Lessons Learned from Malawi: Adapting the EGRA for Learners who are Blind or with Low Vision and who have Learning Disabilities

• In Event: Adaptation and Modification of Early Grade Reading Assessments for Learners with Disabilities: Lessons from the Multi-Country Study on Inclusive Education (MCSIE) in Cambodia, Nepal, and Malawi

Proposal

In 2019, Juarez & Associates (J&A) adapted EGRA tools for learners who are blind or with low vision (BLV) and learners with learning disabilities (LD) through the USAID funded Reading for All Malawi (REFAM). They then did data collection of all primary schools with SNE resource centers (~200) to help the MOE have a full picture of learning outcomes and environments for LWD based on high quality data on the state of education for LWD in Malawi. Next, the team developed a bilingual EGRA using Malawian Sign Language to assess Deaf and hard of hearing learners (DHH) in the 7 schools for the deaf and a select set of schools with SNE centers with DHH learners. Additional subtests were added to ensure MSL fluency of learners as foundation to literacy and reading. In 2020, J&A completed data collection just as COVID hit globally shutting done education systems around the world.

Despite the virtual pivot, REFAM continued to support MOE through training of over 500 SNE teachers and members of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in the Universal Design for Learning framework to inclusive education. UDL was also applied to assessment and another EGRA for LWD was conducted in a sample of 32 schools with SNE resource centers in April 2022. The challenges and gaps included limited time and resources, communication difficulties in determining linguistically appropriate tools in MSL and ensuring people with disabilities were always included in the process. Through a highly engaged process that included printing of training materials in braille for blind assessors and MSL interpreters, REFAM walked with OPDs and MOE as partners to build capacity and increase the understanding of the complexity and what’s at stake, to ensure they “do no harm.” More than looking at the data points, the learning process and commitment to “nothing about us, without us” has set a clear roadmap and standard for inclusive assessment and education in Malawi.

Author

• Fernando Rubio, Juarez & Associates