ATTACHMENT_7_-_PROJECT_AIDE_FINAL_REPORT_2014.pdf

Djibouti Projet AIDE July 10, 2014

Final Technical Report

FHI 360

Djibouti Education Program Phase IV

Associate Cooperative Agreement No. 623-LA-10-09-00001

Under Leader Award No. GDG-A-00-03-00008-00

Final Report

Revision Submitted to USAID on July 10, 2014

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Table of Contents

Acronyms 1

Introduction 3

Section 1: Overview and Background 4

Section 2: Activities and Outputs by Sub Element and Component 10

Section 3: Outcomes and Challenges by Sub Element and Component 66

Section 4: Lessons Learned, Challenges and Implications for Sustainability 70

Appendix

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Acronyms

(Usage note: sometimes the French acronym is used in English without translation)

AFD French Development Agency

AGSP Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Program

ANEFIP National Agency for Employment Data, Training, and Job Placement (Ministry of

Labor)

COP Chief of Party

CFFB Balbala Women’s Training Center

CFPA Adult Center for Professional Training

CFPEN Center for Initial and In-Service Teacher-Training (Ministry of Education)

CRIPEN MENFOP’s book design and publishing center

DPI Department of Planning and Information at MENFOP

ED*Assist FHI360’s master program and software powering MENFOP’s databases

EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment

EMIS Education Management Information System

FASE School Report Card (physical status of the school)

GORD Government of the Republic of Djibouti

IFESH International Foundation for Education Self-Help

MEDA Methods for teaching pupils with difficulties

MENESUP MOE Ministry of National Education and of Tertiary Education (ended May

2011)

MENFOP MOE Ministry of National Education and of Professional Education (since May

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2011)

FQEL Fundamental Quality of Education Levels (NFQE in French)

PASP Projet AIDE Scholarship Program

PTA Parent Teacher Association

SETP Technical & Professional Education Service at MENFOP

TRC Teacher Resource Center

USAID United States Agency for International Development

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Introduction

This final technical report covers the implementation period (December 1, 2009 through

November 30, 2013) of Djibouti Projet AIDE (Assistance International pour le Developpement de l’Education), and summarizes the key activities and results during this period. Projet AIDE was the local name of the project from its original contract in 2003. This was the fourth round of funding for Projet AIDE provided under the EQUIP 2 LWA. The project was also referred to in the Cooperative Agreement as the Djibouti Education Program Phase IV; however, for the purposes of this report, we will use the name – Projet AIDE – as the program was known to all local partners in Djibouti.

The report is divided into the following four sections:

Section 1 presents an overview of Projet AIDE highlighting changes in the program components and work plan over the four years and ending with a table that compares the changes to result language under each sub element and component.

Section 2 is organized by sub element and component and presents the detailed, evolving story of the major activities under each of the sub elements. There is a summary of outputs achieved during the four years at the end of each sub element or component.

Section 3 provides a brief summary of the outcomes, which were accomplished under each sub element and component and the related challenges.

Section 4 provides final conclusions – focusing on lessons learned, overall challenges and implications for sustainability. Finally, the four year PMP for core OP indicators is included as an appendix.

It is important to note that the report uses two different names for the Ministry of Education

MENESUP and MENFOP. This reflects the reorganization at the end of 2011 when the Ministry took on responsibility for Professional and Technical Training (from the Ministry of

Employment).

FHI 360 would like to express its gratitude to the United States Agency for International

Development (USAID) and all of the counterparts at MENFOP for the cooperation and support provided throughout the four years. Through strong partnership, Projet AIDE made major contributions to the improving the quality of primary education in Djibouti over the past four years and left in place critical systems and tools for management of the system.

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Section 1: Overview and Background

Background and Initial Program Design

The EQUIP 2/Djibouti Education Program Phase IV (referred to hereafter as Projet AIDE), built on a strong foundation of six years of USAID financial support to the education sector in

Djibouti beginning in 2003. As an external evaluation pointed out1, Projet AIDE had introduced some important innovations introduced in between 2003 and 2009 including the following:

1. The development and implementation of a coherent in-service teacher process with a training plan, manuals and regular delivery of in service teacher training.

2. The new way in which communities relate to schools through government-recognized PTAs, empowered by training.

3. Successful USG, FDA funded and UNICEF implemented national awareness campaigns that have had a positive impact on changing public awareness and parental attitudes towards girls’ education, especially in rural areas.

4. A successful pilot project for building marketable professional skills among out of school youth, especially girls and young women living in the townships.

5. The use of a new planning tool (FQEL) making the Planning Division’s EMIS data more user friendly to support school based planning.

The focus of Phase 3 (2009 to 2013) of Projet AIDE was to sustain these important innovations and to focus on systems and policy reform in three broad areas:

1. Decentralized Teacher Training

2. Strengthened Strategic Information Capacity (EMIS and decentralized planning and budgeting)

3. Increase Opportunities for Out of School Youth and Sustained Community Participation through PTAs

There was the possibility for a fourth component focused on vocational education that would build on the pilot for out of school youth under component three. The fourth component was conditioned on the availability of funding, which never materialized.

