Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa 20142019
Activity Report of Field Research

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Effective Teaching Approaches for Improving Students’
Academic Performance in Literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Yoshie Hama1

1

Hiroshima University, Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation, Doctoral Course 3rd year, Host
University: University of Zambia, Period: 28th February – 27th March 2020 (It was planned the field survey for four months until
end of June 2020 but shortened to one month due to the pandemic of COVID-19).

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I.

SummaryThis report presents the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of research studies to identify
effective literacy intervention at primary schools in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The activity report isnormally presented by the Global Leadership Training Program (GLTP) participants to share learnings andexperiences from field research activities. As the COVID-19 pandemic struck African countries, myintended four months of field research in Zambia was shortened to one month. Consequently, before
conducting my field survey in Zambia, I had to return to Japan. As I was not able to collect data from thefield, I present here my review study on the improvement of literacy skills in sub-Saharan Africa.
Low academic performance is the biggest challenge in the Education sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Evenfor children who complete primary education, more than 85% do not reach the basic proficiency level for
reading (UNESCO, 2017). Literacy, including reading skills, is the foundational skill for children’s future
academic career, health, and economic activity (Hanushek, 2005). Mastering basic literacy skills is thus
crucial for children in SSA. African countries set educational goals to improve learning quality; however,there is no clear vision to overcome the above-mentioned challenges. A lot of research was conducted using
various approaches, but few review studies cover all related research conducted in the SSA region. To
address this lack of research, this study aims to discover effective approaches to improve literacy skills in
SSA.
This study systematically reviewed published papers on teaching approach changes that impacted student
learning achievement. An initial literature search yielded 76 studies that showed the effect of teaching
methods on improving test scores. Out of the 76 reviews, eight were selected for further analysis using
predefined inclusion criteria, and the impact of teaching approaches was analyzed. The analysis found thatthe usage of students’ mother tongue, which is usually different from their local language in SSA, andeffective use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) had a high impact on students’ learningachievement. This study will serve as a stepping stone for further research on literacy improvement for
students in SSA.
After discussing the study, I describe the benefits of participating in the GLTP, including the lessons learned
during my stay in Zambia. I hope this report will help other students who consider joining GLTP to conduct
field research in Africa.

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サブサハラ・アフリカにおける学力向上に効果があったリテラシー教授法のメタ分析
本研究は、サブサハラ・アフリカ地域におけるリテラシーの学力向上に起因した教授法の効果をシステマティック・レビューとメタ分析の手法を用いて明らかにしたものである。本来、
Global Leadership Training Program(GLTP)では、アフリカでの現地調査を実施して、その活動を報告することになっているが、著者が調査地のザンビアに訪問した際に、新型コロナウィ
ルスがアフリカに拡大したため、止むを得ず調査を実施する前に日本へ帰国することになった。
よって、現地調査は実施できなかったが、サブサハラ・アフリカの学力向上を目的とした介入
におけるレビュー研究を進めることにした。本研究は、そのレビュー研究の一部を紹介するものである。
サブサハラ・アフリカは、世界で最も低学力の課題を抱えている地域である。小学校を卒業しても８５％以上の子どもが最低限の読み書きができるまでに至っていない(UNESCO,2017)。読解力を含むリテラシーの能力は、全ての勉学の基礎的能力であり、健康な生活や経済的活動に関わる重要なスキルである(Hanushek, 2005)。したがって、最低限のリテラシーを得ることはサブ
サハラ・アフリカ地域の子ども達の将来にかかる重要な問題である。各アフリカ諸国は、教育の質の向上を教育政策の中核に置き、効果的な解決方法を模索しているが、いまだ明確な解決策には至っていない。また、先行研究において、サブサハラ・アフリカ地域に焦点を置いた学力向上に効果があったとするリテラシーの介入のレビュー研究はあまりない。
そこで本研究は、これまでサブサハラ・アフリカ地域で実践された学力向上に起因した教授法の研究を網羅し、その中でリテラシーにおいて学力向上に効果があった事例のアプローチの有効性を検証した。まず、システマティック・レビューの手法を用い、これまで出版された研究を調べた結果、７６の文献が学力向上に影響した教授法の研究を行っていることが明らかになった。その中から選択基準を満たした８つの研究をメタ分析した結果、リテラシーにおける効果的な教授法は、母国語の活用と ICT を効果的に活用している傾向性があることが明らかになった。本研究は、サブサハラ・アフリカ地域の学力向上における教授法についての基礎研究としてさらなる研究へと繋がる基盤的研究となることを期待している。
最後に、GLTP に参加した利点についてまとめた。著者は、緊急事態のため途中で帰国となったが、帰国前にザンビア大学と合同で現地調査を実施するための必要なプロセスを学ぶことが出来たのは大きな収穫であった。この報告書が、GLTP を通してアフリカ研究を実施したいと考えている学生の後押しになれば幸甚である。

