Child Literacy Technical Approach

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World Vision Zambia Limited

Child Literacy Technical Approach

Strategic Objective:

“Improved Literacy among Children aged 6-18”

National Office contact: Chikondi Phiri,

Deputy National Director,

World Vision Zambia Limited

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... 4

Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................................... 5

1.0 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 7

2.0 Introduction and Background ................................................................................................................. 9

3.0 Landscape Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 9

3.1 Access to education .......................................................................................................................... 10

3.2 Retention and Completion ............................................................................................................... 11

3.3 Education Financing ........................................................................................................................... 11

3.4 Innovation in Education..................................................................................................................... 12

3.5 Quality ............................................................................................................................................... 12

4.0 Root Cause Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 13

4.1 Education Financing ........................................................................................................................... 14

4.2 Pupil-book ratios ............................................................................................................................... 14

4.3 Trained teachers in primary school .................................................................................................. 14

4.4 Enrolment.......................................................................................................................................... 15

4.5 Distances to Schools ......................................................................................................................... 15

4.6 Socio, Cultural and Economic Factors .............................................................................................. 15

4.7 Illiteracy of parents ........................................................................................................................... 16

4.8 Absenteeism Teacher/pupil absenteeism: ......................................................................................... 16

4.9 Drop outs rates ................................................................................................................................ 16

5.0 Pathway of Change Framework ............................................................................................................ 17

6.0 Project Models ...................................................................................................................................... 24

6.1 Literacy Boost (LB) ........................................................................................................................... 24

6.2 School and Community Accountability for Literacy Enhancement-SCALE- Model ......................... 24

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6.3 School Infrastructure Development ................................................................................................. 25

7.0 Local and National Level Advocacy ...................................................................................................... 25

7.1 Literacy Framework .......................................................................................................................... 25

7.2 Community participation .................................................................................................................. 26

7.3 Appropriate and adequate reading materials .................................................................................... 26

8.0 Local and National Partnering .............................................................................................................. 26

10.0 Variations of the Approach based on Different Contexts ................................................................. 31

10.1 Anticipated Geographic Locations ...................................................................................................... 31

11.0 Cross cutting Themes ......................................................................................................................... 31

12.0 Expected Funding Streams and Investment ........................................................................................ 33

13.0 Capacity Statement ............................................................................................................................. 33

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Acknowledgments

The development of the Literate Children Technical Approach would not have been made possible

without the input of various stakeholders and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for

their input. First and foremost, I would like to thank the Senior Leadership Team of World Vision Zambia

Limited who continually gave guidance to this process. The Core Team led by Rose Zambezi which did a

tremendous job in keeping the momentum. Paulaw Kitheka who patiently reviewed our documents

providing invaluable technical advice and helping to keep us focused. The Ministry of

Education,particularly Principal Planning Officer Mr. Lancelot Mutale, is acknowledged for taking time to

support this process. “Room to Read” provided a listening ear as we shared our plans to focus on

literacy. Collins Sakufiwa and Julie Lwando for the extra hours spent going over the document. This

would have been a more difficult journey without your support.

Lastly I would like to thank the many numerous parties that supported this process internally and

externally especially the various field staff, community members and PTAs that provided the much

needed input into this document.

Luonde Cholwe

Technical Advisor Education

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Acronyms ADP Area Development Program

ASCD Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

BTL Break through to Literacy

CAMFED Campaign For Female Education

DFID Department for International Development

EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment

FAWEZA Forum for African Women Educationists

FLAT Functional Literacy Assessment Tool

FPE Free Primary Education

ICT Information and Communication Technology

ICT4ED Information and Communication Technology for Education

MESVTEE Ministry of Education Science Vocational Training and Early Education

MoE Ministry of Education

NCCTQ National Comprehension Centre for Teacher Quality

PRP Primary Reading Program

PTA Parents Teachers Association

ROCS Reading on Course

RSNDP Revised Sixth National Development Plan

SACMEQ Southern and East African Consortium on monitoring Education Quality

SCPC School Community Partnership Committee.

TA Technical Approach

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WVZL World Vision Zambia Limited

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ZOCS Zambia Open Community Schools

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1.0 Executive Summary

The importance of Education in the social and economic development of individuals and society as a

whole cannot be overemphasised. Development entails the expansion of choices which requires

knowledge. An educated individual has the ability to make informed choices which enables them an

opportunity to control and direct their development. Education is transformational. It is a powerful

driver for development and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health,

gender equity, peace and stability1. . Literacy is a key component of education. Improving literacy skills is

a cornerstone for improving individuals’ capabilities and resilience, and achieving economic growth,

social development and environmental protection. It is the basis for lifelong learning and plays a

foundational role in the creation of sustainable, prosperous and peaceful societies. In the words of Kofi

Annan, “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope”.2 As a child focused organization, World Vision

Zambia Limited (WVZL) recognizes the significance of literacy in a child’s life and has adopted literacy as

one of its pillars in the attainment of its Child Well Being Outcomes. In the first 30 years of operations

in Zambia ( 1981 – 2011) World Vision had constructed/ rehabilitated 40 schools and sponsored over

10 000 children . As the Zambian Government increasingly focuses on addressing equity and quality of

education as stipulated in the revised Sixth National Development Plan and Vision 2030, WVZL seeks to

compliment these efforts.

Literacy stands out as the major problem that affects school children across the nation. Ministry of

General Education indicates that over 80 % of children are unable to read at age appropriate levels.3 The

use of the Functional Literacy Assessment Tool by WVZL further indicates that even though literacy

levels vary among the various Area Development Programmes they remain low with the highest literacy

levels being recorded at 44%4 . Low functional literacy among school going children constitutes a

learning crisis and WVZL has opted to focus on improving children’s literacy in schools. This is a shift

builds on the previous achievements in the areas of equity and access to education.

Literacy programming is a new concept to the work of World Vision International, especially in Zambia.

However, a partnership with Save the Children has resulted in the promotion of a “Literacy Boost

Model” which is being used in various World Vision National Offices with promising results. Literacy

Boost focuses on reading assessments, teacher training and community action. Evaluations from Malawi

which has been implementing the program since 2011 show the difference that the programme is

making to improve the reading levels of children living in poor rural areas. WVZL seeks to adopt the

Literacy Boost Model as a way of improving literacy levels among children.

WVZL has further identified that in order to bring about change in literacy programming there is need

to support interventions that promote the teaching and learning of literacy. Effective teaching of

literacy, active learner participation and conducive environment both- at school and in the home- will

promote literacy. Effective teaching of literacy is influenced by availability of trained teachers to teach

literacy. WVZL will focus on training teachers on literacy teaching at the start of this program while

lobbying the government to embrace literacy teaching skills in the teacher training colleges. Further, the

organization will make schools print rich by ensuring that necessary teacher reference materials are

available for teachers to use. This will be done through the government supply system and minimal Gift

1 World Bank (2012) 2 https://efareport.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/improving-literacy-for-sustainable-development/ 3 Education for All (2015) National Review Report- Zambia 4 World Vision Zambia Limited ( 2014) Child Well Being Report

http://visual.ly/literacy-world

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In Kind-GIK. Further, reading materials will be developed for learners. Information Communication and

Technology (ICT) will be used to support production and access to appropriate teaching and learning

materials for both teachers and learners. The Shell Book technology will be used to develop locally

appropriate reading materials for learners. Book Banks will be established in schools and at community

reading camps. An important element of this approach to literacy will be to ensure that

parents/caregivers take interest in literacy promotion. It has been shown that caregivers can highly

influence the “reading interest” in learners by asking some simple questions, such as “what did you learn

today”? WVZL will promote the participation of caregivers in literacy programs through local level

social change communication and establishing Community Reading Camps where children can meet and

practice reading. Caregivers will volunteer to be facilitators of these camps. Related to this, schools will

need to be safe for all learners- including those with learning difficulties and disability. Sanitation, safety

against intruders and the conduct of teachers will be improved to ensure that learners are interested in

being in schools. School Management will be improved through training of school managers and the

participation of parents and learners. Use of performance indicators will be entrenched as a measure of

school management by stakeholders. Schools will also be used to promote a value system among

learners that reduces violation of children’s rights.

