Improving educational quality through interactive radio instruction: a toolkit for policymakers and planners

This toolkit, Improving Educational Quality through Interactive Radio Instruction, is part of the ongoing effort by the World Bank’s Africa Region to deepen understanding of how distance education as well as information communication technologies (ICTs) can support education in Africa. The toolkit builds on the strategy paper “Enhancing Learning Opportunities in Africa” (Murphy et al. 2002), which reviews past experience with distance education in Africa and reaffirms its strong potential, with judicious integration of ICTs. Interactive radio instruction (IRI) has emerged as an important option for the improvement of educational quality in primary school classrooms in developing countries around the world. Since IRI’s introduction nearly 30 years ago, studies indicate its effectiveness in improving educational quality as well as retention rates at the primary school level. Studies also demonstrate IRI’s value as an effective mechanism to introduce new pedagogy and curriculum. This toolkit is intended for African policymakers, education planners, and pedagogical specialists who may be considering the feasibility of using IRI in their education systems. It is designed to helps assess the potential of IRI to improve educational quality in primary school classrooms, as well as to guide the design and development of IRI programs, once a decision is made to implement a program. The toolkit offers reference information on IRI experience worldwide, including Africa and provides step-by-step details that will be valuable to both planners and technical specialists alike.