One particularly intriguing study by Nobel Prize-winning economists Esther Duflo and Abhijeet Banerjee is the “market math” study. This research highlights that, despite the poor performance of most children in India in school-taught arithmetic, children from poorer families working in informal markets, such as selling fruit, exhibit strong arithmetic skills. These children often perform complex mental arithmetic while working, such as counting goods or calculating payments and change. This raises important questions: Are these children developing arithmetic skills through practical, hands-on learning? Why do their school-going peers struggle with arithmetic despite formal education?
If we know what to teach and have the people to teach it, could the issue lie in how we teach? Pedagogy is a crucial element of an education system, and it can significantly influence the effectiveness of a lesson. Engaging students and maintaining their interest is essential for effective teaching. Many students, myself included, have experienced boredom in classes where the material seemed irrelevant to our lives. This leads to disengagement and poor retention of information. If this is a widespread experience, it represents a significant issue that requires national attention.
Bangladesh has significant potential for research on learning outcomes, yet it is unfortunate that we are late in developing a robust evidence database. Without a baseline, it is challenging to assess progress over time. To truly improve learning outcomes, we need to build a database to identify effective strategies.
Encouragingly, there is a growing focus on pedagogy in early childhood education in Bangladesh, emphasizing “learning by playing” and “learning by doing.” However, there is still insufficient attention to the pedagogy for underprivileged children. Effective teaching for children with different lived experiences requires sensitivity and tailored approaches. My experiences teaching homeless street children and students at a leading English medium school highlighted the need for different pedagogical strategies. I often wished for training on how to teach, not just what to teach, as the delivery method is crucial.
Additionally, preconceived notions and biases in education must be addressed. As sociologist Diane Reay points out, there is often a bias that underprivileged children should only learn the basics needed to survive, while privileged children are prepared for professional careers. Education researcher Jean Anyon notes that teaching methods often reflect and reinforce class positions: working-class children receive rote instruction, while children of professionals and the business class are taught creativity, self-expression, authority, and self-control.
We must challenge these issues and invest in teacher training on effective teaching methods, especially for young children. University teachers also need to embrace interactive learning and facilitate open discussions and debates. In “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” Paulo Freire advocates for treating students as co-creators of knowledge rather than passive recipients. For the sake of our education system, we must adopt this ideal pedagogy.