This change in focus is documented in this document as a Technical Approach (TA) on literacy and will

integrate with other TAs to address the various socio- economic factors that act as barriers to learning

to read. WVZ will further endeavour to broker and/or strengthen partnerships with

organisations that have a proven track record in literacy programming. Human resource such as

trained education personnel will be hired to strengthen literacy programming in the Area

Development Programmes.

At a national level WVZL will advocate for the implementation of the literacy framework to

ensure that literacy is given the due attention, drive and focus required to improve reading

levels in schools. Using a well-established monitoring system in the rural areas, WVZL will

provide information to stakeholders on the levels of literacy. This is expected to strengthen

decision making by partners and the government. The organization will also strengthen social

accountability by building the capacity of parents (rights holders) to demand quality education

from the government (duty bearers) using the highly successful Citizen Voice and Action model.

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2.0 Introduction and Background

This Technical Approach (TA) on “Literacy” is a document aimed at providing guidance to a technical

program that will address the challenge of low age appropriate literacy skills among school going

children in Zambia. The TA recommends evidence based program models to be used in field operations

where WVZL operates.

The development of the Child Literacy Technical Approach is as a result of the transition from LEAP 2.0

to LEAP3.0 and is expected to bring impact and scale in World Vision’s programming. The approach is a

slight shift from the previous one that promoted access to education through infrastructure

development. The paradigm shift is focused on improving the quality of education through literacy

programming so as to improve learning outcomes among children. The specific outcomes being pursued

under this approach and the subsequent programming are:

Effective Literacy Teaching.

Active/Effective Learner Participation in Literacy Learning.

Conducive Learning Environment.

In order to effectively achieve these outcomes, this approach provides guidance on models and

programs that are inter linked with other technical programs from other WVZ technical approaches

such as the Child Survival, Household Livelihood Resilience and Protection and Nurture of Children,

whose programming is critical to the wellbeing and education of children.

The development of this TA has been a robust process to ensure the strategies address the real

problems on the ground. The process included a field assessment in 2013 to identify the key

programming pillars in the education sector. The findings and recommendations of this assessment were

shared and reviewed by the leadership and key sector leads. The first draft Technical Approach

document was then produced based on recommendations from various stakeholders. A technical

assessment workshop followed, which involved ADP staff, Southern Africa Regional staff and Ministry of

Education staff. A core team was then created which consolidated the Technical Approach document

which was then sent to the Project Support Team for Review.

A consultant was engaged to support and guide the process of incorporating comments submitted by all

stakeholders and the Project Support Team as well as develop the final inclusive draft of the TA.

3.0 Landscape Analysis

At least 250 million of the world's 650 million (38%) primary school age children are unable to read,

write or do basic mathematics. An estimated 130 million of these are in primary school but have not

achieved the minimum benchmarks for learning, and almost 120 million have spent little or no time in a

classroom. They include 57 million youngsters who are not attending school. UNESCO estimates that

the cost of 250 million children not learning translates to a $129 billion annual loss for governments

around the world. This global "learning crisis" is mainly caused by a lack of well-trained teachers,

especially in developing countries; inadequate investment in the education sector by governments; low

participation of parents/communities in education and adverse cultural practices/traditions. Other

indicators of education across the world are not better either. The following are some of the global,

regional and local trends, practices, policies and movements in the education sector. (UNESCO/Sarah Wilkins, 2012)

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3.1 Access to education

Access to education for all children continues to be a challenge world over. An estimated 101 million

children in the world are not in school and more than half are girls5. Strides have been made towards

access to education as 38 million were in school in 2012, owing to policies such as abolition of school

fees, increased expenditure in education, improved quality among other factors, UNESCOPRESS (2014).

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 21 million out-of-school adolescents. Access to education has improved

with enrolment from 48 per cent to 77 per cent between 1991 and 2015 in the region. During the same

period, boys’ enrolment rose from 59 per cent to 82 per cent. As a result, 93 girls are enrolled in

primary school for every 100 boys (UN MGD Progress Report 2015).

Improvement in access to education underscores previous efforts to promote enrolment for different

learner-groups. Despite this improvement, more effort is required to get disabled learners to school.

Data from Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe show that between 9% and 18% of children of age

5 years or older without a disability had never attended school, but between 24% and 39% of children

with a disability had never been enrolled. This shows a clear lack of social inclusion.

In Zambia, improved access to education can be attributed to a number of factors such as increased

community participation in education through the establishment of community schools and support

from various partners.6 Community schools enrolled about 10, 000 pupils into the education system at

primary level in 2014 compared to only 1,000 pupils in 20097. The Government has tried to address

core problems in the education sector by putting in place various policies and initiatives. In 1990 Zambia

became a signatory to the Education for all Policy Framework. In line with this framework, the

Government developed the Basic Education Sub-sector Investment Plan (1999-2002), Fifth National

Development Plan (2005 -2010), Sixth National Development Plan (2012-2016), and the Revised Sixth

National Development Plan (2013 – 2016). Additionally, the Free Primary School Education policy which

abolished school fees and mandatory uniform for children was launched. This was followed by the Re-

entry Policy which allows pregnant school girls to return to school after delivery allowing more children to access education.

The table below summarizes some of the recent education policies and the core problems they sought to address.

Policies/Initiatives Core Problem to Address

Introduction of Early Childhood Education Policy

2012

Access to early Education

Annual recruitment of 5000 teachers High Pupil : Teacher Ratio

Rural hardship allowance and mandatory 2 year

service before transfer approvals

High teacher attrition in rural areas

Introduction of a 2 tier education system that

offers academic and skills education

Irrelevant curriculum

Introduction of the National Literacy Framework/ Poor literacy levels

5 -UNICEF (2011) 6 such as Department For International Development (DFID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS), Reformed Open Community Schools (ROCS). 7 National Symposium on Community Schools (2015)

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Lets Read Campaign

Minimum of 15 years jail term for adults involved

in withdrawing girls from school for early

marriages

High dropout rates of girls

Re-entry policy drafted in 1997 High dropout rates of girls due to teenage

pregnancies

The premise of most of the earlier policy frameworks was access to education. This was in line with the

Millennium Development Goal number 2 on ‘Access to universal primary education for all’. Zambia

recorded a rapid increase in enrolment levels reaching as high as 1.2 million learners since 1999. Net

Enrolment has grown from 74% in 1999 to 94% in 2014, MoE (2015). For a long time children with

special needs have been left out of the education system due to unfriendly and poor infrastructure.

