Lesson observations in sub-Saharan Africa: bringing learners into focus

ABSTRACT

This article considers different approaches to lesson observation and their potential for understanding and evaluating classroom practice in sub-Saharan Africa. We start with a critical appraisal of Teach, a recent World Bank initiative. The evidence and assumptions underpinning this teacher-focused instrument are considered alongside its affordances and limitations. Following this, we review evidence from school-based research from the region to identify four salient aspects of conditions for learning: the use of languages; the role of peers; the use of resources to support learning; and differentiated support. An alternative framework for lesson observations is proposed as a means of developing understandings of these conditions through a spotlight on the activities of individual learners; learners’ interactions with teachers and peers; and the classroom environment. In conclusion we consider how this framework may be used alongside existing instruments for deeper insights into the nature and quality of education in the region.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive education
• learners and learning
• lesson observation
• student participation
• education in africa
• world bank

1. Introduction

Lesson observation is like a spotlight, illuminating certain aspects of classroom life, while leaving others in darkness. In this article, we argue that a spotlight on the teacher can cast into shadow other salient aspects of classroom conditions which have a strong bearing on learning. We are particularly concerned with the potential of lesson observations as a basis for understanding the nature and quality of education in sub-Saharan Africa.¹ Based on our review of research from varied classroom contexts from across the region, we show that key considerations include the use of languages, the role of peers, the use of resources to support learning and provision of differentiated support. In this paper we propose a framework for observing these conditions in ways which foreground the experiences of learners.

In referring above to ‘classroom conditions’, and elsewhere to the ‘learning environment’, we are concerned with the social and material contexts in which learning occurs. This view is informed by the work of Illeris (2009), who proposes a comprehensive theory of learning, combining insights from cognitive and sociocultural learning theory. As he explains:

All learning implies the integration of two very different processes, namely an external interaction process between the learner and his or her social, cultural or material environment, and an internal psychological process of elaboration and acquisition. (ibid., p. 8)

Illeris’ (2009) work has implications for the development of observational instruments for educational purposes. Although a learner’s internal processes are not amenable to observation, many aspects of their interactions with the social and material environment are. In this article we focus in particular on external conditions for learning which are known to be important in African schools, and how observation may be used to capture these.

Lesson observation serves a range of functions in different educational settings around the world, for example, as a means of supporting teachers’ initial education or ongoing professional learning (O’Sullivan, 2006; Cajkler et al., 2013; Wood et al., 2019; monitoring for compliance and accountability purposes (O’Leary, 2016); evaluating the impact of policies or interventions on classroom practice (Matsumura et al., 2008); and as a tool for basic research (Alexander, 2000; Tabulawa, 2004). An observation instrument may be designed for use by trainees, tutors, colleagues, subject specialists, inspectors, researchers or others. It may permit open-ended interpretations of classroom practice or closed responses to pre-defined items (i.e. a checklist), and may be more or less oriented towards the activities of teachers or learners (Wragg, 2002). The function of such instruments may be descriptive (to capture details of what occurs in lessons) or evaluative (as a basis for judgements of classroom practice) (Alexander, 2000). Evaluative frameworks necessarily draw from notions of quality in education, whether these are implicit or explicit, and whether determined by government, practitioner or research communities. Within the effectiveness research tradition, quality is typically conceived in terms of classroom practices and conditions associated with positive outcomes for learners (e.g. Coe et al., 2014). Human rights and social justice based perspectives take a broader view of quality, incorporating a concern for young people’s equitable access to, and experiences of education, as well as the outcomes from this (Tikly & Barrett, 2011; Tawil et al., 2012).

In sub-Saharan Africa, there are long traditions of using observation as a means of assessing the quality of education provision. Within civil service structures, district supervisors and others in positions of leadership have used observation protocols and checklists to assess classroom environments and monitor teachers’ compliance with policy directives, for example, in terms of teaching methods, curriculum coverage, equipment, dress and other aspects of conduct (Anderson Levitt & Diallo, 2003; De Grauwe, 2001; Mitchell, 2019a, p. 106). In some cases, this may support processes of instructional leadership, which can be valuable where it involves experienced educators with subject-relevant expertise and credibility (Piper et al., 2018; Childress et al. 2020). However, further research is needed for a fuller understanding of the nature and prevalence of lesson observation practices across the region (Bush et al., 2021; De Grauwe, 2001).

