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By Francesca Hangeior  

At least seven out of 10 children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are unable to understand a simple text by age 10, a report by the Global Coalition for Foundational Learning has said. The meaning is that such children suffer from Leaning Poverty.

The report is titled: Foundational learning: What it takes and what works.

“Every child deserves the dignity and opportunity that foundational learning brings by providing the essential building blocks for all other learning, knowledge and higher-order skills. Yet nearly 7 out of 10 children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are unable to understand a simple text by age 10.

“Without this strong foundation, children are more likely to repeat a grade and to drop out of school, which can drive a country toward worsened health outcomes, greater youth unemployment and deeper levels of poverty.

“Evidence shows that an underperforming education system doesn’t just cost children their future, but results in spending inefficiencies, costing system years of double payment as children repeat grades.

“During recent events, such as the USAID Global Education Conference and the Africa Ministerial Breakfast Dialogue at the Education World Forum, education leaders and policymakers highlighted the imperative of scaling what works to meet the magnitude of this learning crisis.

“While there are many compilations of evidence on what works at the programme or activity level, such as the 2023 Smart Buys Report: Cost Effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning by the Global Evidence in Education Advisory Panel (GEEAP) and USAID’s Ten-Year Retrospective on Early Grade Reading Programming, the real challenge lies in scaling these approaches within public systems.”

The report noted that: “Studies such as Learning at Scale and Numeracy at Scale highlight the complexities involved in scaling educational interventions. The Smart Buys report spotlights structured pedagogy and teaching at the right level as cost-effective strategies for enhancing learning, especially in LMICs, supporting internal efficiencies within budgets grappling with debt servicing and other fiscal pressures.”

It emphasized that: “Structured pedagogy interventions have led to notable improvements in foundational literacy and numeracy in countries like Kenya, Liberia, and South Africa. These interventions include a coherent package of lesson plans, learning materials, ongoing teacher training, and mentoring, all designed to reinforce one another.”

It listed Kenya’s Tusome programme as one example of successful scaling, leveraging the ingredients of structured pedagogy. Implemented in 22,000 schools and supporting over 8 million children, the programme’s national dashboard enabled regular data feedback loops and regular teacher training, doubling the percentage of students reaching benchmarks in English and Kiswahili within one year.

Similarly, in Senegal, the Lecture Pour Tous programme supports the government’s efforts to boost early grade reading.

“More evidence is also needed to understand how best to deliver learning at scale to the millions of children living through climate and conflict-related emergencies and protracted crises, which poses unique challenges.”

It gave key enablers for successful scaling to include: Sustained political commitment and will for improving foundational learning, and timely provision of high-quality lesson plans for teachers and learning materials for students (with adaptability to context).

Scaling foundational learning effectively requires balancing and understanding good pedagogical practices while securing the systemic buy-in needed for implementing these practices at scale.

By fostering dialogue among development partners, governments, and stakeholders, we can transform education systems together to support every child’s learning journey and achieve lasting improvements.

Foundational learning is defined as basic literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills, such as socio-emotional skills that provide the fundamental building blocks for all other learning, knowledge, and higher-order skills.