Inclusive education has become part of the mainstream education through organizations such as Sight

Savers and Cheshire Homes. More teacher training colleges are now offering special education courses

to train teachers how to teach children with special needs and help them remain in school and complete

primary education.

3.2 Retention and Completion

Despite the achievements in enrolment rates in Zambia, retention and completion remain a challenge.

Only 65% of girls complete primary education, UNICEF Report on Zambia (2011). More boys than girls

complete school in Zambia. Gender parity is almost at par when children start school but girls drop out

as they get to puberty. Poor of sanitation in most schools forces girls to stay away from school and

eventually dropout. Currently the user-latrine ratio is 124 pupils per latrine against the recommended

ratio for girls of 25 girls per latrine and 40 boys per latrine. Other factors that contribute to girls’

dropout rates and low completion rates include teenage pregnancies, early marriages and long distances

to schools.

Although organisations such as Forum for African Women Educationalists in Zambia (FAWEZA) and

Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) have been promoting girl’s education through provision of bursaries to the marginalized, the completion rates still remain low.

3.3 Education Financing

The financing of education globally depends on the specific country education needs and resources. In

Africa education is financed by governments and external aid. For example, in 2008, Mali, Liberia,

Rwanda and Zambia financed more than 50% of their education sector using donor funds, (UNESCO

2011: Inst. of Stat). Zambia’s financing of education is largely from public resources. The poor

performance of Zambia’s economy in the early 1980s resulted in a reduction in investment in social

sectors including education. This contributed to a number of challenges some of which persist today. In

2013, the Ministry of Finance allocated ZMK 5, 626.8 billion to the education sector. In 2014, the

budgetary allocation rose to ZMK8, 607 billion whereas in 2016, the allocation is at ZMK 9,143,215,926.

Although, the Education sector is the highest funded social sector in Zambia8, the funding is still

insufficient to respond to the rising demands for education services in light of the growing population.

8 Budget address by Hon. Alexander B. Chikwanda M.P., Minister of Finance delivered to the National Assembly on

Friday, 9th October, 2015. P. 16

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The bulk of this budgetary allocation is going towards school infrastructure, university infrastructure

student loans and bursaries for students at the tertiary level.

3.4 Innovation in Education

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly becoming an important part of

learning in developing countries. The increase of the use of different ICT Technologies for learning is

presenting various reading and learning materials for children in primary schools. The “One Lap top Per

Child” Initiative was established with the goal of distributing low cost and low power laptop computers.9

This program has been implemented in Kenya and Nigeria through partnerships with the respective

Governments. Innovative learning that promotes the use of local languages is gaining prominence

through various global, regional and national campaigns. One such campaign is the “All Children Reading

campaign”. This is an on-going series of competitions that leverage science and technology to create and

apply scalable solutions to improve literacy skills of early grade learners in developing countries.’10 In

Zambia a locally produced tablet: “ZEDUPAD” is loaded with the Zambian curriculum in the seven main

local languages. This tablet has literacy and other subjects for early grade learners thereby helping fill the

gap created by lack of learning resources. Another ICT innovation is the “Stepping Stone Project” by

“Time to Learn” which uses a mobile phones loaded with teacher training curriculum in seven local

languages. This is meant to improve literacy teaching skills especially in community schools with a larger

number of untrained teachers. This has helped teach children with different impairments and special

education needs.

Television and Radio programming are also an integral part of ICT4D in education in Zambia. About 8%

of pupils in primary schools have access to television education programming (UNESCO: 2015). In 2013,

World Vision Zambia introduced the Video Interactive Learning Project to increase access to

audio/visual education programming by pupils in WVZL programme impact areas. On Average, field

monitoring reports show attendance in early grade classes is improving from about 82% at baseline in

2014 to about 95% as at July 2015. Additionally, teachers are reporting improved reading levels among

the children compared those not exposed to the material

3.5 Quality

Despite enrolment and attendance increasing over the past decade, quality remains a greater challenge

in developing countries and this is evidenced through the low literacy levels among children and the

youth. The achievement of universal participation in education will be fundamentally dependent on the

quality of education available11. Greater emphasis is now being placed on learning so that children can

read and leave the education system literate.

9 http://one.laptop.org/ 10 http://allchildrenreading.org/about-us/problem/

11 11 EFA Global Monitoring Report (2005), Understanding Education Quality

http://allchildrenreading.org/about-us/problem/

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The Functional Literacy Assessments conducted in WVZL programme impact areas in 2014 show that

functional literacy for children in grades 5 to 7 were at 40%, which is relatively low12. Zambia’s Ministry

of Education revised the education curriculum in 2013 to critically address low literacy levels in the

country. Other focus areas of the new curriculum include critical, analytic, strategic and creative

thinking; problem solving; life skills and civic competences. The National literacy framework is based on

the principles that: reading is a foundation skill for all learners, learners learn literacy skills more easily

and successfully through familiar languages, all learners with appropriate support, can read and write,

every learner has the right to quality education and that intellectual ability is something expected of all

learners. The Ministry of Education language policy is that grades 1 to 4 should be taught in a familiar

local language or language of play, while English will be taught as a subject. English will then be used as a

medium of instruction at grade 5. This policy is already being implemented throughout all the districts of

Zambia (Zambia Education for All, 2015, National Report).

4.0 Root Cause Analysis

The problem being addressed through this Technical Approach is low literacy among school children

aged 6 to 18 in the country. The UNESCO Institute of Statistics defines functional literacy as a level of

reading, writing and calculation skills sufficient to function in the particular community in which an

individual lives13. As shown in the landscape analysis, literacy is a worldwide challenge. In Zambia, this is

evident in the number of children who complete primary education and are unable to read, write and

lack basic numeracy. World Vision Zambia’s Technical Approach (TA) on Child Literacy will focus on

children’s ability to read with comprehension at the right age.

Over 80% of children at the end of Grade one are unable to read in Zambia. Various assessment

efforts14 conducted over the past decade show that children are drifting through the school system with

very low mastery of desired learning competencies’15 Compared to other countries in the region,

Zambia’s performance reading and maths is low. The Southern and East African Consortium on

monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) study of 2010, ranked Zambia at 10 on Maths Mean scores

and 8 out of 15 on Reading Mean scores for Grade 6 pupils sampled in the regional study16. Zambian

learners scored an average of 434 in Reading and 435 in Mathematics on the SACMEQ Examination, well

below the international mean of 50017.

Furthermore, World Vision Zambia has carried out a number of assessments using the Functional

Literacy Assessment Tool (FLAT). This is an assessment tool used to assess reading and comprehension

levels among pupils in Grades 5 to 7. The Functional Literacy levels range from 11% in Mwamba

(Kasama) to 44% in Choongo (Monze). This confirms that well over half of children in schools are

functionally illiterate.

