Teaching in Colombia’s elementary schools is lacking quality while teachers are struggling with disengaged students, according to the World Bank.
A report by World Bank report investigating schools in Latin America showed that Colombian teachers spend too few minutes on instructions and too much time on management activities like taking attendance, cleaning the blackboard, and distributing homework, which end up costing students a day of teaching each week.
A teacher should spend 85% of his or her time on instructional work such as explaining and demonstrating assignments, reading aloud, and answering questions, according to Stalling’s research, “Classroom Snapshots,” in how a well-run classroom is supposed function.
In addition to spending too much time on management activities, teachers are almost “off task” 10% of the time |
In Colombian classrooms only 65% of the teachers time is used to instruct students, which equals one day of teaching each week.
In addition to spending too much time on management activities, teachers are almost “off task” 10% of the time, which means that they are either absent from the classroom, turning up late or leaving early, and sometimes teachers are just chatting with people outside the classroom.
Part of the problem is the education institutions in Latin America, which are not critical enough in their selection of teachers, the World Bank said.
Among Colombian teachers only 3% score excellent in the subject they teach.
Education students are academically weaker than the average student in higher education |
Education students are academically weaker than the average student in higher education. In Colombia, scores for teachers are 14.5% below other students studying different subjects.
The report also revealed that teachers in general are often poorly prepared to use class time effectively, and there is evidence that the pressure teachers feel to perform is generally weak.
This is partly because the lack of evaluation, the World Bank stated. School directors in Colombia have had difficulties giving critical feedback to teacher’s performances, which could be handled by letting external experts observe instead, the report suggested.
Colombia’s government has tried to raise the bar with a reform in 2002, after which teachers have to pass a mandatory exam before to be hired in the public sector.
Results from this reform were never measured and only a few teachers educated after the establishment of the reform, are employed, according to World Bank.
Disengaged students
The lack of quality in teaching results in disengaged students, claimed the report.
No Colombian school in the study has been able to keep students engaged for more than 25% of their time in class.
Around 60% of the time some students are disengaged, and more than 20% of the time large groups of student (more than 6) are not paying attention, socializing or acting out.
The report stated that poor learning results can be linked directly to the failure of keeping the students engaged.
The report stated that poor learning results can be linked directly to the failure of keeping the students engaged. |
One of the challenges is to ensure that teachers accept the importance of including students in the learning process. Additionally, the report said it is necessary to equip teachers with a wide range of strategies to achieve the goal of capturing the students’ attention.
Nationally, 200 schools were visited for the report, and 1091 classrooms observed by World Bank supervisors on unexpected visits.
Education has been one of the pillars of President Juan Manuel Santos, who said he wants Colombia to be the best educated country in Latin America.
Sources
- GREAT TEACHERS – How to Raise Student Learning In Latin America and the Caribbean ( World Bank)
