning areas(English, Chichewa, mathematics and life skills). To come up with thesetests, MIE collaborated with practising Standards 3 and 7 teachers fromtwo primary schools to individually set the test papers. The tests fromthe two schools were merged to form one test paper per subject/learning area. The merged papers were given to subject specialists atMIE and practising teachers for review and validation in a workshopmode in order to select test items.

3.4 Sampling

This was a national study with national interest. To make the samplerepresentative, the baseline study covered all the six educationaldivisions in the country. A total of 12 districts were selected for thestudy. Table 1 below gives an indication of the districts selected for thestudy and the justification for their selection.

Table 1: Sampled districts

Division District(s) Reason

NED Karonga Mzimba South

Nkhata Bay

NED is the largest division in thecountry. It has 8 educational districts.It has 8 educational districts. Threedistricts were selected for the studyto cater for differences ingeographical profiles within thedivision.

CEED Salima

Dowa

CEED has 5 educational districts. Twodistricts were selected for the studyto represent the other districts in thedivision. Geographically, Salima is

off-shore just like Nkhotakota andDowa, Ntchisi and Kasungu areupland.

CWED Lilongwe City

Dedza

CWED has 6 educational districts.Two districts were selected for thestudy. Lilongwe city was selectedbecause of its economical profilewhile Dedza was selected to

9


20/74

represent the remaining districts inthe division, which are probablysimilar to Dedza geographically.

SEED Balaka

Zomba rural

SEED has 5 educational districts.Balaka and Zomba rural wereselected for this study to represent

the other districts.SWED Blantyre city

Mwanza

SWED has 6 educational districts.Blantyre city was selected because ofits economical profile. Mwanza wasselected to represent the remainingdistricts in the division, which areprobably similar to it geographicallyand economically

SHED Thyolo SHED is the smallest educationaldivision with 4 educational districts.Thyolo shares the similargeographical and economical profileswith the other districts in the division.

Five schools were selected from each district to form part of thesample for this study. At each school, 10 learners (5 boys and 5 girls)from each Standard (ie 3 and 7) were selected randomly to participatein the study. Sixty (60) headteachers or their deputies and 60 classteachers from each Standard of the schools visited formed part of thesample.

To make the sample more representative, the study considered schooland learner factors such as urban and rural location, large and smallschools, public and private schools.Drawing from a national school population, 60 schools were sampled.There were at least 50 rural and 10 urban schools. Fifty eight (58)schools were public while two (2) were private. In addition, it wasplanned that 20 schools were to be large and 40 schools were to besmall. However, it was difficult to find the required number of smallschools in some districts. Hence, more large schools were sampled asshown in Table 2 below.

In this study, a large school was any school that had more than 800learners, whereas a small school was any that had less than 800learners. Table 2 shows the characteristics of the proposed sampleschools by district.

Table 2: Characteristics of schools sampled in a district

10


21/74

Division District Types and No.of schoolssampled

Sizes ofschoolssampled

Northern Karonga 5 publicRural

2 large3 small

Mzimba South 5 public

Rural

2 large

3 smallNkhata Bay 5 public

Rural1 large4 small

Central East Salima 5 public rural 2 large3 small

Dowa 5 public rural 2 large3 small

Central West Lilongwe Urban 4 public urban1 private urban

4 large1 small

Dedza 5 public rural 2 large3 small

South East Balaka 5 public rural 2 large3 small

Zomba Rural 5 public rural 0 large5 small

South West Blantyre Urban 4 public urban1 private urban

4 large1 small

Mwanza 5 public rural 1 large4 small

Shire Highlands Thyolo 5 public rural 2 large3 small

3.5 Data collection

Data collection involved four teams. Each team comprised tworesearch officers and two research assistants. The team of researchassistants was composed of retired primary school teachers. Itcomprised 3 females and 5 males. Each team visited 15 schools; ie 5schools in each district. Each team was visiting one school per day. Ateach school, 10 learners were randomly selected from each Standard(ie 3 and 7). Out of the 10 learners, 5 were male and 5 were female.

After taking the 4 tests each learner was interviewed in order todetermine whether home factors and school factors might haveinfluenced their performance. The headteachers of the selectedprimary schools were asked to complete a questionnaire. One classteacher for Standards 3 and one for Standard 7 were also asked tocomplete a questionnaire.

11


22/74

3.6 Data analysis

Data on learner achievement were entered and analysed usingStatistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The mean scores by thevarious groups of learners were indications of their performance.Qualitative data were analysed by categorising the data into commonthemes.

3.7 Limitations of the study

The reliability and validity of the results of this study may have beenaffected by some factors such as:

3.7.1 Timing of the studyAll things being equal, this study, being a baseline study, should havebeen conducted at the beginning of the academic year (January 2009).Unfortunately due to funding delays, the study took place at a timewhen the learners had already been exposed to the PCAR materials.

