Research Initiatives

Context Matters Research Grants

CODE, through its Context Matters program funds research initiated, designed, and undertaken by African researchers. To date, research on literacy learning has largely been carried out in high-income countries and contexts and generalized to low-income countries and contexts. CODE established Context Matters to support African researchers as they take the lead in evidence-based, exploratory studies. The intent is to support research which is clearly situated in local contexts and recognizes the multifaceted and complex relationships between the local and global in education.

To begin the conversation, CODE commissioned two landscape literature reviews and one policy analysis from Canadian Faculties of Education (University of British Columbia and McGill University). These papers were presented at the CODE Research Symposium that took place as part of the Pan-African Literacy for All Conference in Abuja, Nigeria (August 28-30, 2017).

In 2021, CODE partnered with the International Literacy Association (ILA) and its global network of scholars, researchers, and literacy educators to bring greater support and expertise to the Context Matters Research Grant program. ILA has members on the Context Matters International Advisory Committee, and taps into their grassroots network of educators from across Africa to disseminate news of the grants and promote access to the completed research.