12 World Vision Zambia (2014), Child Wellbeing Report. 13 www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/.../obo-9780199756797-0032.xml 14 Primary Reading Programme’s (PRP) ‘Break Through to Literacy’ (BTL), Early Grade Reading Assessments

(EGRA), the Grade Five National Assessment (GFNA) and successive public examinations 15 Examination Performance Review : General Performance Analysis (2013) P. 19 16 SAQMEC Project Results Pupil Achievement Levels in reading and mathematics (2010) P. 15 -23. 17 Zambia Education for All 2015 National Review, P 30

http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/.../obo-9780199756797-0032.xml

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The Zambian Government has acknowledged that there is need to improve literacy levels across the

country. In January 2014 the Ministry of Education launched a revised curriculum aimed at improving

literacy levels in early grades by the introduction of a literacy program which uses the local languages

familiar to the child. A campaign was also launched by various civil society organisations called “Lets

Read Zambia campaign”. The “Lets Read Zambia” campaign is a three year national mobilization

campaign in support of early grade reading and education management. The campaign is aimed at

increasing public awareness on the importance of early grade education and reading as a key skill for

success. It is additionally aimed at increasing knowledge of the link between education management and

improved reading in early grade reading, among stakeholders.18

The challenge of literacy in Zambia can be attributed to the following factors:

4.1 Education Financing

As illustrated in the landscape analysis, a larger allocation of education financing is towards,

infrastructure development and tertiary education particularly student loans. In 2013, the Ministry of

Finance allocated ZMK 5, 626.8 billion to the education sector. In 2014, the budgetary allocation rose to

ZMK8, 607 billion whereas in 2016, the allocation is at ZMK 9,143,215,92619. According to the

Education for All Report (2015), because school construction has been a priority over the past years

funding for quality education has seemed abstract. Indeed, even school constructions can ultimately be

rationalized in terms of quality arguments. The private sector in Zambia has also not been adequately

tapped education financing in terms of corporate social responsibility. Further, schools generally tend to

spend funds collected from parents as Parent Teacher Association (PTA) on capital projects. PTA funds

are also used to buy buses. These big ticket expenditures, while agreed to by parents, are prioritized

over purchase of books and other teaching and learning materials.

4.2 Pupil-book ratios

According to the Education Statistics (World Bank), May 2015, the average number of pupils per reading

textbook in primary education was 1:82 in 2012 which showed an improvement from 2.38 in 201120.

The fact that pupils do not have reading textbooks on a one to one basis has also maintained the low

literacy levels in Zambia. Cooperating partners, as a way of trying to fill the gap, have donated various

reading books to schools but monitoring data shows that some of these books are not culturally

appropriate.

4.3 Trained teachers in primary school

Trained teachers in primary education are the percentage of primary school teachers who have received

the minimum organized teacher training (pre-service or in-service) required for teaching in their

18 http://www.moe.gov.zm/index.php/component/content/article/60-moenews/160-let-s-read-zambia-

campaign

19 Budget address by Hon. Alexander B. Chikwanda M.P., Minister of Finance delivered to the National Assembly

on Friday, 9th October, 2015. P. 16 20 http://knoema.com/WBEDS2015Sep/education-statistics-world-bank-september-2015

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country21. UNESCO (2012) data shows that in 2012, Zambia has 92% trained primary school teachers.

There has been a shortage in the output of trained undergraduate as well as qualified graduate teachers.

Consequently, the country relied on untrained teachers in primary schools. A large number of the

untrained teachers are concentrated in rural areas.

4.4 Enrolment

Over the years, the population of Zambia has grown from 4.19million people in the 1970s to 13.2million

people as at 2010 census yet educational infrastructure has remained. Consequently, the Ministry of

Education has been compelled to enrol as many children as qualify to begin school which has led to net

enrolment as high 96.1% in 201222. This has resulted in “overcrowding” in schools resulting in a pupil-

teacher ratio of 70:1 in rural Zambia against the standard 40:1. Although there is an annual teacher

recruitment drive of 5000 teachers, there is still a challenge in deploying teachers in the rural areas. A

snap shot of teachers across World Vision Operational areas reflect that most female teacher shun rural

areas and opt to stay in urban schools contributing to the high pupil teacher ratio.

4.5 Distances to Schools

Unsafe walking distances, keep girls and young children away from attending school. Children are faced

with this challenge because of limited schools and settlement patterns. The highest number of teenage

pregnancies is in the rural areas. Ministry of Education data shows that over a period of 5 years over

80% (15000) reported teenage pregnancies were in the rural areas where girls are often subjected to

unsafe learning environments. Girls that have to temporarily relocate to makeshift boarding houses

because of long distances to schools, fall prey to sexual predators because of poverty, lack of personal

security, and the allure of ‘looking nice’.23Organisations such as World Bicycle Relief have provided

subsidised bicycles to pupils and teachers who live beyond the radius of 2 KMs or more away from the

school with a bias towards girls (who get 60 % and boys get 40 %).24

4.6 Socio, Cultural and Economic Factors

Technical support monitoring trips, site visits, assessments and monthly monitoring reports from World

Vision Zambia ADPs reflect factors that negatively affect children’s ability to participate in school. The

factors identified from the monitoring visits were:

64% of Zambia’s population live on less than a dollar a day where the larger majority of these

people live in rural areas25. Due to low income levels, some parents opt to send their children

to engage in various economic activities that keep them out of school. The following was

observed in certain areas; boys engaging in fishing (Southern Province), Farming (Southern

Province) cattle herding (East and Southern Province) and mining activities. Selling of food stuffs

in local markets also keeps children, especially boys, out of school. Seasonal economic activities

such as collection of caterpillars for sale as food, usually keeps children away from school as the

21 UNESCO (2012), special data collection for the Education for All Initiative [http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/zambia/trained-teachers-in-primary-education] 22 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zambia_statistics.html 23 Education for All Zambia 2015 National Review, P 28 24 BEEP Evaluation Report 2013 25 http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/zambia-poor-poverty-globalization-mining-corruption-66080

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children have to relocate to far forests to collect the caterpillars. As such, children are away

from school for extended period of time. Furthermore, some parents tend to place higher

priority on the education of boys. In certain instances, girls are married off and parents collect

dowry which is in monetary or animal form. It was also established from the field monitoring

visits that children from polygamous families were often absent from school as they did not

receive adequate educational support from their parents due to the high number of children in

the household.

In many parts of Zambia when girls reach puberty, they are taken through initiation ceremonies

which take them away from school. The key content of these initiation ceremonies is usually on

how to take care of their future spouses and homes and this shifts their focus from school to

getting married. In a similar manner boys are also affected by cultural ceremonies (such as the

Nyau and Makishi)26 which keep them out of school for an extended period of time instructing

them on how to behave as men. These cultural practices make children have less value for

education. The fact that these practices are deeply imbedded in culture makes it difficult to

adequately advocate against them.

Advocacy by different organisations (such as FAWEZA, CAMFED, WVZL, ZOCS) promoting

the education of girls has addressed some of the negative culture practices that affect girls,

thereby, helping more girls stay in school.

4.7 Illiteracy of parents

Adult literacy in Zambia is at at 67.2%27. Illiteracy of parents also contributes to their lack of support to

children going to school and reading in general. WVZL Technical Support (2015) monitoring visits

revealed that in Chikomeni ADP in Lundazi District, for example, School Community Partnership

committee members attributed the low illiteracy levels among parents as a reason why some of them

fail to adequately support their children to attend school and develop good reading habits.

4.8 Absenteeism Teacher/pupil absenteeism:

It is not uncommon for both teachers and pupils to be absent which in turn affects teaching and learning.

