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UPenn to study impact of Sikshana on government primary schools

Bengaluru, June 29, 2011: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Sikshana Foundation and University of Pennsylvania, USA in Bangalore on June 29, 2011. Dr. Sharon M. Ravitch, Director of International Applied Research Team, at the university Graduate School of Education and Mr. E.S. Ramamurthy, Founder - Chief Mentor of Sikshana Foundation formally exchanged the document. The project seeks to study in depth the Sikshana Foundation’s intervention in governmental schools. As such, three researchers from PennGSE, Dr. Sharon Ravitch, E. Gabriel Dattatreyan, and Arjun Shankar, will spend 3 years for field research and iterative analysis with Sikshana Foundation staff.

Sikshana Foundation has been working with government primary schools since 2002 and started its work on creating a model for intervention across the country in 2008. Currently the foundation is working with nearly 600 schools across Karnataka, Andhra, Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Uttar Pradesh. Focusing on improving the quality of education delivered in the government schools, the foundation has been able to show a remarkable improvement in student learning levels by working directly with teachers and children. At this stage the foundation was looking for partners to conduct a study on the concepts and the reasons for the success of the program; the partnership with UPenn will deliver just that.

The University of Pennsylvania traces its origins to 1740 when a trust was formed to establish the Charity School of Philadelphia. More than 250 years later, Penn continues to blaze trails in education. As part of this bent towards innovation, Penn's Graduate School of Education believes that global engagement is essential to success. Partnerships with educators, policymakers, and thought leaders in other countries drive our commitment to advancing education across the world. The Penn GSE research team, which includes Dattatreyan, Shankar, and Dr. Ravitch, has partnered with Sikshana in order to learn about NGO interventions in Indian education, to help Sikshana develop research inquiry models for mentors, and to articulate the emergent processes by which Sikshana has achieved its school successes thus far. Their goal is to collaboratively produce published work and new methods that will further Sikshana's goal of improved education for all in India.