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II.

Research Activity

Introduction
The sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region faces significant challenges regarding improving children’s learningachievement (UNESCO, 2017). Reading is one of the essential skills for academic achievement andprosperous lives. However, in SSA, the proportion of children who did not achieve the minimum
proficiency level in reading at the completion of primary education was 90% for female students and 81%
for male students in 2015 (ibid). Overall, more than 85% of children in sub-Saharan Africa did not attainthe minimum proficiency level. This percentage corresponds to about 138 million children of primaryschool age (ibid).
1.

At the Program for International Student Assessment for developing countries (PISA for development),
sub-Saharan countries ranked the lowest of all participating countries (OECD, 2018). The result of theassessment showed that 95% of students did not achieve the basic proficiency level in reading at the age of
15 (ibid). Because of these challenges, education policies in sub-Saharan countries have set goals toimprove the quality of education, especially the quality of learning, to boost students’ academic
performance. These policies are aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were endorsed
by United Nations in 2015 and accepted by international societies as common goals of not only developing
countries but also developed countries (United Nations, 2016). SDG No. 4 aims at inclusive and equitable
quality education for all and specifically focuses on all youth achieving literacy and numeracy (ibid). In
relation to the Goal 4, the present study aims to identify effective approaches for improving literacy skillsof early grade children in primary education in SSA.
The quality of education influences the prosperity of individuals and society. Especially in developing
countries, test scores results are directly related to individual earnings, productivity, and economic growth(Hanushek, 2005). For this reason, SSA countries and international organizations strive to improveacademic performance through various interventions. Previous studies show which approaches impacted
students learning achievement in developing countries. However, there are few review studies, systematic
reviews, or meta-analyses about how to improve academic performance focusing on literacy intervention
in the SSA region.
The only regionally focused review study regarding the topic was conducted by Conn (2014). She foundthat changing the teaching approach at the classroom level was the most effective intervention forimproving students’ performance compared with other approaches such as free school fees, school
management, health treatment, and scholarships. Though the change of teaching approaches was shown tobe the most effective approach, how the change in teaching approaches impacted learning achievement is
not known. Therefore, this study aimed to identify studies of the effect of teaching approaches, especially
focusing on literacy intervention to improve learners’ academic performance in SSA. It further aimed toquantify the effectiveness of teaching approaches with a particular focus on primary education level
education in the region.
Study Target Area
The study area is sub-Saharan Africa, which includes 55 countries registered in the African Union. For thereview study, all subjects that impact students learning outcome at kindergarten, primary education, junior2.

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high school, and high school education were targeted. For the meta-analysis study, the targeted subject wasliteracy or reading. Education level focused on primary education.
Methodology
The study applied a systematic review method to identify related literature in SSA and meta-analysis review
methods to quantify the effectiveness of teaching approaches. The study was conducted using the following
procedure. Firstly, I searched for previously published papers, such as peer-reviewed articles, academic
working papers, dissertations, and reports published through academic institutions and researchorganizations. Secondly, I reviewed the identified papers using predefined inclusion criteria. Thirdly, I
coded relevant information in each study and checked if they provided appropriate data for meta-analysis.
Finally, I identified the effectiveness of the method by using the general variance-based method on the final
set of studies.
3.