Low motivation among teachers caused by a poor working environment such as inadequate housing, lack

of teaching materials, high pupil: teacher ratio and lack of financial motivation. In an effort to address

these problems the Government has provided rural hardship allowances to teachers working in rural

areas. There is also commitment to increase the number of teachers through the annual recruitment of

5000 teachers and infrastructure development as outlined in the Revised Sixth National Development

Plan. As indicated in the landscape Government funding is still insufficient to address these challenges.

4.9 Drop outs rates

According to UNESCO (2005), Zambia has 12% primary school dropouts. The more children are way

from school, the more they miss out on learning.

26 Nyau and Makishi are initiation ceremonies for boys are puberty from boyhood into manhood 27 http://uil.unesco.org/fileadmin/download/en/national-reports/africa2009/Zambia.pdf

17

The root cause analysis of factors that affect the delivery of effective learning for pupils of primary

school going age was based on information collected through a desk review of key government

documents; focus group discussions with community groups in World Vision Zambia (WVZ) operation

areas; interviews with key informants in the Ministry of Education and a Strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and risk analysis done with frontline staff in WVZ operation areas. This information was

triangulated through a verification process at a workshop that brought together more than a 100

participants from different levels of WV staff and partner representatives including government staff.

5.0 Pathway of Change Framework

In order to improve literacy among children in Zambia there is need for a combination of effective

teaching in literacy, active learner participation and a conducive learning environment.

Effective Teaching in Literacy: ASCD (2009) states that defining teacher effectiveness is not about

creating a simplistic simple view of effective teaching rather it is a dramatic conceptual shift from

focusing exclusively on the teacher to focusing on the act of learning. 28For purposes of this Technical

Approach effective teaching or teacher effectiveness will constitute 5 key components as identified by

the National Comprehension Centre for Teacher Quality

Effective Teachers have high expectations for all students and help them learn, as demonstrated

on value added, test added or alternative measures.

Effective teachers contribute to positive academic , attitudinal and social outcomes for students

such as regular attendance, on-time promotion to the next grade and graduation, self-efficacy

and cooperative behaviour

Effective teachers use diverse resources to plan and structure engaging learning opportunities,

monitor student progress formatively, adapting instruction as needed and evaluate learning using

multiple sources of evidence.

Effective teachers contribute to the development of classrooms and schools that value diversity

and civic mindedness.

Effective teachers collaborate with other teachers, administrators, parents and education

professionals to ensure students success particularly the success of students with special needs

and those at high risk of failure.

Effective teaching with a specific focus on literacy requires key elements which work together. For

purposes of this Technical approach the focus will be on trained literacy teachers, availability of

appropriate and adequate teaching materials and motivated teachers. According to Medwell et al (1998)

Children need to experience quality teaching of literacy particularly during the primary school phase.

28 Laura Valas (2009) Highly Effective Teachers

18

High quality literacy teaching demands high quality literacy teachers and any education system must attempt to maximise the expertise of teachers in teaching literacy.29

Motivated teachers need an enabling environment for them to effectively teach literacy. An enabling

environment is one which provides support and systems for the teacher. Monitoring of standards in the

schools ensures that schools are effectively managed and accountable on their delivery of teaching that

will in turn promote literacy. There is need to have duty bearers consistently monitor standards at all

levels to ensure that basic standards are in place to support effective teaching.

According to Wilcox et al (2009) there are a number of factors in a teacher’s work environment which

contribute to effective teaching. When any of these factors are lacking teacher effectiveness is

compromised. These work context factors include working conditions such as class size, discipline

conditions and availability of teaching materials; the quality of the principal’s supervision; and basic

psychological needs such as money, status, and security. Besides the work context there are work-

content factors which are intrinsic to the job itself. They include opportunities for professional

development, recognition, challenging and varied work, increased responsibility, achievement,

empowerment, and authority. Some researchers argue that teachers who do not feel supported in these

are less motivated to do their best work in the classroom.30

In view of the various components required for effective teaching in literacy this Technical Approach will

promote interventions which support effective teaching in literacy.

The TA will support Teacher training in literacy programming by promoting models such as Literacy

Boost which strengthen a teacher’s ability to teach literacy in schools. The TA will also support the

provision of appropriate teaching materials. Localised learning materials will be provided in the schools.

In the early grades teachers, will be supported with learning materials which are in the local language of

play as per the Zambian Government Policy. Partnerships with organisations such as Room to Read and

Ischool that provide resources in the local languages will be important. Literacy Boost will further

support the creation of local reading resources to be used in the classrooms and at home.

In order for effective teaching to take place it is important to support the effective management of

teachers. This will involve interventions which will strengthen the capacity of School Management

Committees to better manage schools and teaching staff. The community will play a critical part in the

management of schools. Communities will be encouraged to take an active role in the management of

their schools. WVZL will therefore use structures such as the School Community Partnerships

Committees which were set up in certain parts of the country by” Read to Succeed” to get the

communities actively involved. Evidence from Chikomeni Area Development Programme in Lundazi

District indicates that the SCPCs are an essential part of community participation in the management of

schools.

29 Medwell et al ( 1998) Effective Teachers of Literacy http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000829.htm#ch1 30 Wilcox et al (2009) Motivating teachers to improve instruction. http://www.osba.org/Resources/Article/Employee_Management/Motivating_Teachers_to_Improve_Instruction.aspx

19

Active Learner Participation in Literacy: A significant part of learning is highly dependent on a

learner’s participation. In this TA active learning will be defined as a process whereby students engage in

activities, such as reading, writing, discussions, or problem solving that promote analysis, synthesis, and

evaluation of class content31. Active Learner Participation entails a learner being an active participant in

their learning. In order for a learner to actively participate in their learning this TA proposes that there

will be a focus on the following:

Adequate and appropriate materials: The availability appropriate material is critical for learners

to learn how to read. Learners require materials that are appropriate for their grade and in a

language that they are familiar with in order to learn how to read. In the case of learners with

special education needs, there is need for materials such as Braille that will aid them in learning

how to read. This TA will promote the use of learning materials that are locally contextualised.

Learning materials include the use of innovative technologies such as tablets, computers,

television sets, mobile phones and other forms of media toaid children in learning how to read.

WVZL in partnership with Ischool will promote the Zedupad in schools in the Area Development

Programmes as this is a tablet that is loaded with the revised Zambian Curriculum in all the 7

major languages. These solar powered tablets will provide an opportunity for children in the

rural areas to learn in a local language that is familiar to them. UNESCO promotes the use of

mother tongue based bilingual or multilingual approaches in education as an important factor for

inclusion and quality education.32 UNESCO has further designated an International Mother

Tongue Day to promote the instruction of children in Mother tongue

A learning centred approach which enables the learner to be at the centre of learning will

further promote active learner participation. Learner-Centred teaching means the student is at

the centre of learning. The student assumes the responsibility for learning while the instructor is

responsible for facilitating the learning. Thus, the power in the classroom shifts to the student.33

It becomes the learner’s responsibility to learn. The TA will promote interventions which build

learner’s esteem and motivate children to aspire such as the use of role models in schools. It

will further integrate with cross cutting themes to promote interventions that encourage and

motivate learners.

Learners need to actively participate in literacy activities both in the home and in school. This

TA will work towards enabling learners to not only take part in literacy activities at school but

also have an opportunity to do this within their community through the establishment of

community reading camps as part of the School Community Accountability Enhancement

(SCALE) which is essentially part of the Literacy Boost Model with a strong emphasis on

community action. The SCALE will enable the establishment of community reading camps which

are run and facilitated by the communities.