3.7.2 Conflicting enrolment statisticsIn this study, it was difficult to work according to the proposed sample.This was because of variations in the enrolment statistics provided bythe District Education Managers offices and the actual enrolments inthe schools. In most cases what the DEMs office released to theresearchers as small schools turned out to be large schools. Instead ofhaving 40 small schools and 20 large schools from the sampleddistricts, it was only possible to find 31 small schools and 29 largeschools. In some districts it was difficult to find small schools.

CHAPTER 4 Findings

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the findings of the study under four sections. Thefirst section presents the achievement levels of Standard 3 learners innumeracy and mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills. This isfollowed by a section on achievement levels of Standard 7 learners inmathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills. The third section is onthe impact of home factors on learners achievement while the last

section presents teachers and headteachers views on theimplementation of PCAR.

4.2 Achievement of Standard 3 learners

4.2.1Overall Standard 3 learners achievement by subjectThe study collected achievement data from 600 Standard 3 learners innumeracy and mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills. Table 3

12


23/74

below presents the mean percentage scores for the learners innumeracy and mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills.

Table 3: Mean percentage scores of Standard 3 learners by learningarea

Learning area

Meanpercenta

gescores SD

Numeracy andmathematics 24.76 14.58English 5.79 10.49Chichewa 11.28 16.91Life skills 6.88 15.52

Table 3 above indicates that Standard 3 learners performed relativelybetter in numeracy and mathematics (mean 24.76%) than in the otherlearning areas. The learners performance was lowest in English (mean5.79%).

The high standard deviations show that the learners scores werewidely dispersed, and that most learners did not do well in the tests.This can also be observed from figures 14 below.

0 3 5 8 10

13

15

18

20

23

25

28

30

33

35

38

40

43

45

48

50

53

55

59

61

65

68

70

75

NumeracyandMathematicsscores

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

Percentage

oflear

Figure 1: Distribution of Standard 3 learners scores in numeracy and

mathematics.

Figure 1 above shows the performance of learners in numeracy andmathematics. Their scores ranged from 0 to 78%, with most learnersscoring 20% followed by 28%. More than 2% of the learners scored 0%.

13


24/74

0 4 8 12

16

20

24

28

32

36

40

44

48

52

56

60

64

68

72

78

Chichewascores

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

Percentag

e

oflearners

Figure 2: Distribution of Standard 3 learners scores in Chichewa.Figure 2 above shows that the performance of learners in Chichewaranged from 0 to 78%. About 43% of the learners scored 0%.

0 2 4 6 8 10

12

14

18

20

22

25

28

30

32

34

36

39

42

48

52

63

78

Englishscores

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

Percentage

oflearners

Figure 3: Distribution of Standard 3 learners scores in English.

Figure 3 above shows that the performance of learners in Englishranged from 0 to 78%, with 44% of them scoring 0%.

14


25/74

0 4 8 12

16

20

24

28

32

36

40

44

48

52

56

60

64

68

72

Life skills scores

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Percentage

oflearners

Figure 4: Distribution of standard 3 learners scores in life skills.

Figure 4 above shows that the performance of learners in life skillsranged from 0 to 84%, with 65% of the learners scoring 0%.

The figures 14 above are generally positively skewed indicating that

a high percentage of the learners did not do well in the tests. This canalso be observed from figure 5 below which presents the findings onthe learners performance with regard to PCAR achievement levels.

15


26/74

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percentageoflearners

Numeracy and

mathematics

85.31 12.35 2.34 0.00

English 98.17 1.33 0.50 0.00

Chichewa 90.00 7.33 2.67 0.00

Life skills 93.00 4.50 2.33 0.17

Not achieved Partially achieved Achieved Excellent

Figure 5: Levels of achievement of Standard 3 learners in numeracy

and mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills.

PCAR has established 4 benchmarks as indicators of learnerachievement in all its learning areas and subjects. These are; 0-39%not achieved, 40-59%, partially achieved, 60-79% achieved and 80-100% excellent achievement. Therefore, figure 5 above shows thatmost learners did not achieve the required minimum level ofknowledge and skills in English, numeracy and mathematics, Chichewaand life skills during the time of data collection. None of the learnersreached the level of excellent achievement in the four learning areasexcept in life skills. The percentages of learners in the Not achieved

category were 85% in numeracy and mathematics, 90% in Chichewa,93% in life skills, and 98% in English.

4.2.2Standard 3 learners achievement by sexThe data were also analysed to find out the differences between thelearning achievements of boys and girls. Table 4 below presents thefindings.Table 4: Mean percentage scores by learning area and sex

16


27/74

Learning areaBoys Girls

Mean SD Mean SDNumeracy andmathematics 26.74 14.90 22.77 13.99English 5.15 9.06 6.43 11.72

Chichewa 10.91 16.74 11.65 17.10Life skills 6.71 15.75 7.05 15.30

It can be observed from Table 4 above that girls performed relativelybetter in English (mean 6.43%), Chichewa (mean 11.65%) and lifeskills (mean 7.05%) than boys. On the other hand, boys performedfairly better in numeracy and mathematics (mean 26.74) than girls(mean 22.77%).