During the first two years of Projet AIDE, the project focused on these three broad areas. One small adjustment was made, at the request of USAID, to the structure of these three components by moving the sustained community participation activity to component 2 in order to emphasize the systems and policy aspect of this activity.

Alignment with USAID Education Strategy in Year 3 – Focus on Early Grade Reading

1 USAID commissioned an external evaluation by Frank Dahl of Agurrie International in 2009.

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In Year 3, there was a shift in the design of the program strategy to align with the March 2011

USAID Education Strategy. (These changes did not result in a modification of the program description as all of the programmatic changes fell under existing sub elements and the structure of the program design and reporting elements was kept intact.) Projet AIDE was asked to intensify the focus of the decentralized teacher training component and most of the other components (except Out of School Youth) on the new USAID strategic Goal 1 of improving early grade reading. While reading was the most important area for teacher training in years 1 and 2, it now became the sole focus of content for teacher training in years three and four.

Moreover, we put special emphasis on developing improved teaching techniques for teachers for grades 1-3 and agreed to carry out an early grade reading assessment (EGRA). The other project interventions—particularly EMIS and community participation through PTAs – were also refocused on supporting the overall objective of improving early grade reading. The importance of improving the teaching of reading was partly reflected in the content of teacher training in years 1 and 2; however, it now became the sole focus of the content of Projet AIDE’s support of decentralized teacher training beginning in year 3.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education asked USAID to continue to support two key areas that were increasingly important priorities for Djibouti education. The change in the Ministry’s name from MENESUP to MENFOP – reflected the increased importance of professional and technical training at the basic education level. MENFOP now oversaw regional and national professional and technical training centers. The Ministry was especially interested in preparing young Djiboutian children for the workforce. They requested that a new component be introduced to develop teaching materials for middle school English and also to continue the out of school youth component. Given Djibouti’s strategic and economic advantages, the need to speak English is recognized as an increasingly essential skill for the work place. The Ministry also saw the importance of the new training model – which built partnerships between training centers and the private sector – for improving the quality and relevance of professional and technical training.

Resulting changes in the Year 3 and Year 4 Work Plans

In the Year 3 work plan, USAID requested that we distinguish between components that would support early grade reading, directly and indirectly, and two activities which were recognized as transitional phase out activities – Middle School English and the Out of School Youth component. FHI 360’s narrative for the Year 3 Work Plan divided these activities into two parts

– Part A for activities tied to USAID Goal 1 Early Grade Reading and Part B for the transitional phase out activities (which were high priorities for MENFOP) as described below.

Part A: Early Grade Reading Activities which Align Projet AIDE with Goal 1 of USAID

Global Strategy:

1. Decentralized teacher training now included two elements – the improvement of early grade reading instruction and EGRA.

a. Early Grade Reading instructional strategy: The Djibouti approach to reading was based on the Approche Communicatif (a balanced approach which uses both

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phonics and whole language methods) and La Pedagogie Differencie (organizing children in small groups based on slow, medium and fast learners). This technical approach was in place for a long time and was quite successful early on.

However, the explosion of enrollment rates over the past decade and the entry of new teachers into the system who are not well trained in these methods has weakened quality. The project would use the new school based teacher support and coaching delivery method to help give teachers the confidence to use the new methods.

b. EGRA and impact evaluation strategy: Projet AIDE also agreed to work closely with the Ministry to implement an Early Grade Reading Assessment

(EGRA). The Year 3 Plan also included an emphasis on impact evaluation and measuring results of our work in teacher education and all other components.

Projet AIDE worked very closely with MENFOP’s new evaluation unit in Year 3 and 4 to carry out and write the EGRA baseline report.

2. Wrap around activities to reinforce early grade reading interventions: Projet AIDE also agreed to develop activities and tools in other key program components – EMIS, Planning, Community Participation and Girls Scholarships - to directly support the early grade reading strategy. These wrap around activities included:

a. EMIS and Planning: Projet AIDE was to increase the capability of the Djibouti

EMIS system to collect data on factors affecting early grade reading. This included but was not to be limited to collecting data on EGRA and other test results, and using the French funded school based OPAD system – collecting data on teacher and student absenteeism.

b. Community Participation: PTAs were to be trained to analyze FQEL and school report card tools to develop school improvement plans and small grant projects to support improved early grade reading.

c. Projet AIDE Scholarship Program (PASP): Projet AIDE was also asked to pick up the management 1000 scholarships for girls and boys who had been funded under the Ambassador Girls Scholarship Project (AGSP), which ended in

July 2011. FHI 360 ran AGSP under a separate mechanism which facilitated the transition of coordinating scholarships under Projet AIDE. This also made sense as it folded into the Projet AIDE’s cross cutting gender strategy. To build the linkage to early grade reading, older girls and boys who received scholarships were required to tutor Grade 1-3 children in nearby primary schools in reading as part of a community service activity.

