Action for Children ’s Rights in Education: End of Project Evaluation Report

This 60-page report discusses findings of an evaluation to: assess the extent to which ActionAid International’s Action for Children’s Rights in Education (ACRE) project started bringing about anticipated changes during its initial phase, as well as examine factors critical in helping or hindering change and draw lessons for future programming. According to the evaluation, despite the relatively short implementation period, it is clear that the basic premises of the Promoting Rights in Schools (PRS) approach is valid in practice and that broader stakeholder engagement in participatory process promotes an improved understanding, buy-in, and action for children’s rights in education.

The ACRE project was a one-year initiative, implemented simultaneously in six countries between February 2012 and February 2013, intended to pilot the implementation of ActionAid International’s Promoting Rights in Schools (PRS) framework. The PRS framework is based on 10 simply articulated rights derived from national legal instrument and international human rights conventions, and uses a rights-based approach designed to secure free, compulsory, quality public education for all by strengthening the public education system. The main volume of work took place in Ghana and Uganda, however smaller grants were allocated to The Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, and Zambia.

Overall some of the projects main areas of achievements were felt to have been in the areas of awareness raising on children’s rights to and in education (including the rights of children with disability), achieving stakeholder buy-in, and beginning to tackle some of the root causes of violence and discrimination against children in education. In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that school-based clubs have contributed to increasing confidence levels of girls’ and boys and in promoting their engagement in school management. Overall, 100% of respondents felt that one of the main areas of value that the PRS approach added as compared to other education initiatives was its emphasis on children’s rights to and in education and its capacity to mobilise stakeholders for children’s rights throughout the process.

The report's Executive Summary provides a summary overview of progress towards the projects objectives:

• Objective 1: Increase awareness of rights to and in education: Overall the project increased awareness of children’s rights to and in education. The participatory approach to baseline research was felt to be one of the key success factors in the project as it supported wider buy-in and engagement at all levels as well as a better understanding of some of the key problems affecting the delivery of free, quality, public education and how to address them. However, increase in awareness of children’s rights is also accompanied by the view that children’s rights constitute a threat to adult authority in the home and at school. In addition, children’s own knowledge and understanding of their rights will need to be deepened to maximise their potential for informed and empowered action.
• Objective 2: Promote safe and nonviolent schools by advocating for adequate and appropriate learning environments: Some of the most effective measures taken under this objective included the dissemination of information about current education policies through training and awareness-raising sessions for teachers and parents. All schools visited now have visible copies of the Teachers’ Code of Conduct and the majority of adult respondents were aware of the existence and content of the document. One area of intervention that was considered an interesting new departure was the focus on the inclusion of children with disabilities in the learning environment. While training for teachers to identify, assess, and support children with mild forms of disability was widely appreciated, more needs to be done to successfully address the root causes of discrimination and exclusion.
• Objective 3: Increase transparency and accountability of school management processes:Although no specific data was collected to measure changes against this objective, anecdotal evidence suggests the existence of functional Parent Teacher Associations and School Management Committee, as well as increased engagement and involvement of parents in the life of the school in Ghana and Uganda. Uganda, Liberia, and Zambia have made headway with children’s voices increasingly listened to, especially in Uganda where the head boy and head girl are invited to attend meetings and contribute to the monitoring of the schools’ financial resources.
• Objective 4: Increase the confidence levels, learning abilities and outcomes of girls and children with disabilities: Ghana, Uganda, and the Gambia worked towards this objective, successfully implementing 100% of planned activities and meeting the majority of targets. Overall, whilst no specific measures were taken to document change in a comprehensive way, the majority of respondents, children and adults alike felt that girls’ confidence had increased thanks to activities such as awareness-raising, workshops, and conferences and support from senior women teachers and club matrons. Unfortunately it was not possible to assess whether any changes had come about for children with disabilities and in general it was noted that the majority of children with disability are not in school.

The report highlights lessons learned from the project, including the following:

• One of the 10 rights outlined in the PRS manual includes the Right to Know Your Rights which highlights the importance of ensuring children are aware of and are able to claim their rights and that life-skills and human rights are taught in a child-friendly way. Although ActionAid Ghana has an internally produced manual for supporting training for club patrons and members it would seem that messages are not reaching children, which has implications for their capacity to understand and claim their rights.
• It is essential to continue working with teachers and parents to ensure adults are better equipped to discipline children both at home and at school without the use of violence. At the same time, advocacy for revision of existing policy directives and the incorporation of comprehensive pre- and in-service training for teachers is required to ensure the practice is abolished completely.
• In Ghana in particular, the establishment of a multi-stakeholder advisory group at district level comprised of local education authorities, teachers’ union representatives, district level education coalition members, university staff and youth representatives and served as an advisory board which provided guidance and expertise during the project implementation period. The choice of participants proved strategic in ensuring key support during specific activities.

On issues such as children’s rights, child participation, and ensuring safe learning environments, internal and external stakeholder analysis should be done to ensure that the project is taking maximum advantage of connections with others already working on these issues for learning and impact.