| Period of Performance: | October 4, 2004 through October 3, 2006 |
Themes:
Active Learning, teacher professional development, local didactic material development, video for teacher support
Background:
It is well documented that the educational system in the DRC has been seriously compromised by war and political instability. The most glaring problems include lack of financial resources, underqualified teachers, lack of learning materials, barriers for girls seeking education, and irrelevant educational content. Education must be made relevant for it to become attractive to students and for parents to be convinced that sending their children to school is a worthwhile investment. Exceptional cases do exist where teachers are able to draw on the resources in the immediate environment of the children, allowing them to be hands-on involved in their own learning process. Other strengths exist as well, such as a strong demand for education, the resilience of the Congolese people, community self reliance, and strong links between churches, religious communities, and schools.
As a follow-on to the dot-EDU pilot activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Oct. 2002-Sept 2004), EDC activities are being expanded to reach a greater number of educators, community members, and students and aim to have longer-term impact in the communities targeted by the initiative in the provinces of Bas Congo, Bandundu, and Equateur.
Project Goals:
- Show gains in improved teaching practices via video-enhanced teacher professional development and teacher support;
- Provide teachers and students with increased access to learning materials, textbooks, and kits via the effective distribution of materials and the establishment of technology-enhanced Learning Resource Networks;
- Increase community participation in education, management and outreach activities;
- Increase and improve girls participation in school via an appropriate and sound strategy developed in coordination with girls’ scholarship program; and
- Contribute to increased access, retention, and achievement of students, especially girls, in the target areas via a combination of project inputs.
Selected Achievements to Date:
- Conducted the first of three training modules in active pedagogy, production of didactic materials and lesson planning for:
- 54 trainers
- 720 teachers and
- 120 school directors
- Distributed 840 kits to teachers and school directors
- Carried out on-going school-based, video enhanced teacher support and observation.
List of Implementing Partners:
- Education Development Center (EDC)
- The Academy for Educational Development (AED)
- Intercultural Center for Research in Education (INCRE)
- International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH)
- The Mitchell Group (TMG)
For more information, please contact:
- EDC Project Director, Sonia Arias, sarias@edc.org
- EDC Chief of Party, Francine Ahouanmenou-Agueh, FAhouanmenou-Agueh@edc.org
- EDC Project Coordinator, Konjit Hailu, khailu@edc.org
main | about dot-edu | projects | contact | site map