In recent years, the World Bank (2019) has developed a lesson observation instrument for use in primary schools in the region and in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) around the world. In the following section we provide a critical appraisal of this.

2. Teacher-focused observation: A critical analysis of the World Bank’s Teach instrument

Teach is a lesson observation instrument designed to ‘distinguish between effective and ineffective teaching’ (World Bank, 2019, p. ii). It takes the form of a one-page checklist to be completed during a 30-minute observation. It is intended to serve multiple purposes, as a means of identifying a teacher’s professional development needs (i.e. a professional learning function), and of collecting data on classroom practice at scale (i.e. a basic research function). The instrument is designed to be so easy to use that it may be used by individuals with no prior professional experience in education, as its developers note:

[A]fter a 4-day training, raters without any previous experience with classroom observation tools and little to no relation with the education sector were able to rate classrooms reliably.

(Molina et al., 2020, p. 12)

The instrument is not intended to provide a holistic assessment of the quality of education, but to assess the effectiveness of teaching. As such it is a teacher-focused instrument. The checklist comprises 28 statements to be evaluated during the lesson, each of which receives a rating between 1 (ineffective) and 5 (effective). These statements describe generic aspects of classroom practice without reference to the subject, age or proficiency of learners. Twenty-five of the statements relate directly to the conduct of the teacher, for example: ‘the teacher asks open-ended questions’; ‘the teacher explicitly articulates the objectives of the lesson’; ‘the teacher models by enacting or thinking aloud’; and so on. (World Bank, 2019, p. 14). These classroom practices are deemed to be ‘effective’ irrespective of how they are received by learners, in ways which belie the notion of effective teaching in African contexts. For example, in ethnically diverse parts of Botswana there are schools where, in the early grades, a large number of students cannot follow the language of instruction (Mokibelo, 2016) – yet by the criteria above, a teacher could receive an effective rating, even when his or her talk is unintelligible to learners. To use another example from Botswana, in the high-stakes examination-oriented system, research has shown how students can actively resist teachers’ use of open-ended questioning, keeping the teacher in an information-giving role (Tabulawa, 2004). Despite its teacher-focus, the Teach instrument does not wholly overlook students, with statements to record whether learners ‘perform thinking tasks’ or ‘collaborate with one another through peer interaction’ (World Bank, 2019, p. 14). However, the students are treated as an undifferentiated group, without consideration for recording the differential experiences of learners within the lesson.

As alluded to already, one of the key challenges of Teach is that it serves somewhat contradictory purposes as both a means of collecting specific information about teaching practices at scale; and as a prescriptive tool, to promote specific teaching practices deemed to be universally effective across LMICs. In his seminal work on comparative pedagogy, Alexander (2000) highlights the importance of observational checklists, such as this, clearly distinguishing between these descriptive and evaluative functions. While Teach may have value as a descriptive tool (with areas for development, as we elaborate later in this paper), its legitimacy as a tool for stipulating what effective teaching practice looks like in African classrooms is questionable. As a descriptive tool, Teach is a standardised and externally validated instrument designed to collect evidence at scale, which may provide useful evidence for decision-makers and researchers, for example, in terms of monitoring the effects of specific initiatives and interventions on teachers’ classroom practice, identifying sector-wide priorities for pre- or in-service teacher education, and so on (Matsumura et al., 2008). If refined to collect information about learners, and used alongside learning data, then such a tool could be used to develop better understandings of educational disparities in the region and insights on ‘what works, for whom, and in what circumstances’ (Tikly, 2015, p. 248). Despite the wealth of education research from the region, there is limited work which focuses on the links between teaching practice, learning and other outcomes (Bremner et al., 2022; Frost & Little, 2014; Ngware et al., 2014), which undermines Teach’s claims about what effective practice looks like in African schools.