Part B: Transition Activities that did not Fall under Goal 1

1. Middle School English: In response to the request by MENFOP, USAID asked Projet

AIDE to provide support to produce materials and train teachers to improve the teaching of Middle School English. This initiative was an important campaign promise on the part of the President of Djibouti to make young Djiboutians more marketable in the sub region where English is the dominant language of business.

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2. Learning for Out of School Youth: Projet AIDE agreed to continue to support MENFOP in its effort to prepare older children who have dropped out of school with marketable professional skills.

Maintaining the Same Work Plan and Reporting Structure

All of these activities were folded into the sub elements that were part of the approved program description. In fact, many of the changes, particularly with respect to decentralized teacher training, were not major departures from the original program description, rather they reflected refinements in operational strategies. For example, the original program description emphasized a focus on improving the teaching early grade reading. The new work plan tightened the link of the other project activities to the support of reading and specifically highlighted the use of a new tool, EGRA, to carry out a baseline survey to measure reading. The new activities, English and

Scholarships, were woven in under the existing sub elements. English was folded into decentralized teacher training and the PASP Scholarships under gender activities.

FHI 360, therefore, reported on the continuing and new activities under the same Element and

Sub Element structure. The chart below shows a comparison of the major results under each sub element – comparing the changes between Years 1 and 2, and Years 3 and 4.

Table 1: Projet AIDE component descriptions comparisons before/after redesign – structure same for consistent reporting but content under each Sub Element modified.

Components Year 1-2 Components Years 3-4

Sub Element 1: Improved Education

Systems

1.1 - Decentralized teacher training –

Early Grade Reading

Result 1: MENESUP develops and applies a national training plan and policy

Result 2: MENESUP is enabled to promote continuous professional development for primary school teachers through effective management of the six

TRCs and through an active system of school based training

Sub Element 1 Improved Education Systems

1.1 Decentralized teacher training – Early

Grade Reading and Middle School English

Result 1. Strengthen the capacity of regional directorates to plan and take charge of their own strategies of academic supervision of their personnel (teachers, principals, school counselors) who are responsible for pupils’ reading instruction in primary years 1-2-3

Result 2: MENFOP promotes a system for assessing the impact of training on student achievement through an active system of school-based supervision (includes EGRA)

Result 3: English teachers are using new materials and improved curriculum to provide 42,000 children in Middle school with English language skills

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1.2 Improved use of strategic

information for planning and budgeting

Result 1: MENESUP is enabled to use the

NFQE (FQEL) and other planning tools to decentralize the budgeting for education-planning in regions and schools

1.2. Improved use of strategic information for

planning

Result 1: MENFOP enabled to use the planning tool School Report Card, which includes the process for decentralized planning in primary schools with focus on indicators for early grade reading

1.3 Mobilization of Community

Participation

Result 1: Education systems are improved through direct participation of stakeholders in the community in organized Parent Teacher Associations

(PTAs)

1.3 Mobilization of Community Participation

Result 1: Education system is improved through participation of stakeholders thru small grants

(focusing grants on improving reading and girls retention)

Sub Element 2: Host Country Strategic

Information Capacity (EMIS)

Result 1: MENESUP is enabled to collect, analyze, process, and report accurate education data

Sub Element 2: Host country strategic information capacity (EMIS)

Result 1: MENFOP is enabled to collect, analyze, process, and report accurate education data

Sub Element 3. Out of School Youth

Result1: MENESUP’s Service de l’Enseignment Technique et Professionelle

(SETP) is enabled to assist out-of-school youth with options for training and employment

Sub Element 3 – Out of School Youth

Result1: MENESUP’s Service de l’Enseignment

Technique et Professionelle (SETP) is enabled to assist out-of-school youth with options for training and employment

Gender Strategy Mainstreaming in

Education Systems

Result 1: Gender strategies are integrated into Projet AIDE components and activities

Gender Mainstreaming in Education Systems

Result 1: Gender strategies are integrated into

Projet AIDE activities

Result 2: 1000 middle and secondary school students, mainly girls, all former AGSP

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participants will receive the support needed to complete school years 2011-12 and 2012-13

Staffing and Technical Assistance

The Projet AIDE Phase IV staff was organized to support the main components of the program.

There were three Senior Advisors (two of which were Third Country Nationals from West

African countries) who supported Decentralized Teacher Education/Early Grade Reading, EMIS and Community Mobilization/Out of School Youth. There were two program coordinators – one who oversaw Gender and M&E and one who managed the Projet AIDE scholarship program.

The Chief of Party oversaw operational management of the program and also supported the

Middle School English Component. All components had one short term consultant who periodically provided support (this was the case for teacher training, English and Gender). In the case of EMIS platform and the EGRA activities, a small team of experts, with specific expertise, supported these activities.

The core team was intentionally kept small given the aim of building capacity of MENFOP staff to carry out all program activities. The long term program advisors role was to both build capacity of and support their MENFOP counterparts to produce the plans, tools and products the project supported over the four years.