Literature search and inclusion criteria
The present study chose research studies which were: (a) conducted in sub-Saharan Africa (in 55 countries),(b) published between 2000 and May 2020, (c) focused on teaching approaches at the classroom level, (d)measured the impact on students learning achievement (f) conducted as a Randomized Control Trial (RCT)or quasi-experiment, (f) targeted at populations of more than 20 students, and (g) written in English.
For the literature research, databases and websites were used, including ERIC, Science Direct, and research
institution libraries of International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) and the Abdul Latif Jameel
Poverty Action Lab (J-Pal).
For the database search, the following three sets of keywords were used: (a) “impact” or “effect” or“outcome” or “result” or “consequence,” (b) “academic achievement” or “educational attainment,” or“academic performance,” or “academic success,” or “academic outcomes” or “school performance” or“randomized” or “RCT,” (c) “Africa” and every individual country name of SSA region (55 countries). For
websites, manual searches were conducted.

4.

Research Findings

The results of the systematic review
The systematic review identified 332 articles that examined the impacts of teaching approaches. Figure 1
illustrates the PRISMA flowchart describing the procedure of selecting articles. After applying the selection
criteria, 76 eligible articles discussing teaching approaches in the classroom that impact students’ academic
performance were found. They were conducted in 13 out of the 55 countries in SSA; more specifically, 25
studies in Nigeria, 20 studies in Kenya, 13 studies in South Africa, three studies in Uganda, three studies in
Ethiopia, two studies in Ghana, two studies in Malawi, two studies in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
two studies in Liberia, one studies in Zambia, one study in Zimbabwe, one study in Rwanda and one studyin Mali.
Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa were the main places where studies were conducted (82.89%). The
reasons for this considerable number of studies varies by countries. In Nigeria, most of the studies wereconducted on mathematics and science at junior high school and high school levels by researchers at5

universities in Nigeria. This focus may be influenced by an educational policy that focuses on STEM
subjects. In Kenya, the studies at primary education were mainly on literacy and numeracy and where
supported by international organizations such as USAID which introduced effective teaching approaches
and conducted research on them. The reviews at secondary education in Kenya were mostly led byuniversity scholars and where also be influenced by international cooperation. For example, Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supported the education policy on STEM, teacher education, andresearch activities of teachers at school and professors at university. In South Africa, most studies weretargeted at literacy and numeracy in primary education except for two studies focusing on science insecondary education. This focus by be influenced by international organizations that supported literacy andnumeracy in the country.

Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart (adapted from Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff, Altman, & PRISMA Group, 2009)

Research in Uganda, Zambia, and Ghana was conducted in domestic universities and internationalorganizations. The research in Ethiopia, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe,
Rwanda, and Mali was conducted by an international organization such as USAID to evaluate educational
support to the countries. The result of the systematic review shows that there is an extensive literature gap
in effective teaching methods on students’ achievement in the SSA region.
The results of the meta-analysis review
From the 76 eligible studies, eight studies were focused on literacy intervention, which made an impact on
students’ learning outcomes in primary education. Table 1 shows the content of the eight studies including
quantitative synthesis and describes each study’s author, year of publication, research field (country), typeof intervention, sample size, targeted grade, duration of the intervention, and study design. Starkey et al.
(2014) conducted a survey (Study No. 1) on the impact of a literacy project on student learning achievementin the Democratic Republic of Congo. This project provided literacy resources for learners and teachers,
teacher training as well as a healing program for children to make a comfortable learning environment, as
children experienced a conflict in the country. Abdi et al. (2016) conducted a survey (Study No. 2) on theeffect of a teaching method focusing on mastering the necessary skills in students’ local language of Amhara
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at Grade one. The study also examined the influence of the following years’ learning achievement comparedwith a group that was taught by a traditional teaching method. Study No.3 of Boezekowski et al. (2019)
examined the effectiveness of using media in the form of a cartoon program for letter identification, writing
skills, color recognition, drawing, body part recognition, health knowledge, and vocabulary for kindergarten
to second-grade students in Rwanda. Study No. 4 of Friedland et al. (2017) identified the impact of using
audiobooks for third-grade students to improve reading skills, by comparing students who learn to read
while listening with a group of same grade students who did not learn to read with listening.
Table 1. Selected studies for meta-analysis

