Changes in teaching and learning: what counts, who to, and how is it counted?

This paper builds on and contributes to the evidence that links teacher development programmes and educational technology programmes in low-to-middle income countries, to improvements in quality. Recent reviews, funded by... [ view full abstract ]

This paper builds on and contributes to the evidence that links teacher development programmes and educational technology programmes in low-to-middle income countries, to improvements in quality. Recent reviews, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) have examined the characteristics of teacher education programmes (Westbrook et al. 2013) and educational technology programmes (Power et al. 2014), that show evidence of impact on teaching practice or learning outcomes. In both cases evidential problems arise in relation to reporting change.

Power & McCormick (2014) observe that where reviewed studies present outcomes, these are often based in an educational economist tradition; the teacher development theory of change is often disregarded (Tatto, 2013). This paper examines the research approaches and findings of a large-scale programme of teacher development incorporating Educational Technology in Bangladesh, that has tried to develop a more holistic or ecological understanding of educational change at the classroom level.

We argue that whilst such research stands out as one of only a small number of studies that evidence change in teaching and learning holistically at large scale, further methodological development is required. How can such large-scale programmes meet the evidence requirements of donors and policy makers, typically framed in human capital terms, whilst giving voice to teachers and students, about the experience of change and the development of capabilities (Tikly & Barrett, 2011) they have reason to value?