Students’ Perceptions on Role of Madaris in Developing Literacy Skills among Out-of-School Children through Multigrade Teaching

Abstract

Literacy is an essential part of basic education and is a key component of how learners communicate, engage in learning and further educational pursuits, especially in out-of-the-way areas. Madaris-based non-formal basic education schools in Pakistan are typically resource-challenged, and students of various ages and learning levels attend the same school. In the context, the Multigrade Teaching approach may offer a viable classroom setup to facilitate learning opportunities. Keeping in view the perceptions of Grade 5 students about the role of Multigrade Teaching in the development of Urdu, English and basic mathematics skills in Madaris based non-formal basic education schools, this study was carried out. A quantitative descriptive survey design was used. The respondents for this research were 49 students from Grade 5 of the non-formal basic education schools set up in Madaris, District Talagang. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher himself and was validated from the point of view of six educational experts and pilot-tested before the main data were collected. The overall content validity index was .99 and the pilot reliability coefficient was .82. The data was analyzed descriptively, frequency, percentage, minimum score and maximum score, mean score. The results revealed that students in general were found to be feeling positive towards Multigrade Teaching in respect of learning Urdu, English and basic mathematical skills. The mean scores for speaking Urdu, speaking English, oral mathematics practice, peer interaction, and interest in learning were high. Practically moderate mean scores, however, were found with weaker students and some items of confidence-building and practical language use. Based on the results of the study, the conclusion that can be drawn is that student perceptions of the Multigrade Teaching in Madaris based non-formal education are positive. The results of the study, however, should be read with caution because it was based on perceptions and not actual literacy levels. The study suggests teacher training, better teaching materials, structured literacy activities and further research in direct literacy assessment techniques.