Examining Levels of Learning Loss, Trauma, and Resilience in Children, Parents, and Teachers in Tigray, Ethiopia

• In Event: Implementing and Measuring Evidence-based Social and Emotional Learning & Life Skills Education interventions in Complex Environments

Proposal

After the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) announced a peace agreement, Luminos commissioned an independent study to examine levels of learning loss, trauma, and resilience in children, parents, and teachers in Tigray, Ethiopia. The study, led by Dr. Belay Hagos from the Institute for Education, Health, and Development (IEHD) at Addis Ababa University, in collaboration with a team of researchers from Mekelle University, surveyed 600 internally displaced children who were enrolled in Grades 2, 3, and 4 at the time of school closures in 2020. It also included 450 parents and 400 teachers. Due to ongoing security concerns in various parts of Tigray, participants were selected from temporary shelters located in and around Mekelle.

Children who were enrolled in Grades 2 and 3 at the time of school closures in March 2020 were assessed across four subtasks from the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) to measure potential learning loss: Letter Name Recognition, Familiar Word Reading, Oral Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension. The results were benchmarked against the regional averages for Grade 2 and 3 students from the 2018 national EGRA, which was the last national EGRA before the conflict to include students from Tigray. Additionally, children who had been in Grade 4 at the time of the pandemic were tested in Tigrinya, English, and Math with a tool based on the Grade 4 National Learning Assessment. The results were compared to the regional averages for the 2019 National Learning Assessment.

To gain a deeper understanding of the trauma and resilience of internally displaced children in Tigray, researchers conducted assessments using five survey instruments: the War Trauma Questionnaire (WTQ), the Children’s Revised Impact Event Scale (CRIES), Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRC), the KidCOPE Scale, and the revised Child and Youth Resilience Measure. These tools were used to assess the range of wartime experiences children faced, the severity of their trauma symptoms, and the coping strategies they developed in response. In addition, questionnaires and standardized scales were administered to parents and teachers to gauge their experiences of the war and shed light on the informal methods they used to support student learning during the period of school closures.

The presenter will share findings that indicate significant learning loss among children, as well as evidence of substantial psychological trauma affecting children, parents, and teachers. This presentation will also explore key recommendations emerging from the study, including strategies to implement an accelerated learning model that targets missed or disrupted learning and incorporates Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) approaches. The study proposes tailored interventions to facilitate catch-up and bridge the learning gap.

Author

• Elizabeth Robinson, The Luminos Fund