No StudyYear Country

Intervention

Sample Size(Student)

Grade

Duration

Study
Design1

Starkey

2014

G2-4

One year

RCT

Abdi

2016

33

G1

18 weeks

RCT

3

Borzekowski

2019

Rwanda200

K-G2

Friedland

2017

Uganda

23

G3

Two
weeks
30 days

RCT

4
5

Jere-Folotiya

2014

Zambia160

G1Mills-Tettey

2010

Ghana

30

G2-4

7

Spratt2012

Mali

Using mother tongue

1632

G1-3

8

Sailors

2010

South Africa

Mother tongue
local languages

538

G1-2

Two
weeks
Three
weeks
Three
years
Three
years

RCT

6

Resource,
Healing
program
Explicit instruction andfluency practiceMedia:
CartoonprogramReading while listening
by Audio Book
Literacy game bymobileAutomated Tutor

1850

2

Congo
(DRC)
Ethiopia

and

RCT

RCT
RCT
RCT

Study No. 5 of Jere-Folotiya et al. (2014) used literacy games on mobile phones for first-grade students in
Zambia to measure the impact on the learning performance on orthography, spelling, and vocabulary in thelocal language (Nyanja). Study No. 6 of Mills-Tettey et al. (2010) identified the effect of using a computerautomated tutor program for second to fourth-grade students to learn English in Ghana. Study No. 7 ofSpratt et al. (2012) examined the impact of a literacy program that supported learning resources for first to
third-grade students and teaching resources for teachers, using students’ mother tongue (not local
languages) as an instructional language to teach the official language of French in Mali. Study No. 8 of
Sailors et al. (2010) examined the influence of instructional languages on students’ learning outcomes
between students’ mother tongue and their local official language in the region in South Africa. The study
compared the learning outcomes of two subjects; local language in the region and English when a student
group was taught in the students’ mother tongue and another group was taught in a local language as an
instruction language.
The meta-analysis examined the effect of eight approaches on literacy learning skills. Figure 2 shows thestandardized mean score for each measured skill. Measures from -1 to 2 are considered as Low impact,from 3 to 7 as Moderate impact, and from 8 to 12 as High impact.
High impact approaches were orthography by mobile phone (Zambia), letter identification/familiar words
and invented words identification by teaching in the mother tongue (Mali), home language learning, andEnglish learning in the mother tongue (South Africa).

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The middle impact approaches were resource provision with healing program (DR Congo), letter-soundrecognition by mother-tongue instruction (Ethiopia, Mali), color identification by media (Rwanda), reading
and spelling by an automated tutor (Ghana), English teaching by mother-tongue instruction (South Africa)
and reading comprehension by mother-tongue instruction (Mali). The low-impact approaches were media
and mobile game intervention for the identification of letters (Rwanda), vocabulary (Rwanda and Zambia),
writing (Rwanda), body part and health knowledge (Rwanda), reading while listening (Uganda), andlistening comprehension (Mali).
Figure 2. The effect size of approaches by literacy skills

5. Discussion
The systematic review analysis found 76 studies on how interventions impact learners’ achievement in subSaharan Africa. More than 80 percent of the studies were conducted in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
These three countries may be able to afford to conduct research by domestic universities because thecountries are economically more developed more than other countries and show a higher number of
researchers and universities in the countries. On the other hand, other counties such as Uganda, Zambia,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Mali facechallenges of low proficiency level in literacy and numeracy; however, only a few studies are conducted inthose countries. This discrepancy points to a large literature gap on the topic, especially in countries where
improving academic performance seems particularly necessary. To improve learning outcomes, morestudies should focus on those countries to accumulate evidence of effective approaches.

