A Partner in Education (APIE)

APIE is designing a project which aims to encourage girls' meaningful participation in education in Rwanda by helping to challenge gender norms, encouraging girls to take Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at secondary and promoting knowledge of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). APIE’s vision is for all girls in Rwanda to complete their education in a safe, equal and inclusive learning environment. 

APIE will create and implement: a teacher training programme that educates teachers and Headteachers on gender responsive pedagogies; a PSHE curriculum for upper primary students in Rwanda; a teacher training course in careers guidance, with emphasis on providing female role models in STEM. In its entirety, this project will address upper primary students and lower secondary students. However, we are seeking support from LEAP to develop our evidence base for the upper primary component of the project. APIE will help address the barriers girls aged 11-12 face in their last year of primary, supporting their transition to secondary school.

In Rwanda, the gender disparity in education is very visible at the transition to secondary school with girls less likely than boys to move up from primary school. Girls that do attend secondary school score progressively lower than boys throughout secondary school education and are more likely than boys to drop out (MINEDUC 2021/22). Girls are underrepresented in STEM subjects and are more likely to be unemployed due to a lack of education in the long term (Cozzolino et al. 2022; MINEDUC 2021/22). Barriers to accessing education include:

• Socio-cultural norms can negatively impact school attendance and performance. For example, 92% of girls are likely to hold household responsibilities compared to 56% of boys (Cozzolino et al. 2022).

• Girls report receiving less support at home and school with their education. Students report that teachers are more likely to help boys with their educational aspirations and homework, offer mentorship and provide parent-teacher engagement (Cozzolino et al. 2022).

• There are few female role models at school for girls, especially not in leadership positions. In Rwanda, only 26% of Headteachers are female. Data shows that 84% of girls would rather express their opinions or any problems they are having with a female staff member (Cozzolino et al. 2022).

• Misconceptions are held by students, teachers, Headteachers and parents on gender, for example, most believe that boys are more skilled in maths than girls (Cozzolino et al. 2022).

• Continued belief that boys should be educated first. For example, parents are more likely to invest in boys’ education, reflected in private school enrollment levels (MINEDUC 2021/22).

• Girls generally report having less confidence and lower aspirations for themselves and higher concerns for their safety and future (Cozzolino et al. 2022).

• 10% of sexual abuse reported by girls before the age of 18 happened at school (MOH 2017).

• COVID-19 school closures mean that girls are less likely to return to school, exacerbating the gender gap (UNESCO 2021).

• Misconceptions around pregnancy and menstruation are prevalent in Rwandan schools with 1 in 10 girls reporting menstruation as the reason for school absence (Cozzolino et al. 2022).

Being in school protects girls’ welfare, reducing the risk of forced marriage, early pregnancy, violence and long-term poverty. UNESCO reports that providing a girl with one extra year of education beyond the average boosts her future wages by 20% (UNESCO 2021). Educated women are more likely to strive to provide education for their own children in the future. Educating girls is essential for positive and sustainable peacebuilding without which there is risk of renewed conflict (UNICEF ; Malala Fund 2022).

References

Cozzolino et al. (2022) How evidence is informing the design of girls’ clubs in Rwanda.

Malala Fund (2022) https://malala.org/girls-education?gclid=Cj0KCQjwntCVBhDdARIsAMEwACkYBFMZFHs5VjQA3fy5R8S1HlZfUGkDlKXnE_uKor2BVSR0C6Y08zkaAng6EALw_wcB

Ministry of Education Rwanda (MINEDUC) statistical yearbook 2020/21

Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH). 2017 Violence Against Children and Youth: findings from National Survey, 2015-16. Kigali, Rwanda. 

