Selective teacher attention in lower-income countries: A phenomenon linked to dropout and illiteracy?

In lower-income countries students face an important challenge that has not been well documented: selective teacher attention. in classes with many low-income students,teachers may concentrate on those few who can perform and neglect those who require more help. the latter may fail to learn,attend school less often,and eventually drop out. however,social promotion policies may keep them enrolled during periods of sporadic attendance. this phenomenon has been observed informally in various countries,but only one study,conducted in albania,has reported actual data. it found that many teachers overestimated the number of students who could follow the topics presented; they did predict that one third would be unable to answer questions but made no efforts to remedy knowledge gaps. teachers of upper primary classes tended to give little guidance or attention to failing students but gave them passing grades until they dropped out. the article reveals the urgent need to study in detail how this phenomenon arises and to develop strategies to reduce it in the countries or areas where it is prevalent. © 2011 unesco ibe.