Illuminative evaluation studies in Malawi

The specific conceptual distinctions of Illuminative Evaluation, the ‘instructional system’ and ‘learning milieu,’ were employed by Nyirenda (1993) to evaluate the implementation of national curriculum changes in Science and Mathematics in Malawi. Using the principle of ‘instructional system,’ the researcher reviewed the curriculum policy documentary of the new Science and Mathematics curricula to establish what was planned by the state as the content knowledge, pedagogy and assessment practices to be used by the teachers in implementing the curriculum changes. Using the principle of ‘learning milieu’, the researcher observed lessons and conducted post-lesson interviews with teachers to establish whether the implementation of teaching of the new Science and Mathematics curricula accorded with the government policy on the teaching of the subjects. Thus using the methods of illuminative evaluation, the researcher looked for ‘matches’ and ‘mismatches’ between policy and practice in the teaching of the new Science and Mathematics curricula.

The findings of the study showed that teachers were teaching the prescribed content. However, the teachers were observed to rush through the content of the curriculum.

Teachers felt that, since there were too many activities, there was not enough time to complete all topics or units adequately. They felt that they could not complete the syllabus if they spent the specified time on each topic. Some teachers gave large class size as the reason for rushing through the topics. Teachers did not want to assign the class work they would be unable to mark before the next lesson. In terms of teaching and learning resources, the study found that there was scarcity of teaching and learning materials in the schools. The scarcity of writing materials, exercise books, pencils, rulers etc. was seen by the researcher to be an important barrier to the effective implementation of the mathematics and science curriculum. The primary school system did not provide such materials to pupils adequately.

b. Mathematics in Malawi

The specific conceptual distinctions of Illuminative Evaluation, the ‘instructional system’ and ‘learning milieu’ have also been employed by Lowe (2008) to evaluate the teaching of Mathematics in the rural primary schools in Malawi. The research sought to answer the research question, How do policy and practice interact in Malawian primary education, in

the case of mathematics teaching? Using the principle of ‘instructional system’, the

researcher analysed a vast number of Malawian policy documents: from official papers and curriculum statements to textbooks and examination papers. Also using the principle of ‘learning milieu’, the researcher observed lessons and conducted post-lesson observation interviews with teachers to establish whether the implementation of teaching of Mathematics accorded with the government policy on the teaching of the subject. Thus using the methods of illuminative evaluation, the researcher looked for ‘matches’ and ‘mismatches’ or the ‘gap’ between policy and practice in the teaching of Mathematics. The study found that in contrast to the learner-centred and participatory methods advocated in the curriculum policy documents, most teachers used lectures infused with

question and answer (‘chalk and talk’). Lowe argued that most teachers may have been adopting this teaching style due to large class sizes and inadequate provision of text books in the schools. Basing on the findings, Lowe has made many recommendations as possible future policy actions. The most salient of these recommendations is that: the government should provide sufficient good quality textbooks. He observes that many schools have insufficient textbooks, and yet research has established that regular use of textbooks can strongly improve learning. He argues that good quality textbooks would be ones that were relevant to the daily lives of pupils and helped the teacher meet the wide range of learning needs in the classroom. Lowe further elaborates that at present such books do not exist in Malawi. According to Lowe, the teachers’ guides that are in use at present make teaching suggestions that are impossible to accomplish with large classes and few resources. Lowe also recommends that instruction should be in mother tongue particularly in Standards 1 to 4. Lowe further recommends Bilingual textbooks. He argues that in Standards 5 to 8 the language of instruction is to be English, yet teachers find that they often have to use Chichewa to explain topics. Lowe argues that at all levels (including secondary) bilingual books would solve these problems, making the content clearer to both teachers and pupils

c. English in Malawi

The concepts of ‘instructional system’ and ‘learning milieu’ have further been employed by Khomani (1996) in Malawi to evaluate the implementation of a then new English curriculum in the primary schools in Malawi. Using the principle of ‘instructional system,’ the researcher analysed the curriculum policy documents. Also using the principle of ‘learning milieu’, the researcher observed lessons and conducted post-lesson observation interviews with teachers to establish whether teaching of English accorded with the government policy on the teaching of the subject.

Results of the study revealed that teachers and head teachers found the new curriculum difficult to implement for a number of reasons notably among which were that the curriculum was too complex; teacher in-service training was inadequate; and teaching/learning materials were insufficient and often delivered late. Recommendations resulting from the study include the revision of teaching/learning materials by curriculum developers and teachers, frequent school-based in-service training, and provision of adequate teaching/learning materials.