1. Background
Build Africa is an international development organisation with over 30 years’ experience working in some of the poorest regions of the world. We believe in the power of education to help end poverty. Build Africa works through two country offices[i] that share a jointly developed mission, vision and set of values. Build Africa Uganda’s work covers the districts of Bukedea, Kibuku, Kumi, Ngora and Palisa in the Eastern part of the country as well as Buliisa, Kiryandongo, Masindi, Nwoya and Oyam districts in the Western/Northern parts of Uganda. In all these areas, Build Africa supports school communities to improve the quality of education as well as provide for their children.
Since January 2016, Build Africa Uganda with support of the Big Lottery U.K has been implementing a project called ‘Improving Learning and Education Attainment in Primary (ILEAP)” in 40 schools in Ngora district, Eastern Uganda. The aim of this project is to improve learning among children in their first three years of primary school, working with teachers, parents and older children to support young children’s education. These terms of reference, therefore call for qualified service providers to undertake a Mid-Term Evaluation of this project.
2. Project context
Only a third of children in Uganda are able to read and comprehend a basic sentence by P3 and as many as 19% of children are repeating the first few years of primary school[ii]. This is attributed to the lack of child friendly teaching and overly harsh discipline methods in schools. Additionally, Uganda has one of the highest teacher absenteeism rates in the world[iii], with teachers attributing this to poor motivation from a lack of training and support, as well as a lack of status and recognition.
Whereas quality education demands attention in the context of the curriculum, the nature of the teaching and the quality of the learning environment; child wellbeing at school is fundamental to successful learning, child wellbeing in primary schools is exceptionally low with young children and children from vulnerable groups worst affected. High percentages of primary school aged children experience bullying from teachers (anywhere from 46 – 86%) as well as from other children (56%)[iv]. In addition, only 14% of children enroll in ECD classes in Uganda[v]. This means that for the majority of children, parents are their first educators; however only 25% of parents are actively supporting learning at home [vi]with high adult illiteracy[vii] limiting direct parental support and tracking of pupil learning. Within the target district of Ngora, only 10% of children in P3 are able to read a text from the P2 syllabus[viii]. The relationship between early reading skills and long term academic survival is well established. Poor attainment and high repetition contributes to high dropout rates and low completion rates with only 23% of children in these districts completing P7, compared to 54% nationally[ix].
3. Project description
The ILEAP project works to ensure that boys and girls in P1 to P3 receive support for their learning, both in and out of school, ensuring that they acquire the fundamental skills they need in order to achieve a good level of educational attainment.
Over three years, ILEAP will have worked directly with more than 23,000 of the most disadvantaged pupils, including those with disabilities, orphaned children and those from elderly headed or child-headed households. Interventions were designed to ensure that young children have more opportunities to reach their potential and to establish the foundations they need to support future learning and achievement.
Using a holistic approach, ILEAP engages with pupils, teachers and parents to build a support network around the youngest school children. ILEAP works with teachers and parents to promote the importance of early learning. By providing adults with tools to better support early learning, they establish a positive start for young children in their education.
At the end of the project, at least 23,000 children from 40 schools as well as over 9,000 parents and 160 teachers will have been reached by the various project interventions.
The ILEAP project seeks to realise the following outcomes by December, 2018:-
1) Young girls and boys receive both academic and social support for their learning, in and out of school, ensuring that they acquire the fundamental skills they need in order to achieve a good level of educational attainment.
2) Teachers are skilled and inspired, which ensures they provide child friendly and good quality teaching, improving children’s engagement in class.
3) Older children are empowered to mentor younger children, becoming an additional source of help to younger children resulting in improved learning and emotional support for those younger children at school.
4) Parents are equipped to champion their children’s education, ensuring children are prepared for school and their learning is nurtured resulting in a positive learning culture for children at home.