Analysis of variance was done to find out if the observed differenceswere statistically significant. Table 5 below presents the findings.

Table 5: Analysis of variance between Standard 3 boys and girlsmean percentage scores in all the learning areas

Sum ofsquares df

Meansquare F Sig.

Numeracyand

mathematics

BetweenGroups 2365.08 1.00 2365.08

11.32 0.00

Within

Groups 124702.95

597.0

0 208.88

Total 127068.02598.0

0

English

BetweenGroups 247.04 1.00 247.04 2.25 0.13WithinGroups 65647.08

598.00 109.78

Total 65894.12599.0

0

Chichewa

BetweenGroups 83.63 1.00 83.63 0.29 0.59

WithinGroups 171181.33

598.00 286.26

Total 171264.96599.0

0Life skills Between

Groups 17.34 1.00 17.34 0.07 0.79WithinGroups

144229.53 598.00

241.19

17


28/74

Total 144246.87599.0

0

Table 5 above indicates that the observed differences in girls andboys performance are statistically not significant except in numeracyand mathematics ( = .05, p = .000) where boys performance was

better than that of girls. Further analysis indicates that though theobserved difference in numeracy and mathematics is significant, sexhas no significant effect on learners performance (eta squared = .19).

4.2.3Standard 3 learners achievement by locationStandard 3 learners achievements were also analysed by location.Figures 6 and 7 below present the findings.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Meanpercentagescores

Numeracy and Mathematics 24.32 24.38 23.28 20.83 29.1 33.65 26.93 21.85 25.15 22.05 21.43 24.15

English 5.3 5.7 6.18 3.86 3.06 17.78 7.68 3.86 4.24 5.76 3.9 2.22

Chichewa 10.1 7.95 9.96 6.32 10.56 26.08 19.56 12.32 10.32 9.6 7.72 4.44

Life skills 1.7 2.6 3 4.84 5.04 20.32 12.32 6.8 6.88 5.8 10.32 3.08

KarongaMzimba

South

Nkhata

BaySalima Dowa

Lilongwe

CityDedza Balaka

Zomba

Rural

Blantyre

CityMwanza Thyolo

Figure 6: Comparison of Standard 3 learners performance in all thelearning areas

Figure 6 above shows that Standard 3 learners from Lilongwe cityperformed relatively better in all the learning areas than learners fromthe other districts. Their mean percentage scores in numeracy andmathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills were 33.65%, 17.78%,26.08% and 20.32% respectively. Learners from Salima had the lowestmean percentage score in numeracy and mathematics. Lowest meanpercentage scores in Chichewa and English were recorded in Thyolo.

18


29/74

The lowest mean percentage score in life skills was recorded inKaronga.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


Rural 24 5 10 6

Urban 28 12 18 13

Numeracy and

mathematicsEnglish Chichew a Life skills

Figure 7: Standard 3 learners achievement by location

Figure 7 above shows that Standard 3 learners from urban areasperformed significantly better than those from the rural areas acrossthe board.

4.2.4Basic Standard 3 skills in numeracy and mathematics,Chichewa, English and life skills

The school and the supporting systems are all established for thepurpose of facilitating learning among learners. However, in the past,many people have been expressing concern with the level of skillsdemonstrated by most of the learners in our schools. OBE is based onthe principle that if the teaching-learning process is organizedproperly; all learners will learn what is taught. In an attempt to assessthe efficiency of the teaching and learning process in Standard 3, datawere collected to find out Standard 3 learners skills in differentlearning areas. Figures 811 below present the findings on Standard 3learners competencies in numeracy and mathematics, English,Chichewa and life skills.

19


30/74

20


31/74

0

10

20

3040

50

60

70

80

90

Writing

numbers

incorrectord

er

Completing

missingnumbers

Writing

numbers

inascendingorde

r

Writing

numbers

indescending

order

Addingnumberswithoutre-grouping

Addingnumberswithre-grouping

Subtr

acting

numbers

with

outre-grou

ping

Subtr

acting

numbers

with

re-grouping

Showing

fractions

Dividing

numbers

by2

Dividing

numbers

by5usinglon

gdivision

Wordproble

msondivisio

nofnumbers

Multiplyin

gnumber

swith

outre-grou

ping

Multiplyin

gnumber

swith

re-grouping

Addingm

oneyho

rizontallyw

ithoutre-grou

ping

Addingm

oneywithre-grouping

Subtr

acting

money

verticallyw

ithoutre-grou

ping

Tellin

gtime

Mentioning

month

oftheyear

Workin

goutaproble

moncapacity

Comparingmassesofobje

cts

Matching

objec

tsaccordingtoshap

es

Answeringquestion

sona

graph

Competencies

%Learners

Figure 8: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with different competencies in numeracy andmathematics

Figure 8 above shows that most learners responded correctly to test items on addition of numbers without re-grouping (81%), writing numbers in correct order (73%), subtraction of numbers without re-grouping (59%).Very few learners were able to complete missing numbers in descending order in intervals of two, write

20


32/74

numbers in descending order, solve word problems on division, and add, subtract and multiply numbers withre-grouping.

