Digital learning transformation for one-room schoolhouses in rural Pakistan

Abstract

Despite extensive global efforts to make education accessible for all, one out of every five children are out-of-school. The situation demands re-thinking of learning strategies particularly in underprivileged contexts. Continued advancements in learning technologies may offer novel solutions and this paper reports on a study that explores such opportunities. Opportunities to think laterally also reveal that the centuries old one-room schoolhouse is a proven educational system that has yielded promising results for rural areas all around the world. Using a contemporary multi-grade teaching method, the one-room schoolhouse provides a resilient model educating children at locations, which lack quality teachers and resources. This paper reports a case study of an integrated approach to teach out-of-school children in rural Pakistan using education technology in a one-room schoolhouse. A synthesis of knowledge and practices associated with one-room schoolhouses is presented together with an analysis of education technology developments that look promising. A digital transformation roadmap to implement and scale this method to educate out-of-school children in other underprivileged communities is summarised.