Sri Lanka

1 Education in Sri Lanka
2 The schools
3 Findings from the country study

1 Education in Sri Lanka

1.1 The education system - Past and present

Sri Lanka has a long history of education with the recorded history being traced back to sixth century BC. Since the granting of complete adult franchise in 1939, special emphasis has been given to the expansion of educational activities existing from pre-colonial times. Since 1945, education has been offered at no cost to all pupils from year one to the university. The constitution of Sri Lanka provides universal access to education for all, and equalising educational opportunities has been achieved to some extent by strengthening both formal and non-formal education. However, the government has placed more emphasis on economic growth of the country. Public expenditure on education was Rs. 9450 million or 8.2% of government expenditure in 1990. By 1995 expenditure was Rs.12204 million, but had dropped to 6.4% of government expenditure. Of the estimated 4.2 million school pupils, 49% belong to the primary sector where the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level is 28.7 pupils per teacher (School Census, 1994).

1.1 The education system - Past and present

The education system in Sri Lanka classifies schools according to the level of classes in the school and whether the school is located in an urban, semi-urban or rural area (Table 1). In addition to this schools may be classified as 'disadvantaged schools'. These schools are often difficult to access, such as remote rural schools or those in the plantation sector. Families are usually poor and parental literacy rates are generally low. Consequently the disadvantaged schools tend to experience high drop-out rates and low attendance rates, poor teacher retention, low motivation and infrequent visits by educational officers.

Table 1: School Classification

Type 1 AB	schools having classes GCE (A/L) science
Type 1 BC	schools having classes GCE (A/L) arts/commerce (other than science)
Type 2	schools having classes up to year 11
Type 3	schools having classes from years 1-5 or years 1-8
Small schools	schools with 1-2 teachers and less than 150 pupils in each school
Urban	schools within municipalities
Semi-urban	schools within urban councils
Rural	schools within Gramoda Mandalayas

The present school system consists of a five year primary cycle from year one to year five, secondary education for six years from year six to year eleven, and collegiate level from year twelve to year thirteen. General education at these levels is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Provincial Ministries of Education through the school system (Figure 1). National curriculum, teacher recruitment and teacher salaries are the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. Teacher training, infrastructure facilities and teacher transfers are the responsibility of both the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Ministries of Education.

Schools in Sri Lanka have three terms, January-March (term 1); May-July (term 2); September-December (term 3). The Year 5 Scholarship exam takes place during August at the end of the second school term. School hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for years 4 to 9, and 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. for years 1 to 3. Lesson periods are forty minutes each.

In year five (end of primary school) all pupils must sit a national scholarship exam. Up until 1994 the exam was only for Language and Mathematics. Consequently, teaching concentrated on these areas to the detriment of other subject areas and the pupils obtaining a general education. In 1995, the exam was modified to two general question papers, one is an aptitude test and the other assesses the knowledge and skills on all subject areas in the primary curriculum, except Religion. Maths and Language still account for a large percentage (50%) of the total mark. Great emphasis is placed on this exam as the prestige of the school depends partly on the number of pupils who pass the exam. The scholarship exam determines which pupils go to Type 1AB and national schools. The scholarship exam is an issue of much debate and Little (1996) outlines a number of issues that have been highlighted by a range of stakeholders, which include:

· the distorting influence of the year 5 scholarship examination on the curriculum and pedagogy of primary education;

· low levels of 'mastery' in literacy and numeracy among year 5 primary pupils, combined with wide variations between schools, divisions, zones and provinces;

· substantial amounts of time spent by primary cycle students in private tuition;

· the concentration of resources in many schools on the post-primary classes and examination classes, and pressures on schools to upgrade to the next higher type.

Figure 1: Monitoring of the Education system

In 1972 major reforms took place in the education system which included an integrated curriculum at primary level and the provision of teachers guides, in all subjects and for all schools. The main objectives of the 1972 reforms (implemented between 1974 and 1978) were: learning to learn; flexibility; creativity; critical thinking and the ability to work in a group. A change in government led to the end of these reforms in 1977.

Revisions to the primary curriculum took place in 1985 and 1993. The need for reform was realised following the results of two research studies (Nagy, 1988; Kariyawasam, 1991) which revealed that achievements of primary school children in Mathematics, Language and Life Skills (Environmental Science and Basic Science) are disturbingly poor (Table 2) and that disparities in achievements are usually high between urban and rural pupils and between those belonging to different provinces. The new curriculum introduced in 1993 will run for five years to 1997. It is designed to promote learner-centred education with a view to creating a 'learning culture' which breaks away from the traditional 'teaching culture'. Emphasis is on activity based learning and active physical participation and an attempt has been made to select the content to suit children's interests, experiences and maturity levels while taking into consideration the demands of the twenty first century.

Table 2: Percentage of year 5 students attaining mastery level

Literacy	%	Numeracy %	Life Skills	%
Vocabulary	33	problem solving 9	health skills	20
Comprehension	27	knowledge of procedures 13	elementary science	9
Writing	21	Understanding concepts 32	environmental skills	13
			duties and responsibilities	43

Source: NIE, 1994

The National Institute of Education (NIE) was established in 1986 as an advisory body to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and has made a valuable contribution to the school education system of the country. NIE is responsible for the design and development of the national curriculum. NIE consists of a number of departments including a department of primary education. The main focus of national goals are on equality of educational opportunity and quality improvement of education by moving, as stated previously, from a teaching culture to a learning culture. In 1990 a National Education Commission (NEC) was established. It formulated a set of nine goals and five basic competencies on education as outlined below:

The Goals

1. The achievement of a functioning sense of national cohesion, national integrity and national unity.

2. The establishment of a pervasive pattern of social justice.

3. The evolution of a sustainable pattern of living and a sustainable life style.

4. Seeking a livelihood and work opportunities that are at the same time productive and give avenues of self- fulfilment.

5. Participation of human resource development that will support socio-economic growth of the country.

6. Involvement in nation building activities and learning to care.

7. Cultivation of an element of adaptability to change learning to learn and adapt, developing competency to guide and change.

8. Coping with the complex and unforeseen and achieving a sense of security and stability.

9. Securing an honourable place in the international community.

The Competencies:

1. in communication;
2. in relation to environment;
3. in relation to ethics and religion;
4. in play and use of leisure;
5. in relation to learning to learn.

1.1.1 Department of Primary Education, NIE

The Department of Primary Education is responsible for developing the whole primary school curriculum. Although the primary curriculum is integrated, it is developed in nine subject areas: Mathematics; Language (mother tongue); We and the Environment; Aesthetic Education; Creative Activities; Religion; Physical Education; English (from year 3) and Beginning Science (from year 4). Agriculture is not taught as a separate subject at primary level, but is integrated into Environmental Studies and Beginning Science.

At primary level there are nine educational objectives to be met:

1. Literacy

To acquire the ability to exchange ideas clearly, read, write and carry out simple computations. The ability to recognise the alphabets of national languages other than that of the mother tongue.

2. Healthy living

To develop, from very young days activities and attitudes leading to physical, mental and social health.

3. Orientation to vocational skills and work experience

To develop manipulative skills needed for the future world of work, and to acquire a knowledge of work skills through appreciation of modern technology and its maximum utilisation.

4. Awareness of heritage associated with history

To recognise national heritage and personal identity. To acquire knowledge of national heroes who built that heritage, and appreciation of and sensitivity to it.

5. Attachment to religion and respect for virtue

To gain understanding of religions - practices, attachment to one's religion and respect for other religions. To develop virtues of a good citizen. Obtain practical experience in religious practices.

6. Knowledge of the environment

To gain basic knowledge of gifts of nature, things created by man and one's environment, and as a result being directed to think scientifically. To develop attitudes that natural resources should be used, with due care and a sense of conservation of nature.

7. Nourishment of children's needs and aspirations

To develop appreciation and enjoyment of spending leisure time fruitfully and meaningfully. To make the school a place of happiness through aesthetic experience.

8. National unity

To live together with others of different religions and languages while protecting national identity.

9. Development of values

To get adjusted to a life of love and affection for the animate and inanimate environment, living in a society with a sensitivity for each other.

Integration of subject areas is emphasised in the curriculum. Throughout the primary cycle a theme is visited and re-visited several times, to increasing depth. Teachers are encouraged to identify situations where intra-subject as well as inter-subject integration is possible. For example, under the subject 'We and the Environment', 'our food' is one of the themes that is discussed at all levels (years 1 to 5). The themes are, in year 1 'the necessity of food for work and growth'; year 2, 'eating a variety of food is healthy'; year 3, 'nutrients that we get from our food'; year 4, 'how does the market affect our nutrition and home gardening as an alternative solution'; year 5, 'food wastage from production to consumption and measures to avoid it'. From years 2 to 5, twenty themes are discussed in the subject 'We and the Environment', such as: Plants around us, Patterns in the Environment, The Way we Grow, Human Behaviour, Animals Around us, Our Festivals.

The teachers' guide gives examples to enable the teacher to relate to and draw examples from the local environment. It also illustrates flexibility in the curriculum, as it enables the teachers to use what is available to them. Table 3 gives examples from two subjects in the curriculum. Teachers are trained through a system of Master teachers. The Master teachers are trained at the Department of Primary Education, NIE.

Table 3: Examples from the curriculum

Year	Subject (theme)	Example
5	Environmental Studies (Plants around us)	Endemic, endangered and exotic tree species in Sri Lanka, find a few examples.
4	Environmental Studies (Plants around us)	Protecting Trees - types and uses of forests
3	Environmental Studies (Plants around us)	Looking for places where plants grow and find out the needs of a plant.
5	Environmental Studies (Our food)	food wastage at production, transportation and consumption.
4	Environmental Studies (Our food)	Study the market and nutritional value of produce. How do children view the importance of having a home garden? Characteristics of a home garden. A lecture/demonstration by an agricultural extension officer.
5	Beginning Science (Plants)	Pupils should observe changes that are taking place in the surrounding environment. Identifying matter that decays naturally in the environment. Relate this to the experience gained from doing experiments on decaying matter (composting/mulching) in the experimental agriculture plot.

In 1995 a primary education unit was established in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and a policy on primary education was drawn up. Following the curriculum changes in 1993, a new Master Plan for Education is at present being drawn up, which includes measures for monitoring the quality of primary education. The plan is designed to contribute to the improved efficiency, increased equity, increased participation and improved quality of education in the primary sector. These changes will begin to take place from 1998 as feasibility studies are already underway. The changes will affect both primary and secondary levels.

