Edupeg 2016 views

There is broad consensus that ‘teacher quality’ is the single most important variable influencing pupil achievement in schools. The focus of intervention for Edupeg is on the most important element in the system - the teacher.

Why Edupeg“There is broad consensus that ‘teacher quality’ is the single most important variable influencing pupil achievement in schools, but unfortunately little has been done in meaningful teacher development. This helps explain the current reality where the vast majority of pupils still do not acquire even minimal competencies in maths and science during their school years. Because it is near impossible to remediate four years’ of teaching backlogs in only a year or two, the need to focus on improving the quality of teaching and teacher training at primary school level is very important “The later in life we try to repair early deficits, the costlier the remediation becomes.” Nic Spaull, 2015The Edupeg approachThe focus of intervention for Edupeg is on the most important element in the system - the teacher. Our team of 17 highly skilled and experienced teacher-mentors visit primary schools to mentor and support teachers in their classrooms. They use Edupeg mathematical resources as well as teaching techniques from the acclaimed “Teach Like A Champion” book to mentor and support teachers in the challenging environments in which they work. With sustained and meaningful support at this level of the education system, we can remediate some of the gaps that many of our teachers and learners are experiencing in the Foundation (Grade 1-3) and Intermediate Phases (Grade 4-6). The exercise of trying to change teaching practice becomes nearly impossible in later years, where the deficits are so great that any remediation is like pouring water into a bucket full of holes.