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Section 2: Activities and Outputs by Sub Element and Component

This Section provides a narrative of the Project’s Story for each sub element and component and explains how our work evolved, highlighting the accomplishments and outputs over the four years of Projet AIDE. The outputs are presented in a box at the end of each sub element and component.

Sub Element 1: Improved Education Systems

Sub element 1 is broken up into three components the project focused on to strengthen systems and policies – decentralized teacher training, improving education planning through the use of strategic information, and improving community participation through PTAs.

Component 1.1 - Decentralized teacher training – Early Grade Reading (EGR)

A) Results for Decentralized Teacher Training - EGR:

Result 1.1.a: MENESUP capacity to develop and implement a national teacher education training plan and policy is improved (version of Result in Years 1 and 2).

Result 1.1a: The capacity of MENFOP regional offices to plan and take charge of their own strategies of academic supervision of their personnel (teachers, principals, school counselors) who are responsible for pupils’ reading instruction in primary years 1-2-3 (revision of Result for Year 3 and 4).

Result 1.1b: MENESUP is enabled to promote continuous professional development for primary school teachers through effective management of the six TRCs and through an active system of school based training (version of Result in Years 1 and 2).

Result 1.1b: MENFOP promotes a system for assessing the impact of training on student achievement through an active system of school based supervision (revision of Result for

Years 3 and 4).

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B) Activities for Decentralized Teacher Training - EGR in Approved Work Plans for Years

1 to 4: Planned vs. Implemented

The following table provides information on whether all work plan activities were completed as planned and provides reasons for delays or cancellation.

Activity

Number

Description of Activity Activity

Status

Reason for delay, lack of completion or cancellation

Decentralized Teacher Education – Early Grade Reading

Year 1 – EGR

3.2.1 7A.1.01

Finalize 2009-10 In Set Teacher

Ed Plan & Revise 2009-11 Plan

Completed

3.2.1.7A.1.02 Strategy to formalize and reinforce Steering Committee for

In Service Teacher Education

Completed

3.2.17A.1.03 Implement National Plan in training workshops with focus on reading

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.01 Finalize National Teacher

Training Policy

Delayed;

Completed in

Year 2

Policy Process complex, took longer than expected

3.2.1.7A.2.02 Develop Strategy to motivate teachers and directors to participate in decentralized training

Completed -teacher awards in selected regions

3.2.1.7A.2.03 Train CPs and Directors in use of computers in TRCs

Completed by year 2

Coordination of trainings took longer than expected

3.2.1.7A.2.04 CFPEN produces digital materials using teachers in classrooms

Completed by year 2

Coordination of production of

CD/DVDs took

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longer than expected

3.2.1.7A.2.05 Improve systems for and train

TRC managers

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.06 CFPEN expands scope of services for TRCs

Completed

3.2.1.7A.3.01 Design study on teacher practices and student learning for 2009-12

Completed over life of project

Selected regions accomplished studies dependent on strong leaders

Year 2 – EGR

3.2.1.7A.1.01 Design of National plan for In

Service Teacher Training 2011-

Cancelled Implemented 2010-

11 plan and then shifted to support of regional planning

3.2.17A.1.02 Reinforce capacity of the teacher training Steering Committee

Completed

(continuation of year 1)

3.2.1.7A.1.03 Implement National Plan in training workshops with focus on reading

Completed

3.2.1.7A.1.04 Implement National Plan of 3 workshops for Inspectors

Completed

3.2.1.7A.1.05 Implement National Plan for workshops for CFPEN Evaluation

Cell

Canceled Change in policies of where to house evaluation cell –

3.2.1.7A.1.06 Complete National Policy for In

Service training

Completed but not approved

(carry over from year 1)

Beyond manageable interest of the

Project; SG decided to drop policy

3.2.1.7A.1.07 Develop and implement system for impact of in service on

Delayed Initial planning for

EGRA intervention carried out but

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teachers and students complex negotiations with MENESUP

3.2.1.7A.2.01 Develop teacher resource management training module and train TRC personnel

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.02 Develop strategy to motivate teachers and directors to participate in decentralized training

Completed in selected regions

Depended on leadership from regional managers

3.2.1.7A.3.01 Train Pedagogical advisors, directors and teacher trainers in use of ICT to produce training materials

Completed – carry over from year 1

3.2.1.7A.3.02 Develop of CD Roms and DVDs for teachers and directors focused on reading

Completed – carry over from year 1

Year 3 – EGR

3.2.1.7A.1.01 Develop 2011-12 Regional

Action plans for school based teacher training (SBT)

Completed Completed in 4 of 6 districts (capital city districts leadership not able to implement)

3.2.1.7A.1.02 Assess early grade reading methods and recommend improvement and creation of supplemental materials

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.01 Implement training on early grade reading for teachers in 6 regions

Completed Same as activity 01 above

3.2.1.7A.2.02 Implement strategy of school based supervision in 6 regions

Completed Same as above as activity 01 above

3.2.1.7A.2.03 Support strategic planning, training and monitoring of

Completed

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regional training

3.2.1.7A.2.04 Support diagnostic evaluation of reading skills of students (EGRA)