0

2

4

6

810

12

14

16

18

Completing

adialo

gue

Using

capitalle

tterswhere

required

Matching

aword

with

anopposite

word

Copyingand

writingwords

correctly

Arrangingw

ordsofthealph

abet

Solvin

griddles

Copyingand

completing

words

Writing

plural

formsofwords

Forming

opposite

word

susing'un'

Changingsentences

intofuture

tense

Underlining

names

Changingverbsintopasttense

Underlining

adjective

s

Using

'a','an'an

d'the'co

rrectly

Completing

asentencewithasuitablew

ord

Underlining

adverbs

Makin

gsentences

Competencies

%Learner

Figure 9: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with different competencies in English

Figure 9 above shows the percentage of Standard 3 learners who were able to perform differentcompetencies in English. The learners were assessed in 17 different skills and concepts. It can be observedthat 17% of the learners were able to copy and write words correctly and only 13% were able to complete adialogue and match a word with its opposite. However, less than 10% of the learners showed competency ineach of the remaining 17 skills and concepts they were assessed on.

21


33/74

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Kuthetsa

mika

ngano

mwamtend

ere

Kuzindikir

aubwino

okonzadongo

solo

Kuzindikira

mapewedwea

matenda

Kuzindikira

zotsatirazazilak

olako

zoyipa

Kudziwa

mitunduyazakudya

Kudziwa

ntchito

yazakudyam'thupi

Kudziwa

malo

opezeka

madzi

Kudziwa

masamalidwe

amadziakumw

a

Kufotokoza

momwe

edziimafalikir

a

Kutchula

matendaobwerachifuk

wachaedzi

Kudziwa

ubalewa

m'ba

nja

Kudziwa

zimene

zimawonongaubale

m'ba

nja

Kudziwazizin

dikiro

zosonyezakug

wiririd

wa

Kudziwa

nkhaw

a

Kudziwam

avutoobwerachifuk

wachankha

wa

Kudziwa

makhalidwe

oyenera

pasukulu

Kudziwa

makhalidwe

osayenerapasukulu

Kudziwa

mavutoachiny

amata

Kupangachisankho

Kudziwaz

otsatirazaku

tengerakhalidw

eloyipa

Competecies

%Lea

rner

Figure 10: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with different competencies in life skills education

Figure 10 above shows the performance of learners who were able to perform different competencies in lifeskills. In total, there were 20 skills and concepts that learners were assessed on. Sixteen percent (16%) of thelearners performed well on kudziwa mitundu ya zakudya (identifying groups of foods) and 14% performed

22


34/74

well on kuzindikira kapewedwe ka matenda (identifying ways of preventing diseases). Twelve percent(12%) of the learners performed well on kuthetsa mikangano mwamtendere (resolving conflicts peacefully)and 10% performed well on kudziwa malo opezeka madzi (identifying sources of water) and kudziwakasamalidwe ka madzi akumwa (identify ways of caring for drinking water). However, less than 10% of thelearners showed competencies in each of the remaining 15 skills and concepts they were assessed on.

0

5

10

15

20

25

Kuper

ekamaw

uofan

anam

'matan

thawu

zo

Kuper

ekamatant

hauzo

azila

pi

Kulem

bamo

yenera

Kuper

ekamaw

uotsu

tsanam

'matan

thawu

zo

Kulem

bama

lembo

aakulum'm

alooy

enera

K

upanga

zigani

zo

Kulem

bazizind

ikirozam

'kalem

bedwe

Kusan

jaziga

nizo

Kusankh

amaw

uoyen

era

Kuzi

ndikir

amayi

na

Kutsir

izamawu

ndim

aphat

ikizo

Kuzin

dikira

mawoneke

dwea

zinthu

Kulem

bakal

ata

Competencies

%L

earners

Figure 11: Percentage of Standard 3 learners equipped with different competencies in Chichewa

23


35/74

Figure 11 above shows the percentage of Standard 3 learners competent in different skills in Chichewa. Thelearners were assessed on 13 different skills and concepts in Chichewa. Only 22% of the learners performedwell on kusankha mawu oyenera. Twenty percent (20%) were able to kupereka matanthawuzo a zilapi.Less than 20% of the learners showed competencies in the rest of the skills and concepts they were assessedon.

24


36/74

4.3 Achievement of Standard 7 learners

4.3.1Overall Standard 7 learners achievement by subjectThe study involved administering tests in mathematics, English,Chichewa and life skills to 600 Standard 7 learners. Table 6 belowpresents their mean percentage scores.Table 6: Mean percentage scores of Standard 7 learners by subject

Subjects Mean SD

English 14.87 13.31Mathematics 14.76 10.86

Chichewa 39.80 18.51

Life skills 10.47 14.07

It can be observed from table 6 above that learners generallyperformed poorly in three subjects ie English (14.87%), mathematics(14.76%) and life skills 10.47%). The worst results being in life skills(mean = 10.47%). The high standard deviations observed (more than20% of the mean in all the subjects) show that the scores were widelydispersed.

