“Satisficing” In Early Grade Reading: Applying Reasonably Good Strategies in Imperfect Contexts

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, the primary focus of education policy and programming in low- and middle-income country contexts has shifted from access to quality. There has also been a laudable increase in the amount of available research about education quality in low- and middle-income countries, and a growing emphasis placed on incorporating research- and evidence-based activities and approaches into donor-funded education programs, particularly for early grade reading. Reviews of early grade reading (EGR) programs and their level of impact, however, particularly when programs are implemented at large scale, may leave some practitioners, policy makers, and donors dismayed. Effect sizes and impacts of the programs are often positive, but the absolute gains in reading performance are not as dramatic as we would like, despite the implementation of evidence-based approaches.

In education policy and implementation literature, the decoupling of policy and implementation, and the messiness involved in putting research into practice in education, are well documented. In this chapter, the authors propose the idea of “satisficing,” as it has been defined in policy and implementation literature, as a useful lens for considering the apparent decoupling of actual impacts and anticipated outcomes for programs that have adopted research- and evidence-based approaches. Using examples from EGR programs in African and Asian contexts, the authors argue that “satisficing” occurs at multiple levels, including the classroom, school, district, and even the program implementation (i.e., contractor or grantee) levels. The authors also argue that this lens has important implications for education program design and research.

Citation

Ralaingita, W. and Plessis, J.d. (2020), "“Satisficing” In Early Grade Reading: Applying Reasonably Good Strategies in Imperfect Contexts", Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2019 (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 39), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 191-208. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920200000039017