some great stuff here, including an item on girls' education in West 
Africa below.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 15:12:12 -0700
From: The Soul Beat <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The Soul Beat - 48 - MDG 2: Universal Primary Education


The Soul Beat - Issue 48 - MDG 2: Universal Primary Education
September 28 2005

From the SOUL BEAT AFRICA partnership - Soul City and The Communication Initiative

...African choices...critical voices...crossing borders...African stories...


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Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2 aims to "ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling." This issue of The Soul Beat shares information from the Soul Beat Africa network about the context of this challenge, and communication strategies being applied to help meet this goal.  In this issue we have included communication strategies related to access to schooling, non-formal alternatives, improving quality and involving technology.  Our next MDG focus issue will include information related to MDG 3 - promoting gender equality and empowering women. If you would like to contribute your own experiences, please contact Deborah Walter [log in to unmask]

Subscribe to The Soul Beat - http://www.comminit.com/africa/soul-beat-subscribe.html or e-mail Bonolo [log in to unmask]


CONTEXT


1. Education for All: Teacher Demand & Supply in Africa
by Paula Nilsson
This paper examines the place of teachers in the primary education systems of Botswana, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Based on an analysis of country reports prepared by governments prior to the World Education Forum conference in Dakar in 2000, the paper reports on levels of teacher demand and supply, teacher education systems, teachers' qualification levels, strategies on how to attract and retain qualified teachers, and the way teachers are recognised in the Education for All (EFA) process.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/materials/ma2004/materials-1790.html


2. Voices From Rural Guinea On The Education Of Girls & Boys
by Nii Addy, Elizabeth Foster, Nathalie Gons, Kristina Graff, Kerry Griffin, Priyadarshani Joshi & Toni J. Sethi
The objectives of the research were to understand the progress made regarding girls' education in Guinea;  hear the stories and voices behind the issues currently facing education, specifically girls' education; and to provide recommendations based on the field visits. Infrastructure and funding were two issues repeatedly described as critical challenges to educational initiatives in Guinea. According to the report, there is a need for: sustained and efficient construction of schools; providing supplies, equipment and other teaching materials; further incorporating the transportation needs of students and teachers into current initiatives; and addressing the issues of teacher salaries and their housing needs.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/strategicthinking/st2005/thinking-1328.html


3. Earning a Life: Working Children in Zimbabwe
"In Zimbabwe, formalised child labour is not common. Nevertheless, children in a variety of situations have to work for their livelihood. In many cases families, and the children themselves, depend partly on it. Often the schooling of the children depends on the income they earn. Earning a Life has been developed out of a case study of children in informal trading enterprises, either helping their parents or operating on their own account: children working in small-scale agriculture on their family plots or the plots of others; children working for their schooling in formal plantations; children in small-scale mining enterprises; children in domestic service; children involved in caring for the sick and elderly. While all these tasks take time and energy, and sometimes detract from school-work, there are also benefits that are achieved."
http://www.comminit.com/africa/materials/ma2003/materials-1651.html


See Also:

Schooling in Uganda: Through Children's Eyes
http://www.comminit.com/africa/materials/ma2005/materials-2416.html

Child-to-Child Survey
http://www.comminit.com/africa/strategicthinking/st2004/thinking-823.html


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Vacancy

The Health Communication Partnership is seeking qualified Programme Officers for HIV and AIDS communication programs in Uganda.
Please contact [log in to unmask] for full details.


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STRATEGIES: ACCESS TO SCHOOLING


4. Promoting Girls' Education Through Community Participation: A Case Study in Kenya
"Kenya had achieved an impressive enrolment rate of 95% at the primary school level, with a male/female ratio of 51:49 by 1990. There were however, serious regional and gender disparities. In North Eastern province for instance, enrolment rates averaged only 24% with a male/female ratio of 68:32. The Coast province had an enrolment of 43% with a male/female ratio of 57:43.  Furthermore the national enrolment rate has been on the decline standing at 76% in 1999. Of concern to advocates of equal education for all is the high dropout rate of girls when compared to boys. The national completion rate of girls in primary school is only 35% against 55% for boys. This is even lower in districts like Kwale, Kuria, Migori, Homa Bay, Kilifi, Turkana and Kajiado where the completion rates for girls is as low as 24%."
http://www.comminit.com/africa/strategicthinking/st2005/thinking-1327.html


5. The Education of Rights Refugees, Asylum Seekers & Migrants in South Africa
by Brian Ramadiro & Salim Vally
This material was published by the Education Rights Project (ERP) as a tool during its awareness information campaign to schools. This publication discusses the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who arrive to live in South Africa. The most common problems faced include issues of admission, school fees, documentation and age.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/materials/ma2005/materials-2479.html


