Abstract:
Rhonda Di BiaseUsing Bronfrenbrenner’s (1979) ecological framework this study investigates the implementation of active learning in the Maldives, a small island developing state. Globally, many national governments and donor organisations endorse learner-centred pedagogies although implementation challenges have been well documented. The well-documented challenges of active learning reform highlight the disparity between policy and classroom practice, and the need for greater attention to context in the reform process. In recognising these challenges, the aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how teachers enact active learning pedagogy using design-based research; an interventionist methodology exploring practical solutions in real-world settings. Design-based research has two outcomes: a practical outcome in developing locally valuable interventions and a theoretical outcome encompassing more globally useable knowledge referred to as design principles. The site for the study was an island school, chosen for offering optimum conditions for the implementation of the intervention. Following a contextual analysis identifying local priorities, and working collaboratively with a group of Maldivian teachers, a pedagogical intervention based on active learning principles was developed to fit the Maldivian context. The intervention, an instructional model of active learning, provided a structured approach to reform and was then enacted in the island school with two groups of primary teachers and studied over eight months. Data detailing teachers’ use of the pedagogical intervention was collected through multiple sources: teacher recording booklets; questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations. The data revealed the factors that both supported and inhibited teachers’ use of the intervention at macro, meso and micro levels drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s framework. These were converted into design principles; an anticipated outcome of design-based research, highlighting three broad areas that revealed what worked in what circumstances, and represented the study’s key findings: the clarity and accessibility of the model itself; teachers’ enactment through practical knowledge with classroom-based support; and the importance of nurturing a reform-minded school community. Small state characteristics were also examined to highlight the specific needs of small island developing states.