1.1.2 The Current State of Education

According to a recent report (UNICEF, 1996), "with the long-standing commitment to free education for all, Sri Lanka has achieved near-universal access to primary education. Over 90% of school-entry aged children enter school, and over 90% of them complete the primary school cycle". Around 10 per cent of the 5-14 age group do not participate in formal education. Non-enrolment is mainly in pockets of disadvantaged areas such as urban slums, deprived rural areas and the plantation sector. At Jomtien 1990, Sri Lanka pledged to achieve 100% literacy rate by the year 2000. It also vowed to achieve access to basic education and the completion of primary education by at least 99 percent of the primary school going age children by the year 2000. This will entail near total elimination of drop-out at primary level. Mastery in literacy, numeracy and life-skills at basic education level are to be achieved by improving learning levels. In order to improve goals were set to:

1. reduce repetition rate in primary school to 11 percent by 1995;
2. reduce class-size to 30 and teacher-pupil ratio to 1:26 in primary school; and
3. reduce area-wise disparities in distribution of facilities. (Gunawardena, 1996)

The literacy rate in Sri Lanka is also high at approximately 91% for males and 83% for females, with an overall rate of 87% (MOE, 1991). A recent study by Gunawardena et al (1996), has found that actual literacy and numeracy rates are lower than those claimed, especially in socially and economically disadvantaged groups (e.g. urban slums, plantation sector). They found that, for example, rural peasant communities claim a literacy rate of 92% and the plantation sector claims a literacy rate of 73%, whilst the actual rates are closer to 60% and 58% respectively. Literacy and numeracy rates in the urban slums showed the highest disparity, with an actual rate of 31% literacy and 51% numeracy as opposed to claimed rates of 68% and 81% respectively. In 1991 the overall repetition rate was 9.25% and the dropout rate was 4.37%. At primary level the repetition rate was between 5.4% and 8.7% and the dropout rate was between 0.3% and 2.5% (NIE, 1995).

Present donor funded projects in the primary education sector are:

· engaging in an exercise to identify the essential levels of knowledge and skills in Language and Maths that pupils in years 1 to 5 should possess prior to reaching the next grade, (responsibility of NIE, funded by UNICEF);

· implementing a programme, funded by UNICEF, on "education for conflict resolution" (a programme to 'promote peace and harmony between children of various groups), in Western, Central and Southern provinces (NIE, 1996);

· process and learning experiences based on an experimental agriculture plot and the introduction of a nutritious mid-day meal in schools (responsibility of NIE, funded by UNICEF);

· developing material and methodology for multi-grade teaching (UNICEF);

· trying out a project to popularise English through reading (Wendy Pye, New Zealand);

· designing a project for Improving the Quality of Primary Mathematics Education (DFID);

· assessing the equality of learning in two developing countries. (Bristol University);

· publishing material based on experiences gathered through innovative projects (responsibility of NIE, funded by UNICEF);

2 The schools

2.1 Selecting the schools
2.2 An 'innovative' school - School A
2.3 An 'average' school - School B

2.1 Selecting the schools

The schools were selected, following the indicators in the research guidelines, by officers in the Primary Education Department at the National Institute of Education. School A was chosen because of the use of its agriculture plot in teaching and learning in the school. This school is part of a pilot project in an externally funded primary education programme, which initiated the use of agriculture in the schools learning activities.

Table 4: Summary of schools A and B

Factor	School A	School B
· school grounds	school experimental plot	no school garden
· years	years 1-9	1-11
· type	type 3 difficult school	type 2 school
· Number of pupils m:f (total)	112:101 (213)	124:167 (291)
· average monthly family income	Rs. 250-750	Rs. 2500-3000 (uncertain)
· main source family income	rice/maize/chena farming	vegetable/rice farming
· % main income is farming	98%	90% (70%)*
· % samurdhi	50% (+29% on other grants)	60%
· attendance rate	70% girls, 85% boys	65%
· drop-out	1.3%	10.0%
· repetition	7.5%	no data
· teacher:pupil ratio	1:23	1:18
· major social problems	poverty	poverty; mothers abroad; alcoholism and drug abuse
· adult literacy rate	30%	98%
· number of families	233	30-40/village, 7 villages close together
· number of teachers m:f	8:2	2:14
· no. years principal at school	7 yrs	5 yrs
· donor support	yes (international donor)	none

2.2 An 'innovative' school - School A

2.2.1 The Community Environment

The village lies in Uva Province, South West Sri Lanka. It is a poor, remote rural area where the majority of families are engaged in semi-subsistence farming. Average monthly incomes are estimated ¹ to be Rs. 400 (range between Rs. 250 and Rs. 750 per month) which includes Rs. 250 given under the samurdhi ² programme. Sinhalese is spoken in the community and all are Buddhists. The school was built in 1979, which accounts for the low literacy rate of thirty per cent amongst adults over twenty five years old.

¹ no official figures available estimates are from principal of the school
² poverty alleviation programme, formerly known as 'Janasaviya'

Health standards are poor and malnutrition is a severe problem. There is a high percentage of cases of stunted growth and underweight children. According to a baseline survey carried out by NIE and UNICEF (1994) only 45% of the district population has access to safe drinking water (national average 57%). There are 2 tubewells and 6 common wells (bucket) in the village. There is no electricity and the majority of families rely on kerosene lamps. There are a total of 123 families who receive support under samurdhi poverty alleviation programme; another 56 families receive food stamps, and 12 families receive a charity allowance.

There are 12 disabled adults in the village and three children at the school with physical disabilities (thought to be caused by polio). No provision is available for mentally handicapped children or adults, though there were no recorded cases in the village. Both the community worker and health worker are known in the village. Infrastructure is poor, the village is 2 km from the nearest bus route. The largest town in the area, Mahyingana, is 14 km away.

Agriculture

Farmers in this community are very traditional in their agricultural practices and use few modern methods. Subsistence agriculture is the livelihood of 98% of families in the village and the average area farmed per family is three acres. Paddy (rice) is the main crop grown and maize, finger millet, sesame and cow peas are the crops grown after paddy. The system of growing cash crops as an interim crop to rice is known locally as chena. Previously chena was a method of shifting cultivation in an upland area on encroached land, where cash crops were planted in an intercropped system. It is estimated that almost 80% of grain crops are cultivated under rain-fed conditions in chenas (MOA, 1995). The chena method of farming is causing serious problems in the country, especially where encroachment is on steep hillsides in upland areas. Soil erosion and land degradation are the results of clearing forested areas and the impact of heavy monsoon rains on these exposed areas. Recent policy recommendations (MOA, 1995), amongst other items, call for land allocation, improved land use and a programme of educational awareness.

The majority of farmers have little technical knowledge, which is evident in their farming practices. A report by NIE (1994), of a baseline survey carried out in a number of secretarial divisions remarks that 'the knowledge of cultivation practices among these farmers is found to be low; only about twenty per cent of them seem to have a good understanding of the practices they follow'. The report then comments that the majority of them (74%) do not seem to have even a fair understanding of what they are doing. They are unable to adjust their practices according to changing climatic conditions and other constraints. They seem to be ignorant of evaluating their inputs against outputs and assess profitability of their activities. They need to be made aware of farm planning and techniques of preserving soil with their nutrients'.

Yields for rice and maize are relatively low (a good maize yield was estimated at 350 kg per acre). Chemical fertilisers are applied where hybrid rice varieties are used but no herbicides or pesticides are applied so pests, diseases and weeds are a problem. One farmer mentioned some organic methods he uses. Bark from a specific tree is put in the water inlets to the paddy fields which deters caterpillars. Mustard is sometimes planted amongst the millet to deter pests. Manure from cattle is used on the maize (collected and spread by hand). The farmers said that lack of water is a problem, although they appear not to store water, or have knowledge about water conservation and management. Whilst visiting farmers, it was noticeable that they all grow the same crops, and possibly in the same sequence; that is maize, followed by sesame, finger millet and cowpeas. Some vegetables (pumpkin, chillies) and fruit (bananas, oranges and limes) may be grown for home consumption.

October to January is maha season (north-east monsoon), March to May is yala season (south-west monsoon) and the dry season is between July and October (Table 5). Planting and harvesting depends on the weather; therefore, if one or other is delayed, children may be kept at home to help in the fields or look after younger brothers and sisters. During a visit to local farmers, one farmer said that 'due to later rains, planting of maize will have to take place at the same time as planting the rice, so I may keep my children at home to help'.

Table 5: Agricultural Calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

plant maize

·

plant rice

·

·

harvest maize

harvest rice

·

plant sesame/millet

·

·

harvest sesame/millet

·

·

dry season

The farmers said that they receive no support from the agricultural extension officer. One farmer said he had contacted the extension service but no one had ever turned up. There is no marketing system for produce in the village. As the farmers all grow the same crops and they have no post harvest or storage facilities, they always get the lowest market price for their crops. Most of them sell to the local village stores, who provide extremely high interest loans to the farmers. The village shop gives them Rs. 3 per kg for maize, the market price is Rs. 18 per kg. Many families buy on credit, using the next harvest as collateral, if the crop fails they fall into deeper debt.

School and Community Relations

The teachers and principal are well respected in the village. The principal considers that relationships between the school and community are essential in children's learning. Understanding the community and a specific family's problem will make it easier for the staff, who will know how to ask parents about things that are happening at home. For example, a specific family may have problems with labour on their farm, or a new child in the family, which means a child may be absent from school. If the staff know about these situations they will be more understanding towards the child. Staff get involved in community activities through, for example, attending village funerals, weddings and festivals. The parents and community members also say that there is a very good relationship between the school and community.

Part of an externally funded donor programme provided training in good farming practices to two parents and two teachers from the school. Following this, good relationships have been established between the school and community. The community know what is happening in the school, as pupils are used to relay messages and the community use the school as a centre for meetings. The parents and community members are able to borrow agricultural tools from the school. The community provides voluntary labour to repair buildings, and to do heavy work such as ploughing and fencing on the agriculture plot.

The principal said that he does not get invited to meetings if it is an outsider coming to talk to the village. He believes there are many officials who are corrupt and do not treat the villagers fairly. Only 30% of the villagers are literate and often they do not understand what is going on during these meetings, or what their rights are. The principal believes that if he was invited to these meetings, the community would get a better deal.

Photo 1: School A

2.2.2 The School Environment

The school was built in 1979. It provides for nine grades of pupils and is classed as a grade 3 'difficult' school due to the rurality of its location. It is well equipped, with enough wooden desks and chairs for every pupil. There are single and double desks, of two heights. Textbooks are supplied free to all pupils by the Government but pupils must provide their own exercise books. There is one main classroom (Photo 2), measuring approximately thirty metres by eight metres which is used by all years except year 5. There are few teaching aids on the walls, primarily because they are removed or destroyed when outsiders use the school for meetings, and there are three free-standing blackboards. Year 5 has a separate classroom, which was built, with the help of parents, by the teacher of year 5. The walls of this room were covered in various teaching aids, including a plastic globe suspended from the ceiling. The principal has a separate office, which appears to be open to anyone, as staff and pupils freely wander in and out. There is an obvious feeling of trustworthiness amongst the staff and principal. The principal's room had two large metal locking cabinets, which contain teaching materials. On the walls of the office are posters listing pupil enrolments, timetable, school plan, calendar, and a poster of the earth and planets (in English). There is also a height measure and a set of weighing scales for pupils to keep records of their growth (provided by external donor). The principal keeps accurate records of attendance and pupils attainment levels as required by the government.

Enrolment, Pupil Numbers, Attendance, Drop-out and Repetition

There are 213 pupils enrolled in the school, 101 girls and 112 boys. The attendance rate is around 70% for girls and 85% for boys. During peak levels in the agricultural year attendance will drop as pupils stay at home to help on the farm or in the house. It has been noted that the attendance rate usually rises to around 90% on the days that cooking activities take place, as pupils know they will get a free meal; most days they arrive at school without lunch and without having eaten breakfast and the nutritional content of these meals is usually insufficient.