Delayed Complex discussions with MENFOP over where EGRA would be housed

3.2.1.7A.2.05 Develop strategy to motivate teachers and directors to participate in decentralized training

Completed Depended on dynamic leadership from regional managers

Year 4 – EGR

3.2.1.7A.1.01 Build capacity of MENFOP and

Regional Offices to monitor and evaluate regional training

Completed

3.2.1.7A.1.02 Use EGRA results to develop remediation strategy for reading problems found in grades 1-5

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.01 Build capacity of MENFOP and their regional offices to implement teacher training and produce tools for reading in 7 regions

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.02 Implement school based training plan in 7 regions

Completed

3.2.1.7A.2.03 The MENFOP regional offices are able to use equipment and materials procured for 7 regions

Partially completed

Project handed over equipment to

MENFOP but

MENFOP never distributed equipment as agreed to 7 regions

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Overview and Context: In years one and two, the project focused on support to CFPEN (the national teacher training college) and related MENESUP departments responsible for in service teacher training and support to develop and implement national plans for teacher training for all

10 Districts and national level implementation via CFPEN. In years 3 and 4, the project focused on building decentralized capacity to develop and implement regional plans. Projet AIDE focused support on regional education offices. In the first two years of the project, the implementation focus was to utilize the TRCs as the focal point of decentralized teacher training.

This strategy met with mixed success. The project did not accomplish its target of making all of the TRCs more functional given the uneven leadership commitment (some regional managers made the TRC effective, most did not) and a lack of investment by MENESUP to support internet connection and full time staff. The focus from year 3 on was shifted to work with the regional offices on providing training as close to the schools as possible through the School

Based Training (SBT) approach. This approach still used the TRC as anchors for professional development (Pedagogical Advisors used them to prepare for training and sometimes as venues for TOTs), but shifted the focus to a mobile strategy of facilitating the Pedagogical Advisors to deliver training and support in clusters of schools (zones) or individual schools. CFPEN continued their national core training without Projet AIDE support. The content focus of training throughout the project was on improving the teaching of early grade reading.

A narrative of the major activities and accomplishments in this component is provided following this outline:

1. National teacher training planning in Years 1 and 2

2. Regional teacher training planning Years 3 and 4

3. Development of Teacher training policy Year 1 and 2

4. Implementation of Teacher Training – cascade approach via CFPEN in Years 1 and 2

5. Implementation of Teacher Training - School Based Training via Regional Offices in

Years 3 and 4

6. Strengthening of Teacher Resource Centers (TRCs) in Years 1 and 2

7. Implementation of EGRA Baseline in Years 3 and 4

Activity 1: National Teacher Training Plans Year 1 and 2: Under an earlier agreement, Projet

AIDE supported MENESUP’s first annual teacher training plan for 2008-09 and then a subsequent 2 year plan for 2009-11. These plans were a major factor in improving consistent delivery and the quality of in service teacher education. In the first two years of the project, Projet AIDE focused on improving the implementation and monitoring of the 2009-11 national in service training plan.

Projet AIDE’s Senior Advisor for teacher training worked at the national level to help CFPEN and the relevant Ministry departments responsible for supporting basic education in Djibouti-ville and the five rural regions to work together in planning, coordination and evaluation of the

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trainings. Projet AIDE helped these groups set up coordination structures and develop analysis of the prior year’s training to ensure that MENESUP was using evidence to improve the quality of training.

Projet AIDE assisted the Ministry to put in place a coordination structure – the Steering Committee

(composed of the CFPEN-Director, the three Primary

School Inspectors Referent in charge of Teacher

Training, one coordinating Teacher Advisor from

CFPEN and the Basic Education Office, and the Projet

AIDE Teacher Training Coordinator and three Technical Groups to plan and monitor training through regular meeting). The Steering Committee held monthly meetings in order to follow up regularly on monitoring of the teacher training plan. The three Primary School Referent inspectors chaired one of the technical groups, which focused on training for three target group -

Pedagogical Advisors, school directors and teachers.

Activity 3: Teacher Training Policy (Years 1 and 2 only): The purpose of the national policy document was to establish the legal framework to determine the national objectives, the administrative structures, the human resources (both trainers and trainees), the intellectual means, and the financial requirements to sustain effective in-service education. A policy would address broader issues such as the link between in service training and career advancement that continued to plague the system. The development of the policy was co-funded by USAID through Projet AIDE and the African Development Bank.

Both Projet AIDE and the African Development Bank fielded consultants to assist the Ministry in developing the plan. Project AIDE’s Chief of Party worked closely with the director of

CFPEN to keep the development of the document on schedule. Projet AIDE supported wide consultations to finalize the document and worked closely with all important stakeholders to produce the final draft.

Activity 4: Implementation of Teacher Training –

Cascade Approach via CFPEN (Years 1 and 2)

In the first two years of the project, the focus was on building foundational skills and better defined roles in the support of teachers for Pedagogical Advisors and School Directors. The Projet AIDE team worked with CFPEN and other central trainers to organize a series of three action planning workshops per year for

Pedagogical Advisors and School Directors. The

Pedagogical Advisors were then tasked to implement guided training in the regions for teachers. School

SBT in Tadjourah using the training materials provided by USAID.

