Interactive radio instruction – a legacy of COVID-19 for marginalized adolescent girls of Baluchistan
Journal for Multicultural Education
ISSN: 2053-535X
Article publication date: 14 February 2022
Issue publication date: 21 March 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report insights from the planning and execution phase of an interactive radio instruction (IRI) intervention envisioned as a medium-term response plan to address school closures amidst the global Coronavirus pandemic. The project has been envisioned by a local development agency in the province of Balochistan for adolescent out-of-school (OOS) girls.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reports respondents’ academic achievement through the one-group pretest-posttest design method across numeracy, literacy, civic education and indigenous crafts. Participating adolescent girl respondents were randomly selected from six districts of Balochistan and the results assert a positive impact of IRI intervention. Thus, showcasing IRI as a promising approach to address protracted challenges of educational accessibility in remote areas of Pakistan.
Findings
The mean score comparison of pre-test–post-test across four curriculum subjects indicates the greatest gains in numeracy and civic education. Results also highlight the significance of the pedagogical capacity of IRI developers and the quality of supplementary educational kits paired with IRI during this intervention.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study focus on design and implementation phases eliminating the analysis of learners’ behaviour, environmental factors and family support. Further research is suggested to identify gaps in related dimensions for the success of IRI in Pakistan.
Originality/value
This study contributes data-driven findings from a pioneer on-going IRI project in Balochistan, a hard-to-reach province where the ratio of OOS adolescent girls exceeds 78%. This study also proposes vital steps for the longevity of IRI to solve protracted educational crises in Pakistan.
Keywords
Citation
Raza, M. (2022), "Interactive radio instruction – a legacy of COVID-19 for marginalized adolescent girls of Baluchistan", Journal for Multicultural Education, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-01-2022-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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