Chapter 5: Grade Repetition
The issue of grade repetition is relevant for policy and practice in every education system around the world—and yet it is rarely the topic of research on education in low-income countries. Typically, grade repetition is coupled with a second concern: early school dropout. Together, they are believed to represent a constraint upon access to education — they prevent children from staying in and progressing through school. On the other hand, repetition often intends to emphasize standards and enforce the quality of education. In this way, the issue of grade repetition represents the possible tension between access and quality, but methodological challenges associated with the study of repetition make it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions. This chapter investigates the association between repeating a grade and dropping out of school, the defining theme of existing literature on repetition in low-income countries. Empirical analysis in the sample of Ugandan schools brings to light two other concerns: age of entry into primary school and language of instruction.
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This chapter uses quantitative data and analysis to explore the incidence of repetition and investigate whether repeating a grade increases the likelihood that a child will drop out of school. The chapter uses qualitative research to explore various stakeholders’ perceptions of repetition. Focus group discussions with teachers and school administrators and individual interviews with parents and community members encouraged stakeholders to discuss their experiences with and impressions of grade repetition.
Parents were generally focused on test scores and children’s performance, while teachers and school administrators took a more holistic approach. Parents typically mentioned poor teaching practices to explain why children repeat, while the teachers and school administrators presented a much broader perspective. While some teachers and school administrators mentioned poor teaching practices and related concerns, they ultimately focused on broader societal issues. A good illustration of this perspective is the quote repetition “is normal due to prevailing problems.”
Teachers’ and school administrator’s holistic approach to grade repetition contextualizes the practice within Uganda’s education system and also in relation to Ugandan society more broadly. School administrators and teachers provided a wide range of answers to the question “Why do children repeat?,” most of which could be described as “prevailing problems.” Of the various themes, approximately half concerned issues within the classroom: “high teacher pupil ratio,” “negative attitudes toward the curriculum by some teachers,” “misinterpretation of government policies,” “transferring between schools,” “poor motivation of teachers,” “poor assessment of learners.”
Though these scholastic concerns prompted some discussion, the most frequently cited cause of repetition came from outside the classroom. In response to the question “Why do children repeat?,” some educators simply answered, “Poverty” or “Child labor.” Others more fully explained “Most children absent themselves and go to work.” Throughout all the discussions, the most frequently mentioned theme was parents’ and communities’ lack of support for education. School officials explained this issue by describing a “lack of support from home,” “parents [who] are not concerned,” a “negative attitude toward education by parents,” a “lack of role models,” and “parents [who] don’t follow up with the children’s academic progress.” This theme speaks to a pressing challenge of Uganda’s primary education: the figurative distance between the school and the community.
The division of roles and responsibility among parents, communities, and the government is still being negotiated. In answering the question “Why do children repeat?,” teachers and administrators gave the same exact responses as when asked the question “What are the greatest challenges facing primary education?” Teachers’ and administrators’ alignment of grade repetition with primary education as a whole reveals their belief that grade repetition is just one indicator of an entire system that is struggling. As a practice that takes place within the complex system of primary education, repetition is influenced by a range of interconnected issues, both inside and outside of the classroom. Simply reducing grade repetition would not actually address the issues grade repetition represents, such as low learning levels and high levels of absenteeism.