How does participation in a non-formal accelerated education program shape adolescents’ trajectories and outcomes in Northeast Nigeria?

• In Event: Education and Resilience: Building Back Stronger Systems Post-crisis

Proposal

The violent conflict in Northeast Nigeria has led to an educational crisis, with approximately 70% of displaced children and youth in Borno state losing access to any kind of educational services. In this humanitarian context, one organizational member of our team is implementing a non-formal accelerated education intervention with a goal of building resilience in the face of adversity. Currently, the evidence base on accelerated education is limited, and with this research we see an opportunity to investigate how this intervention shapes adolescents’ lives.

In conflict-affected environments in general, there is a critical lack of evidence on what works to mitigate these kinds of challenges. Research primarily from high-income contexts tells us that children experiencing frequent or prolonged exposure to adversity can result in a biological response known as toxic stress. Unaddressed, toxic stress can have a damaging effect on children’s brain development and, over time, can have cumulative effects on their overall health and well-being (Shonkoff et al, 2012). We also have limited evidence that, when children are provided with a safe learning environment with caring and supportive teachers, and explicit skills-building activities, they can bounce back and gain foundational skills that propel them in the short and long term. These include improved academic achievement, enhanced education equity, improved resilience and coping mechanisms, and improved workforce readiness and participation (see for example Durlak et al, 2011; Yeager et al 2013; Dajani et al, 2018).

In this study, we conduct longitudinal experimental research examining how non-formal accelerated education participation, over time, impacts female and male adolescents’ growth trajectories in social-emotional skills, learning outcomes, workforce participation, and mental health. With an equity lens, we will examine how these trajectories differ among sub-groups based on gender, migration status, religion, and disability. The study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to track and follow a sample of adolescent (age 12-15 accelerated education participants and comparable non-participants (our comparison group) during the nine-month program and for one year after the intervention.

This presentation will showcase rigorous research from a resilience-building perspective that can contribute to improved and flexible programming for learners in Nigeria.

Author

• Wael S Moussa, FHI 360