Photo 2: The main classroom - school A

The number of drop-outs in 1996 was three, one boy went into the priest hood, another went into manual labour and a girl married. The usual reason for drop-out are to help at home or on the farm. Where there are five or more children in a family, the eldest usually drops-out to help look after the younger children, as the majority of mothers help in the fields. Repetition rate is 7.5% over all years (16 pupils out of 213 last year). Year 3 has the highest number of repeaters at 4, but it also has the highest number of pupils in the class at 46 pupils. Drop-out often follows repetition, as pupils do not like to repeat a class, and as many of them will not continue their education after year 9, many of them see no point in repeating. To prevent drop out the principal moves them to the next year, even though their marks are not sufficient, in the hope that their marks will improve. Many pupils finish school after year 9 because parents cannot afford travel costs (despite subsidisation by the Government) to send their children to secondary school; the nearest is more than 5 kilometres away.

Monitoring, Assessment and Examinations

The principal is not satisfied with the examination system. Examinations are held for years 2 to 9 twice a year (mid-term and end of year). At present exams are set by the district office and the principal believes they are unfair and not relevant to pupils' backgrounds. The major problem with the present exam system is the pressure put on pupils to pass the year 5 scholarship exam, the marks of which are used by the district office to evaluate the standard in the school. Teachers say the exam tends to inhibits the use of problem solving and social skills as pupils can pass the exam if they are able to mechanically repeat facts and figures.

There is no fair monitoring and evaluation procedure at present although NIE have recently devised an informal monitoring system, in Language and Mathematics, for years 1 to 5 of primary schooling. Ten pupils are picked at random from a class and then set a short test. The teacher then evaluates the papers on a scale of six indicator points and the results are used to evaluate competencies of that class. The evaluation can take place as and when the teacher feels it is necessary to monitor the competency levels in Maths and English of their class. Project work and practical activities, initiated by the school with the aid of a donor project, are continually assessed and added to the pupils end of year mark. The pupils know about this and it is an informal process.

2.2.3 The Teachers

There are ten teachers in the school, eight male and two female. In 1994 there were only four teachers, but by 1995 five new staff had been appointed. Recently one teacher was replaced at the wish of the principal who was not happy with his teaching. All of the teachers, apart from one male teacher and the principal, are under thirty five years of age. This school is the first posting for four of the teachers, and of these four two have been here for seven years. The other teachers have been at the school for between two and three years, and one teacher had just started. All of the teachers live within a 10 km radius of the school and three teachers live in the village. At present a house is being built for the principal in the school grounds. The principal already has a house in the village so he is allowing some of the unmarried male teachers to move into the new house. Out of the seven teachers interviewed only three had teaching qualifications to degree or diploma level. The other four have trained 'on the job' through a distance education programme; they complete modules over three years, with some practical training at teacher training colleges. In 1994 the donor project held a short (four days) training course in innovative teaching methods; this was attended by the four untrained teachers only. The zonal education office organises INSET training on the national curriculum. This is held twice a year; the first session (four days) is general and the second session (two days) will be in specific subject areas.

The principal has been head of the school for seven years. He is a highly motivated, enthusiastic and innovative person who provides much support to his staff. The school has seen many changes in the past four years due to the school's selection for the donor funded project. As the total number of pupils in the school is low (213) the Government does not officially appoint a deputy principal, however the principal has, under his own initiative, appointed his own deputy principal who is responsible for educational activities (improving pupils' achievement levels) and making provision for absent teachers. Both groups of teachers were thoughtful about their roles as teachers and identified some of the following points as their main problem areas. The principal says that donor support over the past four years has put the school in a very good position. During the past year the number of teachers has almost doubled and he states that this has been an important impact on the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the school. However the school still has many problems:

· lack of training about different teaching methods, for example the use of games;

· lack of training in classroom organisation, specifically how to organise teaching and learning in a limited area with few resources;

· lack of training in materials development;

· need for specific training in physical education, music and drama education;

· need for training in first aid and health (recently a boy and his father were burned very badly in the village and no one knew what to do. There have been accidents at school and the teachers feel they would not be able to cope if there was a serious accident);

· lack of information on new agricultural technologies;

· need for finance for landscaping the school grounds;

· need for better information systems. The teachers feel very isolated, they rarely have a newspaper and feel that they are not informed of events by provincial and zonal education officers. Post takes two weeks or longer to reach the school from Colombo;

· need for musical instruments, physical education equipment, science equipment;

· need for community education programmes. The community relies on natural health cures, particularly traditional ceremonies. They need more scientific information and education on specific diseases to improve the health of the community (scabies, malaria and diarrhoea are common);

· insufficient classroom space which makes it almost impossible to walk between the desks. There are no partitions between the classroom areas (apart from year five class which is in a separate building);

· limited teaching and learning materials, especially teaching aids, exercise books, and extra reading material, all of which are necessary to motivate staff and pupils;

· need for funding to provide educational visits for the pupils, which the principal views as being extremely important, especially in developing a social and awareness skills of the pupils. He also feels that the pupils would benefit from visits to efficient farms, so they would be acting as a type of extension service for their parents;

· lack of proper assistance for talented pupils or those requiring special needs (although there are no pupils with mental disabilities, three have physical disabilities, one of which is considered to be very bright);

· there is lack of parental awareness and support in the school environment and in their children's schooling despite great efforts to get parents involved in the school. The principal states that this is a major problem.

All of the teachers feel they need more training and support in order to improve their teaching methods. They quoted methods in classroom organisation, strategies for change and forward planning, career planning and training in new teaching methods as important areas and ones in which they would like to go for training now. The majority of the teachers want to stay in teaching at the level of a teacher because they enjoy working with children and the satisfaction of seeing former pupils doing well. Only one teacher wanted to progress to the level of principal. Only one wanted to move to an urban school. Despite the problems listed above, the principal has no desire to move to another school, though he stated that had it not been for donor support he would not have stayed at this school. He believes he now has excellent staff and that together they can develop the school further.

What is a good teacher?

The principal believes the pupils are satisfactorily motivated in the school, especially since the introduction of the experimental agriculture plot, cooking and project work. The staff all participate in weekly staff meetings and they are involved in all decisions in the school. The good relationship between all of the teachers and the principal was very noticeable and the atmosphere in the school was friendly, relaxed and happy between the pupils, staff and principal. The situation was summed up by the principal who said 'I like my staff - I have quality people'. Table 6 illustrates responses, by pupils and teachers, to the question on characteristics of a good teacher. From the list it is evident that there is a strong emphasis on the personal relations between teachers and pupils. A possible explanation for this is that parents spend very little time with their children, especially when it comes to giving them advice and helping them with school work (parents interview).

Table 6: What are the characteristics of a good teacher? (School A)

Pupils' response	Teachers' response
A teacher should:	A teacher should:
· love the pupils	· love the pupils
· explains things well	· listen to the pupils
· come to school everyday	· be a role model to the pupils
· smile	· be dedicated
· not beat the pupils	· be aware
· corrects exercise books and advise them when they have made mistakes	· understand pupils and know their backgrounds, especially if a pupil may be absent because they have to work at home
· write things on the blackboard	· help pupils in other activities (e.g. visits)
· draw diagrams	· make pupils more aware of their surroundings
· ask pupils to come closer (then the pupils will feel that the teacher likes them)	· help pupils at any time for any problem (e.g. if they are sick or have problems at home)
· tell stories and sing	· be active and enthusiastic
· allow pupils to tell stories	· know pupils names
· use textbooks	· be able to diagnose pupils' ability
· set homework	· be happy
· not shout	· have the ability to motivate pupils
· makes the pupils work in groups	· treat all pupils equally
· speak nicely	· only punish when necessary
· give out extra reading material	· have the ability to make decisions
· call the pupils by their names	· have a good relationship with the community
· give good examples when explaining things	· be honest, trustworthy and cooperate with others
· not smoke or drink alcohol (in front of the pupils)	· get priorities right - put school first and personal matters second
· be clean and wear nice clothes
· take the pupils outside to work and do practical lessons

2.2.4 The Learners

According to observations the pupils seemed to be very happy and motivated in their school environment. All of the pupils were wearing school uniform (provided free by the government), and the majority looked clean and healthy (note pupils response to characteristic of a good teacher 'to be clean and wear nice clothes'). The majority of children come from very poor families and parents cannot afford to buy them exercise books or provide facilities for learning at home such as magazines, newspapers, a desk or lighting.

When pupils were asked why they go to school, they all agreed it was 'to learn!'. When asked to give more specific reasons, the list in Table 7 was generated. The reply 'if I don't go to school I can't go anywhere because I can't read the bus stop sign' was mentioned a number of times; few if any of the pupils have ever been on a bus. The reasons pupils give for not going to school appear to focus around parents keeping children at home, especially during peak times in the agricultural year, such as during rice harvest (Table 7). Concerning what pupils like and dislike about school, it is interesting that 'the garden' is mentioned on both sides. Other activities (Table 9) indicate that visual aspects of the school, especially in terms of plants and flowers, are important to the pupils. Pupils say that what they learn about agriculture at home is different from what they learn in the school plot (photo 3). At school they learnt to make compost and learn that it is important for plants to grow strong and healthy.

Photo 3: Experimental agriculture plot

Pupils from year 4 all said they would like to continue with their education. When they finish primary school, their aspirations are to be in professional occupations such as a teacher, a policeman, doctor and priest. Year 5 pupils gave a similar response, except one girl who said she wanted to leave school and become a 'good farmer'; this girl is very bright and is expected to pass the year 5 scholarship exam.

Table 7: Why do some children go to school and others don't? (School A)

Why do children go to school?	Why do some children not go to school?
· to learn	· not good at school
· to be a good farmer, teacher or nurse	· have to stay at home to work on the farm
· to learn subjects - maths and environment	· when they are sick
· to learn letters	· don't like to go to school
· to learn right from wrong	· not interested in learning
· if I don't go to school I can't go anywhere because I can't read the bus stop sign'	· 'when my parents go to the fields 1 must stay at home to look after the house or cattle'
· to learn to work - 'if I don't go to school 1 won't know how to weed, how to make compost and how to cook'	· have to stay at home to look after their younger brothers and sisters
· to play
· to learn songs and dancing

Table 8: What children like and dislike about school (School A)

What do you like about school?	What do you dislike about school?
· the teachers	· don't like the big classroom
· learning will help us in the future	· the garden is not pretty
· to be given homework	· being bullied and beaten by older pupils
· to play and learn
· working in the school garden because we want to learn about the garden

Pupils activities at home and school

Mapping diagrams (figure 2) were used to find out what pupils did at home, what they did in school and whether they were able to link the two learning environments (Photo 4). The diagrams revealed a number of interesting points and were used to substantiate responses to questions as well as to generate further questions about the learning environments of the pupils. Diagrams were extremely expressive and detailed and gave a clear outline to the type of activities pupils are involved in. The most common task at home for boys and girls was collecting water. Agricultural activities and going to the toilet were also mentioned frequently by both boys and girls. At school, again, fetching water was a common activity, along with working in the experimental agriculture plot. It was very interesting to note that some of pupils put going to the toilet, and collecting green leaves as daily activities. This may be due to the nutrition programme, introduced by an external donor, in which children were taught the importance of sanitary health, especially using a toilet (43% of families have no latrine), and the importance of a balance diet, especially eating green vegetables. Both of these practices were illustrated in the mapping diagrams.