As a prescriptive tool, Teach is part of the wider World Bank programme, ‘Systems Approach for Better Education Results’ (SABER), which purports to offer policy actors in LMICs with research-based tools and advice based on syntheses of ‘global evidence of what works to improve learning’ (World Bank, 2018, p. 4). In the field of comparative and international education (CIE), SABER has faced critiques due to its unwarranted claims about what constitutes best practice globally across divergent socio-cultural and material contexts (Guthrie, 2019; Klees et al., 2020; Schweisfurth, 2023).

SABER generally ignores context, recommending universal one-size-fits-all best practices … based on problematic and debatable evidence … [and] the Bank’s ideological biases often determine which practices are chosen.

(Klees et al., 2020, p. 3)

The developers of Teach claim to have collated global evidence on effective teaching at primary level, ‘with [a] special focus on evidence from low- and middle-income countries’ (World Bank, 2018, p. 1 [our italics]). However, bibliometric analysis of the Teach background paper (ibid.) reveals minimal engagement with research from schools in LMICs, with evidence largely derived from high-income countries, particularly the USA (Mitchell, 2019b, pp. 2–3). Significantly, Teach overlooks research from the sub-Saharan region which is important for understanding the socio-cultural and material contexts of teaching practice. For example, while Teach cites ‘[providing] students with choices’ as a characteristic of effective teaching, research from rural communities shows that the implicit social goals of togetherness, cooperation and conformity may take priority over individual choices (Jukes et al., 2023). A deeper consideration of contextually relevant evidence is provided in the following sections.

In overlooking knowledge produced by African-based education researchers, the World Bank valorises particular kinds of knowledge – spatially, derived from the North, and epistemologically, grounded in the positivist disciplines of economics and psychology. In this respect, the World Bank is following a current trend towards empiricism in the Anglosphere, which has been described as the ‘New Science of Education’ (Hordern & Brooks, 2023). The growing global influence of economics over diverse aspects of social policy, including education, is a form of ‘economic imperialism’ (Jabbar & Menashy, 2022) which promotes ‘colonial hierarchies of knowledge and monocultures of the mind’ (Shahjahan, 2011, p. 181). With respect to Teach, the World Bank’s approach is particularly egregious, since other economically oriented institutions have given greater attention to sociocultural, material and policy contexts when determining ‘what works’ in education. To give a single example, the UK’s Education Endowment Fund (EEF) conducts research with staff and students in UK schools to provide research-based advice for the Department for Education and school-level decision-makers. Conversely, in Teach, wide-ranging claims are made about effective teaching practice across continents, cultures, subjects, age groups and proficiency levels, with minimal recourse to contextual evidence (Guthrie, 2019; Mitchell, 2019b). As such, Teach is perhaps less coherent as an instrument for promoting effective teaching in the region, than as a means of exerting social control over teachers as a worthwhile end in itself.

If we have gone to some lengths to provide a critical appraisal of Teach it is because the instrument has already gained traction in the region, with reported use in Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and elsewhere, including for education research purposes (e.g. Carter et al., 2020; Molina et al., 2020). While we challenge its legitimacy as an evidence-based tool for professional evaluation in the region (above), we recognise its potential value for research, particularly if used alongside other forms of evidence such as learning data (e.g. Aslam et al., 2019). However, although a teacher-focused instrument may serve various functions, it is also limited in what it can tell us about the nature and quality of education experienced by learners. In the remainder of this paper we draw on classroom-based research from the region to consider how such an approach might be supplemented. After highlighting salient aspects of learning environments in sub-Saharan Africa, we propose a framework for lesson observations in the region which offer the potential for richer understandings of the nature and quality of education.

