Discussant: Ritesh Shah, University of Aukland
This symposium will present evidence and results from the field testing of the Inter-Agency Accelerated Education Working Group’s (AEWG)[1] 10 Principles for Effective Practice.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2016) there are about 263 million children and youth out of school from primary to upper secondary. With each missed school year, there is greater risk that they will be unable to return to formal education and greater risks to their protection as a result. Responding to the needs of these marginalised children has increasingly led governments, donors and agencies to explore the possibility of providing accelerated education programs (AEPs) to extend educational access, equity and relevance. However, while there is widespread agreement on the need for such programming, there is insufficient validated documentation (Nicholson, S. (2007); NORC / University of Chicago: 2016) that provides guidance, standards and indicators for efficient programme planning, implementation and monitoring.
To address some of these specific challenges related to AE, starting with the lack of guidance and standards, the AEWG spent 2016 supporting the development of several tools for effective practice including an inter-agency AEWG agreed definition, an AE Guide and 10 AE Principles.
The Principles are the foundation for the guidance and tools and aim to clarify the essential components of an effective AEP. Each principle contains evidence-informed best practices which can be viewed as a series of key actions or indicators to support the design, implementation and evaluation of AE work subject to sensitive analysis and modifications based on the political and institutional context. We hypothesise that when the principles are applied with appropriate adaptations reflecting local contexts a functional AEP will increase access to education and facilitate significant learning gains for children and youth.
We conducted field testing of the AE Principles early in 2017 and will present the results; sharing evidence from those that are engaged in implementation, and more importantly how we will use this evidence to inform programmes and ultimately raise the quality of AEP’s.
Three presentations will be made by members of the AEWG:
The AEWG and the 10 principles for effective practice?-Anita Reilly, Education Adviser, IRC, Anita.Reilly@rescue-uk.org
Presentation 1: will introduce the AEWG, its aim, objectives and work to date and discuss the 10 AE principles for effective practice and accompanying Guide explaining the methodology used to develop it, the evidence contributing to its formation and the inter-agency process of finalizing the tool
Findings from the field testing of the AE Guide and principles- Kathryn Cooper, Education Learning & Impact Assessment Advisor, SCUK, K.Cooper@savethechildren.org.uk
Presentation 2: will discuss the field testing of the AE guide and 10 principles in Kenya, Dadaab (primary and secondary AE), Afghanistan (primary AE) and Sierra Leone (primary AE). This presentation will focus on the application of the principles, highlighting how contextual differences are managed in assessing adherence to the principles and in ensuring effectiveness of AEPs generally.
AEWG tools in action- Sonia Gomez, NRC
Presentation 3: will discuss an example of an AEP in Sierra Leone where the AEWG materials and principles have been used as tools for quality assurance. The presentation will focus on the use of the tools, not only by practitioners, but also by the community and Ministries of Education and highlight the results in improvement (or not) of programme quality.
[1] The AEWG is an inter-agency working group made up of partners working in accelerated education. The AEWG is currently led by UNHCR with representation from UNICEF, USAID, NRC, Plan, IRC, Save the Children, ECCN and War Child Holland
