A Qualitative Exploration of Stakeholders’ Perception of QITABI’s Implementation

• In Event: Decolonizing international development through collaborative research-practice partnerships: 10 years of evidence and opportunities from Lebanon

Proposal

Background
QITABI and QITABI 2 (Quality Instruction Towards Access and Basic Education Improvement) were implemented by a consortium of stakeholders over 10 years in order to strengthen the education system in Lebanon. As a systems-strengthening initiative, QITABI worked at multiple ecological levels with various organizations and actors in order to ensure that efforts to improve the quality of teaching (initially among Arabic teachers but over time with Math, English, and French teachers) were sustainable and coherent. Specifically, QITABI worked with: teacher trainers from the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD trainers); coaches from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE)'s Department of Pedagogical and School Orientation (referred to as DOPS coaches); school liaisons from the QITABI Consortium organizations (referred to as Learning Facilitators; LFs); and teachers and principals from primary public schools receiving QITABI services.

Objectives
This presentation has two objectives: first, to understand how the QITABI project was actually implemented in classrooms and by various stakeholders. Second, to understand the impact of QITABI as perceived by various stakeholders.

Methods
To achieve these objectives, the research team developed qualitative protocols with our partners in Lebanon for conducting semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with the project stakeholders. 50 semi-structured interviews will be carried out in Levantine Arabic with teachers (n=40) and principals (n=10) of primary public schools across Lebanon who have benefited from QITABI services. The sample consists of principals of schools from different treatment assignment (QITABI 1 intensive literacy support vs. other schools), levels of implementation (high-medium-low, rated by World Learning), locations, and the teachers teaching different subjects. Additionally, two focus group discussions will be conducted for each of CERD trainers, DOPS coaches and QITABI LFs. Each group will consist of 4 to 6 participants, where the sampling of each group will vary in specialties, regions and years of working on QITABI.

Analysis
Our team will transcribe the audio recordings of the interviews and will create an Arabic codebook using grounded theory. The qualitative data will then be coded using the aforementioned codebook, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of the data. This approach enables the identification of emerging themes, providing valuable insights into the perspectives of all entities involved in the project.

Results and discussion
The results of this study aim to highlight the strengths and challenges encountered during the implementation of QITABI according to QITABI stakeholders. Perspectives from the teachers and principals illuminate the impact of the services on the teaching process and student learning outcomes. Furthermore, insights from CERD trainers, DOPS coaches and QITABI LFs will offer valuable feedback on the alignment of QITABI services. The study also provides valuable recommendations and suggestions, which can inform future initiatives in Lebanon's education sector. The findings of this study will be of interest to policymakers, educators, and researchers, offering valuable guidance for the design and implementation of future education projects in Lebanon and other similar contexts.

Authors

• Dalia Al Ogaily, NYU Global TIES for Children

• Rawan A. Wehbe, World Learning Inc.

• Mirvat Said Merhi, World Learning

• Ha Yeon Kim, Global TIES for Children, New York University; ERICC Consortium

• Joyce Rafla, NYU Global TIES for Children

• Carly Tubbs Dolan, NYU Global TIES for Children