The results of the meta-analysis identified that mother-tongue instruction as the most effective teachingapproach to improve students’ learning achievement. The result supports the ‘home language advantage’
hypothesis that describes a universal trend in all communities regardless of language or culture (Nag et al.,2019). Most SSA countries are linguistically complex. For example, in Mali and South Africa, there aredifferent mother tongues, regional languages, and official languages. The mother tongue can be the tribal
language on the mother’s or father’s side and either or both are used mainly at home. Children can8understand when teachers use the children’s mother tongue and learn effectively to master the regional
language and official language. Especially the lower grade children need to be taught in a language thatthey can understand. However, when some children in a class have a different mother tongue from otherchildren, teachers have difficulties teaching in the children’s mother tongue, especially at the level ofreading/listening comprehension. Graham and Kelly (2018) found that the mother tongue instruction had ahigh impact on basic literacy skills but not on reading comprehension in other developing countries. The
present study, however, found that mother-tongue instruction approaches made a moderate impact onreading comprehension in Mali. The Mali case showed a high effect on letter/word recognition and reading
fluency. This may indicate the cumulative effect of mother-tongue instruction because it has a strong impact
on basic literacy skills (letter/word, reading fluency) and an even stronger impact on reading comprehension.
Additionally, there may be an effect of teacher training and the provision of teaching and learning resources
focusing on mother tongue instruction teaching.
The effectiveness of ICT intervention on literacy improvement varies depending on the level of skills, grade,and type of ICT. A remarkable result is that the automated tutor used in the Ghana study made a moderate
impact. In the study, a teacher’s role is to explain how to use the automated computer but not to teach. If amother tongue instruction literacy program is made to meet each child’s need, there will be a possibility formore children to master the necessary skills of literacy in the SSA region regardless of teacher’s knowledge
on children’s mother-tongue.
Based on these results, policymakers who want to improve the quality of learning and students’ learningachievement, should focues especially on the foundational skills of literacy, and they should consider
designing a curriculum focusing on mother -tongue teaching for early grade primary education and effective
usage of ICT in literacy.
6.

Conclusion

This study aimed to identify the literature of practical teaching approaches to improve learners’ academic
performance in the SSA region and examined the effect of teaching approaches in literacy. 76 studies thatfound out the effective teaching approaches were identified. On the other hand, more efforts of studies arenecessary in the most challenging areas of low academic performance in SSA. In literacy teaching, mothertongue instruction and automated computer programs were significant for improving students’ academic
performance, especially for early grade learners. Using the effective approaches will be a key to enhancechildren’s literacy skills, especially in the areas where children are not reaching the basic proficiency levelin literacy in SSA. The present study is a first step towards filling the literature gap on improving learningachievement in Sub-Saharan Africa and can be used as a steppingstone for further investigation into the
topic.

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Acknowledgment

I am thankful to Dr. Osamu Saito, Dr. Natsuko Imai, and Ms. Reiko Sato for providing me the opportunity
to conduct research in Africa through GLTP and supporting my safe return to Japan under the situation of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Without their hard work at day and night, I would not have been able to overcome
this challenge. My sincere thanks go to Professor Gift Masaiti, my supervisor and assistant Dean of researchat the University of Zambia. He provided invaluable advice on my research and all necessary supports for9

my stay in Zambia. My thanks also go to Professor Bentry Nkhata, the Dean of the School of Education at
the University of Zambia. He warmly welcomed me and prepared a comfortable learning environment forme at the university. Finally, I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support of the Institute for the
Advanced Study of Sustainability of United Nations University, which provided me the leadership training
program and funding for my research in Africa.