3. Key considerations for understanding education quality in African classrooms

One consequence of disregarding African-based research is to overlook contextual factors which shape education in the region, including cultural, linguistic, material, policy and other considerations. Compared to Anglo-American contexts which are often implicitly treated as ‘reference societies’ in education policy and practice (Komatsu et al., 2021; Mitchell, 2023; Mitchell et al., 2020), African societies tend to have a more collectivist orientation (Markus & Kitayama, 2010; Nsamenang & Tchombé, 2012; Phasha et al., 2017; Tamale, 2020). This is reflected in the Southern African notion of Ubuntu, which highlights ‘interconnectedness in the needs, rights [and] obligations’ within the community (Assié-Lumumba, 2017, p. 12). In terms of schooling, one implication of a collectivist orientation is that students themselves often play a key role with respect to the access and learning of their peers. This is particularly the case for disadvantaged learners, such as those with disabilities and those from linguistic minorities (Mitchell 2023). For this reason, efforts to understand the nature and quality of education should look beyond the individual of the teacher, to encompass structures for peer support which are available.

A second consideration relates to language. One legacy of colonialism is the continued dominance of European and former colonial languages as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in upper primary and secondary schooling in almost every country across the region. Language-in-education policies have been critiqued by scholars from South Africa (e.g. McKinney, 2016), Tanzania (Vuzo, 2018) and Kenya (Kiramba, 2018) for the ways that the LoLT sustains language hierarchies and excludes many learners from epistemic access. Studies suggest that this is especially the case for socio-economically disadvantaged learners, and those at risk of social and cultural marginalisation (McKinney, 2016; Vuzo, 2018). In a review of 160 research articles from across the region, Bowden and Barrett (2022) conclude that there is often insufficient support for learners (and teachers) to transition into unfamiliar LoLT, and a tendency for textbooks and examinations to be written as if for first language learners. As we discuss below, this leads to a range of teacher and learner strategies to support learners’ access to curriculum content, including the use of home languages in teacher–learner and peer-to-peer dialogue. Observing lessons without attending to the languaging practices, of both teachers and learners, overlooks a key aspect of the learning environment (Probyn, 2009).

A third consideration relates to material conditions in schools, which can include large class sizes, insufficient desks and seating, and a lack of learning resources such as textbooks and writing materials, all of which affect what is possible and desirable in terms of teaching practice (Barrett, 2007; Kuchah & Smith, 2011; Schweisfurth, 2011). Furthermore, the ways in which classrooms are used outside formal lesson time, for example, for peer teaching activities or individual study, can have a bearing on the quality of education for disadvantaged learners (e.g. Ewa, 2016, p. 221; Mitchell, 2019a, p. 103). Attending to the differential ways in which learners thrive, or are hindered by, conditions in the classroom can provide a richer understanding of education provision. In this section we draw from the educational literature and our own research in Ethiopia, Rwanda and other African contexts, to demonstrate how observational data can inform understandings in these areas.

Language use in multilingual classrooms

While the Teach instrument makes no reference to it, language is one of the foremost concerns of education researchers based in the region (Rose et al., 2019, pp. 13–14). Language-in-education scholars regularly use lesson observations as the primary, or sole, data collection method to explore the ways in which languages are used by teachers and learners. Much of this literature has focused on teachers’ responses to prescriptive language-in-education policies and the ways that multilingual and translingual pedagogic practices are employed to support learners (e.g. Kiramba, 2018; Makalela, 2015; Probyn, 2009). Those that include a focus on learners (e.g. Mokibelo, 2016; Msimanga & Lelliott, 2014; Ngwaru & Opoku-Amankwa, 2010; Spernes, 2012), highlight the essential role of language in the learning process (Vuzo, 2010) and the relationship between learners’ languaging practices and their levels of participation. There is a remarkably consistent message in these studies from Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Botswana that the use of home languages, particularly amongst peers, is integral to many learners’ epistemic inclusion in the classroom.²

