At Akshara every programme has a definitive goal, a vision built in at the design stage, of children learning better and acquiring the foundational skills for academic progress. Our Research and Evaluation team enters the picture to gauge how programmes perform and whether end results have met the expectations on which they were founded. Data, children's test scores, classroom observations, teachers' feedback and field notes pass through fine scrutiny to convert into research papers on programmes and their effectiveness. It is stepping back and taking an objective, open-minded look at learning strategies, establishing successes, while pointing to shortfalls and areas for improvement.
Behind the scenes are the quiet, back-room labours that support programmes - training, developing content and formulating assessment tools. The team plays a significant part in the nationwide canvas of ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) every year, anchoring its surveys, enquiries and learning assessments in Karnataka.
Larger engagements such as advocacy, a push for reform in education, status reports to government with analysis and direction-markers, position papers, presentations and dissertations, are all work-in-progress for the Research and Evaluation team.
Behind the scenes are the quiet, back-room labours that support programmes - training, developing content and formulating assessment tools. The team plays a significant part in the nationwide canvas of ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) every year, anchoring its surveys, enquiries and learning assessments in Karnataka.
Larger engagements such as advocacy, a push for reform in education, status reports to government with analysis and direction-markers, position papers, presentations and dissertations, are all work-in-progress for the Research and Evaluation team.
Workshop on Creating a maths kit for grades 6, 7 and 8 - A Report
Due to the successful implementation of GKA 1.0 in Karnataka, Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK) requested Akshara Foundationto design and develop an activity-based pedagogy and TLMs for grades 6, 7 and 8 in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and in collaboration with maths teachers/practitioners from government schools in Karnataka. This is a comprehensive report of how the workshops panned out and Outcomes, including the first draft of specs of the kit.
Education in the Time of a Pandemic
Chapter 12 in Springer's Jan 2022 Edition titled 'Global Pandemic and Human Security'
Children studying in government schools are the worst hit during the pandemic. Learning opportunities often remain closed for children from disadvantaged communities when schools are shut. This chapter in Springer's E-book titled 'Global Pandemic and Human Security' presents data collected during a digital intervention piloted by Akshara Foundation. The data gathered presents the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 on the education of children and presents a possible solution to bridge the learning gap when schools are closed and also after the reopening of schools.
The Alternative Learning Project - A Report
If there’s one certainty of education the pandemic exposed in glaring contrast it is the gulf between the digital haves and have-nots. The pre-COVID gap only widened, underscoring the reality that students without digital facility are at a disadvantage, and here, rural children are more vulnerable than most others. This fact initiated many discussions at Akshara and ended up in us doing two pilots of a new paradigm – the dual-lesson plan strategy. This report on our 'Alternative Learning Project' outlines what we did, what we learnt and some of our thoughts for the future.
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
COVID 19 has created multiple challenges for every country in the world. This pandemic can only be slowed
by physical or social distancing, and we will likely have to do this for a substantial length of time. What this
means is that we will have a prolonged period where we will be forced to practise preventive measures like
social distancing, high levels of hygiene, masking, and other safety precautions. This will impact multiple
facets of school education and it is prudent for us to think now as to how to address these issues. Until
teaching children in classrooms in government primary schools resumes, the strategy has to be to engage
students at home or in designated community spaces with the learning process.
PARYAYA GANITHA KALIKA YOJANE
Akshara took it upon itself in these COVID times to design and implement a blended learning model that had
innovation as its centrepiece. Called Paryaya Kalika Yojane, implemented in Nanjangud Block of Mysore
District in Kanranata. the pilot is a pioneering model – a combination of the digital route, math workbooks
and physical access to Volunteers. The 15 Field Facilitators of the Nanjangud Pilot visited the homes of their
cohorts every day in the selected villages. The Field Facilitators were a proxy for the teacher. They were
trained in the pedagogy and process of the pilot.
English Programmes Report 2020
The English Programmes that Akshara Foundation designed were in response to a combination of circumstances, which include the low English immersion levels in government schools and the paucity of prerequisite strategies and resources required for teaching and learning. This report narrates Akshara Foundation’s journey with its English Programmes. It concludes that continuous and long-term capacity building of teachers coupled with appropriate teaching-learning resources, both print and digital, would have positive impact on first-generation English learners.
Impact Evaluation study - Akshara Foundation's Building Blocks Mobile Application for Mathematics
The study included an evaluation of the Building Blocks application that has been launched by Akshara Foundation, as part of Cisco’s social responsibility initiative, to provide access to mathematics practice and learning to children from grades 1-5.
