Knowledge sharing and collaboration for integrating the Learner Guide model into national education systems at scale
From 22nd to 27th September 2024, a regional exchange learning visit was held in Tanzania. The goal of the visit was to share practical learning about how elements of CAMFED’s youth-led mentorship Learner Guide Program* are being adapted and integrated into more government schools in Tanzania by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST).
Moses Mhike, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Zimbabwe, attending a meeting as part of the regional exchange learning visit.
The event brought together senior government officials from ministries of education in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, including the Permanent Secretary of Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) and the Deputy Permanent Secretaries from Tanzania’s MoEST and President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government Tanzania (PO-RALG).
Discussions underscored the vital role of close collaboration between governments, communities and schools to address challenges in education, with youth-led mentorship highlighted as a crucial element in fostering a conducive learning environment. Learner Guides have been shown to improve attendance and academic performance by providing guidance and counselling, as well as helping students develop life skills, build confidence, and overcome personal challenges.
The visit provided an opportunity to screen a new documentary about a collaborative research process co-led by CAMFED and government partners in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The film was made possible by support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Global Partnership for Education and Knowledge Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX).
In the documentary, government and other participants – including a Learner Guide from Zambia – describe essential elements of the collaborative research process, including co-creation from the design stages; engagement of diverse ministries, ministry departments and other participants; and experiential learning through on-site observation and regional exchange meetings.
Watch the filmThe most important aspect of this collaboration is the level of engagement. It has proved that government can work with non governmental institutions and be able to both implement a program that is not government [devised], and give it the seriousness that it needs because it's changing lives...[It is] also bringing a different aspect of understanding that education is not just the subjects that are taught.David Musonda, Scaling Technical Committee Member, Zambia, speaking in the documentary film
Delegates from Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi travelled to Dodoma district, Tanzania, to learn from the country’s experience of implementing the Learner Guide model at scale. During the visit, participants joined in a series of meetings and visited two secondary schools to see the program in action, with visitors sitting alongside students as they took part in life skills and self-development sessions.
Through direct observation and discussions the delegation sought to understand the practical aspects of scaling the model within national education systems. This exchange provided valuable insights and lessons, which will enhance the adaptation and application of successful strategies to adapt the Learner Guide model to suit the educational contexts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi.
We are excited by the opportunity to be working with the government collaboratively [and] with other partners on the research, which is aiming at exploring perspectives on the scale up of a model that CAMFED has implemented over some time.Lydia Wilbard, Executive Director: Learning & Engagement, CAMFED, speaking in the documentary film
*Known in Zambia and Malawi as the Learner Guide Program, in Zimbabwe as the Peer Educator Program, and in Tanzania as the Life Skills Facilitator program.
As National Chairperson for the CAMFED Association in Zambia, I’m a champion for other girls and young women in my communities, and committed to making quality education a reality for more girls. I love being a positive role model to them.
I’m Linley, a CAMFED Association member from Mulanje district in Malawi. I was supported to go to school by CAMFED and now I volunteer as a Learner Guide to help other girls like me from rural Malawi to complete their education.
The Learner Guide Program sees young women who have experienced first-hand the barriers to education for girls in marginalized communities - and have received support to go to school - return to their local schools as mentors and role models.
October 11, 2024
IDRC (International Development Research Centre) and the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) are supporting participatory action research that can accelerate progress towards gender equality. A new blog and podcast episode, featuring CAMFED’s Lydia Wilbard, explore how this works in practice.
This key symposium included an overview of research that aimed to understand the role of Learner Guides in shifting gender social norms in four Tanzanian districts, and to examine the scalability of the peer mentorship model across national school systems in the region.
CAMFED's close collaboration with government Ministries and research partners is looking at how we scale youth-led programs that drive up learning outcomes and post-school opportunities for marginalized children.
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