Across this literature there is a focus on the ways in which children interact with each other and the teacher, the types of talk they engage in (e.g. exploratory talk) and how different languages are used to facilitate learning. Kuchah et al. (2022) highlight a tendency of such research to consider learners collectively, rather than attending to differential experiences within the classroom. They attempt to redress this in a study of girls’ participation in English medium classrooms in Rwanda (ibid.). A ‘dual observation’ approach was developed, with two separate observation schedules and two observers, accompanied by narrative interviews with six girls and their teachers.³ Observations focused on the extent to which learners were able to follow and engage with curriculum content, and make use of opportunities to develop their English language. The dual observation approach was designed to capture not only the content of the lesson, teaching practice and language use, but also the ways in which individual learners engaged with the content and responded to the talk of teachers and peers. This approach provided insights on the differential experiences and outcomes for learners within a single lesson, as demonstrated through their variable use of opportunities to develop English language skills through talk, and allowed for some comparisons between the girls and across different classroom contexts. For example, some girls were silent during English-led portions of lessons, relying on peer support in their home language (Kinyarwanda) to keep up with lesson content; others limited their participation to ‘safe talk’, such as responding to whole class repetition of words or phrases; while others engaged in unprompted talk, for example, asking questions of the teacher. The girls who were silent were mostly seen in schools in rural and socio-economically disadvantaged areas and were shown through interviews to be those who lived in financially precarious households. The use of lesson observations in this study thus offers insights on the differential experiences and outcomes for different learners, and demonstrates the importance of attending to individual learners and their language use, for contextualised understandings of education quality.

Inclusive practices

The commitment to inclusive and equitable education features in the global development goals (SDG4), the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (African Union, 2016) and national sector plans across the region. In line with this aspiration, the Teach instrument attends to gender equity in the classroom, stipulating as characteristics of effective practice that ‘[the] teacher does not exhibit gender bias and challenges gender stereotypes’. The inclusion of this measure in the Teach instrument is a positive step, but insufficient in itself to monitor teaching practice in line with global commitments, as factors other than gender are associated with inequitable experiences and outcomes from schooling, such as disability, ethnicity, linguistic and socio-economic background (Ani et al., 2011; Bannink et al., 2016; Ewa, 2016; Le Fanu et al., 2022; Mariga et al., 2014; Mokibelo, 2016; Setume, 2016; Tungaraza, 2012).

In evaluating the inclusiveness of provision for historically marginalised groups, it can be helpful to distinguish between processes of social integration and differentiated support which may be necessary. With regard to the former, lesson observations have been used to understand the ways in which the space and seating in the classroom can promote social cohesion or division. For example, in rural South Africa, Ngcobo and Muthukrishna (2011) describe a classroom layout where students are organised into ‘traffic light’ groups based on their perceived capacities, and those with physical disabilities automatically assigned to the ‘red’ group for learners with special educational needs, regardless of their cognitive abilities. Observational studies from Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana and Uganda have also demonstrated how the classroom layout can promote social integration and respond to individualised needs, for example, seating learners with visual or auditory impairments near the teacher or chalkboard, and the use of ‘pairing’ practices, whereby non-disabled learners provide at-desk support for those with sensory impairments (Lynch et al., 2014; McConkey & Mariga, 2011; Mukhopadhyay et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2017; Westbrook et al., 2013). Many of the elements above may be observed unobtrusively through the course of a lesson, or else by eliciting a show of hands at the end, and a range of observation-based approaches have been developed for understanding the inclusivity of provision in schools in Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho and Zambia (e.g. Mariga et al., 2014; Miles, 2011; Smith et al., 2017; Westbrook et al., 2013).

Peer-to-peer learning

In a review of 30 studies from Botswana, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Mitchell (2023) demonstrates that learners often undertake a range of peer support functions in schools in these countries. These include: facilitating access to education for disadvantaged learners (such as those from linguistic minorities, or those with sensory or mobility impairments); engaging in teaching; regulating behaviour in the classroom; and providing psychosocial support (ibid.). Only some of these practices are directly observable through classroom observations. For example, monitors may be observed taking charge of the room in the absence of a teacher, maintaining the conditions of learning so their classmates can continue with their studies (Mitchell, 2019a). In many contexts, high-attaining students provide academic support to their peers inside and outside class, which may involve explaining tasks, providing tutorials or leading group work and other activities. They may be formally appointed to such roles by their teachers or others based on academic performance (Kuchah & Smith, 2011; Mesfun Asfaha & Kroon, 2011) or take on such responsibilities from their own initiative (e.g. Ewa, 2016).

