Understanding Activity Based Learning in Tamil Nadu: An investigation into Pedagogic Practices, Student Outcomes, Political Economy & Dissemination and Scale-up of the Programme

Insights from ABL: an examination of perspectives, experiences and Practices A main focus of ABL research and evaluation studies to date has been on the effects of ABL on pupils’ learning attainments. However findings from... [ view full abstract ]

Insights from ABL: an examination of perspectives, experiences and Practices

A main focus of ABL research and evaluation studies to date has been on the effects of ABL on pupils’ learning attainments. However findings from this body of research have tended to be descriptive, inconsistent and therefore inconclusive. Researching understandings of ABL and its impact on classroom pedagogy and student outcomes therefore requires an in-depth and well theorized exploration of classroom processes that mediate the impact of ABL on pupils’ learning. In this study, using a multi-method research design we aimed to understand better the commonalities and variations in practices and perspectives developed in different school and classroom contexts to realise ABL principles in practice. This paper presents our findings drawing on data gathered from semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 heads of school (5 schools each from a rural and urban district) and 46 teachers in Tamil Nadu. Additional insights will be drawn from structured classroom observations of 60 different lessons and post-lesson reflections with pupils.

Learning What? The ABL story in Tamil Nadu, India One of the key objectives of the ABL initiative was to improve the quality of primary schooling of children by improving their achievement and learning outcomes. This study... [ view full abstract ]

Learning What? The ABL story in Tamil Nadu, India

One of the key objectives of the ABL initiative was to improve the quality of primary schooling of children by improving their achievement and learning outcomes. This study aims to explore the extent to which the implementation and scale up of ABL has improved learning outcomes among children in Tamil Nadu. It also identifies the impact (if any) of ABL on students’ non-cognitive outcomes (such as perseverance, critical thinking and self-efficacy etc.). The fact that the ABL initiative was introduced in a phased manner in Tamil Nadu state before being scaled up potentially allows for a 1) ‘before’ ABL and ‘after’ ABL comparison within each district within Tamil Nadu and across time and 2) an across-state and across-time comparison of the state of Tamil Nadu with a ‘similar’ state (such as Pondicherry which is Tamil-speaking) and not completely or fully exposed to the ABL programme. Difference-in-difference techniques will be used to arrive at robust estimates of the impact of ABL on learning outcomes using ASER and NCERT data from various years. The second question, focusing on non-cognitive outcomes, is explored using primary data collected specifically for this purpose across 10 ABL schools in Tamil Nadu and 10 non ABL schools in neighbouring Pondicherry state, sampling 500+ children in grades 3 and 4. Whilst recognising the limitation of a relatively small sample of schools, the data will allow some basic empirical analysis to be carried out using regression methodology.

The Political economy of the scale up and sustainability of ABL The design and implementation of effective education policies is significantly impacted by the political economy within which they are made. Political processes... [ view full abstract ]

The Political economy of the scale up and sustainability of ABL

The design and implementation of effective education policies is significantly impacted by the political economy within which they are made. Political processes and practices played an important role in the success or failure of an educational reform such as ABL. This paper will examine the relationship between politics and educational reforms – an area almost non-existent in the study of ABL so far.
Given that India faces high levels of corruption, limited political will for reforms, and politicised bureaucracies, the successful implementation of the far-reaching educational reform of ABL in Tamil Nadu is a unique triumph story. This paper will deconstruct this success story in order to understand the political reasons behind the effective implementation, scale-up to 35,000 schools and, importantly, the sustainability of ABL, which has survived for 11 years through three changes of government. It will examine the factors behind the acceptance of ABL by the teacher unions of Tamil Nadu, when in fact this reform inconveniences teachers by requiring them to come out of their comfort zones, learn new teaching methods, constantly move around the classroom, sit on low stools, frequently bend down, and spend more time in documentation. Using evidence from both interviews and survey data, the study will enquire into the role of different kinds of negotiations with government, the role of initial conditions, the role of bureaucratic activism and the role of political will in explaining how the programme was sustained over time.

The Activity Based Learning (ABL) programme has been hailed as one of the most innovative and lauded ‘child-centred’ pedagogical approaches within the Government of India’s flagship Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) reform.... [ view full abstract ]

The Activity Based Learning (ABL) programme has been hailed as one of the most innovative and lauded ‘child-centred’ pedagogical approaches within the Government of India’s flagship Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) reform. Tamil Nadu’s ABL programme represents a significant departure from conventional pedagogical practices in India. Learning for Sustainable Development involves the idea that schooling creates learners able to sustain their own and one another’s learning beyond the classroom to new and unfamiliar situations faced throughout life. ABL purports to do this through a pedagogy based on individualised, graded learning, at the students’ own pace and level leading towards enhanced student autonomy. This is supported through high quality fairly standard learning materials. Our papers examine whether this purported pedagogic approach has in fact been adopted within the schools in Tamil Nadu and to what extent it has had an impact on learning levels and on non-cognitive outcomes such as self-efficacy, motivation, perseverance and critical thinking among those exposed to it? The programme has been rolled out across Tamil Nadu and to other states and it is of interest to know how it was rolled out and how it was embraced by teachers and their organisations and by parents as well as by politicians and policy makers. There have been few rigorous evaluations of the programme to date. The three studies in this symposium aim to overcome this gap by investigating the pedagogy, learning outcomes and political economy of dissemination and scale-up of this programme in India and beyond.