31 www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tsal 32 www.portal.unesco.org.education 33 pedagogy.merlot.org/LearnerCenteredTeaching.html

20

A learner needs to participate in literacy activities through their consistent attendance of school.

Consistent attendance of school will enable the learner to actively take part in all literacy

lessons and activities. This TA will support interventions that address factors that keep children

out of school. This will require integrating with other TAs to address the socio- economic

issues that keep children away from school. A child that does not go to school is not likely to

learn how to read or write.

The environment in which a learner learns is important as it needs to be conducive for learning to take

place. Key proponents of the learning process are teachers and learners as such their freedom of

interaction, safety and respect should be equally guaranteed within the physical and emotive

environment they find themselves in34. For purposes of this TA the Conducive Learning Environment

will focus on the school, parents/caregivers and community that surround a learner.

.This TA will integrate with the Chid Nurture and Protection TA to ensure that interventions

are in place to protect learners within and outside the school. It is important for a learner to

feel safe to learn how to read.

This TA will support the establishment of reading camps under Literacy Boost. These reading

camps offer an opportunity for children to take part in literacy activities outside of school.

Community volunteers will be identified in the various ADPs to support reading camps and will

be trained as Reading Camp Facilitators. The community will also participate in the creation of

local learning materials which can be used in the reading camps. The advantage is that children

have an opportunity to use materials which are contextualised.

Caregiver/Parental support will help a child learn how to read. The evidence of the benefits of

parents being involved in their children’s education in general and their children’s literacy is

overwhelming.35 When Caregivers/ parents provide support reading activities and initiatives, a

child is in a better placed position to learn how to read. Parental involvement in their child’s

literacy practices is a more powerful force than other family background variables such as social

class, family size, and level of parental education, while reading enjoyment is more important for

children’s educational success than their family’s socio – economic status.36 It is therefore

important that understand and appreciate the value of reading and education as a whole. Limited

or lack of value for education can cause children to stay away from school and other activities

that promote literacy.. This TA will therefore support interventions which raise awareness on

the importance of parental involvement. It will further integrate with economic development to

help address the low economic status of parents.

Enablers to this pathway of change will be:

34 Elliot Ziwira (2015) Creating a Conducive Environment 35 Christina Clark ( 2007) Why it is important to involve parents in their children’s literacy development 36 Christina Clark ( 2007) Why it is important to involve parents in their children’s literacy development

21

Continued government funding to the education sector will ensure that there are sufficient

resources for supporting effective teaching, active learner participation, effective learning

environment and effective management of education. Investment in the sector is cardinal to

ensure that these core components are adequately addressed.

There are resources and structures in the community which enable effective teaching, active

learner participation, effective learning environment and effective management of education.

There is need to tap into these resources and structures to ensure sustainability through a

sense of ownership by the communities.

Policy frameworks that provide guidelines on key aspects of education delivery will provide

structure to education which encompasses literacy. Deliberate guidelines on effective school

management, teacher discipline and conduct, teacher continuous professional development, and

remuneration will help ensure that schools are effectively managing and delivering on education

and in turn literacy.

23

Ministry Goal

Child wellbeing aspiration

Strategic Objective

Outcomes

Outputs

Enablers

A

ctio

n L

ear

nin

g

By 2020 WV Zambia Limited will contribute to the measurable and sustainable improvement in the wellbeing of 670,000 vulnerable children

Children Enjoy Good

Health

Children Are Educated For

Life

Experience Love of God and

Their Neighbours

Children are cared for protected and

participating

Improved literacy among children (6-18)

Community participation

Trained

literacy

teachers

Reading camps

and clubs

established in

schools and

communities

Conducive learning environment Effective teaching of literacy

Safe

Learning

Environment

EDUCATED CHILDREN TECHNICAL APPROACH PATHWAY OF CHANGE

Learner participation in

literacy learning

ADVOCACY

Appropriate

and adequate

teaching

materials

Effective

management

of education

school

Appropriate

and adequate

learning

materials

Learners participate

in literacy activities

Community

participation

in reading

activities

Learner

participation

school

management

Funding by government

Community

participation

in education

management

Literacy Curriculum

24 | World Vision Zambia Limited’s Technical Approach to Literacy.

6.0 Project Models

In order to realize improved age appropriate literacy among children, this Technical Approach

recommends the use of approved and tested project models. The Literacy Boost (LB) Model, School

Community Accountability For Literacy Enhancement (SCALE) Model, Savings Groups (SG) Model,

Community Voice Action (CVA) Model, Channels of Hope for Child Protection (CoH-CP) Model, Child

Protection and Advocacy (CPA) Model, School Health Services (SHS) Model, WASH practices and Child

to Child Disaster Risk Reduction (CCDRR) Model will facilitate the attainment of some of the issues in

all the four streams.

6.1 Literacy Boost (LB)

Literacy boost is an innovative, evidence-based approach to improving literacy learning outcomes. It is

comprised of three key components, namely: reading assessment -which involves evaluation of children’s

concepts related to print, their ability to identify letters, reading and understanding text; teacher

training, and community action. The second part is reading assessments, which provides an outline of

literacy learning needs and programming scope. Teacher Training is the last part of the model which

involves regular capacity-building sessions designed to equip teachers with skills to focus on instruction

and formative assessment on the five core reading skills within the framework of the government’s

prescribed curriculum. Community action is an integral part of the model as involves mobilising parents

and other community members to support children as they learn to read. This is done through ‘fun’

out-of-school literacy activities and the creation of an abundance of locally relevant reading materials

that are appropriate for grades 1-3. The materials are produced in mother tongue. Literacy Boost Model

is one of the models that the approach recommends because it incorporates or brings together

concerted efforts of key players in child literacy and does not exclude the child in the process. The

model is also easy to roll out. This model is being used for literacy enhancement in different parts of the

world by Save the Children and World Vision. End Line studies conducted by Save the Children have

indicated that the model yields a three-fold positive impact on children engaged in LB schools. In Africa,

Malawi, Rwanda, Mozambique Ethiopia and Zimbabwe use this model. Other countries include Nepal,

Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Literacy Boost model will encourage the development of localized literacy

learning materials. Literacy materials have been challenge in Zambian primary schools and through this

model, materials will be developed by the locals for use in schools.

6.2 School and Community Accountability for Literacy Enhancement-SCALE- Model

This model though similar to the Literacy Boost Model, it has distinct features that make it a tool

through which literacy can is enhanced by the creation of a stimulating environment at home and school.

SCALE involves creating both voice and accountability for parents in poor and underserved

communities, enabling them to influence school and local government planning processes in ways that

improve reading outcomes for their children. Participation of parents extends to the furthest corners of

school catchment areas, beginning with increasing their understanding of reading issues and the options

they have for addressing them. At the same time, parents learn what they can do right there at the

hamlet or neighbourhood level to help improve child reading outcomes. The approach gives special

attention to drawing in the parents of those children who need more face to face time to acquire

reading skills at age appropriate levels. Reading camps are then created after various training of


established committees in schools and communities. This model is through activities prescribed under it,

will also contributing to school management practices that promote literacy among children in schools.