Photo 4: Pupils' mapping activity

Another interesting activity which came out in the mapping diagrams was the prominence of the flower garden. On visits to the school there were only a few flowers to be seen; previously there had been a flower border near the entrance to the school, but it was removed to enable lorries into the school grounds. The pupils liked the flowers, which were also a natural vector crop in deterring pests on the experimental plot. When it came to linking the two learning environments, pupils were unable to go beyond physical linkages such as 'I take manure from home to school and take seeds from school to home' and 'I take green leafy vegetables to school' (2 pupils). One girl has her own plot at home and in her mapping diagram she linked different types of plants in the agricultural experimental plot to her plot at home.

Figure 2: A pupil's mapping diagram - school A

Table 9: Activities at home and school (School A)

(Summary of mapping diagrams by 12 pupils from year 4 and 5 (by frequency of occurrence of each activity in the mapping diagrams)).

Activities I do at home	boy	girl	Activities I do at school	boy	girl
prepare flower nursery	1		dig experimental plot	1
work in home garden		2	play	3	3
fetch water	5	5	fetch water	4	2
pray			cook	3	4
private tuition class	1		work in experimental plot	5	5
go to reservoir (bathing)	1		go to toilet	1	1
wash face	1		collect firewood	2
play	3	3	pick flowers	2
sweep garden or house			sweep school grounds	1
work in house		1	work in flower nursery	1
herd cattle	1		learn		3
weed	2	1	water plants		1
let chickens out	1
eat at home	1
go to shops	2	4
collect firewood	1	1
go to medical centre		1
work in (rice) fields	3	2
work in chena	1	3
collect green vegetables	1	3
bird scaring in paddy field	3
wash clothes	1	1
go to toilet	3	2
eat	1
go to hospital	1	1
pick flowers	1
cook	1
dig in paddy fields	1	3
pick vegetables		2

The pupils all said that they thought learning in school was easy; however, on asking which were their favourite and least favourite subjects, mother tongue (Sinhala) was a favourite because 'it is a subject we already know'. Maths and English were least favourites because 'they are difficult'. Subjects pupils believed to be of most use to them in the future included religion (boy who wants to be a priest); English ('because it is good to speak another language'); and environment ('because it is beautiful to learn about!'). Year 5 gave similar responses to year 4 - English, maths, religion and Sinhalese. The subject areas they least liked included science, English and environmental studies; the latter two they said were 'too difficult'. When asked if learning in school was difficult in general there was a general consensus (year 5 pupils) that it is all easy, 'except English!' and, without thinking they said that 'it is not easier to learn things at home'. However, Year 4 pupils said 'in school it is easier to learn things because we have text books. We do not have books at home so we cannot stay at home and learn'. The question was intended to discover whether pupils learnt new things at home; however, it was misinterpreted as learning from textbooks at home. On further questioning, pupils came up with the following about relationships between learning at home and school: 'working in the school experimental plot is similar to work at home. We learn more at school because at home parents only allow us to do simple tasks such as sweeping or weeding. At school we do more, such as making compost and measuring plots'. The pupils emphasised that they have gone home and told their parents what they have been doing in the agriculture plot at school. Following this a few parents had been down to the school to have a look at composting in the agriculture plot, and were now trying the practice on their farms. Year 5 pupils also mentioned the use of vegetables at home in cooking and the use of the same vegetables at school in the nutrition programme.

2.2.5 Teaching Learning Processes

The curriculum and content of learning

The curriculum is rigid with a heavy work load and allows for no extra curricular activities during school time. Pupils have no choice over what they learn in class, because the teachers believe the curriculum does not allow them any flexibility over what is taught and how it is taught. Lesson plans are arranged at the beginning of the year and cannot be altered. Due to the school's involvement in a donor project, the principal has made allowances in the timetable to accommodate the extra activities (e.g. cooking and agriculture programmes). The principal values these activities highly and consequently he has ensured that they are incorporated into the timetable. Years 4 and 5 have ten periods each week for environmental education. Two of these have been allocated to activities using the experimental agriculture plot. Higher years do not have environmental education as a subject, so their activities involving the use of the experimental plot take place when teachers are absent, or when the pupils have free time. They are set projects or exercises and the work is not supervised. The cooking activities have been incorporated into the standard curriculum by sending groups of pupils out of their normal lessons for fifteen minute periods.

The school has no input in curriculum development and the teachers felt that the curriculum is generally not relevant to the lives and backgrounds of the pupils they teach. Through bringing in the nutrition and experimental agriculture plot, teaching methods have improved, as these extra activities have made learning more relevant to the backgrounds of the pupils. Teachers said that they try and make a topic relevant through using local examples and experiences in their teaching methods if the textbook does not give a relevant example. As one teacher stated: 'textbooks need changing, they should be more flexible so that they can be made relevant to the child's environment. A case was stated about a textbook in which there is a problem to solve about speed. It (the textbook) uses buses and trains in Colombo as the problem example. The majority of rural school children have never seen a train, never been on a bus and never been to Colombo'. During visits to the school it was noticeable that children frequently draw and sing about flowers; they name carnations and roses as pretty flowers. However, few of these children have ever seen these types of flowers and there are only a few flowers at the schools and in the surrounding area.

Teaching learning practices in the school

During the interviews held with pupils at the school, the year 5 pupils were not as open and forthcoming with ideas and suggestions as the year 4 pupils. Replies to various questions from year 4 pupils were more informative and varied compared to the replies given by year 5 pupils. A possible reason for this is that the year 5 pupils had recently taken the scholarship exam (August) and prior to this were involved in a strict programme of rote learning. If a pupil gets a scholarship to a type 1 AB school, it is a great credit for the primary school.

Pupils are encouraged to work in groups, especially for project work. Nutrition classes are held in groups. Years 1, 2 and 3 work in groups most of the time, though lack of space prevents them working in groups all of the time. Fortnightly pupils group together by class (years 1,2 and 3; years 4 and 5, years 6-9) and conduct their own meetings where they can sing, speak, act etc. They also take their own minutes, so as well as being entertaining and enjoyable, it is also a language exercise. Project work appears to be important in the school, illustrated in a book produced by year 5 pupils for some maths work on drawing graphs. They had carried out a survey in the school on various topics, such as what is your favourite flower, favourite animal, parents occupation. Each pupil had drawn a graph on the responses to a question. The pupils, as a group, then had to grade each others work and the best graphs were put at the front of the book. Other examples of project work included finding the English name of a tree, making a name board and fixing it to the tree for English. In Science, make different types of compost and testing the effects the types have on the growth of plants.

Pupils say they discuss their school work with each other when they are doing practical activities (mainly on the agriculture plot); they also mention that they ask the teacher questions both in the classroom and outside. At home they can talk to their parents (usually their mother) about school work when it relates to agriculture (many of the parents are illiterate and agriculture is the subject they are most familiar with). One pupil said 'my parents like me talking about practical activities, such as cooking, that they know about; they will not discuss a maths class'. Pupils say that they only ask questions during practical classes such as cooking. Parents cannot, and do not have time, to help pupils with school work, though brothers and sisters may help them. Compared to other schools in the area, there is a great demand to go to this school, not just from pupils and parents, but recently teachers from other local schools have asked for transfers. The school is a common topic amongst the villagers and is well known for its innovation practices throughout the area. Even though the exam marks are not high, the motivation of teachers and pupils is extremely high.

Table 10: Methods of Learning Matrix Ranking Activity (School A)

Rank	Teachers' response (group 1)
1	pupils doing practical activities
2	teacher giving examples
2	pupils asking questions
3	teacher talking or reading to pupils
3	pupils helping each other
3	pupils singing or reciting
4	pupils talking about their own experience
5	pupils writing about their own experience
6	teacher asking questions
*	teacher beating pupils

Rank	Teachers' response (Group 2)
1	pupils doing practical activities
2	pupils asking questions
2	pupils talking about their own experience
3	pupils writing about their own experience
4	teacher asking questions
4	teacher giving examples
5	pupils singing or reciting
6	teacher talking or reading to pupils
7	pupils helping each other
*	teacher beating pupils

Rank	Pupils' response (year 5)
1	pupils doing practical activities
2	teacher giving examples
2	pupils talking about their own experience
3	pupils writing about their own experience
4	pupils asking questions
4	teacher talking or reading to pupils
5	pupils singing or reciting
5	teacher asking questions
5	pupils helping each other
*	teacher beating pupils

Rank	Pupils' response (Year 4)
1	pupils doing practical activities
2	teacher giving examples
3	pupils writing about their own experience
4	pupils talking about their own experience
5	pupils asking questions
5	teacher asking questions
6	pupils singing or reciting
6	teacher talking or reading to pupils
7	pupils helping each other
*	teacher beating pupils

* rank score = 0

In the matrix ranking activity 'pupils doing practical activities' was ranked most highly by both groups of teachers and pupils. In the school, practical activities are frequently undertaken in the agriculture plot and the school kitchen, and teaching and learning, through the use of these activities, was frequently mentioned as a motivating and enjoyable factor in the school by both pupils and teachers. Teacher giving examples is ranked highly again by pupils and teachers. Teachers say that generally pupils are shy to ask questions and this is evident in their rankings. The teachers rank this method highly and earlier in interviews said that 'it is a weakness in the school' and that they are now encouraging the year 1 pupils to ask questions. In both groups of pupils they rank 'pupils talking or writing about their experiences' highly and above the 'teacher talking or reading to pupils'. It was noticed during observations that pupils are encouraged to speak out in class. They also have a session once a week where pupils present a speech, or song or what ever they wish to all the other pupils. 'Pupils helping each other' is ranked low by pupils and highly by teachers. A possible reason could be that in class pupils cannot discuss work with each other because lack of classroom divisions makes it too noisy if they start talking.

2.2.6 The Home Environment

The principal and staff try as much as possible to get parents involved in the school, but generally they only come into the school when asked. They also provide the children with the raw ingredients for school cooking activities. When the cooking activities first started, parents used to come and help. However the principal had to stop them helping as he felt they were too dirty and he could not tell them this. Through teaching the children hygienic practices, he felt this may be extended to the parents. The recipe cards that the children follow, which include instructions for hygienic practices, are posted on the wall by the kitchen. Parents do look at the cards but few are literate, therefore learning through their children appears to be a more effective method; the teachers feel it is difficult to change the parents attitudes and the only way of doing this is through the pupils. The school holds parents meetings once a month, but on average only 30% of the parents attend. Some of the teachers made house to house visits in an attempt to get more parents to attend, but attendance only increased by about 5%. Methods of enticing community members and parents to the school include holding a show of pupils performances (singing, drama, reciting) and a sports day. For the latter each pupil was asked to contribute Rs. 25 each. Asking for money from the pupils discourages parents from coming to the school. The school now asks for gifts rather than money after one case in which a parent refused to give Rs. 25 in cash, but instead donated a bunch of bananas worth Rs.150.

Parents' role in schooling

Four parents (three men and one women) were interviewed. All are farmers and have children at the school. These parents say that they always come to the school if they receive a message through their children. They like to get involved with the school and have helped repair buildings and plough the school experimental plot. Getting involved in the school is very important, as the school needs to be improved further. Therefore they must keep the school to provide better lives for their children. They say they are quite satisfied with the school, but don't know what their children should be taught, except reading and writing, as they never went to school themselves; they believe that hardship and problems in the village are caused by low literacy rates amongst adults.

