Learning Through Play in Speed School, an International Accelerated Learning Program

Abstract

This paper documents how play serves as a foundation for learning in Speed School, an accelerated learning program initiative of the Luminos fund.  Speed school provides three years of primary education, grades 1-3, through an intensive ten-month program for out-of- school children between the ages of eight and fourteen who have never attended or who have dropped out of school, living in rural or remote areas of Ethiopia and Liberia.  Literature was reviewed using a narrative review of Speed School program evaluations conducted by the University of Sussex, and literature on play pedagogy to identify search terms. Key strengths of the Speed School pedagogy implemented through play—group work, questioning, hands-on materials, demonstration and explanation, use of native tongue, and flexible planning—support social constructivism. Speed School facilitators and learning environments that promote constructivist play pedagogy are discussed.  Knowledge acquisition, relationships, social engagement, testing out ideas, and skills building are identified as outcomes from the incorporation of play pedagogy in speed school.  The paper concludes by highlighting how play pedagogy in Speed School contributes to the development of life-long learning.