6. Strategies for Advancing Girls' Education (SAGE) - West Africa
The project aims to strengthen local ownership of girls' education by engaging traditional and non-traditional actors, such as the public and private sectors, central and decentralised government units, religious and business leaders, the media and non-governmental organisations, in implementing local solutions with local resources in support of girls' education in Guinea, Mali, Ghana, El Salvador and the Democratic Republic of Congo. SAGE conducts research on educational quality and best practices for girls' education and organises workshops that bring together policy makers, practitioners, advocates and scholars to share knowledge and disseminate strategies for advancing girls' education. The project seeks to move from dialogue on girls' education to the implementation of locally-derived solutions that engage the support of all sectors of society.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds72005/experiences-3279.html
Contact Nora Kruk [log in to unmask]


STRATEGIES: NON-FORMAL/ ALTERNATIVE


7.  A Review of Small Scale Educational Interventions on Literacy & Conflict Resolution/Peacebuilding in Guinea, Sierra Leone & South Sudan
by Dr. Katy Newell-Jones
This 25-page review forms part of the 2004 Department for International Development (DFID) report on Service Delivery in Difficult Environments, undertaken by the Health Systems Resource Centre. It draws on a series of small scale, non-formal education interventions in Guinea, Sierra Leone and South Sudan from 1999-2004, in conflict and post-conflict contexts. These interventions were undertaken by Education for Development in partnership with indigenous non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with the intention of developing the sector capacity in adult literacy and conflict resolution/peacebuilding together with providing opportunities for vocational training.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/strategicthinking/st2005/thinking-1329.html


8.  Interactive Radio Instruction for Somalis (IRIS) - Ethiopia
Created to overcome the obstacles of educating pastoralist children who are often on the move in Jigjiga, eastern Ethiopia, the project uses radio to address the problems of access to and quality of basic education. Launched in 2001, IRIS uses interactive radio instruction (IRI) as a method of teaching. Students as a group listen to the series of broadcasts while teachers facilitate the interaction. This takes place in formal schoolrooms, non-formal basic education centres, refugee camps and may be used in any setting that includes a teacher, a group of students, and a radio.  Drama, songs, question and answer, and other activities, are used to draw out student participation and Somali poetry is aired to increase children’s interest and connect them with their culture’s language and art form. After staff failed to find any existing Somali books for children, two basic reading books were written to enhance the programme.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds12005/experiences-2911.html
Contact Katharine Yasin [log in to unmask] OR Abdoulkhader Houssein [log in to unmask]


STRATEGIES: USING TECHNOLOGY


9. Evaluation of Educational Software For The African Context: Guidelines For Educators
by Nicky Roberts & Neil Butche
This evaluation report is the result of work jointly commissioned by SchoolNet Africa and Imfundo. The purpose of the evaluation was firstly to review currently available software in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on South Africa. Secondly, the intention was to model a process of reviewing educational software to develop the capacity of African educators to conduct such reviews on an ongoing basis. The data collected during this process was then adapted to develop an educator development module that will be used to guide educators in Sub-Saharan Africa on choosing and reviewing educational software. Quality is considered a key contributory factor in the achievement of Universal Primary Education. However, qualitative improvements to the educational system face the constraints of inadequately trained and under qualified teachers. With insufficient teacher training there is often a heavy reliance on the textbook to support classroom teaching and learning.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/evaluations/evaluations2005/evaluations-80.html


10. Thutong - South Africa
Thutong is a project of the South African department of education that aims to connect schooling communities with their teachers through the Internet. The project is an online education experience and the portal, Thutong , means place of learning in SeTswana. The project provides learners and educators with information for use in the classroom and ideas for projects. The portal provides access to a range of curriculum and learner support materials; professional development programmes for teachers, administration and management resources for schools. It also provides education policy documents and general information related to the latest developments in the country's education.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds12005/experiences-2917.html
Contact Thutong [log in to unmask]


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Looking for examples of impact data on using communication for universal primary education?

Visit The Communication Initiative website:
http://www.comminit.com/mdgs/mdgs/mdgs-3.html


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STRATEGIES: IMPROVING QUALITY


11. Beyond the Classroom - South Africa
A weekly television and radio series that focuses on providing guidelines and lesson plan ideas for how teachers can use broadcast media in their classrooms. The lesson plans include the use of programmes from School TV, but also many other educational programmes covering the full spectrum of formal schooling. The programme provides educators with updates and news from a national and provincial level as well as an in-depth look at key issues facing the teaching community. In supporting teachers to use media in the classroom, the project organiser, SABC Education provides a number of support services:
http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds32004/experiences-2492.html
Contact Lesley Fahey [log in to unmask]