•

References

Abdi, Y. B., & Therrien, W. J. (2016). Effect of Amharic Letter Acquisition and Fluency Instruction on theReading Achievement of Ethiopian Students at Risk for Reading Difficulties. Journal of International
Special Needs Education, 19(2), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.9782/2159-4341-19.2.59
Askew, M., Venkat, H., Mathews, C., Ramsingh, V., Takane, T., & Roberts, N. (2019). Multiplicative
reasoning: An intervention’s impact on foundation phase learners’ understanding. South African Journalof Childhood Education, 9(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v9i1.622
Borzekowski, D. L. G., Lando, A. L., Olsen, S. H., & Giffen, L. (2019). The Impact of an Educational MediaIntervention to Support Children’s Early Learning in Rwanda. International Journal of Early Childhood,
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Conn, K. (2014). Identifying Effective Education Interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-analysis of
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III.

Reflections on the GLTP in Africa

Motivation to participate in the GLTP
The Global Leadership Training Program (GLTP) in Africa was established with the purpose of supporting
graduate students in improving their leadership skills by conducting research in Africa, which contributes
to Sustainable Development Goals in the region. I was impressed by the purpose, therefore, I decided toapply for the program. After joining the program, I realized that GLTP was not only providing an
opportunity to research in Africa but making a platform for young researchers who were fascinated with
Africa to gather and inspire each other through sharing ideas to solve a piece of a problem they found in
Africa. Through participating in the GLTP, I gained precious opportunities to learn from numerous people
who were involved in the GLTP.
ooField experiences
My field research experience was all about preparation before
collecting data in the field. My research field was primary schools
and Ministry offices; therefore, I had to apply for researchpermission from the University of Zambia and the Ministry ofGeneral Education. The procedure I undertook was as follows.
1. Agree on the research with a professor at the partner university
2. Submission of a proposal of research
3. Submission for permission from the ethics committee at theuniversity
4. Submission for permission to survey public schools toPermanent Secretary at Ministry of General Education(including research purpose, content, duration, list of schools,
list of interviewees)

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The School of Education, University of Zambia

After gaining the permissions from the university and the Ministry, I was allowed to conduct a field survey
in Zambia. This process usually takes more than one month; therefore, it is advisable to allocate enoughtime to get permission from the authorities for the whole duration of the field research in the country.
Challenges
I faced two challenges during my stay in Zambia. Firstly, there was a security problem. There was a murdercase in which a gang threw gas into a house and killed people, and the Social Network System spread therumors that the gangs were coming to villages. As a result, locals overreacted to strangers, and some were
lynched and killed by village people. The situation in Lusaka was stabilizing while I stayed, but there wasa caution against visiting schools in one of the targeted rural areas for my survey.
oSecondly, COVID-19 pandemic occurred during my stay in Africa. Consequently, before conducting thefield survey, I had to evacuate to Japan. After returning, I had to change my research plan due to a lack offield data. It was a painful experience but gave me an excellent opportunity to find another research topic
that widened my knowledge of studies in sub-Saharan Africa.

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How to make use of this experience for your future career development
My future career plan is to work for educational development in Africa. Through participating in the GLTP,
I developed a critical skill that I can make use of in my future career. The skill is to be flexible whatever
happens, never afraid to change a plan and direction, and take up the challenge of a new endeavor to go
forward. In Africa, unexpected incidents happen all the time. It will also occur in my life, especially because
the society where we live is changing so quickly because of advances in new technology. My flexibility
will be the most vital power for me to work in the field of education development in Africa.

Encouragement to other students
When it comes to conducting field research in Africa, it is not easy for a student who does not have any
support or network in Africa. Primarily, conducting collaborative research with a local university professor
in Africa is hard to implement in a limited time. The Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability ofUnited Nations University (UNU-IAS) has established a relationship between universities and social
networks with professors and researchers in Africa. As USU-IAS provides the GLTP, it helps participantsconnect with a local university in Africa and supports them in conducting field research in the country.
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