CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Sam Ngaruiya. The Ministry of Education (MoE) with technical support from RTI International are collaborating with four county governments to pilot the Tayari ECDE programme. The objective of Tayari is to develop a cost- effective, scalable, low-cost and quality ECDE model. To maximize the impact of Tayari, the MoE intends to scale-up Tayari. However, the ability to take-up and sustain Tayari rests on the counties’ capacity to ensure a viable ECDE system and meet the critical cost of the model. The ability of the counties to take on a Tayari-type programme requires ample institutional, systemic, organizational and fiscal capacity of the counties to take-up and sustain the model. MoE statistics show that, whereas, access has improved, the quality is affected by non-provision of curriculum-aligned instructional materials in the counties and unclear policy in hiring and continuous professional development of the ECDE officers and teachers. Equally, there are policies at the national level that can be used as guidelines for implementation and management of ECD, but there are still some gaps in policy guidelines for implementation; a study mapping the four Tayari counties and three additional counties found increased investment in ECD infrastructure by the governments This presentation explores how the umbrella policy from the MOE as well as evidence from the Tayari pilot programme’s longitudinal study has informed practice within the four Tayari counties, enabling them to be more responsive to the dynamic policy environment. It also showcases initiatives put in place by the counties to sustain the Tayari implementation in pilot counties.

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Rehemah Nabacwa. This evaluation looks at a large scale reading program in Uganda using a randomized control trial to look at the impact of the School Health and Reading (SHRP) program. This study combines a rigorous external evaluation methodology with the use of a range of 12 different language-specific literacy assessments applied in the 12 languages and communities supported by SHRP. We conclude that significant reading gains are possible in complex, large scale mother tongue reading programs, even within the complex language settings of Uganda. The findings point to language complexity as an important predictor of reading acquisition.

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Peter Muyingo. Education programming worldwide is beginning to include dedicated activities to support a positive school culture. There is evidence, mostly from high income countries, that a positive school climate is associated with improved learning outcomes and attendance, and reduced violence prevalence. In this presentation we will discuss some of the challenges we faced in adapting a school climate survey from the United States for use in an impact study for a program in Uganda that has a dedicated focus on building a positive school climate. The school climate survey was adapted as one of a variety of instruments to be used in the impact evaluation of the USAID/Uganda funded Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity. This Activity, a working partnership with the Uganda Ministry of Education, focuses on improving early grade reading and retention in 28 districts and 2698 schools in Uganda.

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Jessica Mejia. The gradual release of responsibility model has been a primary instructional approach in many early grade literacy programs, including the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity in Kenya. The use of this model dominates literacy instruction for English and Kiswahili in grades one and two. It has been proven successful teaching the very basic skills of literacy at a national scale, rapidly improving learning outcomes in Kenya. The expansion of Tusome to grade 3 by the Kenyan Ministry of Education 2017 required a careful examination of whether and how a precise adherence to the gradual release model is appropriate for higher order skills such as vocabulary, comprehension strategies and writing in Grade 3. Instead, these skills and this grade level lend themselves to a less rigid hold on the gradual release model. When designing Tusome’s Grade 3 instructional materials, a combination of gradual release for the word study and grammar activities and direct instruction for the vocabulary, comprehension and writing activities was used. The leadership of Tusome worked closely with the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development to develop this new set of teaching and learning materials for Grade 3 which will be implemented in the 2018 academic year. This presentation discusses the rationale for a reduction in the adherence to the gradual release model in the design of the Grade 3 materials.

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Dunston Kwayumba. In many developing countries, subjects are taught and tested in the child’s second or third language. In Kenya, for example, all subjects are taught and examined in English, other than languages such as Kiswahili. Understanding how language skills transfer in language complex environments like Kenya is relatively under-researched using empirical methods. Using an explanatory mixed methods design, the proposed research study will use correlation analysis to examine the effect of literacy interventions on learning outcomes in other subjects. It will answer research questions on the effect of literacy intervention on learning outcomes in English, Kiswahili and other subjects taught at class 2 in Kenya. The study will also investigate the perceptions of head teachers, teachers and curriculum support officers on the specific aspects of intervention programs that could be attributed to the improved or lack of improvement in learning outcomes in the non-language subjects. This is a critical research topic given the number of countries that have been engaging in large scale literacy interventions without careful thought on whether the expected and pre-supposed impact on learning outcomes in other subjects is empirically evident. This is essential to creating and sustaining community buy-in into these literacy programs, as it is local communities that are often the most resistant to local language literacy programs given the unclear relationship with learning outcomes in these critical other subjects.

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Matthew Jukes. There is an increased demand for assessments of social and emotional competencies of young children in low- and middle-income countries. These competencies are increasingly seen as important for children’s development and for their education. In the context of preschool and primary education, such assessments have a number of uses. They are used to evaluate the impact of programs on children’s social and emotional learning. They can also be used to monitoring individual children’s progress in such programs and to tailor interventions to their needs. We developed a tool to assess aspects of SEL that are important for children’s education in Tanzania. Using this work as a case study, we describe the challenges inherent in developing such a tool. The tool was developed as part of the USAID Tusome Pamoja preschool program in Mtwara, Southern Tanzania.

CIES 2018 Presentation, given by Rachel Jordan. In Uganda, and many other settings, too few children are learning how to read. In response, countries have embarked on national reading programs. Unfortunately, these programs are rarely evaluated rigorously at a large scale. This paper is based on larger research that efforts looked at the impact of a large-scale mother tongue reading program in Uganda using a randomized control trial in twelve language communities. It also looked at the differences in mother tongue reading acquisition attributed to linguistic differences, differences in program implementation and socioeconomic differences in the communities. The research points to language complexity as an important predictor of reading acquisition. Aspects of this complexity (transparency, tonal markings, agglutination) will be discussed in the 12 languages supported by current early grade reading reform efforts. Tying into language mapping efforts, the paper will also discuss the realities of language mapping on the ground where, for example, regardless of the predominant language spoken by the school community the school language of instruction is decided at the district level.

This CIES 2018 presentation describes the Journeys Program, which focuses on building a positive and supportive school climate for learning which is free from violence. The program was developed under the USAID/Uganda funded Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity, which simultaneously supports the Ministry of Education goals of improving early grade reading and retention and eliminating violence against children in schools. The presentation was given by RTI's Geri Burkholder.

The Uganda Early Years Enrolment and Repetition Study presentation references the work undertaken by RTI International to examine repetition rates and over-enrolment in primary 1 in Uganda, to analyze the financial impact of these inefficiencies in the education sector, and present a cost projection model to examine the impact of investments made to pre-primary and early primary.

The Uganda Early Years Study policy brief describes the findings and presents policy recommendations from the associated research study funded by the British Department for International Development. The study investigates the magnitude of repetition in primary 1 in Uganda, examines the financial impact of repetition, and presents a cost-projection model which underscores the importance of investing in pre-primary and early primary education in reducing inefficiency.