Project Impact: A Low-Cost Alternative for Universal Primary Education in the Philippines

摘要

Project IMPACT (Instructional Management by Parents, Community, and Teachers) was implemented in the Philippines to test an approach to primary education which would sharply reduce costs per student without loss of educational quality. A.I.D.'s evaluation of the project, based on a review of records and interviews with parents, teachers, and IMPACT officials, is here presented. Under the project, 100 or more primary school students, divided into groups of 5-10, were taught by intermediate (grades 4-6) primary school students using programmed teaching modules under the supervision of professional teachers. Parents and skilled workers served as community resource persons, and a local primary or high school graduate provided clerical, administrative, and logistic support. Cost-effectiveness studies and academic performance tests indicate that the project achieved its objective. An added benefit was the greater poise and personal initiative evinced by IMPACT students over their conventional counterparts, possibly as a result of IMPACT's stress on independent study and peer group interaction. Unfortunately, initial project savings were not used to maintain qualitative levels in subsequent years resulting in declining professional support for IMPACT. Parents viewed IMPACT as benefiting the brightest students, but as less successful with average students.