Their children talk about what they do in school, especially cooking and agriculture, because they know that this will form a discussion. The parents say they do ask their children what they learn in school, but that they don't have much time to listen. Often they do not know what the children are talking about, but they ask anyway to encourage them. One parent said 'it is good when they talk about cooking or agriculture because we can relate to these activities and learn from our children'. The parents say that the new programme at the school has helped them to have friendly discussions with their children at home and has improved family bonds. The children now ask them more questions. From their children, the parents have learnt new agricultural practices, as one father quoted 'when planting a banana tree, I dug a small hole put the plant in and pushed some soil, using my feet, around the base of the plant. My son was watching and said to me "when you plant a banana tree you must dig a hole 2'x2', then put the plant in and replace the soil" - now my banana trees grow better'. Another farmer has started making compost after his daughter told him about it and he had been down to the school to find out more.

Everyone in the village knows each other, so talking about home life in school is not a problem. One mother said that the children always go to each others houses and they all know about each other. The parents say they do not want their children to end up in the same position as them. They do not want them to be backward. They want them to be knowledgeable about the outside world and have the opportunity for a high level of education. They feel that there should be some sort of programme in the village to accommodate 'drop-outs', who at present tend to stay at home and help on the farm.

2.2.7 Contextualising teaching and learning

The principal believes that if the school is an enjoyable learning environment, pupils will attend the school. Pupils in this school enjoy and look forward to practical activities and project work. Through the introduction of these types of learning activities, the school environment has become more conducive to learning. Teachers in the school use a number of teaching methods which relate directly to pupils' experiences, and the benefits of this approach include:

· the pupils enjoy project work as all pupils can participate and work together;
· pupils are more attentive to this type of work;
· pupils have more self-motivation and are happier;
· with project work you can see immediate results;
· pupils are more enthusiastic and will put in extra work;
· pupils learn from each other

Some further examples were given by teachers, which draw on the pupils' experiences in learning new concepts. One teacher was giving a lesson on measuring volumes of liquid. He was using a bottle that held a litre, to illustrate to pupils how much one litre was. After the lesson, pupils went into the village and discovered that a local trader was selling 1 litre of kerosene in a 750 ml bottle. The pupils went to the teacher to ask him to confirm their finding after which they told the trader that the bottles were not one litre. In some cases, when learning about modern transport, it is difficult to explain to the pupils, as most of them only know about ox carts. The agriculture experimental plot and the nutrition classes are frequently used tools to relate lesson content to pupils' experiences. Games have been developed for teaching concepts such as time, speed and distance.

2.2.8 Agriculture in contextualising teaching and learning

The teachers say that they try to integrate subjects as much as possible. Where text books are used (for Maths, Sinhala, Tamil and English) the subjects are not integrated. One teacher stated that 'Maths should be taught as a separate subject because concept development is difficult when integrated'. The experimental agriculture plot is an excellent example of teaching Maths concepts in the context of agriculture. On one visit to the school a group of pupils (year 7), whose teacher was absent, had been set the task of 'drawing' circles in the school plot, using a piece of rope and a stake for a pair of compasses (Photo 5). They were then going to plant vegetables in the circles.

Photo 5: Contextualising learning in the school agriculture plot: a Mathematics lesson

The experimental agriculture plot and the cooking activities have been an immense success in the school, both for pupil and teacher motivation- Results from the matrix ranking activity were very interesting as each group ranked 'pupils doing practical activities' as the most effective method of learning. Evidence from the group interviews held with pupils shows that this is what they enjoy most and feel is very important in their learning process, especially where the activity is relevant to their home environment. Through carrying out practical activities in the experimental plot, which has been used as a base for teaching other subjects such as learning Maths concepts or reading English, there have been improvements in farmers' agricultural practices. Pupils have passed on their experiences in the agricultural plot to their parents, hence some parents have become more aware of major issues such as soil erosion and other environmental problems. Consequently the introduction of the plot has produced a type of extension system and a three way learning triangle between parents, pupils, teachers and the community. Since using the experimental plot, pupils' curiosity and questioning has increased. There is a very low uptake of technology in agriculture in this region, and pupils have been asking such questions as 'how do we increase the yield of this crop?', 'what new technologies can we use?'. There is now an increased awareness in the community of the need to improve agricultural practices. One specific practice employed at the school that is now starting to diffuse into the community, is composting.

The main problem with using a practically based approach to learning is time. Lessons are only 40 minutes long and this is a major constraint. Practical sessions that involve group work are important because they can involve all pupils and pupils' motivation levels are increased. Teachers feel that this approach, which relates the content to the pupils' experience, is suitable for all pupils because the majority come from the same type of background with the same type of experiences and problems. Another constraint to using this approach is the lack of materials; pens and paper (pupils erase what is in their exercise book when it is full). The teachers have regular meetings to discuss problems and develop new ideas. There is no teacher of agriculture at the school; however, there is a master teacher specifically for agriculture in the area and the principal has recently asked her to come to the school.

2.2.9 Issues arising from school A

Although the school has received a substantial amount of funding and support from a donor project, it still faces a number of serious problems, especially in the supply of materials. The government is meant to supply such items as blackboards, but they never reach the school. Because the school at present has donor support, the district education office neglects to supply the school with materials it should receive from the government. The school is noticeably innovative compared to the other schools visited. The principal could immediately identify factors which he believes makes his school innovative; for example, project work is important; project work and practical activities are continually assessed and added to the pupils' end of year mark; pupils learn from each other; pupils are encouraged to work in groups; allowances are made in the timetable to accommodate extra activities; and teachers try to integrate subjects as much as possible.

There are a number of physical resource problems in the school that directly affect classroom learning, such as insufficient classroom space and no partitions between the classroom areas. There are few teaching and learning materials, especially teaching aids, exercise books, and extra reading material, all of which are necessary to motivate staff and pupils. There is no funding available for educational visits (to develop social and awareness skills, visits to efficient farms) and no proper assistance for talented pupils or those requiring special needs. Teachers are very motivated in this school and much of this can be attributed to the dynamism of the principal. The outside influence of the donor project has also helped in raising the image and improving conditions in the school. The teachers are young and relatively well qualified and there is good teacher collegiality; again it is most probable that the principal plays a large part in ensuring his staff work together well. There are fortnightly staff meetings, teachers share responsibilities and are very trustworthy.

Teachers face problems with the curriculum, mainly that they have no input in curriculum development; the work load of the curriculum is too heavy to allow them to have any flexibility in what is taught and how it is taught; the curriculum is generally not relevant to the lives and backgrounds of the pupils; textbooks are 'urbanised' and appear to neglect the rural learner; in order to carry out practically based lessons a 40 minute lesson period is too short; and, exams set at district level are unfair. Teachers would like also to see improvements in teacher training. They would like more opportunities to attend training especially in different teaching methods, such as the use of games; in classroom organisation, specifically how to organise teaching and learning in a limited area with few resources; in materials development; and specific training in physical education, music and drama.

There appear to be good community-school relationships, and teachers are well respected in the village. The principal and some of the teachers live in the village, so they understand and know the backgrounds pupils come from. This enables them to be more understanding to pupils' specific problems. Understanding the community and a specific family's problem will make it easier for the staff, who will know how to ask parents about things that are happening at home. Teachers try to accommodate and help pupils if they must be absent to help at home, rather than continually blaming the parents. The major problem in the village is poverty and many children are malnourished; few children come to school having eaten anything for breakfast other than hot tea. At peak times in the agricultural year children must stay at home to help in farm work. Teachers believe low literacy rates of parents is likely to cause disinterest in their children's' schooling. There are few facilities in the home for learning: no reading materials, no writing materials and little lighting mainly because parents cannot afford to purchase them and the school cannot afford to lend pupils books.

Learners in the school appear to be happy; they tackled activities, especially mapping diagrams, with enthusiasm and their diagrams were colourful and detailed. They are able to relate and use what they learn at school at home, especially when it relates to the school plot and the cooking activity. Overall they say that learning in school is enjoyable. It appears that the subjects they enjoy are the ones they already know, mother tongue (Sinhala) is a favourite subject because 'it is a subject we already know'. Maths and English were least favourites because 'they are difficult'. The school experimental agriculture plot and the nutrition programme are seen as a means of getting parents involved and interested in their children's education. Now children talk at home about cooking and agriculture in school because they know that this will form a discussion as parents can relate to these activities. Parents say they do not have much time to listen to their children because of their demanding workloads, and they often spend many hours working in the fields away from the home. Parents say that the new programme at the school has helped improve family bonds and that now they have more meaningful discussions with their children at home. Parents also learn new agricultural practices, and better hygiene practices from their children. This is very important in an area where the farmers receive little help from government extension workers.

2.3 An 'average' school - School B

2.3.1 The Community Environment

School B is in a small village barely 40 km from Colombo. It lies within Horana Secretarial Division in Western Sri Lanka. The village lies amongst six other similar villages, all within the catchment area of the school. Each village has between thirty and forty families, with an average of five persons in each family. Average monthly incomes were estimated in verbal interviews with parents to be Rs. 400 per month plus Rs. 500 from samurdhi programme, but incomes are very insecure. The principal of the school, estimated the average family income to be around Rs. 2500 - Rs. 3000 per month. The majority (60%) of families receive support under the samurdhi programme. The village is Sinhalese Buddhist and Sinhala is the spoken language. There is an evident segregation in castes within this village. The literacy rate in the village is high, at approximately 98%.

Over 90% of the community is engaged in some form of agriculture, although many have extra income sources due to the low income received from farming. Few have jobs that take them outside the village and unemployment in the village is around 20%, even of educated school leavers. There are many social problems in the village, especially drug and alcohol abuse and adults working overseas. A percentage (approximately 40%) of pupils at the school are looked after by grandparents, older brothers and sisters, or fathers, because the mothers are working in the Middle East and Singapore. The majority of houses have latrines and all have access to well water but few have electricity. None of the parents interviewed (all farmers) mentioned any type of forward planning or future vision. They all appear to live from day to day and are heavily reliant on the samurdhi programme for extra income.

Agriculture

The majority of farmers have a small area near the house that is a home garden. Many of the farmers rent land, usually about two acres, on which to farm. Approximately one quarter of the income may go on land rent. This area was previously a paddy farming region, but high input costs and low market prices have caused most of the farmers to move over to vegetable production. Vegetables also provide a steady income throughout the year. The market for the produce is good, but poor infrastructure prevents the farmers from marketing their own produce. There are no farmer groups or marketing organisations in the area, so farmers have little choice but to sell to a middleman who collects the produce direct from the farm. The middleman may only pay the farmer half the retail market price of the produce. There is no support from agricultural extension agents. At present they have problems with pests and disease on the vegetables. Peak periods in the agricultural year are April and October (paddy land preparation and planting), and February and August (paddy harvesting). During these times the parents may keep their children at home to help in the fields. Most of the parents said that the reason for poor incomes from farming is the high cost of inputs. They all say they have sufficient knowledge (gained through experience) to farm.

