Identifying ‘what works’: reflections on findings from evaluations and learning reviews in six countries

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Evidence on making inclusive education work on the ground – key lessons on data, design and implementation

Proposal

This presentation will draw on findings from evaluations and learning reviews of education projects in Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Malawi, Uganda, and Sierra Leone. They were conducted over the last four years by Sightsavers, a UK-based international non-governmental organisation working in the fields of education, health, and social inclusion. These analyses employed multiple methods. Quantitative analysis of educational data was combined with contextual analysis, school- and classroom-based observation, and focus group discussions and interviews with key stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and persons with disabilities. They highlighted project achievements at school and community level, such as increased enrolment rates and improved educational outcomes, and the various factors contributing to this, especially community participation in project activities and the crucial role played by local organisations of persons with disabilities. In West African countries, it was found that the projects had strengthened the capacity and commitment of Ministries of Education at national and district levels to promote sustainable inclusive education for children with disabilities – both through the provision of technical assistance and the strengthening of policy frameworks. However, challenges were also identified. For instance, in one evaluation, teachers expressed concerns about their ability to include deaf children and children with intellectual abilities in their classes and, in another, concerns were expressed about the sustainability of project achievements, given challenging contexts of implementation. It should also be noted that some the evaluations were carried out during the Covid pandemic. This limited access of evaluation teams to programme sites and influenced the tools, approaches, and participant sample, particularly in relation to safeguarding and engaging with children with disabilities. The depth and detail of the evidence and analyses were therefore affected.
The presentation will not only discuss evaluation and learning review results, but programme-level technical and ethical challenges of monitoring and evaluating the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools in low- and middle-income countries. These will include strengthening existing school record-keeping practices rather than setting up parallel data collection for projects; assessing learning outcomes and progress at an individual and a class level; and generating comparable data.
The presentation will reflect on, and invite reflection on, other key questions. How can monitoring, evaluations and learning exercises such as these collect rich data to identify ‘what works’ (as well as what doesn’t work) and the reasons for this? How can monitoring, evaluation and learning be as locally owned as possible – for instance, providing children with disabilities with meaningful and accessible opportunities to express their views and concerns? And what are the responsibilities of international development organisations once they have conducted an evaluation – for instance, how can findings most effectively be acted on, effective practices scaled up and sustained, and learning disseminated at different levels of the education system and internationally?

Author

• Guy Le Fanu, Sightsavers