Tadjourah: reading basics learned from the

EGRA test turned into classroom teaching techniques.

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Directors were empowered to be improved educational and instructional managers at their schools.

At the same time, Projet AIDE supported Pedagogical Advisors and CFPEN to begin working on modules for the teaching of early grade reading. The modules pulled from materials that already existed in the system including the training modules created between 2006-2008 by Pedagogical

Advisors under the guidance of a Belgian expert from the BIEF using the skills-based approach

(l’Approche par les Compétences or APC) and the materials from the Approche Communicatif for reading. This approach combines both the whole language approach and the phonics approach (known as Approche Combinatoire in French).

School Directors were trained in multiple skills to help them in their roles as a school manager and an instructional leader. However, it was recognized in year 2 that the school director trainings were not addressing the specific challenges for school directors in small rural schools. As a result, a separate training was designed by CFPEN and MENESUP with Projet

AIDE assistance to meet their specific challenges for rural school directors who often have a full time teaching load. These challenges included the need to organize multi-grade classes, to work in a school-community where the social context is often unknown, and to communicate and help organize parents who are generally illiterate and nomadic.

The following table provides a description of the specific skills Pedagogical Advisors and School

Directors over the first two years of the project

Table 2: Foundational Skills to Support Teachers in Early Grade Reading

Pedagogical Advisor Skills School Director Skills

Producing work plans with reading modules to cover the two-year training period 2009-2011

Writing effective site-reports and providing technical guidance to individual teachers through sequential observations

Establishing personal learning portfolios and evaluation portfolios

Planning for learning reading in the first two

Designing, implementing, and evaluating a school project

Leading the educational management needed for dialogue and initiatives within the school community

Teacher observation and analyzing the professional practices of the teaching staff

Building an on-going system of training, SBT Training in As-Eyla with focus on enriching the classroom walls with language-visuals.

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elementary cycles - building-blocks of learning to read in these cycles

Managing the integration of the two cycles

Assessing pupils with learning difficulties in the third year

Assessing and remediation of learning-to-read for pupils in the first cycle and second cycle teacher support and evaluation at school level

Producing written plans to support teachers in school (topics on reading in the first primary cycle, and on writing in the second cycle)

Specialized skills for School Directors in small rural schools

Activity 5: Implementation of Teacher Training School Based Training (SBT) Years 3 and 4:

By working at the national level, largely with and through CFPEN over the first two years, Projet

AIDE was reliant on a “cascade training” model where skills were transferred to teachers without significant direct involvement by the project. Projet AIDE trained Pedagogical Advisors who were in turn expected to transfer those skills to teachers mostly through workshops. Projet AIDE did monitor training through periodic visits to schools and teacher workshops. Projet AIDE's monitoring of the cascade-training in the field found that the system was not working effectively to support teachers.

CFPEN could correctly attest that every teacher received an annual minimum of training and could report that the module information had been transferred from the Pedagogical Advisors to the teachers in the field. However, there were was no follow-up support to teachers in the classroom. Visits to schools to observe teachers indicated that teachers were not uniformly applying new methods of teaching reading. The reason for the lack of follow-up visits to schools and classrooms was mostly budgetary. But it was also due to the fact that there was no process in place to support school and classroom visits. MENFOP asked Projet AIDE to help them design a regionally coordinated, school-based system to address the weaknesses of the cascade system.

Obock SBT Pilot 2011: Working with the Basic Education Service and the Regional Education

Office in Obock, Projet AIDE designed a new approach to teacher training and support for the

Obock pilot. The objective was to design a system where Pedagogical Advisors could visit all schools as many times possible in a school year within a modest budget. The pilot ran from

January to May 2011, and was a success: teachers reported that they felt that their work, for the first time, was receiving true pedagogical support in the classroom, and that they were actively modifying their teaching along the lines recommended in the modules.

School Based Training was organized in alternating steps of training and follow up visits to classrooms:

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Step-1 SB Zonal Training: The Pedagogical Advisors from the regional office works with groups of teachers from three to seven schools who meet in a 1.5 day workshop. The Advisors provide training on topics from modules on teaching of reading and they also tailor training to needs of teachers who identify problems and challenges they are facing in the classroom.

Teachers work together on lessons plans. Each teacher-participant makes a contract with the advisor to put into effect the proposed solutions and lessons plans to improve reading in his/her class.

Step-2 SB Follow-up visits: Pedagogical Advisors work in pairs to visit each school in the zone and observes each teacher in action in the classroom. Based on the action-contract made with the teacher during Visit-1, the Advisor provides an analysis with recommendations for teacher.

The success of the Obock was impressive, and other regional directors strongly recommended that SBT be expanded to their regions. One of the design-elements of SBT that most attracted the regional directors was that they could tailor training to on the ground realities and needs of their schools which was not possible in a nationally coordinated program.

