DIY Clubs: Transforming Learning Spaces through Student-Led Service Projects

• In Event: In Pursuit of More Engaging and Equitable Learning Environments: Three Examples from Uganda

Proposal

Young people are the engine of innovation and progress in Uganda. Unfortunately, most of them are not adequately prepared by the formal schooling system to think critically, communicate effectively, or set (and achieve) personal goals, thus undermining their agency and successful transitions to adulthood. A World Bank/Association for the Development of Education in Africa report from 2008 succinctly describes the challenges young people face in Uganda’s formal scholastic environment: “The prevailing pedagogy is didactic and teacher-centred – primarily focusing on teaching to tests and rote memorization.” Additionally, the same report points out the rigid teacher-student relationship and its detrimental effects on students’ acquisition of core competencies, such as problem-solving, applying knowledge in novel situations, and working constructively in teams. Thus, it is no wonder that in addition to financial constraints, a 2014 UNICEF report listed “disinterest” and “poor classroom environment” as significant factors in school dropout.

The Do It Yourself (DIY) Clubs initiative is focused on shifting power dynamics and improving learning outcomes in Ugandan secondary schools. DIY is rooted in a Positive Youth Development approach, specifically the framework created by the USAID Youth Power Learning Project in 2016. It puts forth four domains—assets, agency, contribution, and enabling environment—that they argue contribute to more active, engaged, and thriving young people. The crux of DIY is providing opportunities for young people to meaningfully contribute to solving the most pressing challenges in their schools and communities through designing and implementing innovative student-led service projects. By helping young people develop their life skills and agency, and facilitating shifts in entrenched power dynamics, DIY leads to safer, more equitable, and engaging school environments.

This paper presents findings from a mixed-methods study conducted in 13 DIY partner schools (nine intervention and four comparison). Researchers follow up with students who completed a baseline survey in 2019 to evaluate changes in lifeskills (e.g., communication), agency, and school environment (e.g., gender norms). This paper also addresses how the DIY program might have affected students’ resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors

• Elizabeth Nabuyama, Komo learning centres

• Matt French, Komo learning centres