This is an under-studied aspect of schooling in the region, with further research needed to establish the nature, prevalence and implications of peer support in different classroom contexts. However, available evidence suggests that academically oriented support is particularly important for disadvantaged students. For example, Mitchell (2019a) utilised lesson observations as part of the ethnographic study of an urban government school in Tigray, Ethiopia, which explored the ‘one-to-five’ student network system, whereby the top-ranking students are distributed around the room to provide desk-level support for their peers (see also Reda et al., 2015). Through the course of 100 lesson observations of a single class moving from Grade 6 to Grade 7, alongside observations of learners’ interactions outside the classroom, the study revealed ways in which peer support facilitated the participation of low-attaining learners, such as a girl who ranked bottom of her class, and never volunteered answers in a whole-class setting, but was confident speaking within her group. While the literature often highlights the role of peer support during groupwork activities, observations of English medium lessons in two primary schools in Yaoundé, Cameroon, also revealed a significant role for peers in supporting each other during the teacher-led parts of the lesson (Kuchah, forthcoming). Here, it was clear that peers who were able to keep up with both the language and content were often relied upon by other learners, who would whisper for explanations of difficult words or phrases. Across these studies we see peers playing an important role in learning, both in formal group activities and in more furtive ways. Importantly, the two observational studies from Ethiopia and Cameroon highlight the differential ways that learners access this support, which is affected by some of the conditions we have already discussed, such as language and the physical classroom space. And while it may be possible to record a teacher’s explicit intentions and instructions by observing their classroom practice, it is only by observing the learners themselves that we can see the differential experiences and outcomes for learners in the classroom.

Learners’ engagement with learning support materials

While the strong association between textbook provision and learning outcomes is widely cited, particularly in World Bank documentation, the importance of textbooks for education quality relies upon evidence in which textbook availability is used as a proxy for textbook use (Milligan et al., 2018). Indeed, the economics of education literature draws on quantitative measures of the presence of such materials in schools, rather than the ways in which they are used (or not) in lessons (e.g. Glewwe et al., 2009; Kuecken & Valfort, 2013). Similarly, Teach makes no reference to the use of textbooks in the classroom.

Research which does address how textbooks are used primarily comes from low-income contexts in South Africa and is often focused on their use by teachers, for example in relation to curriculum coverage (Milligan et al., 2018), their autonomy in deviating from prescribed texts and activities (Ramaligela et al., 2014), and in relation to other learning aides, such as standardised lesson plans (Shalem et al., 2018). Research from a variety of classroom contexts in Tanzania (e.g. Juma & Opanga, 2021) and Rwanda (e.g. Milligan et al., 2016) has also highlighted the potential for language supportive textbooks when used in conjunction with language supportive pedagogy in multilingual classrooms. The key message from these lesson observations is that textbooks can be effective aides for teachers to support learners’ access to key vocabulary and to develop their proficiency of the target language through a range of writing, reading and speaking activities designed for second language learners. As such, classroom-based research has given emphasis to the use of textbooks as teaching support materials, rather than their use as learning support materials.

Milligan et al. (2017) undertook a national survey of teacher and learner use of textbooks in Rwandan basic education. The survey involved initial spot-check observations of 1370 classrooms in 124 schools and follow-up observations of 236 lessons where textbooks had been identified. This included private and government schools from all districts of the country with a representative sample of urban, rural and remote schools. While in most lessons, textbooks were solely in the hands of the teacher, where the textbooks were used by learners, the researchers were able to analyse the nature of the textbook use during classroom activities. The analysis showed that of the 54 lessons where all learners had access to textbooks by themselves or in pairs, in only 14 of these lessons were learners using the books consistently during the observed period, for example, to read the text, or undertak group activities. Conclusions did not suggest significant differences by type of school or geography. The research design of Milligan et al. (2017) drew on the work of Opoku‐amankwa (2010), a study of textbook use and literacy outcomes in one urban primary school in Ghana. Lesson observations in this study highlight the differential ways that learners engage with the books, particularly during groupwork where it is observed that there is frequently a ‘power-broker’ among the learners who controls who accesses the reading materials and how they use them. Furthermore, the study concludes that ‘it was evident from the classroom observation that the class size and the traditional seating arrangement impede both pupil access to the books and natural communication between pupils and between teacher and pupils’ (Opoku‐amankwa, 2010, p. 167).