4.3.2Comparing Standard 7 learners performance by subjectThe study also analysed Standard 7 learners performance by subject.Figure 12 below shows the levels of achievement of Standard 7learners by subject.

0.00

50.00

100.00


Life skills 93.80 5.36 0.84

English 93.83 4.33 1.83

Mathematics 96.49 3.34 0.17

Chichewa 47.50 35.83 16.33 0.33

Not achieved (0 -

39)

Partially achieved

(40 - 59)

Achieved (60 -

79)

Excellent (80 -

100)

25


37/74

Figure 12: Levels of achievement of Standard 7 learners in numeracyand mathematics, English, Chichewa and life skills.

The trend shown in figure 12 above clearly shows that most learnersdid not do well in all the subjects except Chichewa as most learners

are in the first level of achievement (not achieved (0% 39%). Thisperformance indicates the need for assistance. To substantiate thisinformation, actual scores are shown in the following bar graphs(figures 13 to 16).

0 2 4 6 8 10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

38

40

42

44

48

50

52

54

57

62

65

68

70

76

English scores

0

2

4

6

8

10

Percentag

e

oflearners

Figure 13: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in English

.00

1.92

3.85

5.77

7.69

9.62

11.54

13.46

15.38

17.31

19.23

21.15

23.08

25.00

26.92

28.85

30.77

32.69

34.62

36.54

38.46

40.38

42.31

44.23

46.15

48.08

50.00

51.92

53.85

57.69

59.62

76.92

Mathematics scores

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Percentageoflearne

rs

Figure 14: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in mathematics

26


38/74

.0

0

1

.96

3.92

5.88

7.84

9.80

1

1.76

1

3.73

1

5.69

1

7.65

1

9.61

21.57

23.53

25.49

27.45

29.41

31.37

33.33

35.29

38.24

40.20

42.16

44.12

46.08

49.02

50.98

53.92

61.76

65.69

78.43

85.29

Life skills scores

0

5

10

15

20

25

Percentageofle

arners

Figure 15: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in life skills

Figures 13, 14 and 15 show that Standard 7 learners scores forEnglish, mathematics and life skills are positively skewed. This showsthat most of the learners did not do well in the three tests.

.00

2.50

6.25

8.75

11.25

13.75

16.25

18.75

21.25

23.75

26.25

28.75

31.25

33.75

36.25

38.75

41.25

43.75

46.25

48.75

51.25

53.75

56.25

58.75

61.25

63.75

66.25

68.75

71.25

75.00

77.50

81.25

Chichewa scores

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0


Figure 16: Distribution of Standard 7 learners scores in Chichewa

27


39/74

Figure 16 above shows that about 30.80% of the learners performedfairly well in Chichewa with scores above 50%.

4.3.3Overall Standard 7 learners performance by sexThe study analysed learner performance by sex to find out if there areany differences in performance between the two sexes. Table 7 below

presents the mean percentage scores for the learners by subject andsex.

Table 7: Mean percentage scores and standard deviations by subjectand sex

Sex ofthelearner Mathematics Chichewa Life skills English

Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SDBoys

15.96 11.48 39.15 18.1911.4

4 15.36 15.47 13.65Girls 13.56 10.08 40.44 18.83 9.51 12.60 14.26 12.95

Table 7 above shows that boys performed better than girls inmathematics, life skills and English while girls did slightly better thanboys in Chichewa.

Table 8: Analysis of variance between Standard 7 boys and girlsmean percentage scores in mathematics, Chichewa, English and life

skills

Sum ofSquare

s dfMean

square F Sig.Mathematics Between

groups857.55

11 857.551 7.347 .007

Within groups 69799.347

598 116.721

Total 70656.897

599

Chichewa Between

groups

250.26

01 250.260 .730 .393


598 342.678

Total 205171.865

599

Life skills Betweengroups

557.638

1 557.638 2.825 .093


598 197.399

28


40/74

Total 118602.300

599

English Betweengroups

219.615

1 219.615 1.241 .266


598 177.031

Total 106084.065 599

Table 8 above shows that the difference in achievement levels wasonly statistically significant in mathematics (=.05, p=.007). Thedifferences in achievement levels were not significant in Chichewa (=.05, p=.393), in life skills ( =.05, p=.093) and in English ( =.05,p=.266).

