- Review existing evidence on the review topic to inform programme design and policy making undertaken by the DfID, other agencies and researchers; and
- Identify critical evidence gaps to guide the development of future research programmes.
The overarching question this review engaged was:
Which pedagogic practices, in which contexts and under what conditions, most effectively support all students to learn at primary and secondary levels in developing countries?
This was explored through three sub-questions:
- What pedagogical practices are being used by teachers in formal and informal classrooms in developing countries?
- What is the evidence on the effectiveness of these pedagogical practices, in what conditions, and with what population of learners?
- How can teacher education (curriculum and practicum) and the school curriculum and guidance materials best support effective pedagogy?
The review’s main claim is that teachers’ use of communicative strategies encourages pedagogic practices that are interactive in nature, and is more likely to impact on student learning outcomes and hence be effective. This claim for teachers’ use of communicative strategies is not something that is reported consistently in those terms in the literature reviewed, but it has emerged from an interpretation of the overall body of evidence.
This review is part of a series of DFID education rigorous literature reviews. Other reviews in this series include:
- The Impact of Tertiary Education on Development
- The role and impact of private schools in developing countries
- Literacy, Foundation Learning and Assessment in Developing Countries
- The Political Economy of Education Systems in Developing Countries
- Girls’ education and gender equality
- What works to promote children’s educational access, quality of learning, and wellbeing in crisis-affected contexts?
The related evidence brief is also available for download here.