12. Improving Schools through Teacher Development: Case Studies of the Aga Khan Foundation Projects in East Africa
This book presents a selection of experiences in school improvement activities in East Africa from 1985 to 2000, which focused on sustained teacher development. The core of the book consists of six evaluations of school and district-wide improvement projects (SIPs) supported by the Aga Khan Foundation in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. The case studies present information about the successes and challenges of a comprehensive approach to school improvement grounded in a common set of strategic principles.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/materials/ma2003/materials-1672.html


13. ICT for Teacher Education in the Global South: Researching the Issues
This 210-page study reports on research that was carried out between March 2001 and May 2003, at various locations in and around Cairo, Egypt and the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa by a joint team representing the Programme Planning and Monitoring Unit (PPMU) Egypt, University of Fort Hare (UFH), South Africa and Open University (OU), UK.  It proposed that 48 teachers (two per school) in 24 selected primary schools (twelve in Cairo, twelve in the Eastern Cape) would follow specially devised professional development programmes that would enable them to integrate a range of information and communication technology (ICT) enhanced activities into their teaching of literacy, numeracy and science. The goals were that teachers would be supported through workshops and school visits, a range of multimedia resources, as well as through a web environment.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/strategicthinking/st2004/thinking-759.html


14. Read Educational Trust - South Africa
A non-profit organisation committed to improving educational attainments of South African pupils. It helps under-performing schools to transform themselves into centres of successful learning through community-based educational interventions with sustainable long-term effects. The organisation does this by building a solid foundation of language, literacy and information skills. Read aims to ensure that South African citizens are able to participate fully in the political, economic and cultural life of their country, efficiently manage their personal resources and become life-long learners. Read believes in the importance of literacy for the empowerment of the people. The organisation has a number of development programmes designed to provide individuals and institutions with the skills and tools to effectively asses, plan and execute the responsibilities of educational leadership in an education environment.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds092004/experiences-2174.html
Contact The Read Organisation [log in to unmask]


MEASURING SUCCESS


15. Communication for Transition in Mauritius
by Stanislaw Czaplicki
This six-page report comments on the communication strategies used in Mauritius during the three-year period of transition toward "graduation" from UNICEF cooperation. Due to the country level of economic development and an improved situation for children after 27 years, Mauritius became no longer eligible for UNICEF cooperation and the UNICEF office has been closed as of December 31 2003.  The author comments that in Mauritius, considerable progress has been achieved in the promotion of children's rights, child protection and growth. He notes: "Mauritius has reached universal access to primary health care and to primary education. Malaria and polio have been eradicated, Infant Mortality Rate has decreased to 14.6/1000 in 2002 and all Mauritian children have access to free primary school up to the age of 12… The country had reached the combined ineligibility threshold of GNP per capita above US$ 2,895 and an U5MR of less than 30 per 1,000 live births as early as during the 1!
990s."
http://www.comminit.com/africa/materials/ma2005/materials-2346.html


16. The Power of Information: Evidence From a Newspaper Campaign to Reduce Capture
by Ritva Reinikka & Jakob Svensson
The paper examines an information campaign in Uganda aimed at reducing the capture of public funds by providing schools (parents) with information to monitor local officials' handling of a large school-grant programme. In the mid-1990s, a public expenditure tracking survey (PETS) revealed that for every dollar spent by the central government, the schools received only 20 cents on average (Reinikka and Svensson 2004).  As evidence of the degree of local capture became known, the central government enacted a series of policy changes. Specifically, it began to publish data on monthly transfers of capitation grants to local governments (districts) in newspapers. The raw data suggests a large improvement. In 2001, schools received 80 percent on average of their annual entitlements.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/evaluations/evaluations2005/evaluations-46.html


17. Impact Data - I Am a Child But I Have My Rights Too! - West Africa
Children gained new self-confidence in speaking to adults, and adults became aware of children's rights, which led to increased parent-child dialogue. For example, the programme helped to get people talking about girls' rights to education and excision, which helped to increase the rate of girls' school enrollment, and decrease the rate of excision. "There was a lot of debate about the importance of girls' education. It all started with the radio programme", says one of the teachers. The themes most often cited by children were the right to education, health, leisure and protection against practices such as early marriage and excision. Along with children and parents, teachers also confirm that the campaign helped them learn more about children's rights.
http://www.comminit.com/africa/evaluations/id2005/impactdata-4.html


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The Soul Beat is a partnership between:

Soul City and its partners - The Royal Netherlands Embassy, Development Cooperation Ireland, European Union, DFID, and BP

and The Communication Initiative Partnership - ANDI, BBC World Service Trust, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Calandria, CFSC  Consortium, The CHANGE Project, CIDA, DFID, Exchange, FAO, Ford Foundation, Fundacion Nuevo Periodismo, Johns Hopkins  Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, OneWorld, The Panos Institute, PCI, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Soul City, UNAIDS, UNICEF, USAID, WHO.


The Soul Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

Please send material for The Soul Beat to the Editor - Deborah Walter [log in to unmask]