2. Ways of raising quality
You may wish to use these headings, or to choose others that seem more appropriate.
Curriculum and Assessment. Balance in curriculum between content, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values; between the curriculum as terminal and as preparation for further education; between core and elective components. Curriculum development central and local considerations. Curriculum for out-of-school learners. Teaching methods. Relationships between curriculum, assessment and national/standardised examinations.
Training and Professional Support for Teachers. Preparation of teachers pre-service and in-service, college-based and school-based. Innovative approaches to teacher education programmes. Measures to raise and maintain teacher morale including professional support (unions, resource centres, professional associations and journals), awards schemes, benefits packages, other forms of public recognition. Measures to improve the status and promotion prospects of women teachers. Recruitment, retention, support and appraisal of teachers.
Learning Materials.
Development, production, and distribution of books and other learning materials. Radio including interactive radio. Links with curriculum development. Problems arising in small states and minority language groups.
Management. Improving management at ministry, district and school levels. Strategies for planning and implementing change locally and nationally. Ways of devolving authority, and decision making and financial control. Effects of user fees on quality.
Education and the Community. Use of community resources in support of school programmes, and of school resources in support of community needs. Consultation between educators and the community. The role of NGOs or religious bodies in formal and non-formal education. Community support services to families to promote effective education.
Out-of-School Education.
Ways of reaching out-of-school children, youth and adults. Particular needs of women and girls. Links between in-school and
out-of-school education.
3.
Resources and International Co-operation
Redeploying resources within the basic education sector, and between education sectors. Making more effective use of resources (for example, through changed staffing ratios, use of auxiliaries, use of mass media, remuneration policy). Raising resources within the community.
Areas where assistance from abroad has proved or could prove useful in improving education quality.
4.
Appendix: Structure of the education system
Basic data about the educational system: for example, some indication of current gross and/or net enrolment ratios and how they have changed over the past decade or so, the proportion of government expenditure earmarked for education, number of primary and secondary schools, some idea of transition rates between education levels, the size of the private and/or grant aided education sector, the size of your trained and untrained teaching force. À diagram of the structure of the national education system will be very helpful.
PRCW/Lde SP
2763d. 6.2.90
2