Box 1: Success Story 1- School-Based Training Outcomes

It is important to note that USAID’s long-term investment in teacher training is having an impact. All four new Regional Directors have been Pedagogical Advisors with Projet AIDE in implementing CFPEN’s annual national training program for the past two years. The open outlook and can-do attitude towards training and making a difference in pupil performance that has been fostered by Projet AIDE was appreciated by the then-Advisors who now, as

Inspectors and Regional Directors, are in positions to authorize improvement in their regionals.

To date, the SBT activities have received high marks from all participants. In certain regions, MENFOP divided the Regional Director’s scope of work according to admin and pedagogical tasks, and assigned them to two people. Those assigned to work on pedagogical tasks with teachers and school directors have found SBT to be an excellent tool.

“Thanks to working with Projet AIDE, I now have the tools needed to begin decentralized training in primary schools in my region.” Arta Regional Director/Pedagogy, Abdulkader

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Expanding Regional Training Planning and SBT in Year 3 and 4: The steering committee of

Regional Directors and the technical committee of Pedagogical Advisors selected modules that targeted the six professional skills most needed by their teachers as teaching tools for reading.

Note these modules built on the foundational training in years 1 and 2. Except for new teachers, all teaching staff had already received instruction via Projet AIDE supported training in the modules (see list under outputs below) so the modules were used as references.

In Year 3, The Ministry asked FHI 360 to expand School Based Training to six regions – four rural regions including Tajourah, Dikhil and Arta as well as Obock, and two districts in the capital city (Djibouti 3 and 4). However, for reasons beyond the control of the project, acceptance and willingness to participate in SBT was not equal among the six targeted regions.

The four Regional Directors actively coordinated with Projet AIDE in the implementation of training logistics and the crucial classroom supervision of their local primary teachers. They motivated their Pedagogical Advisors by acting as models demonstrating their willingness to follow up, to engage with teachers in the classroom, to demand changes in the classroom, and to respect schedules. However, the two districts in the capital did not successfully implement SBT.

Prior to year 4, key decisions were made that expanded SBT to seven regions. In May 2012, a review by the Inspector-General of the effects of SBT in the annual action plans of the four regions found that the needs assessments, prioritization, and plans for action had already produced positive results in the respective regions. She made two immediate decisions: (1) the actions plans of all 10 district supervisors should model the “SBT format” using indicators to focus on problems, and (2) the 5th interior region of Ali-Sabieh be added to the target list of regions. In September 2012, MENFOP changed the supervisory personnel in Djibouti-3 and

Djibouti-4, and subsequently Projet AIDE’s was able to move forward successfully in these districts.

By the end of the 2012-13 school year, the project had built the capacity of all seven regions to plan and implement SBT. This included planning, logistical coordination and teacher training via school based workshops and visits. Teachers were being supported in the classrooms, and the project had ordered equipment that included generators, computers, printers, camp beds in order to help provide the material support required by the seven regions to sustain SBT. This equipment had been identified as critical needs and approved by all senior Ministry officials including the previous Secretary General.

The SBT system also built capacity of the Pedagogical Advisors to use teacher observation and other formative evaluation techniques to measure the impact of the training on teacher classroom practices. This aspect was the most challenging to get the regional offices to implement as it required significant investment of time in organizing and putting together evaluation reports. As the Success Story 2 indicates below, where there was strong regional leadership, these reports were produced.

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Changes in Ministry leadership bring a halt to SBT: Unfortunately, the changes in Ministry leadership in March of 2012-13 derailed this promising initiative. The new Minister and his Secretary General completely changed the organization of the regional offices, putting inspectors who had only been marginally involved in SBT in charge of each region2.

They also centralized the planning and coordination of all Ministry activities, including teacher education. The new leadership did not appear interested at all in building capacity of the inspectors to implement SBT.

This was in spite of very promising evidence of improvement in teacher and student performance.

Moreover, equipment that was handed over to the

Ministry with the express purpose of supporting and sustaining SBT (in August 2013) was by the end of the project sitting in the Ministry warehouse or otherwise unaccounted for.

Activity 6: Strengthening and increasing use of Teacher

Resource Centers (TRCs)

In 2003 USAID funded, through Projet AIDE, the construction of a Teacher Resource Center

(TRC) in each of the five rural regions of the country and one in Djibouti-ville adjacent to

CFPEN. The TRCs were equipped with computers, printers and the furniture needed for reading rooms. This initiative was linked to MENESUP’s master plan for decentralization of in-service training: with the opening of the centers, training could be scheduled in the regions, and staff were not always obliged to travel to the capital. The TRCs were also intended to serve as a base for Pedagogical Advisors preparing teacher trainings and also for teachers who were nearby in towns.