School and Community Relations

The school lends furniture, free of charge, to the community for special occasions such as weddings and funerals. The community provided some materials for prize giving (the first one was held in 1995) and occasionally help with the maintenance and cleaning of the school. Carpenters in the village had been asked to help repair furniture at the school, but they never turned up. Empty rooms at the school are hired out for self employment programmes and money obtained through this has enabled electricity to be connected and a night-watchman employed (there is a problem with theft and vandalism at the school). Many of the parents are past pupils of the school who tend to give donations to the school rather than get involved in school activities. The principal believes that understanding the community and better links between the school and community will help overcome the pupils' learning problems; however, there was no evidence to suggest any effort was being made to involve the community in the school activities. Teachers attend community functions such as festivals, and if the teachers are asked for money or voluntary help by the community members, they always help if they can. This is never reciprocated by the community when teachers ask for help at the school.

Photo 6: the school

2.3.2 The School Environment

The school was built in 1902. It is a type 2 school with classes from years 1 to 11. The school site covers 3.5 acres and there is no agriculture plot. There are a few flower beds, but generally the school grounds are bare and unattractive (see pupils' responses, Table 13). There are three large buildings (50 x 9 metres) and two smaller buildings (35 x 8 metres) of the type illustrated in Photo 6. At present one of the large buildings is being re-roofed, but there appeared to be adequate space for all of the classes, although years 2 and 3 have small rooms. Only one of the large buildings can be completely locked (metal wire on the sides, Photo 7), the others are completely open; therefore, work, books etc., cannot be left in them. The school is well equipped with plenty of desks and chairs, although a large number are in disrepair. The principal's office contains a number of secure metal cabinets. There is a large school library in which books are kept in locked cupboards. At present the library is being used as a staff room.

There is one latrine for girls and no provision for boys. A well was provided by the parents, but this dries up during the dry season. The parents mentioned that the quality of the water is very poor, so they must provide their children with drinking water to take to school. It is interesting that the principal has recently had electricity connected to the school and has employed a night-watchman, yet there are no adequate sanitary and water facilities. The principal said that electricity is needed for using equipment in the science laboratory, and he also mentioned that previously pupils had brought electric cookers to the school to make cakes. This is hard to believe, considering the poverty that is prevalent in the village. It seems that the electricity supply is not, as yet, fully utilised.

Photo 7: classroom of year 1 pupils

Enrolment, Pupil Numbers, Attendance, Drop-out and Repetition

There are 291 pupils enrolled in the school (124 boys and 167 girls). The average attendance rate is low at only 65%. The principal stated that he does not consider the low attendance rate to be a problem. He continued, 'if the pupils do not want to attend school that is their problem, we will concentrate on getting the good pupils through their exams'. There was no available figure for drop-out, but reasons are given as major social problems in the village, poverty, broken families and mothers working abroad. Self-motivation of pupils in the school is low which, according to the principal, can be attributed to the many social problems children face at home. About 10% of the pupils drop out and become child labourers (see Table 12) whilst another 30% tolerate the problems at home, but lack of family support demotivates them.

Assessment and Examinations

The principal does not agree with the present exam system. He believes that the school should have more control over the system because pupils from rural school have different backgrounds to those from urban schools. The exam system needs to accommodate the differences in the background and experiences of rural children compared to urban children.

2.3.3 The Teacher

There are sixteen teachers (two male and fourteen female) for 291 pupils (124 boys, 167 girls) which equates to a low pupil:teacher ratio of 18:1 as compared to a national average of 23:1 in type 2 schools (NIE, 1993). There are numerous problems in this school and, according to observation, one appears to be poor relationships between the teachers and the principal. Teacher motivation appears low, which is not helped by the school only having had one inspection in the last four years and rare visits by the Master teachers. The principal said there were a number of problems at the school including the fact that teachers are taking too much leave. Although teachers are entitled to forty days' leave a year, the majority (87%) of teachers are female and they tend to take all of their leave because of family responsibilities. The principal then said he would like more male teachers in the school because they 'do not have responsibilities at home and would get involved in extra-curricula activities, such as teaching cricket'. The principal also complained of a general lack of trained primary education teachers and a general decline in the standard of teachers. One teacher said that she wanted to teach primary level (Maths) because 'I find it very difficult to teach pupils at secondary level that have been taught incorrectly at primary level'. Altogether the principal is not happy with the overall performance of the school, he attributes this to the decline in parents' and pupils' social and moral values.

The teachers gave a comprehensive list of the problems they face in this school. Major problems include dealing with children from disturbed backgrounds; lack of parental involvement in the school; and, lack of parental support at home ('they don't make the children do homework'). These problems in turn lead to low motivation and absenteeism of pupils. During the interviews one teacher made the comment 'until we improve children's motivation, it is not worth doing anything else', she gave no suggestions as to how motivation could be improved. Other related problems include poverty, health (congenital diseases, bad teeth and eyes) and poor nutrition (children frequently faint from lack of food and water). Teachers complained of no permanent staff room, small classrooms, broken furniture that is never mended and, in terms of resources, a lack of materials as children don't bring exercise books and pens to school. Getting new teachers is also a problem as the school is not easily accessed by public transport (teachers must walk 3 km to the nearest bus route).

The attitude of some teachers in the school appears to be that if the pupils don't come to school it is because they don't want to come to school. Consequently some teachers stated that they concentrate on the better pupils and neglect those that attend infrequently and are slow learners. When the teachers were asked whether it would be possible and useful to give pupils self-learning materials to use at home, that could be based on the child's work at home, one teacher replied, 'children who stay at home, don't want to come to school; self-learning materials are not appropriate. Children who want to come to school do so anyway, even if their parents tell them to stay at home'. The main assistance the teachers would like, apart from training, are: diagnosis of children's problems and special needs education to support these children; awareness programmes for parents to support and motivate their children; seeing a model school; use of the media, such as television and radio, in teaching and learning; and provision for school visits so that pupils have the opportunity to gain practical experience about what is around them (although the school is only 12 km from the sea, most pupils have never seen it).

Of the eight teachers interviewed, all had formal training and seven of them were over thirty five years old. Three teachers had more than twenty years' teaching experience, with the rest having between four and seventeen years' experience. Length of service in the school ranged between one and sixteen years, the latter being for the deputy principal and teacher of year 1. All of the teachers are experienced and consequently they made few comments about the need for further support in training. The teachers of the higher grades felt their training was adequate and most said they had attended recent INSET courses, though primarily because of changes in the curriculum. At the primary level they need more training. One comment was made about the quality of some INSET courses, 'it all depends on the trainer or Master teacher. The quality is usually all right but the courses were sometimes disorganised and not relevant to what I teach'. If they had the opportunity to go for training now, teachers identified the following areas: integrating the curriculum using environmental themes; INSET in primary science (year 4 teacher) because she finds this area difficult; INSET course for year 4 and 5 and year 10 and 11 English; and training course in the use of practical activities in teaching mathematics for years 1 - 6.

What is a good teacher?

Due to many of the children coming from disturbed backgrounds, the teachers are under pressure to provide sympathy and attention to these pupils (see comments in table 11). The principal believes teachers are motivated to care for and love the pupils, because they know it will be the only attention some of the pupils will get. One teacher said she gives special attention to pupils in her class with special learning needs (there are two children with learning disabilities for which there is no form of special education). From the pupils responses to 'what are the characteristics of a good teacher?', all pupils mentioned 'affection' and 'paying attention to them' as important characteristics.

2.3.4 The Learner

All of the pupils interviewed have some sort of agricultural background. Some of their parents have other jobs as well as being farmers, for example one does building work and another makes wooden face masks. Three of the parents are involved in marketing agricultural produce (mainly vegetables) and one parent is a salesman for traditional medicines.

The subjects the pupils identified as the ones they liked the most were, Maths, 'because it is easy', 'because I get the highest mark in it' (this boy only got 28/100). Religion and Environment 'because we like the teacher', Art 'because I draw well' and Music 'because I sing well'. Subjects they liked the least tended to be the ones they were not good at or didn't understand well, such as English and Science 'because they are difficult'. Music 'because I can't sing'. The subjects believed to be most useful in the future are, Maths 'so I can go into business', English, and Sinhala 'so I can read a bus timetable'. All of the pupils said that generally, learning things in school was not difficult. However, at home learning things is easier 'because there is more time for someone to explain something they don't understand'. None of the pupils could remember a time when the teacher asked about their home experiences. One pupil gave an example from a lesson in which they were growing seeds in pots in the classroom. He said that the teacher had never asked them how they grew seeds at home. Generally school work is only discussed at home if their parents ask, or something special has happened (such as the research visit). The overall impression we gained was that pupils feel their parents are not interested in their school work. A few pupils said their parents were interested because they send them to extra lessons (in preparation for the year 5 scholarship exam). All of the pupils want to continue their education, most at this stage looking towards professional occupations such as army, police, teacher, nurse and doctor.

Pupils responses to the question 'why do some children go to school and others don't?' (table 12) revealed some interesting information, which supported points raised by teachers such as the number of pupils who have mothers working abroad, one boy mentioned that 'one boy is working in a garage to earn money for his family. His father is an alcoholic and does not work', another said that, 'some work in the local market and village shops'. Pupils responses to the reasons for going to school, were generally 'to learn', one girl said 'to communicate', 'if I didn't come to school I wouldn't have been able to ask the foreigner questions' (because the pupil would not know English).

Pupils were slow to say what they liked, or disliked, about school. Their responses (Table 13) were of a general nature and mainly concerned with the appearance of the school 'I like the colour and smell of flowers and they attract butterflies'. Due to poverty few pupils have any facilities for learning at home, therefore books and good facilities would probably be a motivating factor for attending school.

Table 11: What are the characteristics of a good teacher? (School B)

Pupils' response	Teachers' response
A teacher should:	A teacher should:
· be strict	· look after the pupils needs
· teach well	· be punctual
· be kind	· love all the pupils
· explain things well	· pay attention to the pupils
· beat them if they are not listening	· be a role model
· not be absent	· be duty conscious
· should give orders and check that they have done the right thing	· take less leave
· dress well and be clean	· be a friend to the pupils
· talk about their home (one boy said his teacher came to his house when he was in year 1, they would like their teachers to visit their homes but they never do)	· dress well (the pupils hold a daily vote on which teacher is wearing the best sari, pupils like the teachers wearing saris because most of their mothers wear western clothes)
· love the pupils	· show no favouritism
· teach the pupil right from wrong	· committed to teaching
· correct their work and make marks in their books
· teach them songs and poems (though they also learn these from their parents)
· take them on trips - they learn by looking

Table 12: Why do some children go to school and others don't? (School B)

Why do children go to school?	Why do some children not go to school?
· to learn subjects	· they are lazy
· to play	· they are sick
· to communicate	· they have to look after younger brothers and sisters because their mother is not at home.
· to make friends	· they have to earn money
	· their mother works abroad
	· their clothes are wet (only have one uniform).
	· because they don't have money

Table 13: What children like and dislike about school (School B)

What do you like about school?	What do you dislike about school?
· Facilities to learn - furniture, text books	· appearance of the school, there are no flowers
· The teachers

Pupils activities at home and school

Praying was the most frequent activity illustrated by girls both at home and school and the only activity that pupils linked between the two learning environments; one pupil wrote that she learnt prayers in school that she used at home. Sweeping the classroom and the house was another activity mentioned frequently by girls. The girls also wrote 'obey the teachers' and 'obey parents' as activities. Although these pupils come from farming families, few of them appear to carry out regular work in agriculture. Girls mention 'planting flowers', maybe because it is an activity they enjoy (Table 13) rather than one they carry out frequently. A few boys mentioned agricultural activities (weeding, let chickens out), but the frequency of occurrence was more for 'sweep the house', 'play' and 'read books'.