This model has being piloted in Lesotho and Zambia in one ADP. This model contributes to the out of

having community participation in literacy activities in that through various committees created though

model activities, parents will no send their to school for attendance purposes but to have acquire skills

in reading and writing.

6.3 School Infrastructure Development

As discussed elsewhere in this document, WVZL is changing focus from what it has done for over 30

years: infrastructure development. This Technical Approach recognizes that classrooms and teacher’s

offices will continue to be required in rural Zambia. Further, the TA appreciates that there are specific

donors whose funding priority is school infrastructure. To this end, the TA proposes:

i) Scale down investment in infrastructure development and invest significant resources in literacy

programming;

ii) All infrastructure development is outsourced to a more competent entity to enhance efficiency

while also helping WVZL focus on the learning outcome of learners in schools. This is likely

to enhance impact and scale as available resources will be stretched to reach more

beneficiaries. Even when outsourced to a third party, WVZL will ensure quantifiable

community contribution to all infrastructure development. Further, only essential school

infrastructure will be developed. Teachers’ houses, though important to education are not

essential. Private sector participation in the construction of teachers houses shall be

promoted using the Savings Groups where WVZL works.

iii) Donor communication is initiated to educate them to finance learning outcomes as part of

infrastructure funding.

7.0 Local and National Level Advocacy

There are number of issues which require behavioural and attitudinal change in order to promote

literacy.

7.1 Literacy Framework

As illustrated in the landscape analysis, implementation of the Literacy Framework introduced by the

Ministry of Education in Zambia, in 2013, is on-going in all districts. The Ministry of Education language

policy is that grades 1 to 4 should be taught in a familiar local language or language of play, while English

will be taught as a subject. English will then be used as a medium of instruction at grade 5. On the other

hand, the financing of education is heavily skewed towards infrastructure development as such limited

resources are channelled towards the implementation of the literacy framework. WVZ field monitoring

data reviews that the challenge that teachers are facing implementing this framework is the lack of

adequate textbooks in local languages. In this regard, there is therefore need for the Ministry of

Education and all its cooperating partners to work together to address this gap in order for the new


literacy framework to work. This will require both national and local level advocacy yet more strongly at

the national level.

7.2 Community participation

The Technical Approach will promote the use of local level advocacy targeted at enhancing community

involvement and support in the education of their children. The problem analysis shows that poor

parental support or participation negatively affects children’s learning ability in school and ultimately

their ability to read.

7.3 Appropriate and adequate reading materials

The TA will advocate for the provision of adequate and appropriate reading materials in all schools in

order address the gap in reading materials for primary school children. As shown in the Root Cause

Analysis section, the average number of pupils per reading textbook in primary education was 1.82.

Advocacy efforts at the National level will be directed towards reducing that ratio so that each child has

an opportunity to have books to read. Access to materials that are relevant and in languages in which a

child can understand will help children learn to read (in line with the literacy framework Zambia has

adopted).

8.0 Local and National Partnering

WVZ will work with partners at national and local level to achieve the strategic objectives of the Child

Literacy technical approach.

PARTNER LEVEL OF PARTNERSHIP/

STAKEHOLDER

AREA OF SUPPORT

Ischool Zambia Ltd Local and national level provision of IPADs loaded with the Zambian

Education Curriculum from grades 1 to 7

Room to Read Local and National The provision of local reading materials

Read to Succeed Local The use of the School Community Partnership

Committee models

UNICEF Local and national level School WASH Programming. UNICEF conduct

WASH education in school as well

construction of Ventilated improved pit

latrines for pupil and menstrual facilities for

girls

World Bicycle Relief

Local and national level provision of bicycles to school going children

to increase access to education

GOVERNMENT

Ministry of Education Stakeholder Planning, technical support, implementation,

monitoring and evaluation.

Ministry of Community

Development Mother and

Stakeholder School Health Programming where children

are de wormed and immunized against


Child Health contagious disease outbreaks such as measles.

Ministry of Chiefs and

Traditional Leaders

Stakeholder For community based interventions that

require the support of Chiefs and traditional

leaders in promoting Education

COMMUNITY

Parents Local Support the learning needs of their school

going children and participation in literacy and

other educational activities

Children Local Regular attendance of school, participating in

literacy activities and reading


9.0 Key

Indicators

Indicator Indicator Definition Data Source Measurement Frequency of

Measurement

Goal:

Literate

Children

Proportion of children 6-18

who are functionally literate

Percent of children in school in the

programme impact areas who can

read with comprehension at functional

levels by the appropriate ages.

Annual Survey Reports (Lot

Quality Assurance Survey),

Baseline and Evaluation

Surveys Reports

The total number of

children who are able to

read and understand / total

number of children aged 6-

18 attending school

Annually

Effective

Literacy

Teaching

Proportion of teachers who

understand literacy learning

Understanding of literacy learning

means the teacher has a deep

understanding of the complexities and

cumulative processes of reading and

writing As well as the developmental

nature of literacy learning.

Education Standard Officer's

Monitoring Reports, Annual

Survey Reports (Lot Quality

Assurance Survey), Baseline

and Evaluation Surveys

Reports

The total number of

teachers who understand

literacy/ total number of

teachers in schools in

programme impact

area)*100

Annually


know the standards of teaching

literacy

Standards refer to instructional

guidelines set by the Ministry of

Education for literacy teaching. The

teachers are expected to know and

adhere to the standards






Reports

Total number of teachers

who know the standards of

teaching literacy/over total

number of literacy teachers

in schools in programme

impact area

Annually


use a flexible range of teaching

strategies

A range of teaching strategies refers

to instructional practices to meet the

diverse needs of the students in any

class.




Assurance Survey, Baseline


Reports

(Total number of literacy

teachers who employ a

range of flexible teaching

strategies/over total

number of literacy teachers

in schools in programme

impact area)*100

Annually

Active

Learner

Participation

Proportion of boys and girls

who have completed primary

education

Percent of children age 12-18 years

old who have completed at least seven

years of primary schooling in a

structured learning environment.

Annual Survey Reports (Lot

Quality Assurance Survey,

Baseline and Evaluation

Surveys Reports

(Children 12-18 who have

complete seven years of

primary school in

structured learning

environment/population of

children 12-18 in

programme impact

area)*100

Annually


Proportion of girls and boys

(6-18) who attend school

regularly.

Percent of boys and girls (6-18)

enrolled in a structured learning

environment who have attended

school on the most recent school day

Attendance registers, Annual

Survey Reports, Baseline and

Evaluation Survey Reports

(children (6-18) who

attend school on the most

recent school day/ total

children 6-18, enrolled in a

structured learning

environment)*100. The

indicator will be

disaggregated by gender

Quarterly

Proportion of girls and boys

(6-18) regularly attending after-

school literacy activities.

percent of boys and girls in

programme impact areas who attend

after-school literacy activities (such as

reading camps, reading clubs, reading

circles, e.t.c) on the most recent

literacy activity day

Monthly monitoring reports,

Club/camp attendance

registers, Quarterly

monitoring reports, Semi-

annual reports

Children who attend after-

school literacy activities on

the most recent literacy

activity day/total population

of children 6-18 in

programme impact areas)

*100. The indicator will be

disaggregated by gender

Quarterly

Conducive

Learning

Environment

Proportion of primary school

children who have access to

appropriate reading materials

Percent of children in primary school

in programme impact areas who

report having access to reading

materials relevant to their grade

School book stock records.