These examples show how lesson observations can contribute rich evidence about the ways in which learners differentially access learning support materials in lessons across different classroom contexts, to follow curriculum content, capture new vocabulary and engage in groupwork activities. However, given the limited number of studies, it is difficult to draw strong conclusions beyond the need for more evidence about the ways that resources such as textbooks can be used to support the learning of different groups.

4. Learner-focused lesson observations in sub-Saharan Africa: A framework

In the previous section we identified key aspects of the social, cultural and material environment (Illeris, 2009) in African classrooms which have a bearing on young people’s access and learning. These are: the use of languages; the use of resources to support learning; the role of peers; and the provision of differentiated support, where needed. The classroom contexts considered above are often characterised by monolingual policies and multilingual learners who are often constrained by the expectation to learn in a single, unfamiliar language. A focus on how languages are used in class requires attention to both the target language (for example, English) and the linguistic practices and repertoires of learners, for example in communicating with the teacher and peers, in making meaning of new concepts (e.g. through exploratory talk), and in using resources intended to develop the target language, such as textbooks. In terms of how resources are used to support learning, the evidence reviewed in Section 3 shows the importance of considering both human and material resources, as well as exploring learners’ differential access to, and use of, resources such as teachers, textbooks and peers for learning. In attending to peer interactions, we have seen how the ways in which learners are organised may promote social integration or segregation, and may or may not reflect intentional strategies to support learning. Finally, provision may take a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, with learners treated as a homogenous mass, or be differentiated to account for individual learners’ capacities and needs – for example, in terms of seating and peer support arrangements. Based on the evidence reviewed, these are the classroom conditions which can be observed to gain understanding of the nature and quality of education for learners in the region.

In this section we propose four ways of observing these conditions: the activities of individual learners; learners’ interactions with their peers; learners’ interactions with their teacher; and the classroom environment. To return to our initial metaphor, these are a means of ‘spotlighting’ salient aspects of the learning environment which are amenable to observation. While each spotlight is distinct, richer understandings are possible through the use of multiple spotlights simultaneously. In Figure 1, the above elements of the framework are visualised, with learners at the heart of the model.

Figure 1. Framework for learner-focused lesson observation.

In Table 1, we provide indicative questions which are entry points for considering how each element might be used to observe lessons in different contexts. We have not sought to provide an exhaustive or prescriptive list, and do not suggest this as a one-size-fits-all template for lesson observation. Rather, these questions are intended as a stimulus for descriptive observations, and could also be used comparatively, for example, to compare classroom conditions and learner experiences across different classroom contexts. Work in this area might provide a legitimate basis for more evaluative tools, informed by evidence from classroom conditions and practices in the region. Furthermore, there is scope to tailor these questions if a particular pedagogical or curriculum focus is required, and these considerations might be readily incorporated into existing teacher-focused observation instruments to develop a more holistic picture of lessons.

Table 1. Indicative questions for developing a descriptive lesson observation instrument.

	Indicative questions
Classroom environment	How is seating organised in the classroom? Does seating support talk between learners? Does seating enable access to the teacher? Is seating organised to provide differentiated support?
	What learning resources are available? Is a qualified teacher present throughout the lesson? What material resources are available generally to learners (e.g. maps, vocabulary on wall)? Which learners have access to textbooks, during individual and group work?
	How are learners distributed in the classroom? Are children from different socio-economic/ethnic/cultural/linguistic backgrounds socially integrated? Are learners distributed by academic attainment? Are high-attaining learners a resource for peers during whole class and groupwork?
Individual learners	What is the nature of individual learners’ talk during the lesson? When? To whom? In what languages? For what purposes?
	What material resources are used by the learner? How are they used (e.g. copying word for word; engaging in activities)?
	What human resources does the learner draw on? Peers? Teacher?
Teacher interactions with learners	How does the teacher respond to learners’ language needs? Do they describe or explain concepts in languages which are accessible/intelligible to learners? Do they give structured opportunities to practice the target language (e.g. talk, listen, write, read)?
	Does the teacher give time and support for groupwork? Does the teacher support learners to move between exploratory and presentation talk (e.g. if groupwork takes place in home language but they are required to report in English)?
	Does the teacher respond to all learners? Does the teacher give individual support to any learners? Which learners does the teacher select to talk in whole class discussions?
Peer interactions with learners	What is the nature of peer interactions during lessons? Do learners talk to their peers? For what purposes? In what ways are peers used as a resource for learning?
	Are structures in place for all learners to interact with peers? Is differentiated support given? Are learners able to talk in familiar languages?
	Does peer learning take place in the absence of a teacher? What range of learner activities are taking place?

