EI’s Theory of Change

What is a Theory of Change?

A ‘theory of change’ is an underlying theory or model which explains why a particular strategy or mode of working will be effective, and how it will play itself out and help reach a desired goal. This note explains EI’s Vision, Mission and Strategy and explains how and why the strategy will help achieve the vision.

The Problem

Students in our schools are not learning with understanding. This means that even though they may write exams, score marks and be promoted to the next class, they are not developing key critical thinking skills.

Why is this a problem? In today’s and tomorrow’s knowledge economy, lack of critical thinking skills means low employability, lower productivity levels both for the individual and society as a whole, and consequently lower rates of growth and standards of living.

Probably even more disturbing, individuals and societies weak in critical thinking can be swayed on parochial lines or lines of caste and religion, which can be emotive, destructive forces.

All these problems are evident in our country today.

EI’s Vision and Mission

Our vision is a world where children everywhere are learning with understanding. Our mission is to develop and offer products and services based on research in assessment; offerings that will clearly pinpoint what students are learning, give insights into the learning process and provide concrete ways to improve learning.

Analysis of Current Situation

Why is the current education system not developing high quality critical thinking skills?

We think this is because it is outdated and requires to change. But that itself is difficult, because:

- the school education system has become a moribund system, marked with apathy, sometimes denial and a weary acceptance. Parents, teachers, employers often seem to have lost hope that it can be quickly and effectively reformed. The larger ‘system’ is blamed for all problems, and individuals seen as too small to fight or change it.
- though this is not often realized, we believe, the educational sector faces a huge shortage of expertise. Here we are not talking about the lack of, say, teachers. What we mean is that there is a woeful inadequacy of solutions and ideas to improve the situation. Even collectively, we just know too little what the answers are!
- related to the above, a body of knowledge (research) or even a process to conduct research to obtain that knowledge is missing. For example, we are not aware of ways to reliably measure how students can read, or of methods - using people or technology - to teach large number of students to quickly learn to read well.

A number of efforts - largely uncoordinated - are on to change this situation, but even their combined effectiveness is not very obvious.

Desired Goal

We believe that there is actually more agreement on the desired goal than we realize. The goal is an education system in which children develop holistic skills and values, which make them both employable and active participants in the process of social change and progress. Such a society will not be divided on the basis of ethnicity or religion, and will afford inclusive development and growth.

Assumptions

The most important assumption of EI’s Theory of Change is that people have a desire to improve, and if they can be shown - in a way they understand - what the current situation is, and how it is different from the desired one, their intrinsic motivation for growth and positive change will propel them towards that change.

However, this requires, time (because it requires changes in mindset) and it requires ‘enabling circumstances’. All efforts must be made to create those supporting enabling circumstances.

Strategy

The key strategy, therefore, is to hold up a mirror to society and the education system, showing - in clearer and more undeniable terms than ever before - where we are and that it is very different from the goal we want to reach. That is why EI conducts large scale, but low-stake assessments across private and public schools to shake the system from its stupor by showing the system both generally, but also very specifically, that ‘all’s not well’.

The important thing is that the ‘all’s not well’ message must come not as an opinion from some ‘experts’ but from data that is transparently available and can be verified. Parents can see for them specifically what their children are learning and what they are not. Teachers are confronted with the fact that their students are not developing skills they assumed they were. While this does create some frustration, some panic and some despondency initially, that is a necessary first step if things are to change.

A second element of the strategy is promoting discussion through the sharing of information and learnings. It is important that society meaningfully debate whether our schools are imparting effective learning or not. This discussion is a sign of engagement, and engagement is necessary to obtain involvement, as involvement alone can give us the thousands of micro-solutions we need to solve the problem.

One of the shifts of thinking that is being promoted here - not common in the education system - is data-based decision making. Questions like what medium of instruction should be used in primary classes, or how (and how much) technology should be used in the classroom, etc. have to be answered not based on opinion or even majority views, but on the basis of data.

The fourth key element of this strategy is the development of expertise. This refers to the scientific analysis of issues and development of solutions by a small group (at EI for example, we’re researching and understanding much, much better, how children can learn better and what tools seem to work more effectively) but it refers equally to widespread development of expertise among teachers and schools, who may develop ways of knowing how well children are learning.

Finally, the last aspect of this strategy is to work on the mindsets of people, promoting discussions and taking people along - something we call ‘infestation’ for short - a term we use with a positive connotation. We believe the key to change lies in, for example, parents and teachers realizing the education is more about critical thinking than rote learning, and the day a majority thinks that way, the momentum for change will simply take us through!

Expected Outcome and Stages

The change we hope to see will move through a series of stages:

1. Stage of discomfort: The initial responses are of frustration and even a bit of denial and a sense of helplessness. But it is necessary to push us to the next stage.
2. Stage of discussion: The second stage is when the problem is recognized, at least in pockets, and discussed sometimes along with possible approaches and strategies.
3. Trials and limited acceptance: The third stage is one where pioneers adopt new methods or trials or start experiments or initiating change in small ways. These early experiments yield a lot of learning and insights.

(We have seen the shades of the above three stages in different places in the current situation.)

Development of support services: As the critical mass grows, support services start emerging. Parents ask schools and others whether their offerings help children to learn (as opposed to simply memorise or score marks). Support services emerge both for parents and schools.

4. Stage of greater acceptance: These new efforts gain a momentum of their own. These ideas seem less and less radical and more and more accepted.
5. Stage of large-scale acceptance, policy change, high momentum: This is the Transformation stage when acceptance is large-scale. In the current example, this may correspond to a revamping of the Board Exam pattern to emphasise learning rather than marks.

It is important for all of us as players in this arena to realise that this change - moving through these stages - will take time. This is not a bad thing - because the time is needed for expertise to be developed, research to be done and products and services to be created.

Important Enabling Circumstances

It is important to realise that key enabling circumstances - at the right time - are critical for this change to happen. Two important enabling circumstances are availability of feedback on student learning is a simple and easy-to-understand format that teachers and parents can understand. A second is the presence of a pool of ‘experts’ who can interpret reports of student learning and advice parents and schools on specific step they can take to help students do better. In the presence of these enabling circumstances, change will happen, and with increasing momentum eventually leading to the achievement of the desired goal!