4. Key Evaluation Questions
The evaluation will assess the extent to which the project’s outputs and outcomes to date have followed the expected causal pathway (i.e. Theory of Change) as designed during project development. It will help identify what have been the key barriers and facilitators to achieving the expected changes and how effectively is the project reaching its intended beneficiary groups. Such information will be useful in supporting analysis around project implementation changes. In particular, the evaluation will generate responses on:-
1. The effectiveness of the roll out of the EGR methodology to P1 and P2 teachers and its use within the classroom. The evaluation will establish whether the training was both effective and impactful from the perspective of the teachers, head teachers and district education officials. The evaluation will find out the factors to date contributing to the success or barriers to achieving against this outcome
2. The extent to which the buddy clubs are supporting children’s integration and socialisation in school. Is the training content appropriate? Has the training being impactful? What evidence is there that the clubs are running effectively across all 40 schools and what improvements if any can enhance their effectiveness and sustainability within the schools beyond the life of the project?
3. The contribution parent’s packs and the parental engagement have made to ensure that children’s learning is being nurtured and more supported at home. Is the training content appropriate? Has the training being impactful? What are the factors to date contributing to the success or barriers to achieving against this outcome?
Data collection, analysis and development of findings and recommendations will be guided by the above questions. The review should be structured around the above questions and the OECD-DAC criteria of Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, Relevance and Sustainability with a focus on generating information which can be used to improve the implementation of the project.
A range of proxy indicators derived from the project logframe will be developed to support this evaluation.
5. Overall purpose of the Mid-Term Review
This review is being undertaken to provide useful, evidence-based findings and recommendations on the implementation and progress of the project. The purpose of the evaluation is to develop specific recommendations as to how the project can be strengthened or improved during the latter phase of its implementation.
The key audiences for the mid-term review are Build Africa (in the UK and in Uganda), Vision Terudo, District officials, and project donors. Primarily, the evaluation will be used by all partner organisations to understand the strengths and limitations of the project interventions and delivery; the review findings and recommendations will also be used to inform any necessary adjustments to the project interventions to date.
The review findings and recommendations will also be summarised and fed back to the schools and community members involved in the project and evaluation by means of discussions between interested parties and Build Africa Uganda staff. It will be important for community members to understand (from the findings) how this project is progressing. It will also be important for this audience to understand how their roles have contributed to the successes and challenges of the project so far, as identified by the evaluation.
1. Suggested Methodology
• The review will take a mixed methods approach, as the project log frame includes both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
• All data – quantitative and qualitative – collected must be disaggregated by sex and beneficiary group; i.e., data records should be kept at the respondent level and should include information as to whether each respondent is male or female; and whether that person is a young pupil, older pupil, parent, teacher or other community member.
The MTR study will include the following research methods:
A) Quantitative (primary)
• Social skills assessment for pupils in the first three years of primary school
• Literacy assessment for pupils in the first three years of primary school
• Numeracy assessment for pupils in the first three years of primary school
• Questionnaire for pupils in the first three years of primary school
• Questionnaire for older children, who are providing support to pupils in first three year of primary school
• Questionnaire for parents
• Participatory ranking with pupils in the first three years of primary school
• Observing a statistically significant sample of P1-P3 lessons, generating an assessment of whether teaching methods are child-friendly and good quality (using a tool with a defined minimum standard)
B) Qualitative
• Participatory sessions with pupils in the first three years of primary school
• Participatory sessions with members of the parents’ clubs
• Semi-structured interviews with District Education Officials, head teachers and P1 and P2 teachers
• Interviews with the Vision Terrudo team – key implementer under outcome 4
• Interviews with Mango Tree team – technical support and resource developer
C) Quantitative (secondary)
• Review of schools records, in particular of enrolment, pupil attendance and repeaters data analysis will be guided by the indicator definitions in the project log frames. Quantitative data analysis
• Will require statistical calculations. Qualitative data analysis will require a rigorous approach, such as athematic network analysis. It will be necessary for the appointed consultant to calculate scientifically valid sample sizes for key direct beneficiary groups, such as P1-P3 pupils, older pupils who will support P1-P3 pupils, parents and teachers.
7. Tasks, deliverables and suggested timeframe
The required consultancy deliverables are:
• A detailed inception report, including a detailed work plan, detailed methodology for data collection and analysis, sample size calculations, draft data collection tools and outline of the MTR report
• Training of data collectors, ensuring consistency of translation from data collection tools written in English to local language during data collection exercise
• A draft MTR report, including accurately analyzed data against each of the project indicators, evidence-based findings regarding the usefulness of indicators and the validity and reliability of the data collection tools with lessons learned and recommendations
• A de-brief meeting with Build Africa Uganda’s Head of Programmes and Area Programme Manager for Kumi to discuss how measures were developed and how, when and by whom data may be collected throughout the project lifetime
• All typed data sets from both quantitative and qualitative data collection, clearly labelled and provided in accessible electronic formats in English. Quantitative data must be supplied in Excel format.