Table 14 summarises mapping diagrams and one pupil's diagram is illustrated in Figure 3.

Table 14: Activities at home and school

(Summary of mapping diagrams by 12 pupils from year 4 and 5 (by frequency of occurrence of each activity in the mapping diagrams)).

Activities I do at home	boy	girl	Activities I do at school	boy	girl
play	3	4	play	3	3
plant flowers		6	learn	3	6
read books	3	4	plant flowers		3
help parents		2	obey teachers		4
sweep the house	4	7	sweep classroom	3	6
clean the garden	3	5	clean garden	2	5
obey parents and adults		2	pray	3	7
watch television		2	collect water	1	1
listen to the radio		2	tell stories and poems	1
collect firewood	1		draw pictures		1
go shopping	1		read books		1
bring in the washing	1
collect water	1	4
pray	3	7
go to the temple	1
brush teeth	3	1
wash face	2
comb hair	1
weed	2	1
learn		1
water plants	1
let the chickens out	1
put vegetables into bundles	1
practice writing		1
eat		1
bathe		1

Figure 3: A pupil's mapping diagram (School B)

2.3.5 Teaching Learning Processes

The curriculum and content of learning

The principal believes that the school would function better if more decision making was at the school level. For example the school terms could be made more suited to local conditions as during the monsoon flooding in the village keeps many pupils at home. The school has no input in curriculum development. Because the content of the curriculum is so full, the teachers do not have time to fit extra activities into school time; however, teachers believe the curriculum is relevant to pupils backgrounds. One example given in the curricula there is a section on factories in this area it is easy to go and visit a rubber processing factory. Few teachers could give examples or illustrate the use of other materials. Year 1 teacher had made some learning cards (numbers and letters) that she learnt at a recent INSET.

Pupils are given no choice over what they learn. There is a yearly plan with set lesson times and subjects, and this must be adhered to. Teachers follow the teachers' guide word for word and believe it allows for no flexibility. At this point it was mentioned that the teachers guide does allow flexibility in the lesson content and they were asked which they preferred, giving only a title such as "learning about soil by classification", or giving all activity steps like, (1) take the children to the garden; (2) ask them to collect soil samples; (3) let them sort out and differentiate soil types. All of the teachers said they would prefer to follow a set lesson, as in the teachers' guide, because they don't feel competent and confident enough to develop their own activities.

A very important point was brought up by one teacher who mentioned that in the curriculum there are many practical activities that can be done with the pupils. However, there are no follow-up lessons related to these activities. The activity suggests follow-up work but there is no time allocated in the curriculum to do them. They would have to be done in extra time, which is not possible because of the heavy content of the syllabus.

Teaching learning practices in the school

The teachers say they integrate subjects where it is possible but textbooks do not allow for integration of subject areas; in Maths and Religion no integration takes place. Pupils rarely work in groups in the classroom, except for art and craft subjects. Project work is not undertaken because, said one teacher, 'the pupils are not clever so they need to pay more attention to lessons. Project work is not important'. They do not do project work because it is not in the curriculum or the training programmes they have had.

Generally pupils only ask questions in class if they don't understand something; however, teachers say they normally ask questions first to ensure that pupils have understood, even though their rankings do not place this high as a method of learning (Table 15). Teachers say that pupils in the higher grades do not ask questions, because they are shy and have no confidence in themselves. It appears that the teachers make no attempt to encourage the pupils to ask questions, although year 5 pupils give this a relatively high rank (Table 15). Pupils are not encouraged to discuss in class unless they are working in groups and then only the better pupils work in groups, 'because the less able do not like working in groups and do not work well in groups'.

'Pupils writing about their own experience' receives a relatively low rank by teachers and pupils. Teachers say that approximately 20% of year 4 pupils cannot write and 15% of year 10 pupils can neither read nor write to even a basic level of competency. Teachers place 'pupils doing practical activities' and 'pupils helping each other' as the best methods of learning. It is likely that this comes from their teacher training rather than what they actually practice in the school as year 5 pupils give both of these activities a low rank, and year 4 pupils give the former a low rank. Responses to other questions, by teachers and pupils, also indicated that few practical activities are carried out in the school.

Table 15: Methods of Learning matrix ranking activity

Rank	Teachers' response (group 1)
1	pupils doing practical activities
1	pupils helping each other
2	pupils singing or reciting
3	pupils asking questions
4	pupils talking about their own experience
5	teacher giving examples
6	teacher asking questions
6	pupils writing about their own experience
7	teacher talking or reading to pupils
*	teacher beating pupils

Rank	Teachers' response (Group 2)
1	pupils doing practical activities
2	pupils helping each other
2	pupils talking about their own experience
3	pupils writing about their own experience
3	pupils singing or reciting
4	teacher giving examples
5	pupils asking questions
6	teacher asking questions
7	teacher talking or reading to pupils
*	teacher beating pupils

Rank	Pupils' response (year 5)
1	teacher talking or reading to pupils
2	pupils talking about their own experience
3	pupils writing about their own experience
3	pupils asking questions
4	teacher asking questions
4	teacher giving examples
5	pupils doing practical activities
6	pupils singing or reciting
6	pupils helping each other
*	teacher beating pupils

Rank	Pupils' response (Year 4)
1	teacher giving examples
2	pupils helping each other
2	teacher asking questions
2	teacher talking or reading to pupils
3	pupils singing or reciting
3	pupils doing practical activities
3	pupils writing about their own experience
4	pupils talking about their own experience
5	pupils asking questions
*	teacher beating pupils

* rank score = 0

2.3.6 The Home Environment

It was difficult organising a meeting of community members and eventually the deputy-principal arranged for some of the parents that brought their children to school to be interviewed. Seven parents volunteered to stay, and another parent arrived near the end of the interview, so was spoken to separately. The parents interviewed (all female) are engaged in farming and they all have pupils at the school between years 1 to 10. The parents said that there were good relationships between the community and the school and that they always come to the school when they are asked. Many parents cannot come to the school because they have younger children to look after or they have to work. Getting a daily income is more important than going to their children's school. They commented that they didn't really have time to answer questions but had come in specially to do so.

The teachers say the relationships are not good, there is little parental support and parents think that by coming to the school when asked they are getting involved with the school; the parents give nothing to the school. More than half of the parents never turn up for parents meetings, the only time all parents come to the school is when uniform material is being handed out. Some of the parents used to come and help in the kola kanda ³ programme; however, the programme ended when parents stopped coming to the school. If a parent is asked to come into the school, for example if their children's progress needs to be discussed, and does not turn up, teachers said that usually the pupil will be absent that day. Another case was quoted where a mother had asked the teachers to give her child extra lessons. The child then got bullied by other children saying that he must be stupid if he needs extra lessons, hence the child refused to attend the lessons. It appears that the many social problems in the village may account for poor relations between the school and parents, there seems to be little attempt by either side to resolve the situation.

³ school nutrition programme

Parents' role in schooling

The teachers believe that more involvement by the parents in school activities will improve the pupil's motivation. One teacher mentioned the case of a boy in year 4 whose mother is working in Singapore. The teacher has sent a number of letters to the father asking him to come into the school, but he has never turned up. She believes that if the child is helped at home he could do very well at school as he will work if someone stands over him. Although parents state that it is important to be involved in their children's school because the get to know their child's strengths and weaknesses, there is no evidence of them being involved. They are happy with their children's schooling, but despite being asked numerous questions about what their children actually learn in school, parents were unable to give a clear answer. The general response was 'the teaching is good'. When the group were asked whether their children talk about what they do in school a parent said 'yes, they talk about their homework and if they have to take something into school'. They talk about special events that happen at school, e.g. 'they talked about your (research project) visit and taking photographs'. As a final statement one parent said, 'the children learn what is in the syllabus; they learn what should be taught:

'What do you learn from your children?' was a question put to the group of parents. 'I have learnt model making' and 'I know about the metric system' were examples quoted by the parents. Their children do ask them questions, though often they cannot answer the question or they do not have time to sit and talk to their children. One parent said the best time for talking to her children is when they are watering the plants. The parents believe it is good that their children talk about what they do at home in school. If this happens they believe the children are being encouraged in school and it may encourage them to do more homework. One parent believes that 'doing practical work and learning what is around them is better than looking at pictures in books'.

Concerning improvements the parents would like to see in schooling, they emphasise the standard of the school. If the standard were to be improved, more children would come to this school. They feel the school needs a laboratory but they say nothing about the lack of materials (reading and writing), or the lack of adequate sanitary and water facilities. One parent said that her child came home and complained that his classroom was too small, the child is in year 4 and the room was observed to be spacious and well equipped. Possibly parents view items such as a laboratory as an indicator of the wealth of the school, as is having electricity and a night-watchman, which would improve the schools popularity and status. This would lead to an increase in pupil numbers and hence more resources, as the larger schools receive more equipment and resources.

Parents say more attention should be given to gifted children, and again this relates to the status of the school. If more pupils get through the year 5 scholarship exam, the school receives a higher rating and parents seem to more concerned with this than what their children actually learn. However they did mention that there should be remedial classes for weak pupils and the parents should be given more recognition. Regarding the last point there seems to be a conflict as parents say they have no time to be involved in school activities and teachers indicated that generally parents are not interested in school and are one of the major problems for the school (parents did not mention the social problems in the village).

For their children's futures they wish for them to have good jobs, such as teaching. Being a farmer is good as you are independent, if you are educated you can be a good farmer. The parents do not want their children to be the type of farmers they are. The idea of having a school agriculture plot, purely for the use of contextualising learning, was put to the parents. This caused a lively discussion amongst the parents and they all agreed it was a good idea. 'Yes, they would come to the school to be involved with this', was the general response. The parent who was interviewed separately has four boys at the school (in years 4 to 9). All of them are considered to be backward and their reading and writing skills are very poor. Unfortunately the discussion was held in the principal's office because he requested it, and he was also present throughout the discussion. The mother knows all of her children are weak in school. They are farmers and the children stay at home often to help on the farm, especially at peak periods. She feels that her children's schooling is not suitable for them, whilst the principal was out of the room for a few minutes she mentioned that her children should be taught to 'do something useful with their hands so that they will gain beneficial skills which they can use in their future'.

2.3.7 Contextualising teaching and learning

To contextualise teaching and learning in this school, where there are many social problems, teachers believe 'common experiences' rather than individual experiences should be used. The principal, on the other hand, said 'this can't be done because the curriculum is too rigid'. Teachers agreed that contextualisation would be a good approach to learning - pupils can remember things better, especially subjects like Science, 'if we try to teach Science from a book it is a completely new subject. If we relate it to the pupils home environment it is more relevant'. An example was given where pupils were taken outside to stand under a tree when they were discussing the effects of shade in a science lesson. In one year 5 Environment lesson, pupils planted a banana tree and used compost as a fertiliser to see how well the plant grew. They also planted flower beds. The latter two activities were done by a teacher who has now left the school. The teachers say that pupils enjoy practical sessions; their motivation and participation by all is greater, but they do not do much practical work in school (see Table 15). Pupils ask questions and remember things better when they do practical activities; however, teachers say they cannot do practical activities unless they are in the curriculum, because there is not enough time. Also, pupils would not bring materials required for practical lessons. The teachers said they would need more training to use such an approach of contextualising teaching and learning.

