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Session Submission Summary

Using rapid feedback evaluation methods to increase teacher and parent engagement in education

Mon, April 15, 3:15 to 4:45pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Atrium (Level 2), Waterfront C

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Abstract
In this panel, we discuss how rapid feedback monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning methods (RF MERL) have been applied to the Lecture Pour Tous and Tusome Pamoja early grade reading programs in Senegal and Tanzania. We will first describe how we utilized these RF MERL methods to design three research questions which test the Lecture Pour Tous program’s assumptions around SMS and tablet-based teacher coaching tools and community engagement. We will then describe how we have used “lean testing” to further define these research questions in preparation for a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of community engagement activities on teacher attitudes and behaviors, as well as children’s learning outcomes. The Tusome Pamoja program in Tanzania is facilitating similar community engagement activities, including a community-led action planning process and the formation of Parent Teacher Partnerships. We will describe the findings from a descriptive study of over 40 communities in Tanzania and how the findings from this RF MERL approach have spurred new research questions to be addressed in a subsequent round of data collection.

Learning about teacher and parent engagement across contexts
This panel will discuss how rapid feedback monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning methods (RF MERL) methods can help early grade reading initiatives design and deliver better programming that is responsive to recommendations made early in the implementation process. By using RF MERL methods to collect information on how a program is succeeding earlier in the project life cycle, program decision-makers are able to carry out subsequent phases of their work based on the evidence of what has worked well so far. They are also be able to make adjustments to their programming to address any challenges identified. The nimble, rapid feedback design of RF MERL ensures that the learnings from data collection are integrated into program implementation while it is ongoing, rather than coming at the end of the program when the learnings can only inform future programs in other settings. This presentation will allow for a discussion of when various evaluation methodologies are appropriate given the stage and design of a program.

To provide a multi-country perspective on the ways in which we are using rapid feedback evaluation methods to assess community engagement activities in support of education, one panelist will describe the methodology being used by the RF MERL consortium in Senegal to study the Lecture Pour Tous Early Grade Reading program, which is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Lecture Pour Tous is working with the Ministry of Education in Senegal to roll-out, at scale, its national reading program that incorporates mother tongue instruction and community engagement in reading.

The study in Senegal uses all three foundational RF MERL approaches of formative research, Lean Testing, and randomized controlled trials to answer three research questions: 1) Do community and parent engagement activities improve early grade reading?; 2) Are teachers, directors, and inspectors able to use, understand, and learn from new ICT tools and platforms?; and 3) What is the most effective approach to coaching teachers? For research question 1, we will leverage Lecture Pour Tous’ existing random assignment in 20 percent of schools to rigorously estimate impacts of community engagement activities on parent, teacher, and child outcomes. To answer research question 2, we are using a Lean Testing approach that combines the review of administrative data with in-person usability testing, SMS content testing, and qualitative data collection. Finally, we will address research question 3 by using formative research and qualitative data collection to better understand the barriers and facilitators to teacher coaching in Senegal. This will be followed by a randomized controlled trial during the 2019/2020 school year, which will offer Lecture Pour Tous the opportunity to quickly test variations in coaching models.

Working with the community to create change
In contrast to the methodology of the Senegal study, the Tusome Pamoja program in Tanzania is using a rigorous observational design to generate evidence for decision-makers in the near term and develop follow-on research questions to be addressed in a subsequent round of data collection. Tusome Pamoja is a five-year program supported by USAID that aims to improve child learning outcomes in Tanzania, with a focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic (the 3Rs). One important component of Tusome Pamoja is the implementation of several activities aimed at increasing the effective engagement of parents and community members in children’s performance in the 3Rs.

As part of the first round of the Tanzania study we want to understand how community members and schools have decided to work together to encourage parents to be active supporters of their child’s education. Specifically, how does a citizen-led action planning process progress in each community, and what ideas are generated by the participants in this process? The panel will share initial findings from the first round of data collection for this study, which will be available in early 2019. We will first discuss the methodology for this study, which has included both rigorous quantitative and qualitative data collection in 41 communities across the Morogoro and Iringa mainland regions of Tanzania, and all five regions of Zanzibar. Interviews have been conducted with 18 different respondent types across all tiers of the education system, and this has provided a substantial breadth and depth of understanding of how the Tusome Pamoja community engagement activities have been implemented. We will end this this portion of the presentation with a discussion of how round 1 of data collection has fed into the development of research questions for the upcoming round of data collection.

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