4.3.4 Standard 7 learners achievement by location

Achievement of learners from rural and urban locations was alsoexplored. Figure 17 below presents the findings.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Meanpercentagescore

Mathematics 10.38 11.38 10.85 13.23 13.69 25.23 19.58 10.35 8.27 21.42 16.92 15.81

Chichewa 26.95 29.13 26.10 34 .50 46.10 54.23 44.78 36.80 25.75 57.18 52.63 43.43

LifeSkills 8.43 6.45 7.47 5.06 4.41 27.24 7.41 5.45 2.45 33.00 6.22 12.10

English 12.94 14.38 9.54 11.36 10.42 29.08 14.36 10 .32 7.40 33.80 11.22 13.56

KarongaM zimba

South

Nkhata

BaySalima Dowa

Lilongwe

CityDedza Balaka

Zomba

Rural

Blantyre

CityMwanza Thyolo

Figure 17: Standard 7 learners mean percentage scores by district andsubject

Figure 17 above shows that Standard 7 learners from:a) Lilongwe city, Blantyre city and Dedza with mean percentagescores of 25.23; 21.42 and 19.58 respectively performed betterthan learners from the other districts in mathematics, while those

29


41/74

from Zomba rural were the lowest with a mean percentage score of8.27.b) Blantyre city, Lilongwe city and Mwanza with mean percentagescores of 57.18, 54.23 and 52.63 respectively performed betterthan those from other districts in Chichewa while those from Zombarural and Karonga were the worst performers with mean percentage

scores of 25.75 and 26.95 respectively.c) Blantyre city and Lilongwe city with mean percentage scores of33.00 and 27.24 respectively performed better than those fromother districts in life skills while those from Dowa (mean 4.41) andZomba rural (mean 2.45) had the lowest mean percentage scores.d) Blantyre city and Lilongwe city with mean percentage scores of33.80 and 29.08 respectively performed better than those fromother districts in English while those from Zomba rural (mean 7.40)and Nkhata Bay (mean 9.54) had the lowest mean percentagescores.

Figure 18: Standard 7 learners achievement by locationFrom figure 18 above, it can be observed that learners from urbanlocations had higher mean percentage scores than those from rurallocations. The widest margins were observed in English and Chichewa.

Analysis of variances revealed that the differences were statisticallysignificant in all the subjects {English [F(1,598) = 269.634, p = .000 ],mathematics [F(1,598) = 85.160, p = .000 ] , Chichewa [F(1,598) =103.828, p = .000] and life skills [F(1,598) = 308.340, p = .000].Further analysis also revealed that location had a higher effect onachievement of learners in English (eta squared = .311) and life skills(eta squared = .34).

0

20

40

60

Subjects

Mean%scores

Rural 12 13 37 17

Urban 31 23 56 35

English MathematicsChichewa Life skills

30


42/74

4.3.5Basic skills of Standard 7 learners in mathematics,Chichewa, English and life skills

Learners competencies were also analysed by subject. Figures 19 22below show the topics that were sampled in each subject and thepercentage of learners that are competent in the different topics.

31


43/74

0

5

10

1520

25

30

35

40

45

Writing

numbers i n

words

Solving word

problems on

subtractionand

multipli cation in

thesame

problem

Identifying

angles

Using

inequalities

Finding HCF of

numbers

Solving

practical

problems on

multiplicati on

of money

Constructing

angles using a

ruler and a

protractor

Findingaverage

of numbers

Solving

practical

problems on

LCM

Finding area of

plane shapes

Simplif ying

algebraic

expressi ons

Expressing

fr actions as

decimals

Dividing

capacity

Completi ng

number patterns

Shari ng

quantities in a

given ratio

Drawing graphs Interpreting

graphs

Competencies

Percentag

eoflearners

Figure 19: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with different competencies in mathematicsFigure 19 above shows that most Standard 7 learners have competence in very few skills in mathematics

such aswriting numbers in words (42.5%)

word problems on subtraction and multiplication in the same problem (16%)

finding HCF of numbers (40%)practical problems on multiplication of money (32.5%)However the majority of the learners were not able to do the following:

identifying angles (0%)

using inequalities (1%)

31


44/74

sharing quantities in a given ratio (2%) drawing graphs (2%) interpreting graphs (0%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

3540

45

Answering

comprehension

questions

Writing a

composition

Completing

sentences with

given words

Changing

sentences from

simple present to

simple past

Making

sentences with

given words

Changing

sentences into

negative form

Solving riddles Giving question

tags for given

sentences

Writing meaning

of idio matic

expressions

Re-ordering

words in given

sentences

Giving types and

functions of

clauses

Competencies


Figure 20: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with different competencies in English

Figure 20 shows that very few Standard 7 learners were able to do the following skills in English: about 38% were able to change sentences from simple present to simple past tense

about 25% were able to re-order words in given sentences

32


45/74

However, more than 80% of the learners were not able to do the rest of the skills they were expected to do inthe subject.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Kulemba

chimangirizo

Kumvetsa nkhani Kupereka mtundu wa

mawu

Kutchula magulu a

mayina

Kusintha ziganizo kuti

zikhale mu nthawi ya

aneni am'tsogolo

Kupereka

matanthawuzo a

zining'a

Kupereka mawu

otsutsana

m'matanthawuzo

Kulemba ziganizo

ziwiriziwiri kusonyeza

kusiyana

m'matanthawuzo

Kuyika zizindikiro

zam'kalembedwe

zoyenera mziganiz o

Kupereka chachikazi

cha maina

Kulemba mawu

moyenera

Competencies

percentageoflearn

ers

Figure 21: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with different competencies in ChichewaFigure 21 above shows that most standard 7 learners (40%+) have competences in:

