Systemic Approach-old

Heading Needed

Till almost the last decade, bringing children to school was the focus in facilitating equitable change through education. However, as more and more children are attending schools without learning, growing concerns are being raised about the present nature of schooling itself. As a society, there is increasing momentum to revisit the very assumption of what a school means or does to a society and the nature of learning processes that goes into making such a school.

The mission has now shifted its gears towards ensuring that all children attain learning goals that will lead to their real empowerment. To realize this, a deeper analysis of the education system is needed which lays bare the root cause that currently restrains children from learning in schools.

Heading Needed

Malfunctioning in the different parts of the education system have been highlighted such as rote based curriculum, demotivated teachers, poor infrastructure, lack of engagement from parents, in effective school leadership. However, interventions focusing on one aspect are unable to transform education at a systemic level.

A systemic perspective enables us to understand the inter connections between the various parts that are responsible for making education work. It also generates a need to identify amongst the parts, a lever which regulates the movement of different parts within the system.

IEC in understanding the education system from a systemic lens identifies assessments as the key lever that can influence what really gets taught in the classroom. For what gets assessed, gets addressed. Since learning achievement continues to be measured through end year exams, the stakeholders of the system i.e. the teachers, parents, children and administrators continue practices that will help them succeed within the existing system of education.

IEC works on three key areas of impact that, together, aim at strategically altering the system and enabling its eventual transformation. This work is currently being implemented in more than 3600 primary rural government schools across 8 states of India.

Decentralization of Education

Stakeholder ownership of schools becomes real, when the larger community, SMC members, parents, teachers and Panchayat members come together to dialogue and share a collective vision for education.

Peer-led Teacher Professional Learning Communities

Cluster based academic meetings are initiated to create a democratic and reflective space for teachers to share their practices and challenges. Through this monthly engagement, teachers are motivated to bring changes in their learning and assessment practices to improve their impact in classroom.

Redefining Assessment Practices

Focus is on revisiting the purpose of assessment towards enabling every child to learn at her own pace. Teachers are supported in initiating formative assessment practices with the goal of using learning data to plan for every child based on their current learning levels.