UNESCO (2021) https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/girlseducation

UNICEF https://www.unicef.org/education/girls-education

In 2013, APIE opened a school in Kigali in partnership with local staff and helped develop a local model of excellence that could ultimately be scaled. The school, Umubano Academy, is recognised by the government and other development partners as a ‘lead school for peace’ in Rwanda. It boasts excellence in academia, inclusion, citizenship and well-being. APIE works with the school community to develop contextually specific and local teacher training projects, which are piloted at Umubano Academy. Our experience from Umubano Academy’s approach to gender equality, where girls are equally represented and successful plus ongoing conversations with teachers and parents, collectively inform our  practice. We have gathered student voices from Umubano Academy and listened to what the students appreciate about the student-centred, positive behaviour management approaches taken at the school. This has also helped us to see gaps in student knowledge and understanding, especially in relation to PSHE provision and careers guidance. This is particularly pertinent to the students from the most vulnerable category in society who attend the school on full scholarships. 

In addition to hearing from the students, APIE has worked alongside the school leadership to listen to parents, co-planning and delivering a parents' workshop and holding termly parents' meetings with the school senior leadership. In these meetings we took note of the areas where parents felt their children required particular support in relation to their PSHE, including aspects of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

In consultation with local teachers in 2018/2019 APIE began creating two outreach teacher training projects: Enhancing Quality Instruction in Pre-Primary (EQUIP) and Education for Positive Peace (E4PP). We researched, designed and created these courses using practical examples from Umubano Academy and other Rwandan classrooms, creating ground-breaking online learning courses for pre- and in-service teachers. Feedback collected from course participants has informed our understanding of the importance of gender responsive pedagogies and helps us develop new content. The videos, photos and written information from EQUIP and E4PP encourage gender mainstreaming and we consciously counter gender stereotyping. 

We have had wider opportunities to interact with teachers and tutors at Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) through our face-to-face workshops around the country, supporting the beneficiaries to engage with our courses. From the discussions and session evaluations, it is clear that educators have noted a gap in the support offered to students in relation to their personal, social and emotional development. Therefore there is  an urgent need to fill this gap with resources and training for those who work closely with students.

APIE’s US board, Friends of APIE has recently created a programme which connects secondary school girls with successful women in the USA, offering them tailored careers mentoring on a variety of topics. This project is named the Girls Inspired by Real Leaders (GIRL) Circle. APIE has already seen the positive impact of this programme with participating girls gaining confidence in achieving their aspirations. We are keen to expand this to earlier year groups, developing a network of local women to participate. 

Through face-to-face interactions, gathering student voice, written evaluations and feedback on our courses and through stakeholder meetings and other interactions, we have identified a pressing need for a multifaceted approach to girls education, to improve girls’ upper primary and lower secondary education experiences. 

Activities

Outputs

Short term outcomes

Medium term outcomes

Long term outcomes

Teacher training on PSHE 

- Upper primary and lower secondary PSHE curriculum created and turned into an eLearning module for teachers.

- One teacher per school trained.

Students gain access to knowledge on:

Personal responsibility; self management; social skills; study skills; personal hygiene; healthy eating/lifestyles; relationships; growth mindset; active citizenship.

- Girls have better overall attendance and are less likely to drop out. 

- Girls have better confidence in their personal lives. 

- Increased numbers of girls transition to secondary school.

- Students develop and strengthen their social and emotional skills and life skills. 

-More girls complete their secondary school education.

- Children develop personal responsibility and the skills required to make good choices for themselves, maximise their life chances and be healthy and productive members of their families, communities and the world at large.

Teacher training on careers guidance 

- eLearning modules created.

- Videos created on Rwandan women in STEM

- Targeted at upper primary and lower secondary.

- One teacher per school trained.

- Students receive career guidance during school hours.

- Students have access to videos of Rwandan women in STEM

- Students better understand routes to employment, are encouraged to take STEM subjects and have access to female role models at school.

- More girls take STEM at secondary school. 

- Increased numbers of girls go onto further education, including an increase in girls choosing STEM subjects to study.

Teacher training on gender responsive pedagogies 

eLearning modules created, cross cutting with PSHE and careers guidance teacher training above. 

Teachers use inclusive teaching methodologies and treat all students equally

- Student learning outcomes and classroom experience improves. 

- Improved attendance. 

Girls complete their secondary school education.

- Removal of gender-bias in schools.

