The attached survey instruments were used to analyze various learning materials as part of the Survey of Children's Reading Materials in African Languages in Eleven Countries (part of the DERP program).

The purpose of the Reading Materials Survey was to develop an approach to collecting information on the available supply of early grade reading (EGR) materials. The approach included the development of a questionnaire and a protocol for data collection. The survey results will serve primarily to inform the Global Reading Repository by providing a detailed description of the current supply of EGR materials in African languages. This document specifically summarizes the findings from Early Grade Reading Materials Survey conducted in Malawi.

The purpose of the Reading Materials Survey was to develop an approach to collecting information on the available supply of early grade reading (EGR) materials. The approach included the development of a questionnaire and a protocol for data collection. The survey results will serve primarily to inform the Global Reading Repository by providing a detailed description of the current supply of EGR materials in African languages in the following 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

In 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), developed a project to improve primary education and implementation of the National Primary Curriculum. The Malawi Teacher Professional Development Support (MTPDS) project, as it is known, included five major results areas related to improving teaching policy, teacher performance, early grade literacy, primary teaching and learning materials, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. While many of the inputs designed to support these objectives took place on a national scale, a specific reading improvement program was designed and delivered in two districts in order to determine its effectiveness on a small scale. This report describes the impact of the intervention, evaluated based on a rigorous three-year randomized control trial (RCT) design.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malawi Teacher Professional Development Support (MTPDS) project is a three-year activity supporting the professional development of teachers in Malawi and implementation of the National Primary Curriculum (NPC) with the goal of improving early grade reading and performance of learners. This report presents the results from a nationally representative study of primary school learners’ early grade reading skills in the Chichewa language, undertaken near the beginning of the school year, in November 2012. It is the third in a series of national samples designed to identify overall skills and gaps in order to inform national-level policies and strategies and determine the influence of policies and projects to address reading over time.

A two day workshop on November 12 and 13, 2014 brought together 26 education stakeholders, including representatives of the Department for Inspection and Advisory Services, The Department of Basic Education, the Department for Teacher Education and Development, the Malawi Institute for Education, Domasi College of Education, Teacher Training Colleges, and the Centre for Education, Research and Training. Staff from the USAID Malawi Early Grade Reading Activity also participated as did representatives of USAID/Malawi.