Global reform, local negotiation: Investigating the enabling conditions for pedagogical reform in the Maldives

Learner-centred pedagogy has been an education policy initiative, promoting democratic and interactive approaches to learning, that has attracted global traction. It has provided many national governments with a policy agenda... [ view full abstract ]

Learner-centred pedagogy has been an education policy initiative, promoting democratic and interactive approaches to learning, that has attracted global traction. It has provided many national governments with a policy agenda for improving the quality of education, yet the disparity between the policy aspirations and classroom practices has been well-documented. This study investigated learner-centred reform in the Maldives. Well-known for the environmental threats it faces as a small island developing state, it also faces challenges in promoting pedagogical renewal, within a fragile political context. Embedded within the national vision for learner-centred education is the promise of a more democratic and progressive pedagogy that promotes student agency, autonomous learners and improved learning outcomes. The study investigated how teachers can enact learner-centred pedagogy in the Maldivian education system. Moving beyond the simplification of contrasting teacher-centred and learner-centred approaches, this study used design-based research; a participatory, interventionist approach, to study the enabling conditions for reform. The intervention, an instructional model, was developed within an island school with input from the school community.  It offered a structured framework for balancing teacher instruction and active learning methods.  This paper reports on the intervention phase of the study and discusses the challenges and opportunities in undertaking this participatory approach.  Data were collected from observations, interviews, questionnaires and teacher reflection booklets to understand teachers’ enactment of the model across primary grades, and the contextual factors influencing its use. Consequently, the findings were based on what teachers do, not just what they say.  The findings were categorised across three broad areas: the clarity of the innovation; teachers’ professional learning; the school context as a ’change-welcoming’ school.  Based on the findings the study concludes with a series of design principles, an output of design-based research, intended to be of use to those implementing similar reforms in other relevant settings.