The needs analysis of One 2 Think focused on dropouts and 21st-century skills/ life skills.
We went to 10 schools of different types in underprivileged areas of Dhaka; four NGO-run
schools, three public schools, two non-formal and one private school.
We conducted 73 individual interviews (29 students (from grade 1 to grade 8, aged between
8 and 13), 26 teachers, and 18 guardians), 20 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with
an average of 5 participants (10 with students and 10 with parents, separately), and
27 classroom observations.
Although our study is mainly qualitative, we decided to quantify our data because there
were tendencies in responses and to make them more easily understandable (Royer et
al., 2019). However, many quotations from participants are shared. We should also note
that interviewees could give more than one answer.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS
We mostly had the opportunity to observe Bangla, Maths, English and Science classes.
Almost all lessons were lecture-style, and teacher-centered (focus of students on the teacher)
and during activities they worked either collectively or individually.
Repetition and memorization were the main learning methods.
Students showed no misbehavior issue.
The following 21st-century-skills were observed in classrooms (e.g: collaboration in 44% of
classrooms
19%
44%
44%
15%
15%
11%
11%
INTERVIEW AND FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD) RESPONSES
31%
The most effective teaching and learning method, according to 31% of students is working
with a partner or in a group, although we saw it in only two classrooms.
48%
We were surprised to hear that 48% of students like to attend lecture-based classes and listen
to their teacher’s explanations.
24%
24% of students also like memorization.
We believe that there is a bias in these responses, because most of them had never experienced
any other form of learning method. For example, one student said:
Listening from teachers. This is how you understand most? Yes, we never have group discussions.
Overview from the One2think Home Page:
The analysis of existing studies (secondary data) made us confident that our life skills
approach can have a lasting impact. Therefore, we decided to collect primary data ourselves
to validate the relevance of our strategy and get an in-depth idea of the needs in terms of life
skills in Dhaka, Bangladesh. During the months of July and August 2019, we went to 10 primary
schools of different types in Dhaka (non-formal, NGO run, private and government public
schools) to collect data.
We carried out 27 classroom observations, 10 focus group discussions with students and 10
with guardians, 29 semi-structured interviews with students, 26 with teachers and 18 with
guardians. 10 teachers (we did not interview) also filled up a questionnaire. Moreover,
we appraised the infrastructures of all 10 schools.
Currently, we are in the process of data analysis to grasp which are the priority life skills
and in which areas of application, according to the beneficiaries (students), teachers and
guardians. The research findings will enable us to target our actions as much as possible
and develop a relevant strategy for the pilot project. Our project will be oriented towards
a learner-centred pedagogy and the positive discipline.
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