OVERVIEW
Our work in the area of human development will consist of generating evidence that will promote stronger, more inclusive policies and practices for early childhood development, education and youth empowerment systems in Africa. In the stream of work on Education and Technology, we seek to understand how African countries can leverage technology to solve existing and emerging educational challenges.
Education and Youth Empowerment (EYE) – The perspectives of equity, inclusion, and opportunities are the guiding principles for our work in EYE.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) – Our focus is on informing the integration of ECD into the health care system.
Areas of Focus:
Inclusive quality education: Understanding how to make education systems responsive to the learning needs of children and youth from diverse backgrounds. This will include but not be limited to addressing issues of quality, equity, and equality in education across various dimensions such as: education in emergencies, special needs education, urban education, out-of-school children and youth, teaching effectiveness, learning outcomes and assessment, foundational skills, children farthest left behind in schooling opportunities, and building education system resilience during and after emergencies (such as COVID-19).
Gender and Education: Examining how to make education systems in SSA respond to gender disparities and needs in education. This will include addressing issues of gender equity, girls and women education, women in STEM, sexuality education and adolescent3 schooling, policies and practices that promote gender equality, gender friendly schools and curriculum, and engendered teacher development programs among others.
Youth and transition to work: Investigating pathways to the world of work among young people in SSA. This will include but not limited to addressing issues of positive youth development, youth empowerment4 and skills development, skill-building systems, training systems and the future of work, apprenticeship programs for young people, and demand-driven training for work.
Education and Technology: Understanding how countries in SSA could leverage education technology to solve existing and emerging educational challenges. This will include but not be limited to addressing EdTech in contemporary learning spaces, the future of physical classrooms, digital divide, EdTech, and emergencies (e.g., COVID-19), virtual learning technology, innovative pedagogies, curriculum alignment to technology, and student learning.
Higher Education Research: Understanding the impact and value of existing research capacity initiatives, and what works to make higher education systems relevant and sustainable in Africa; and, STEM and national development goals including 21st century skills.
Childcare patterns: Establish ways to promote quality of childcare especially for the urban poor and establish the impact of provision of quality childcare on children’s developmental outcomes. We will also operationalize and prioritize the components of the NCF that heighten child development, particularly among vulnerable children (e.g., those with disabilities) as well as children in marginalized settings such as nomadic pastoralists. Under this program, we will also examine gender roles in childcare with a focus on unpaid care work and its effect on women’s economic empowerment.
Integration of ECD into the health care system: Solidify our focus on informing the integration of ECD into the health care system.
Early care and education (ECE): Establish how to support young children and their families from the prenatal period, through the middle school period at age 8. We will use an approach that promotes equitable access to a high-quality early childhood experience, and consider ways to enhance school readiness as children enter the schooling system at age 4 to ensure schooling success.