Headteacher training on gender responsive school leadership, implementing the PSHE curriculum and supporting careers advice

eLearning modules created and face to face training developed, cross cutting with PSHE and careers guidance teacher training above. 

- Headteacher able to carry out quality assurance checks on PSHE teaching, careers guidance and gender responsive pedagogies. 

- Headteachers assess any potential for change within their schools to support a gender responsive learning environment.

- Headteachers enact gender responsive change to their schools. 

- Headteachers are better able to support their teachers in teaching PSHE and offering careers guidance 

- Improved enrollment, retention and attainment.

- A shift in the whole school attitude towards the importance of girls’ education.

- Quality education for the whole school improved, enabling Rwanda to better achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4. 

APIE considers itself to be ‘level 2’ on Nesta’s Standards of Evidence spectrum: “you capture data that shows positive change, but you cannot confirm you caused this”. We currently use the following methods to gather evidence to inform our theory of change: 

• Our experience supporting teachers and students at our model school, Umubano Academy. We collect feedback from our regular in-school continued professional development training for teachers and frequently observe lessons, review curriculum content and check-in with the leadership team;

• APIE’s consultation with a range of stakeholders allows us to review current research, compare and collect data. This includes schools which are implementing our teacher training projects, TTCs, Civil Society organisations working in the same field, local authorities and the Rwandan Education Board. 

• APIE conducts desk based research to ensure our projects are relevant to the context of Rwanda, using recent MINEDUC statistics. 

APIE currently uses the following to evaluate our approach to girls education:

• Pre- and post course tests to explore knowledge acquisition of participants;

• Lesson observations and school environment observations to consider change before and after the intervention;

• Pre- and post course evaluations to provide self-assessment particularly related to change in behaviour, confidence and attitude;

• Attendance and academic performance data.

APIE gathers baseline and endline data from participants through carefully constructed tests and evaluations. During the training, we have an ongoing approach to feedback collection and use forums such as WhatsApp, surveys such as Google Forms and conduct one-to-one check-ins. We triangulate our data using lesson and school observations and focus groups.  At Umubano Academy, we carry out ongoing impact measurements through our School Improvement Plan, quality assurance activities, student voice gathering activities and staff evaluation and reflections. 

This is carried out by our Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant and/or our Education Director in Rwanda. 

Encouraging girls' meaningful participation in education in Rwanda, helping challenge gender norms, increasing STEM subject uptake and improving PSHE knowledge.

APIE needs support from LEAP to: 

1. Develop evaluation and data collection tools for the whole project, which will help us evidence our findings;

2. Gather baseline data from Umubano Academy and participating schools;

3. Carry out impact assessment evaluation at Umubano Academy.

This would allow us to test any assumptions from our theory of change and gather evidence of impact throughout the project’s duration. LEAP would help us answer the following research questions:

1. Does providing PSHE education improve girls' school attendance and transitions to secondary school? How?

2. Does access to careers guidance and female role models in STEM alter students' subject choice at secondary school and beyond?

3. Does gender responsive teacher training for teachers and Headteachers improve girls’ school experience, attendance rates and attainment levels? 

4. Do Headteachers who have undergone gender responsive teacher training make adaptations to improve school environments for girls?

Deliverables:

• A set of tools to evaluate teacher and student experience of: careers advice to include baseline and endline questionnaires; the PSHE curriculum; gender inclusive teaching.   

• An evaluation of Umubano Academy’s GIRL Circle careers advice project. 

• A case study of the impact of gender inclusive teaching practices at Umubano Academy on girls education journeys, including students who have now graduated. 

• An evaluation of what gender responsive school leadership looks like in practice. 

APIE understands the importance of evidence informed practice for sustainable development and is keen to increase our evidence base, so that our new girls project will have maximum impact in Rwanda. We plan to apply for at least two grants to launch our project and having a stronger connection to evidence will strengthen our applications and consequently the success of the project.

With support from LEAP, APIE envisions this project having the potential to ensure that girls in Rwanda receive a quality, safe, inclusive and equitable education, maximising their future life chances removed from gender bias.