Outdated teaching methods are restricting children in lower and middle income countries from attaining basic literacy, undermining their opportunities and their nations’ economic growth, a new analysis warns.
A failure to teach reading with evidence-based approaches is compounded by insufficient books, inadequate teacher training, high absenteeism, limited class time, instruction in an unfamiliar language and teaching that does not match children’s learning levels, it says.
The report on effective reading instruction, launched this week at a gathering of education leaders in Ghana, was prepared by literacy experts at the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, with support from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the World Bank and Unicef.