Opportunity to Learn

This paper will argue that the basic opportunity to learn does not exist in many countries and that a concerted management focus to assure that schools provide these basic elements of an opportunity to learn could potentially yield big improvements in learning. The paper will assess the following questions: 1) what basic factors create the opportunity to learn, and 2) to what extent is the lack of these basic elements a problem in developing countries?

This working paper, one of a series on donor effectiveness and systems reform, will explore both the elements that create a basic opportunity to learn, and strategies for addressing them.