Records Annual Survey

Reports (Lot Quality



Reports

(children in primary school

who report having access

to reading materials

relevant to their grade/total

children enrolled in school

in that specific grade)*100

Quarterly,

Annually

Proportion of

parents/guardians who actively

support their children's literacy

activities.

Percent of parents in programme

impact area that support their

children's literacy activities. Where

support refers to parents readily

providing necessary aid for the literacy

activities

(Parents who actively

support their children's

literacy activities/parents in

programme impact

area)*100

Quarterly,

Annually


Proportion of primary schools

with Disaster reduction

initiatives

Percent of primary school in

programme impact areas that have

disaster management plans

(Schools with disaster

management plans/ total

schools in programme

impact area)* 100

Annually


10.0 Variations of the Approach based on Different Contexts

10.1 Anticipated Geographic Locations

It is highly recommended that all ADPs adopt this Technical Approach (TA) as literacy is critical in

attaining child wellbeing. However, ADPs transitioning in the next 2 years may not need to take it up

models such as Literacy Boost Model which will be used to address literacy. The approach will work

well in a context where the literacy levels are low as this approach is meant to help children with low

literacy levels.

11.0 Cross cutting Themes

This Approach is integrated and addresses the cross cutting issues as shown below:

11.1 Gender

The proposed project models are inclusive and provide equal opportunity to both boys and girls to learn

to read. The Technical approach has also demonstrated current gender inequalities in school enrolment

and retention. Community mobilization will be undertaken to ensure that caregivers value girl education.

The TA proposes mobilizing community participation in school management with a view to ensuring that

it is safe for young children and girls. WVZL will lobby the development and enforcement of a code of

conduct for teachers so as to reduce Sexual and Gender based Violence against perpetrated by

teachers. The TA will also work with the Child Nurture and Protection TA to strengthen the character

of children so as to build resilience necessary to resist violence and abuse. Schools will also have

appropriate sanitation facilities for menstrual hygiene.

11.2 Child Protection

This Technical Approach is founded on the desire to ensure that children have and enjoy the right to

education. At its core is community mobilization and strategic advocacy to ensure duty bearers

safeguard this right. The conducive learning environment envisaged in the approach is aimed at delivering

child protection. Local level advocacy using the Citizen Voice and Action-CVA- model will be aimed ad

sustaining social accountability for the right to education. Building community awareness to ensure

communities understand the issues on child protection in schools and homes and are motivated to take

action even on service provision. Establishing and/or strengthening of reporting and referral mechanisms

within communities ensures children and families know how to get help when there are incidences of

abuse, neglect, and exploitation in schools and homes. Lastly there is building of life skills and resilience

in children and empowering of children and youth to play a role in their protection and the protection

of others.


11.3 Disability

This TA advances the need to ensure the education system is inclusive. WVZL will conduct behavior

change communication to educate communities on the rights of people living with disabilities. WVZL will

ensure children with disability and special learning needs are supported to participate in literacy

programs. School infrastructure will be responsive to the needs of children with disability. Reading

materials in braille will be sourced for children with vision impairment.

11.4 Most Vulnerable Children-MVC

Children living with disability, orphans and girls are particularly targeted to benefit from this Technical

Approach. The Technical Approach recommends working through the already established standards for

vulnerability as used in Child Registration under the Sponsorship Program. Monitoring data will show

the disaggregation of children benefiting from WVZL operations by their nature of vulnerability.

11.5 Disaster Risk Reduction

Child to Child Disaster Risk Reduction model will be used to prepare communities for disaster in areas

that are prone. These disasters have potential of interrupting literacy activities such as reading camps in

communities. Reading materials can be burnt or destroyed due to perennial rains. This model will

improve preparedness of communities to mitigate effects of disasters that disrupt learning and reading

activities at school and home.

11.6 Christian Commitments

The TA aims at ensuring that children can celebrate who they are and become who they were created

to be with the love, respect and help of their parents and communities. The TA will integrate with the

Child Nurture and Protection to ensure that Good News Clubs are established both in schools and in

communities. Using the “Celebrating Families” model, WVZL will ensure that families are strong social

units for both protection and growth of children.

11.7 Child Participation

This TA recognizes that children are participants in development decisions. It is for this reason that the

process of developing the TA consulted grassroot stakeholders including schools. Children have limited

space for participation in decision making both at school and at home. This TA recommends structured

participation of children in decision making in schools. WVZL will influence establishment of student

councils.

11.8 Sponsorship

This TA is not restricted to sponsored children only but forms the broad programming framework in all

the areas where WVZL will work in the next 5 years. Sponsored children will however benefit from the

benefits envisaged in this TA. WVZL will monitor the literacy and well-being status of registered

children as a proxy of other children impacted by the TA.


12.0 Expected Funding Streams and Investment

The Child Literacy Technical Approach will be funded through Area Program sponsorship funds, Private

Non Sponsorship Funds, Gifts in Kind and Grants. The Approach will require that sponsorship funds

should place a priority on literacy in order to improve literacy in the Area Programs. In terms of

infrastructure development funds will be sourced through partnerships with organisations that promote

infrastructure development in education. There will be clear guidelines on how Area Programs will

apportion their funds. Gifts in Kind will continue to undergo intense scrutiny to ensure that learning

materials are appropriate and relevant for the schools to use as supplementary and reference materials.

13.0 Capacity Statement

13.1 Keys staff roles, competencies

The sector will be led by the Education Technical Programme Manager, who will be the technical lead,

providing strategic direction to the sector. The sector will have a Design, Monitoring and Evaluation

Specialist who will provide technical support in the design, monitoring and evaluation of education

programmes in the AP. At the cluster level, there will be a specialised Development Facilitator for

Education. This position will require the provision of technical support to the education Community

Development Facilitators. The Community Education Development Facilitators (CDF) will be the

frontline staff living and working in the community. All education personnel will be required to have an

education background. At the level of CDF, a minimum of an education certificate will be required. The

Education DF at the cluster level will be required to have at minimum an advanced diploma in education.

There will be need to have specialised education staff to implement the TA.


14.0 Bibliography

Clark, C (2007) “Why it is important to involve parents in their children’s literacy development”

National Literacy Trust January 2007

National Symposium on Community Schools (2015)

MOE (2015)

World Bank (2015), Education Statistics

Education for All Monitoring Report (2005), Understanding Education Quality

National Review Report (2015), Education for All (2015) National Review Report- Zambia

Varlas, L (2009) “Highly Effective Teachers: Defining, Rewarding, Supporting and Expanding Their Roles”,

Highly Effective Teaching. Vol 15. No. 1.

UNESCO (2011) Institute of Statistics

UNESCO (2015), Quality Education in Developing Countries

UNESCO/Sarah Wilkins (2012), EFA Global Monitoring Report, Education for All, Youth Skills: Putting

Education to work, Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication, France

UNESCOPRESS (2014)

UNICEF (2011), UNICEF Report on Zambia

UN MGD Progress Report 2015)

World Vision Zambia Limited (2014) Child Well Being Report

Ziwira E (2009), “Creating a Conducive Environment”, The Herald 28th November, 2015

Child Literacy Technical Approach

Documents

Transcript of Child Literacy Technical Approach