While these questions provide a starting point for understanding what is occurring in lessons, as noted earlier, this only tells us about one component of a quality education; the classroom is only one site of learning, with young people engaging in individual and peer learning in other school spaces, on the way to and from school and within the home (see also Smith and Barrett, 2011). Furthermore, there are limits to what observational data can tell us, and lesson observations may be combined with a range of other methods, such as interviews with teachers and learners, to explore perspectives, experiences and outcomes from a lesson (e.g. Juma & Opanga, 2021; Kuchah, forthcoming; Mitchell, 2019a; Opoku‐amankwa, 2010). To address important gaps in the research evidence base, observational data may be usefully combined with learning data for a greater understanding of the relationships between the classroom conditions discussed here, as well as positive outcomes for different groups of learners.

5. Conclusions

This article has considered different functions, forms and foci of lesson observations. We have provided a critique of the World Bank’s (2019) Teach instrument, which purports to distinguish between effective and ineffective teaching across different subjects, age groups and socio-cultural and material contexts across LMICs. As we have argued, the instrument erroneously conflates the descriptive and prescriptive functions of an observational checklist (Alexander, 2000). While we acknowledge its potential value as a descriptive instrument, to be used alongside other sources of evidence for research purposes, we have strongly challenged its legitimacy as a prescriptive tool for evaluating teachers’ conduct or identifying priorities for professional learning and development. In overlooking school-based research from the region, Teach’s claims about what constitutes effective teaching practice are not grounded in contextually relevant evidence. Rather than an evidence-based approach for improving teaching and learning, we suggest the instrument is best viewed as an example of economic imperialism (Jabbar & Menashy, 2022), or a means of increasing economists’ influence over diverse aspects of public life in a way which only undermines, rather than enhances, teacher professionalism.

However, in acknowledging the value of observational data for better understanding and evaluating classroom conditions and practices, this paper presents conceptual groundwork for progressing this agenda. To this end, we have reviewed research evidence from sub-Saharan Africa to develop a framework for collecting salient observational data from classrooms in the region. We propose that the framework, with its emphasis on the experiences of learners and based on research evidence from across the region, provides a useful starting point for observing various aspects of classroom practice and as a potential basis for further development as a flexible tool for evaluation of education quality.

Acknowledgements

The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) is gratefully acknowledged by TESF (award title ‘UKRI GCRF Transforming Education Systems for Sustainable Development [TES4SD] Network Plus’, grant number ES/T002646/1).

Data availability statement

There are no new data associated with this article. No new data were generated or analysed in support of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. There is considerable variation – socially, culturally and materially – within and across countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which limits capacity to generalise across the region. However, African scholars have pointed to a collectivist orientation across many societies in the region (e.g. Tamale, 2020), and national systems of education have many shared characteristics and challenges which result from the legacies of empire, or what has been termed the ‘post-colonial condition’ (L. Tikly, 2019). In this study we draw on evidence from across the region, and from specific national contexts, including Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2. Epistemic inclusion as ‘the processes by which children are … ’[able to access] …new curricular concepts in the language of learning and teaching, given … opportunities for language development particularly through structured talk, and … [supported in] … sustained engagement in meaning-making activities that require exploration through language’ (Kuchah, Adamson et al., forthcoming: page to be determined); see also Kiramba (2018).

3. The observation schedules will be available shortly via UK Data Service. In the meantime, contact Lizzi Milligan on [email protected] for access.