Kumvetsa nkhani Kusintha ziganizo kuti zikhale mu nthawi ya aneni a mtsogolo Mawu otsutsana mmatanthauzo Kupereka chachikazi cha maina

Kulemba mawu moyenera

However, over 95% were not competent to do the following:

Kupereka mtundu wa mawu

33


46/74

02468

101214161820

Giving

examples

ofcommonSTIs

Explaininw

aysinwhich

STIsa

respread

Mentio

ningconseqe

ncesof

sexual

relatio

nships

Identifyinglifeskills

Explaining

wayso

fresolving

conflicts

Mentio

ningba

rrierst

opeaciful

conflictr

esoluti

on

Namin

gdrugsth

atarecom

monly

abused

Giving

factorsth

atprom

otedrugabu

se

Explaining

effects

ofdru

gandsubs

tanceabuse

Mentio

ningph

ysicalchan

gesinboy

s

Mentio

ningph

ysicalchan

gesingirls

Giving

sourceso

finformation

onsexan

dsexu

ality

Giving

examples

ofwro

nginfo

onsexandsexuality

Mentio

ningconsequ

encesofm

isinformation

onsex

andsexu

ality

Definingterm

home

based

careand

suppor

t

Giving

examp

lesofh

omebasedcare

suppor

t

Explaining

reasonsfo

rnotassisting

people

withH

IVand

AIDS

Mentio

ningimpor

tanceofH

omeBasedC

areandSupp

ort

Mentio

ningrights

ofapersonwithH

IVandAID

S

Mentio

ningfactorsth

atmake

youthsfailto

fulfilthei

rplans

Identifyingothersituation

sthatn

eedplanning

Mentio

ningsituation

sleadingtos

tressa

ndanxiety

Identifyingskills

needed

tocopewiths

tressa

ndanxiety

Competencies

Percentag

eoflearners

Figure 22: Percentage of Standard 7 learners equipped with different competencies in life skills

Figure 22 above shows that very few Standard 7 learners (between 2 and 19%) were able to respond to someof the questions in life skills education.

34


47/74

4.4 Impact of school factors on Standard 3 learnersachievement

A number of school factors affect the achievement of learners. In thisstudy the following factors were examined: learner-to-teacher ratio,parent-teacher interaction, school feeding programme and learnersaccess to books.

4.4.1 Learner-to-teacher ratio (LTR)To improve quality at primary school level, the government set 60:1 asthe recommended LTR (MoEST, 2001). However, this is not the case inmost primary schools in Malawi. It was therefore important to analysethe differences in performance between Standard 3 learners in classesof LTR 60 and that of learners in classes of LTR > 60. Figure 23below presents the findings.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


LTR 60 27.24 8.69 14.77 11.01

LTR>60 23.99 4.55 9.96 5.12

Numeracy and

mathematicsEnglish Chichewa Life skills

Figure 23: Mean percentage scores of learners with regard to learner-to- teacher ratio

It can be observed from Figure 23 above that the performance ofStandard 3 learners from classes of LTR 60 is higher across theboard. Analysis of variance was also done to find out if the differencesobserved were statistically significant. Table 9 below presents thefindings.

35


48/74

Table 9: Analysis of variance between learner-to-teacher ratio and theachievement of learners

Sum ofSquares df

MeanSquare F Sig.

Numeracy andmathematics

Betweengroups 1356.03 1.00

1356.03

6.31 0.01

Within groups 115348.59537.0

0 214.80

Total 116704.62538.0

0

EnglishBetweengroups 2198.48 1.00

2198.48

19.22 0.00


0 114.36

Total 63724.98539.0

0

ChichewaBetweengroups 2966.41 1.00

2966.41

9.89 0.00


0 300.07

Total 164405.00539.0

0

Life skills

Between

groups 4449.60 1.00

4449.6

0

17.

52 0.00


0 254.04

Total 141120.73539.0

0

Table 9 above indicates that the differences in mean percentagescores of learners in classes of LTR 60 and those in classes of LTR >60 are statistically significant at = .05.

4.4.2 Parent-teacher interaction

In order to determine the effect that participation of parents has intheir childrens education, frequency of encounters (interactions)between teachers and parents where learning is concerned wereanalysed with regard to learners performance in all the learning areas.Table 10 below presents the findings.

Table 10: Parentteacher interaction in relation to achievement oflearners

36


49/74

Learningarea

Frequency of teachers meeting the parents

Never Once a year Once a term

Once ormore amonth

Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

Numeracyandmathematics 20.94

16.37 24.25

15.69 24.11

13.23 27.33 15.58

English 3.18 8.46 4.08 6.30 5.0810.5

2 8.34 11.95

Chichewa 5.55 9.55 10.9315.8

9 10.2315.4

8 14.66 19.67

Life skills 3.2010.6

9 6.8015.5

3 4.8512.4

4 10.52 19.30

Table 10 above generally indicates improvement in learners

performance with regard to increased frequency of teachers meetingswith the learners parents. The differences observed in meanpercentage scores were significant in all the learning areas at = .05.