The consultant will also be responsible for:
• Holding an inception meeting with Build Africa staff and reviewing any relevant documentation to gather background information
• Drafting an inception report (as above)
• Incorporating feedback on inception report into planned approach and activities
• Training data collectors with the necessary skills and who can work to a high standard
• Supervising and quality assuring field data collection and entry
• Conducting participatory data collection in sampled schools
• Providing the typed raw data to Build Africa contact staff (as above)
• Analyzing and synthesising both qualitative and quantitative data
• Submitting a draft report, with accompanying data analysis to Build Africa contact staff for feedback
• Incorporating feedback and submitting a final report that responds to the key objectives of the MTR study and provide clear measures against the indicators and evidence-based findings, as well as robust recommendations which can be directly applied to Build Africa’s programming
Build Africa will be jointly responsible for:
• Preparing relevant documentation and making it available to the consultant
• Holding an introductory Skype call with the consultant to provide background information and to finalize timelines and expectations
• Reviewing the inception report and providing the consultant with specific and timely feedback
• Providing support to the recruitment and training of data collectors if necessary
• Reviewing both draft MTR reports and providing the consultant with specific and timely feedback
• Managing and supporting the consultant throughout the MTR study
• Ensuring that technical feedback from partner organizations is represented in the feedback presented to the consultant.
• Prioritizing and attending a de-briefing meeting with the consultant
[i] Kenya and Uganda
[ii] Build Africa Uganda, average P1 and P2 data over 94 schools in North West regions
[iii] Transparency International, The Global Corruption Report: Education, 2013
[iv] UNICEF Uganda, 2013, Assessing Child Protection, Safety & Security Issues For Children in Ugandan Primary and Secondary Schools
[v] UNESCO, 2012, Global Education Digest 2012: Opportunities Lost – The impact of Grade Repetition and Early School Leaving
[vi] http://allafrica.com/stories/201210020972.html?page=2
[vii] The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children’s Education – Department for Children, Schools and Families
(2008
[viii] BAU Interview with CCT Atutur cluster, Dec 2014
[ix] JICA 2012, Basic Education Analysis Report, Uganda
HOW TO APPLY:
Skills and qualifications of consultants
The consultancy team should consist of one or more consultants who meet the following requirements:
▪ 3 – 5 years’ experience of working in senior management roles in education projects in similar contexts (essential);
▪ Masters’ degree in a relevant Social Science discipline coupled with advanced skills in Research Methodologies (preferred);
▪ Demonstrable experience of leading baselines and/or evaluations of development projects (essential); Significant skills and experience in quantitative data collection and analysis (essential);
▪ Excellent communication skills including report writing (essential);
▪ Experience of collecting, analysing and synthesising qualitative data using a rigorous approach (essential);
▪ Experience of overseeing and training data collectors, including providing a quality assurance function (essential);
▪ Experience of working with children, facilitating participatory approaches to data collection (essential);
▪ Able to reliably access the Internet, as well as relevant national policy/planning documents and surveys (essential);
▪ Experience of working in Uganda or East Africa (preferred);
▪ Fluent English in both writing and speaking (essential);
▪ Willingness to familiarise self with, and sign up to abiding by, Build Africa’s Child Protection Policy (essential).
Budget
Please submit a full budget including professional fees for all team members including data collectors and all related logistical costs (travel, food and accommodation) for the full exercise.
It is expected that the duration of the evaluation including all preparation, completing an inception report with data tools, all data collection and report writing will not exceed 21 days.
The evaluator(s) will be selected based on their relevant experience and expertise, rigour of their design, availability and value for money.
Application process and timeline
1. Apply using the attached application template, please contact namutebi@build-africauganda.org for the template.
2. All documents must be submitted no later than Monday 22ND May at 9:00am via email to semyalo@build-africauganda.org