Restructuring Government Schools in Karnataka
Akshara Foundation, in collaboration with a faculty from IIT Gandhinagar with expertise in data analytics and education policy, undertook a research study on small schools and school consolidation.
The study presented in this report is aimed at the issue of small schools in India and develops strategies to consolidate the existing schools to bring efficiency, provide vertical linkages, and to ensure adequate number of teachers per school and efficient distribution of infrastructural resources. The study discusses broader issues of school consolidation at the national level, with a special focus on Karnataka state, using secondary data from U-DISE and field studies by Akshara foundation at the local level.
Gram Panchayat Mathematics Contests for Primary School Children, 2017
This report is a description of the Gram Panchayat (GP) Level Mathematics Contests organised for government school children in eight districts of Karnataka. It demonstrates the GP level math contests as a strategy to empower the community to take up quality issues in the public school system within the framework of participatory democracy.
Learning Outcomes of Ganitha Kalika Andolana - Phase 1
Akshara Foundation and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan launched Ganitha Kalika Andolana (GKA) in the Hyderabad Karnataka Region with the key objective of improving the learning outcomes of children in grade 4 and 5 in math.
This report is an analysis of the above mentioned objective using an Android-based App, which had test items built into it. Test tools were similar to ASER test tools; however there were some additional question to test other grade appropriate competencies. The baseline assessment for this initiative was the ASER 2014 score in math.
The Library Program - Akshara Foundation's Learnings, 2017
The report is about what Classroom Libraries (NCF2005 compliant) and in turn books, mean to children. It includes the work that Akshara Foundation has done in the past decade with regard to providing access to books for children of government schools in three regions- Bangalore, Mundargi ( Gadag District) and Kushtagi ( Koppal District).It also focuses on Akshara’s interventions in the field, and the learning outcomes as a result of these libraries. Results show that children have shown positive gains in reading levels as far as the first language is concerned. The gains in second language competencies, though positive, do not appear to be very significant.The report includes a section on the positive feedback from a cross section of beneficiaries, like teachers, students and headmasters.
Gram Panchayat Contest : Assessment Analysis, 2016
This is a report on Akshara’s new community initiative– the Gram Panchayat Math Contests. The Gram Panchayat (GP) Math contest is a first-of-its-kind community initiative in India involving all concerned stakeholders of the Gram Panchayats to push for the enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning of grade appropriate Mathematics. The results of each GP Math contest was shared with the GP and other stakeholders for their further action towards improving the quality of math education.
Akshara Ganitha - Third party Evaluation report by CMDR
This report is the third party evaluation research study that was conducted by Centre for Multi-disciplinary Development Research (CMDR), Karnataka. This longitudinal study was designed to test the hypothesis that Akshara Ganitha will impact the learning outcomes related to mathematics in primary schools of Koppal and Gadag districts of North Karnataka.
Assessing Reality Show Contestants - Akshara Ganitha in Kushtagi,2016
This report talks about the Mathematics Teacher Contest that was conducted by Akshara and analysed the response to this contest. The effect of the Akshara’s Mathematics Teacher Contest in Kushtagi on the teachers has been promising as it created the necessary environment to think about the relevance of the Akshara Mathematics programme and related training.
SETF - Third party Evaluation report by CMDR
This report is the third party evaluation research study that was conducted by Centre for Multi- disciplinary Development Research (CMDR), Karnataka. This longitudinal study was designed to test the hypothesis that Swalpa English Thumba Fun will impact the learning outcomes related to English in primary schools of Koppal and Gadag districts of North Karnataka.
School Development and Monitoring Committees - An Analysis of Minutes of the Meetings 2015-16
This is a study to elicit the participation of the School Development Monitoring Committees in promoting the educational achievement levels of students in selected schools of Hoskote and Kushtagi blocks in Karnataka. The minutes of the SDMC meetings are collected from the respective schools and are analysed to understand the patterns of SDMC participation in schools.
SDMCs in Karnataka Analysing the quality of SDMC meetings in Hoskote, Kushtagi and Mundargi, 2015
More than a decade after the implementation of RTE Act (2009), formation of School Management Committees (SDMCs) have reached satisfactory level but their key functions remain highly inadequate in sampled schools in Hoskote, Mundargi and Koppal blocks. Empowerment of members and structural planning continues to be a challenge in the success of SDMCs.
