Approaches to improving learning for marginalised girls

The Girls Education Challenge (GEC) is a £350 million UKAid fund targeting one million marginalised girls, with interventions designed to improve girls’ learning outcomes and increase retention. Projects’ evaluations... [ view full abstract ]

The Girls Education Challenge (GEC) is a £350 million UKAid fund targeting one million marginalised girls, with interventions designed to improve girls’ learning outcomes and increase retention. Projects’ evaluations assess literacy and numeracy at three points in time.
Marginalisation is broadly defined to encompass girls aged 6-19 who have had no access to education, have dropped out of school early or have had limited opportunities to learn. The 37 GEC projects have applied further marginalisation criteria when selecting target groups, including remote or conflict-affected location, education status, or particular social characteristics. Baseline results broadly support and deepen our understanding of a range of barriers that marginalised girls face, and show low levels of literacy and numeracy across contexts.
This paper will bring together theories of change adopted by GEC projects which aim to enhance learning for marginalised girls. They can be typified according to three key points: reducing social barriers to learning in the family/community, enhancing the school environment, and girls’ experiences in the classroom. The paper will explore how different interventions anticipate change that will impact on girls’ learning, for example through home-based support, mentoring and other school-based support to improve self-esteem and motivation, and changing girls’ interactions with teachers and peers.
Three representative case studies will draw out lessons from the three intervention points and explore how projects combine interventions to address girls’ needs. The paper will help to frame a discussion on anticipated changes, and how these can be explored in more depth as the evaluation progresses.