Where Have All The Textbooks Gone

This World Bank report is a rich compilation of information on teaching learning materials (TLM) in Africa based on the extensive and multi-faceted experience of the author's work in the education sector in Africa. The study examines a wide range of issues around TLM provision including curriculum, literacy and numeracy, language of instruction policy, procurement and distribution challenges, TLM development and production and their availability, management and usage in schools. It also looks at the role of information and communication technology (ICT) based TLMs and their availability. The study recognizes that improved TLM system management is a critical component in achieving affordable and sustainable TLM provision for all students. This study, which draws from more than 40 Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic-speaking countries will be particularly useful for policymakers, development partners, and other stakeholders attempting to understand the wide range of issues surrounding the complexity of textbook provision in Sub Saharan Africa.

Textbooks play a key role in enhancing the quality of learning, especially in the context of low-income Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries characterized by large class-size, poorly motivated and inadequately trained teachers, and short effective school years. There are also high rates of illiteracy among parents and few reading materials at home for the student to bank on. Despite extensive investments by governments, the World Bank and other development partners, the majority of students in primary and secondary schools in SSA still lack the benefit of access to textbooks and the key reason for this shortage is affordability: textbooks are generally much more costly in SSA than in other developing regions. The need to increase access to key learning resources is of particular urgency because most African countries experience low learning outcomes which in part contributes to a high drop-out rate. Only two-thirds of those who enter school reach the final grade and only about half of these master basic numeracy and literacy skills. And although quality improvement depends on many factors inside and outside the school, there is wide agreement that availability of textbooks is both an indispensable and a cost-effective way of improving the quality of the learning process. A recent World Bank study examined the actual costs of textbooks, the scope for cost reduction, the portion of a national budget countries allocate to teaching and learning materials (TLMs) and hurdles in the way of making textbooks available to student. Some interesting findings from the study - - The availability of affordable textbooks to all students could be dramatically improved by devoting an estimated 3 to 4 percent of the primary education budget and 6 to 7 percent of the secondary education budget - The production process †“ methods, copyright, length of print runs, effective procurement practices †“ rather than the production costs should be the target of cost saving strategies - The increased integration of ICTs into education in SSA can provide important opportunities for promoting availability of electronic TLMs but electronic TLMs are not a substitute for printed TLMs including textbooks

This fascinating, revealing look at an often glossed-over topic is filled with personal stories, questions and answers, and comments and observations from men that can help women understand their choices, desires, and God's heart for their lives.

Cette étude de la Banque mondiale est une riche compilation d'informations sur le matériel pédagogique d'apprentissage (MPA) sur la base de la vaste expérience et les multiples facettes de l'oeuvre de l'auteur dans le secteur de l'éducation en Afrique. L'étude examine un large éventail de questions autour de la fourniture MPA dont le curriculum, l'alphabétisation et le calcul, la langue de la politique d'instruction, d'approvisionnement et de distribution des défis, ainsi que le développement et la production du MPA et de leur disponibilité, gestion et utilisation dans les écoles. Il se penche également sur le rôle de la technologie de l'information et de la communication (TIC) basé sur le matériel pédagogique d'apprentissage et de leur disponibilité. L'étude reconnaît que l'amélioration de la gestion du système MPA est un élément essentiel dans la réalisation de la prestation du MPA abordable et durable pour tous les élèves. Cette étude, qui puise dans plus de 40 pays anglophones, francophones, lusophones et de pays arabophones sera particulièrement utile pour les décideurs, les partenaires au développement, et d'autres intervenants qui tentent de comprendre le large éventail de questions liées à la complexité de la fourniture de manuels scolaires en Afrique subsaharienne.

Science is a serious business, right? Wrong. Scientists have been participants in the best reality show of all time, with all the highs, lows, bust-ups, and strange personalities of any show on telly today. From Luke O'Neill - the science teacher you wish you'd had - this hugely accessible history of science reveals the human stories behind the biggest discoveries. For example, we meet Charles Darwin as he weighs up the pros and cons of marrying his cousin: 'constant companion' vs 'less money for books'. Tough call. To Boldly Go Where No Book Has Gone Before covers everything from space travel and evolution to alchemy and AI. Written by one of our leading scientists, this is an insider's account that celebrates the joy of science. It is filled with all the juicy bits that other histories leave out.

Where Have All the Heroes Gone? provides an analysis of heroism's application and meaning among political and media elites, as well as the mass public over the past fifty years. In asking "what has happened" to American heroes over this span, it explores how heroes are used strategically by governing officials and providers of media content in ways that are frequently divergent from and even directly opposed to popular expectations.

Wang Jun obtained the system by accident. The system was upgraded by earning negative emotions from others and gaining experience points from them. From then on, his dream returned to a thousand twists and turns ...The dogs in the village continued to scream in pain, while hundreds of sows screamed in the middle of the night. The door of the eighty year old Old Lady Lord was knocked on night, is it a human or a ghost? Whether all this is the distortion of human nature or the fall of morality. Please pay attention.