2.3.8 Agriculture in contextualising teaching and learning

Pupils were asked a number of questions that tried to find out whether, in their learning, there was any evidence that a contextualising approach had been used, either knowingly or unknowingly by the teachers. Various pupils made the following comments 'in school we learn subjects, at home we do not. In Science we learnt how to plant a seed. I learnt how to do that at home but the method is different. School teaches the wrong way; they use pots in the classroom which is not real. My father shows me how to plant seeds in a paddy fields'. This boy also mentioned that the teacher did not ask them about their experiences in planting seeds. 'At school we learnt how to preserve limes, but our parents already know how to do this', 'at home and at school we learn how to sew, but at school we must sew how the teacher wants us to, while at home we can do what we want. At school we learnt a new stitch'.

During a classroom observation, a informal discussion took place with some year 4 pupils, regarding a banana plant outside their classroom:

'What can you use a banana plant for in school?' 'To measure height. To measure width. You can use the stem to make printing blocks'

'Why did you mention these uses?' 'In class we measured the blackboard. In class we learnt how to make printing blocks'.

'Do you prefer to work in the classroom, or outside?' 'Outside'

'Who planted the banana tree?' 'Last years' year 5 class'

'Would you like to plant a banana tree?' 'Yes!'

'Which do you prefer - to measure the blackboard or the banana tree?' 'The banana tree!'

Pupils had never actually carried these activities out in practice, although it was understood that previously a teacher (who has now left) had done something similar with the previous year 4 pupils. If agriculture was to be used as a means for contextualisation teachers feel they would need more agriculture training as generally pupils know more about agriculture than they do. They feel that utilising pupils' agriculture would be good, but at present can't visualise it being used in any subject other than Environmental Science. At this point a lively discussion ensued in which the following was said by a year 4 teacher, 'for weak pupils this would be a good method as they would get more recognition. If it could be incorporated into Maths and Science, such as measuring out a hole in which to plant a banana or coconut tree, or using them to measure the effects of shade. In Language the instructions for digging the hole could be in English. Reading and writing skills could be developed when writing a report monitoring the tree.' The teacher then said, 'I've only just got this idea -1 think I will try it out!'. The other group of teachers were not so certain about the approach, especially when relating it to agricultural experience. They were dubious about the approach as pupils want to get away from agriculture; being a farmer is seen as failure, a job for 'backward pupils'. The attitude to agriculture would prevent this approach being used in grades higher than primary level. Teachers said that it would be good if the school could do more to make the pupils aware of the importance of agriculture, but another problem would be making the pupils understand that they would be learning in the context of agricultural experience, not learning about agriculture.

When evaluating pupils progress using such an approach, there were two conflicting views. One group of teachers (relatively older teachers with more teaching experience) said that the approach is difficult to evaluate as some criteria of assessment are not clear. They say the approach is suitable for all pupils, as all standards can participate in practical activities. The second group of teachers (younger teachers with less teaching experience) said that evaluating the pupils progress is not difficult as they were taught in INSET. They state that with practical activities the pupils are unlikely to write anything in exercise books. If parents see their children's exercise book empty they are not happy. This group of teachers also believe that practical activities, although the pupils enjoy them, do not help the pupil get good end of term marks. Because of home backgrounds the approach is not suitable for all pupils.

2.3.9 Issues arising from school B

The school has many problems, identified by the teachers primarily as the lack of involvement and concern by parents in their children's schooling. Parents have little involvement in the school and consequently know little about the schooling their children receive. Parents seem to view the status of the school as more important than what their children actually learn. Teachers believe self-motivation of pupils is lacking due to the many social problems pupils face at home and that children's education is not a priority. Overall, teachers appear to be happy with the training they have received, but in order to be more innovative in their teaching methods they require further and frequent training specifically to do this. Generally teachers in the school follow the teachers' guide step by step and although it allows for teachers to use other methods, teachers do not know how to do this.

There appears to be low teacher motivation and lack of visits by Master teachers and education officers, and poor relationships between the school and community probably contribute to the problem. Pupil motivation is also low; the average attendance rate is only 65% and, according to teachers, due to the lack of parental support from home. Teachers are more concerned with getting good pupils through the year 5 scholarship exam than ensuring that all pupils leave the school having reached basic competency levels in reading, writing and arithmetic. The school lacks teaching and learning resources as well as materials such as exercise books and pencils, because pupils don't bring these items from home. There are no adequate sanitary and water facilities but there is electricity and a night-watchman.

There is not enough decision making at school level, especially, for example, in the timing of the school terms. In this area, at certain times of the year, flooding keeps many pupils at home. It is believed that the exam system should be made to accommodate the differences in the background and experiences of rural children compared to urban children. Teachers identified areas they need help in, and many centre around training in new teaching methods. Training in assessment procedures also would be an important and beneficial area. Teachers believe that the curriculum is relevant to the lives and backgrounds of the pupils; however, practical activities cannot take place unless they are in the curriculum, because lesson time is a constraint. If there is an activity in the curriculum there are no follow-up activities on the same subject to do at a later stage.

Teachers mention also the importance of an awareness programme for parents. This may help them understand the value of educating their children and the possible benefits they may receive from their children's education (e.g. improved hygienic and agricultural practices).

Pupils appear unable to relate learning environments at home with learning environments in the school. It was mentioned that practical work at school is 'not real' because it takes place in the classroom, when realistically it would only take place outside. In this school pupils appear to have little contact with agricultural practices, considering most of their parents are farmers. This could be due to pupils not thinking it was 'right' to mention the agricultural tasks they were involved in daily, as during interviews a number of examples of their agricultural activities arose.

Overall there appears to be little evidence of the use of a contextualised approach to teaching and learning in this school. It may be attributed to a number of factors:

1. the curriculum is rigid and teachers feel they must follow it step by step;

2. teachers have not been exposed to such an approach to teaching and learning;

3. teachers have little confidence in themselves to enable them to adapt what is in the curriculum to the local environment;

4. the principal does not motivate teachers into improving the general standard in the school;

5. there are poor relationships between the community, parents and the school.

3 Findings from the country study

Sri Lanka's education system has been developed over many centuries, and at present offers free education for all from year one through to university level. It has made concerted efforts to improve the quality of education, and a high literacy rate (88%) and low drop-out rate (4%) are among some of the country's achievements. Despite these and many other high achievements, the problem of remoteness and difficulty of access to rural primary schools still remains an unresolved problem, which in turn affects the effectiveness of these schools.

At present rural primary schools in Sri Lanka face many problems and the case study findings revealed the following general problems:

· Inequitable distribution of resources, both human (lack of trained teachers) and physical (lack of equipment), exist between urban and rural primary school;

· Many disparities in the education system, especially between urban and rural schools;

· Poverty and health (malnourishment) are major problems which affect the pupils education;

· Handwriting skills are very bad because the pupils have no facilities in order to practice at home;

· Few reading materials are available to the pupils, such as newspapers, and many RPSs have no library;

· There are no media facilities such as television and radio;

· Many of the pupils will be unable to continue their schooling after year 9 because there are no transport facilities available;

· Classes are overcrowded and teachers are unable to manage in large schools due to poor skills in classroom organisation;

· Rural primary schools are getting smaller and teachers are not motivated in these schools as they receive no attention from school authorities (inspections or Master teachers);

· In some cases there is little parental support and lack of co-operation from the community;

· There is high absenteeism of pupils and teachers;

· Lack of infrastructure. Although transport on public buses is subsidised, often the problem is lack of bus service;

· Substantial variation between schools, divisions and provinces in the availability and deployment of primary teachers;

· Lack of incentives for all teachers, including primary level teachers, to serve in disadvantaged areas;

· Restricted opportunities for primary teachers to develop their careers within the field of primary education.

Apart from these general problems there are many macro problems which specifically affect the effective functioning of rural primary schools, and especially those found in the poor and disadvantaged sectors of society. Interviews with officials from the National Institute of Education and findings from the field work identified many areas that need urgent action. Recent studies (NIE, 1995) have revealed that achievements of primary school children in Mathematics, Language and Life Skills are disturbingly poor and that disparities in achievement levels are usually high between urban and rural pupils and between those belonging to different provinces; less than 30% of primary level pupils complete schooling with mastery levels in numeracy and literacy.

Often teachers working in rural schools view their pupils as being ignorant because they come from low level socio-economic groups. These pupils, the majority of whom are likely to come from farming backgrounds, lead harsh lives in which their contribution to the family income must often come before their education. This leads to high levels of absenteeism during peak times in the agricultural year. The case studies illustrate that many children have very responsible jobs working on the farm, looking after the home and caring for younger brothers and sisters. They often work long hours and survive on low nutritional diets. They have little time and often no facilities for studying at home. No special support is offered to teachers in rural primary schools, and only a few selected schools get support from private donors. Many rural primary schools rarely, if ever, get visits from educational inspectors or master teachers who are often overworked, especially in rural areas where accessibility is difficult.

At present the education system is very examination oriented with children in years 1 and 2 already attending private lessons in preparation for the national scholarship exam in year 5. Many of those interviewed stated that the year 5 exam put too much pressure on pupils and should be eliminated. Consequently, slow learners, disadvantaged groups and the majority of the rural population are neglected in terms of the resources for their schools and by an urban biased curriculum. The learning needs of the rural sector are often different from those of the urban sector in terms of pupils' ambitions, opportunities available to them (many are physically unable to continue with their education because of transport problems) and parental attitudes to their education.

In the past few years, Sri Lanka has revised the primary school curriculum in an effort to move towards a 'pupil-centred' approach to learning. Teaching is, however, still 'teacher-centred' and this is primarily due to the pressure on teachers to cover the curriculum and prepare pupils for the national year 5 scholarship exam. Although the curriculum has been revised, the country is still working under the same education system, which needs to adapt in order that curriculum changes may be implemented successfully. Some educationalists believe there is an imperative need to modify the curriculum so that it is less academic and more orientated towards life skills and social skills. In academic subjects there needs to be more self learning, experiments and problem solving skills. More community involvement is needed along with more exposure to external situations so that children's general knowledge is improved. At present the curriculum is not really relevant to the lives of rural school children. Although the curriculum allows for some degree of flexibility by the teacher, during the fieldwork it was evident that few teachers knew this, or had any idea how to go about implementing their ideas. Teachers frequently stated that a contextualised approach to teaching and learning is a good idea, but they need more training and support in methods for implementing such an approach.

Contextualising teaching and learning is not recommended specifically in Sri Lanka's educational policy. The country is looking towards 'life long learning' with activity based curricula and self-learning activities, but these are not being practised. An external donor has undertaken a pilot project, which closely follows the theory and practice which underlies the contextualisation of teaching and learning, through the use of an agriculture plot and nutrition programme. Generally agriculture is considered to be a poor and uneducated person's livelihood. Using agriculture as a means for contextualising teaching and learning could lead to parents interpreting this as school agriculture lessons, which are unpopular in some countries. During the case studies, however, this was rarely given as a constraint by parents. In fact, on a number of occasions, parents said that such an approach would make their children "better farmers". There is clear evidence from the pilot study in school A that such an approach makes learning more enjoyable for pupils and teachers, and parents seem also to appreciate it. During interviews members of the local community, the agricultural experimental plot and the nutrition programme in this school were referred to constantly. The community also is involved through the school providing a type of extension service following experiments it carries out on the agriculture plot.