The following essay will evaluate the Pisa results in terms of education in West Africa, focussing on the country Gabon. The author used to work at the international school of Gabon, where assessments were concluded consistently and thoroughly within the whole school including Primary, Middle and Secondary School. Considering the results for mathematics and literacy one can gather what the quality of education will be. Having students learn a new foreign language can be beneficial for the country, allowing other students to become proficient and confident in writing, and speaking using a new language.
Abstract
The following essay will evaluate the Pisa results in terms of education in West Africa, focussing on the country Gabon. The author used to work at the international school of Gabon, where assessments were concluded consistently and thoroughly within the whole school including Primary, Middle and Secondary School. Considering the results for mathematics and literacy one can gather what the quality of education will be. Having students learn a new foreign language can be beneficial for the country, allowing other students to become proficient and confident in writing, and speaking using a new language.
Keywords: Gabon, Mathematics, Pisa, Sciences, West Africa.
How Pisa results of France impact Gabon both positive and negatively
Currently in West Africa, especially in Gabon, all students have the right to education, and public schools which teach predominately in French are open to everyone. There are few private schools, which are extremely high priced for people earning an average salary. Most parents try to afford the fees, as they wish to give their children a good education, ensuring they are allowed to achieve an International Baccalaureate Diploma to enable them to attend top universities abroad. Most of Gabon and West Africa are influenced by France and its relationship. Before Gabon became independent by becoming a republic they were governed by France. For this reason, we will review the Pisa results for France and incorporate them with the current education situation in Gabon, West Africa. There are a selected few International Schools, which offer Bilingual curriculums in both French and English.
Pisa results of France impact West Africa, Gabon positively
It is very important to understand how the Pisa results can influence a country positively as it gives a detailed report of the citizen's and student's reading, writing abilities, skills, mathematical, and scientific achievements, what students already know, and what areas need improvements. The reports are very detailed and usually published through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, [OECD] (2019) explains that:
The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics, and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policymakers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries (para. 1).
A strong focus on English reading skills, considering whether students can write, read and speak correctly. The research of Trudell & Schroder (2008) investigated the significance of being able to speak English as a second language in African countries. Their research focussed and confirmed, "That is why mother-tongue speakers of minority African languages find learning to read in the language they speak is a qualitatively better learning experience than learning to read in a language they are unfamiliar with" (Trudell & Schroder, 2008, para. 1). One could argue that it confirms why students in International Schools battled with English as a secondary language and being put on the EAL (English as Additional Language ) list. The positive outcome of having this readily available data is for schools to intervene and support students in the various registries. Firstly accommodation and making the necessary modifications, through assessment practices being rigorous, consistent, and result attainable and achievable. Without the presented data schools would struggle to make these possible.
However, reading methodologies used for teaching reading in sub-Saharan Africa are usually borrowed from other linguistic environments. Having been developed and tested on learners in the West, in European languages, these methodologies reflect their linguistic origins in a way that disadvantages Africans who attempt to use them for mother-tongue literacy learning.
Close relationship to France, according to Baird et al. (2011) which discussed in the reports about assessment concluding the following findings "Teacher assessment, whether formative or summative, by judgement or test-based, is popular in this country. External summative assessment, other than for the Baccalauréat, is mistrusted, because of its potential accountability threat to schools and teachers themselves (p. 17). Furthermore, their research elaborates “The Baccalauréat, for its part, is almost revered by society at large, including teachers. It has the same ‘gold standard’ status that the A-level has in England, and is beyond criticism” (Baird et al, 2011, p. 17).
Pisa results of France impact West Africa, Gabon negatively
The financial implications parents have to send students for private education are extremely expensive and costly, and most families are forced to take loans to enable their children to attend these prestigious schools. Only some schools offer scholarships, for students to enrol, and have excellent opportunities to grow educationally through a good education system that focuses on mathematics, English, and the sciences. It can be summarised through the study of Baird et al (2011) that in France the International reviews were used to support the wide-running reform of education, which was later adapted in Gabon, West Africa. Secondly, the ministers in the government have been identified as guilty of over-interpreting and exaggerating the international survey results of Pisa, which inevitably portrayed France in a negative light, this was further demonstrated and discussed in West Africa, Gabon. The relationship France and Gabon share is very similar and close. The International Baccalaureate programme has become extremely popular due to the low achievements in reading and writing, mathematics, and sciences, as statistics were shared with Ministers in West Africa. Most International Schools have followed the IB curriculum as outlined by the IBO (n.d.) focusing on inquiry-based learning, where assessments are both formative and summative.
Conclusion
There are many more positive reasons to evaluate Pisa results instead of scrutinising the available data, as it is subjective and allows governments and officials in charge of education to review certain policies, making education more accessible and justified.
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- Quote paper
- Mario Maxwell Müller (Author), 2022, How can the Pisa Results of France impact Education in West Africa?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1284939
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