4.4.3 School feeding programmeThe impact of school feeding programmes (SFPs) on educationaloutcomes is uncertain, since little work has been done on evaluatingthem. This has been the case because SFPs were viewed aspredominantly nutrition/feeding interventions aimed at improving the

nutrition status of school children (Ross, 1999). An exception is therecognition of the role that SFPs play in encouraging school enrolmentand attendance, an objective that continues to be important in Malawitoday. This study attempted to find out the impact SFP has on learnersachievement. Figure 24 presents the findings.

37


50/74

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


Yes 25 4 10 4

No 25 6 11 7

Numeracy and

mathematicsEnglish Chichewa Life skills

Figure 24: School feeding programmes in relation to learnerachievement

Figure 24 above shows that learners from schools that do not feed

their learners performed relatively better than learners from schools inwhich SFP is available. Further analysis however indicated that thedifferences observed were not significant.

4.5 Impact of school factors on Standard 7 learnersachievement

4.5.1 Teacher-to-learner ratioThe number of learners in Standard 7 and teachers assigned toStandard 7 classes were collected in order to analyse the impact of

teacher learner ratio on the achievement of Standard 7 learners.Figure 25 below presents the findings.

38


51/74

0

10

20

30

40

50

Subjects

Meanpercentag

e

scores

LTR 60 17 16 43 22

LTR >60 9 12 34 15

English Mathematics Chichewa Life skills

Figure 25: Standard 7 learner-to-teacher ratio versus learners meanpercentage scoresFigure 25 above shows that the achievement of learners in classes withhigh teacher-to- learner ratios was lower than in classes where learner-to-teacher ratios were lower than 60. An analysis of variance revealed

that the differences observed are statistically significant. Table 11below presents the analysis.

39


52/74

Table 11: Analysis of variance between teacher-learner ratio and meanpercentage scores in English, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills

Sum ofsquares df

Meansquare F Sig.

English Betweengroups 5861.248 1 5861.248 34.036 .000

Activity

Developmeresearch prthe impact

INWENT oteaching anin the TTC

Data collec

evaluating tof INWENteaching an

in the TTC

Production

on the impa

INWENT o

teaching anin the TTC

Developmeendline res

proposal foStandards 3

learners leachieveme

Data collec

Within groups

97812.366 568 172.205

Total 103673.614

569

Mathematics

Betweengroups

1791.371 1 1791.371 15.124

.000

Within groups 67275.897 568 118.443

Total 69067.269 569

Chichewa Betweengroups

7738.477 1 7738.47723.76

7.000


568 325.597

Total 192677.579

569

40


53/74

Life skills Betweengroups

4426.708 1 4426.70834.14

4.000

Within groups 73639.488 568 129.647

Total 78066.196 569

Table 11 above shows that the difference in mean percentage scores

was significant in all the subjects (

= .05, p = .000 in all the foursubjects assessed in the study).

4.5.2 Teacher absenteeismAccording MIE (2008), teacher absenteeism was found to be a problemin most schools. Teacher absenteeism leads to instructional time loss.Teacher absenteeism was therefore explored to see the effect it has onthe achievement of Standard 7 learners. The results are presented inthe table below.

Table 12: Teacher absenteeism versus learners mean achievement in

English, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills

TeacherAbsenteeism English

Mathematics

Chichewa

Lifeskills

never Mean 18.99 15.54 38.19 21.37SD 17.22 12.08 21.34 14.56

sometimes Mean 13.73 15.19 41.66 20.13SD 11.32 10.73 16.96 10.38

often Mean 10.90 10.99 32.95 15.79SD 10.32 8.30 18.45 10.26

Table 12 above shows that mean scores of learners from schoolswhere the frequency of absenteeism was low were higher than wherethe frequency was high occurred. There was a statistically significantdifference at p < .05 level in the achievement scores of the learners inall the subjects under study {English [F (2,587) = 12.652, p = .000];mathematics [F (2,587) = 5.542, p = .004]; Chichewa [F (2,587) =7.950, p = .000] and life skills [F (2,587) = 6.323, p = .002]}

4.5.3 Teacher qualification

Though the Ministry of Education Science and technology is recruitingpeople who have MSCE to be trained as teachers, there are still someteachers who are JCE holders. These teachers are either volunteers orthey are on month-to-month employment contracts. Table 13 belowpresents the effect the teachers qualifications have on theachievement of Standard 7 learners.

Table 13: Teacher qualification in relation to learners achievement inEnglish, mathematics, Chichewa and life skills

41


54/74

Teachersacademicqualification

English

Mathematics

Chichewa

Lifeskills

JCE

Mean 14.26 13.70 3

Documents

Baseline Standard 3