International Education Projects: Senegal
Education Priorité Qualité Program in Senegal (2010-2014)
Client/Agency
United States Agency for International Development
Description
RTI leads the Education Priorité Qualité (EPQ) Program to assist Senegal in decentralizing its teacher preparation process, improve school governance and management, strengthen students' basic skills in reading and math, and provide life and employability opportunities for middle school youth.
The EPQ team develops training programs targeted at strengthening teachers' pedagogical and content skills. These training programs take place in each of Senegal's 14 regions at new regional teacher preparation and professional development centers the project helps establish.
In addition to focusing on improving teacher performance, the EPQ team addresses student performance through specific reading and math assessment tools appropriate for middle school diagnostic testing. The tools track students' progress in their first year of middle school at baseline, mid-term, and final assessments.
The EPQ team focuses on sustaining improvements by allowing Senegal to take ownership of the program by working with Senegal's Ministry of Education and the private sector and by building the capacity of local organizations that conduct education activities.
The project facilitates policy dialogue and supports institutional framework design at regional and national levels for a standards-based certification system and professional development program for teachers.
More Information
- RTI International to Improve Middle-School Education in Senegal (news release)
- Raising the Bar: Improving Education Quality in Senegal (newsletter article)
- Education for a Better Future in Senegal (newsletter article)
Basic Education Project (2008-2013)
Client/Agency
Academy for Educational Development (AED) / U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Description
The USAID/Basic Education project is a five-year initiative that focuses on improving access, quality, and governance of the middle school education system in Senegal. This program falls within the scope of the Programme Decennal de l'Education et de la Formation (PDEF), a ten-year education and training plan that focuses on improving access, quality and management of the Senegalese education system.
The project supports the fulfillment of the PDEF vision through five components and two units. RTI leads the Governance and Management component and the Monitoring and Evaluation unit of the project.
- Vulnerable Children: providing vulnerable children, including girls, with a quality education or professional training and returning estranged children to their families
- Curriculum and Instruction: improving the quality of middle school education by implementing a new curriculum that covers civic education and the world of work, introducing teachers to teaching/learning assessment methods capable of enhancing student mastery of individual learning objectives
- Governance and Management: improving management and governance in education, increasing parental, business, and local community participation in governance
- Public-Private Partnership: increasing private sector contributions to education by expanding partnerships between the public and private sectors
- Information Technology and Communication: providing internet connectivity for increased access to quality educational information and resources in schools and their surrounding communities
- Small Grants Program: providing small grants to local NGOs and CBOs to assist talibes and students at risk of dropping out to stay in school and to monitor their progress
- Monitoring and Evaluation: ensuring the efficient management and effective performance of the project towards its goals and objectives.
Children's Learning Access in Senegal (2003-2010)
Client/Agency
United States Agency for International Development
Description
Under a subcontract to Academy for Educational Development (AED), RTI worked collaboratively with Senegal's Ministry of Education to advance middle school education policy and decentralization and increase the active engagement of communities to support their neighborhood middle schools and participate in school management and governance. RTI led the decentralization and community mobilization components, which aimed to help increase decentralization of middle school management and governance to regional, departmental, and local (school-community) levels as envisioned in the Government's Education Plan.
Results
An extensive training program for school management committees was developed and implemented in 58 middle schools, and numerous community mobilization activities led to the production of a popular pamphlet of lessons and success stories. These components complemented other features of the project, led by AED, which included middle school construction and support to improvements in the quality of middle school education through teacher and school director training.
This project was a task of the EQUIP 2 cooperative agreement
More Information
-
Middle School Matters: Engaging Communities in Senegal to Support Education for All Children (newsletter article)