Projet AIDE assisted with the recruitment, training, and even the initial salaries for the six staff members charged with supporting the technical aspects of the computer facilities. In 2007, the

Ministry took over the administration of the TRCs, including all financial responsibilities. Since that time, Projet AIDE has spent considerable time and effort in helping to make these TRCs a successful part of the in service teacher support system. During the first two years of the Phase

IV, Projet AIDE supported the following activities aimed at strengthening the management skills and technical skills of the TRC staff:

2 It should be noted that the involvement of inspectors in the coordination of teacher in service training, and their role in supervising Pedagogical Advisors was in flux over the life of this project. The project was obliged to follow the policies of different Ministers and their staffs. The roles of CFPEN, Inspectors and Senior Pedagogical Advisors has shifted over the years of the project. The project has had to adjust to these changes.

Box 2: Success Story 2: SBT

Impact on Teacher and Student

Performance. An evaluation at the end of 2012-13 performed by the Djibouti 3 regional office, based on teacher observations and interviews, showed that teachers were mastering new reading techniques. Meanwhile, the results of national OTI exams for 2011-12 showed the highest increase in

French reading performance were from the four districts where SBT was being implemented. Schools in

Obock in particular had shown marked improvement relative to schools elsewhere.

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IFESH volunteers were assigned to help train and support TRC staff during the

2009-10 and 2010-11 school years.

Training and intensive coaching was provided during both years to TRC staff to strengthen their administrative and IT skills.

Job descriptions were created for key staff – TRC Manager, Librarian and IT

Specialist.

Activity 7: Improving the capacity of Pedagogical Advisors and CFPEN to use technology to support teacher training

Projet AIDE and the Ministry also utilized TRCs to promote the spread of ICT into the system, training a variety of MENFOP staff, from Deputy School Directors to Pedagogical Advisors, in the basics of using Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other basic computer programs. The increased computer skills were essential to building the capacity of the regional offices to implement

School Based Training. The major equipment purchase was intended to equip each of the 5 regional education offices with laptops and other IT and related equipment (printers, projecters, and generators, and camp beds) to use technology to deliver teacher training at the school level even in sites without electricity. Finally, Projet AIDE provided audio visual equipment to

CFPEN in 2009 with which the staff has produced DVDs of model class-sessions in the areas of the primary-school curriculum and in teacher-training.

Despite their potential, only a handful of TRCs are functional. The ones that are functional are successful due to the personal leadership of a regional director or strong TRC manager (or both).

However, the TRCs have not received the sustained support from the Ministry they require for continuing success. Multiple meetings with the Ministry identified the following challenges:

The Ministry has not connected the TRCs to the internet as promised.

Box 3: Success Story 3: Linking SBT with TRCS using the Mobile Training Trunks

– Les Malles Pedagogiques

With the training conducted by Projet AIDE and IFESH in the previous school year, the management teams of the TRCs located in the four regions targeted for School-Based

Training have been able to provide active coordination for SBT activities. Using the model piloted last year by the Obock advisors, the teams have improved the use of the “mobile training trunk” (malle pedagogique). Each single large trunk has been replaced has by two smaller trunks: the first trunk destined for teachers (modules, lessons plans, supplies, teaching references) and the second for teachers and pupils (pleasure reading, class-sets for group work, etc.). The trunks move from school-to-school and zone-to-zone, and the advisors answer questions and conduct discussions with the teachers during the SBT visits.

The TRC teams prepare each trunk with different selections from the TRC reference library, and conduct polls with teachers and advisors -- and pupils -- for recommendations about what types of materials and references are preferred in the field.

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The computers are aging and many need to be replaced.

There is not consistent support from Regional Directors.

TRC managers are not full time and have other duties.

Activity 7: Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA)

The introduction of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) to Djibouti was a challenging and complex activity. The former Secretary General of MENFOP had important concerns about

EGRA from the initial consultations with the Ministry. His concerns included whether the implementation would be too disruptive for students, too complicated to administer and too narrow in its measurement. To address these concerns, FHI 360 experts engaged with the

Secretary General and his senior team for over six months in working through the pros and cons of EGRA and devising a reasonable plan for implementation.

These consultations were beneficial. Senior managers in the Ministry understood the obvious benefits of the EGRA approach and the initial baseline results as follows:

EGRA would provide a very specific roadmap for addressing weaknesses in teaching and learning in Djibouti.

EGRA would help show teachers where to focus their time and effort both in initial and remedial instruction to improve student learning and test scores.

EGRA would help focus teachers more on the teaching of phonics and other building blocks of basic reading skills in the first two years.

The Ministry also insisted, and FHI 360 agreed, to use the baseline as a way of building the capacity of actors in the system to carry out EGRA in the future. As a result, the level of significant involvement of Ministry staff – including the Pedagogical Advisors who administered the student surveys, the planning staff who entered data and the evaluation staff who wrote the report – was unprecedented compared to other countries. As a result of the baseline method, MENFOP staff have significant knowledge and skills for implementing EGRA in the future.

After getting approval from the Ministry to implement the EGRA baseline, FHI 360 mobilized considerable outside expertise over the final two years of the project to implement the baseline survey. It was not an easy process. There were challenges along the way which delayed implementation. The following provides a recap of the key steps in the process.

Pilot Test Implementation (March-April 2012): Pilot test instruments were developed using

EGRA instruments from other francophone countries. The purpose of the pilot test was to make sure that the…