English Teaching in rural Government Schools- - A Longitudinal Research Study -2012-13 to 2014-15
This research study was designed to test the hypothesis that Swalpa English Thumba Fun will impact the learning outcomes related to English among elementary school. The report outlines the findings of a longitudinal study conducted by Akshara Foundation in Karnataka. The study employed a controlled before-and-after design to compare the effectiveness of the English program on the learning outcomes of the elementary school children, the classroom practices, and teacher behavior in government schools.
The Impact of Akshara Ganitha - A Longitudinal Study 2012-13 to 2014-15
This research study was designed to test the hypothesis that Akshara Ganitha will impact the learning outcomes related to mathematics in primary schools. The report outlines the findings of a longitudinal study conducted by Akshara Foundation in Karnataka. The study employed a controlled before-and-after design to compare the effectiveness of the Math programme on the learning outcomes of the elementary school children, the classroom practices, and teacher behavior in government schools.
Impact Assessment of Akshara Foundation’s Engagement with the ICDS system in Karnataka, 2013
The report benchmarks Akshara’s pre-school engagement in the context of a theoretical best-case scenario. There is a practical challenge and urgency in bringing a paradigm shift and it is here that collective efforts from the entire spectrum of stakeholders will help improve the ECE situation in the country to ensure that our children get the preschool attention that we believe is in their best interests.
A Study of Government Urdu Primary Schools in Bengaluru, 2011
This study provides an overview of Urdu-medium primary schools in the Bengaluru Urban district of Karnataka in India. Akshara’s research examined access to government-run Urdu-medium schools and issues relating to enrolment, student attendance rates and learning achievement levels in these schools.
A study on the status of education in non-notified slums in Bangalore, 2010
Among the urban poor, the slum dwellers are the poorest. Akshara Foundation found that there are a number of children living in non notified slums and they have no access to any preschool education either through government centres or private centres. As a preliminary step in the process of setting up preschool (balwadi) centres, Akshara Foundation decided to conduct a feasibility study in Bangalore.
Hoskote – An Education Report Card 2010 – 2013
This document is a Report Card for Hoskote Block South Karnataka for 2012-2013. The facts and figures have been collated by Akshara’s field teams over two years of work that covered the ground extensively through school surveys, classroom observations, teacher interviews and administering learning assessments. There is much that needs to get done, for which the community too must take onus.
Assessment of Accessibility and Infrastructure Facilities In Higher Primary and High Schools - 2009
Access is no longer a concern for primary (lower) education in Karnataka. The focus should therefore turn to the functioning and facility-deficits at the upper primary and high school levels, which might hinder the continuation of education and the completion of the ten-year education cycle. The study is about what happens to students of the villages which lack facilities beyond Std. V? What are the challenges that they face in commuting to schools outside the village?
Bengaluru’s Education Profile - A Report Card 2009_2010
The report card offers a glimpse into the demography and the learning outcomes of children attending government preschools and primary schools in Bengaluru in the academic year 2009-2010. The results presented in the report are based on data collected by Akshara Foundation in government preschools and primary schools. The data covers learning outcomes in all major domains for ECE (Early Childhood Education) as well as Mathematics and English in primary schools.
Nagu Nagutha Ganitha - A Remedial Math Programme in Government Primary Schools in Bangalore North, 2009
In 2008-09 academic cycle, Nagu Nagutha Ganitha was implemented in all schools of Bangalore North. NNG sessions were taught in small groups; under 20 children were assigned to each teacher in the programme. At the completion of the programme there was an overall jump of 21 percentage-points in average score from the pre test to the post test. Read more…
The Preschool Years, A Balwadi Programme Report, 2008
It is an undeniable fact that the first six years have a direct, decisive bearing on children’s lives. That is when minds develop and skills are acquired. The importance of early stimulation cannot be underestimated. While the importance of care for the young child is well understood, the reality is that the needs of millions of children in these crucial years are not met. The child under six is a largely deprived being in India. Government and civil society have a stupendous task before them.
Nagu Nagutha Ganitha - A Remedial Math Programme in Government Primary Schools in Bangalore South Analytical Report, 2008
Between August 2007 and January 2008, the Akshara Foundation supported the Department of Education of the state of Karnataka in implementing a remedial learning programme in government schools. The programme, Nagu Nagutha Ganitha (NNG), is an activity-based approach to mathematics for children in lower primary classes. This report presents detailed quantitative analysis of the programme results based on census data from 2 assessments. Read more…
Karnataka Learning Partnership Reading Programme Report, 2006
In the first phase, the Karnataka Learning Partnership has taken up the accelerated reading programme, so that all children in government primary schools in Bangalore are able to read fluently and accurately. The programme was a success. The results are there for all to see.