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Teaching and Learning in Fragile Contexts (2022 – 2026)

CODE, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, has launched an innovative four-year program that is building on our considerable efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone over the past decade.

Teaching and Learning in Fragile Contexts (TLFC) is a program designed to support inclusive, high-quality and gender-responsive education in alignment with the direction and priorities of their ministries of education. The program is expected to improve literacy and learning outcomes for over 22,000 girls and boys at 72 primary schools.

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As post-conflict countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone have suffered from widespread poverty and have amongst the lowest human development index scores in the world. Poverty is compounded by staggeringly low literacy rates among young people and adults alike. For example, in both countries close to 50% of women cannot read. This is a significant contributing factor to low educational attainment, high levels of unemployment and lack of sustainable livelihoods.

Almost nowhere in the world is the impact of low literacy more pronounced than in these two countries, which are still in the process of rebuilding their education systems after devastating civil wars, followed by the Ebola virus outbreak in 2015, and then the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in Sierra Leone, 30% of children enrolled in primary school will not see it through to completion, and in Liberia only 14% of girls from the poorest families will finish primary school.

Both countries face high levels of overage enrollment; have minimal learning resources; and contend with high proportions of unqualified teachers.  Direct support, which addresses the quality of instruction at all levels of the education systems, is key to facilitating sustained positive change and ultimately improving learning in these fragile contexts.

In close collaboration with our trusted partner organizations – the WE-CARE Foundation in Liberia and The Association of Language and Literacy Educators in Sierra Leone – CODE aims to support sustained improvements to the quality of classroom instruction.

Working with ten teacher training institutes, CODE and our partners will help to enhance the quality of teacher preparation with a particular focus on active learning, gender-responsive pedagogy, and foundational literacy. The program will go further to support in-service teachers at 72 schools in catchment areas surrounding the teacher training institutes, and develop 12 new curriculum-aligned reading anthologies. Each anthology – comprising over 100 pages of engaging text – will be locally authored and illustrated, and reinforce critical themes like girls’ empowerment. Over 47,000 copies will come to stack the shelves of small classroom and school libraries.

We recognize the critical role of decision-makers in shaping education systems that prioritize gender equality and ensure the inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable populations, particularly girls. Through targeted interventions, TLFC seeks to build the capacity of education leaders to create an enabling environment for quality education that meets the needs of all learners. For instance, we will supports the growth of evidence-based research exploring education as it relates to gender equality, equity and inclusion in refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) settings in fragile African contexts.

Our Program Goals:

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Educators Trained

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Students Reached

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Books Distributed

I think the lasting impact and legacy of the TLFC program will be a generation of well-prepared, effective educators who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience to positively impact the lives of their students.

 – Malvern Maduku, TLFC Program Manager

Country Partners

Updated-TALLE-LOGO

TALLE is a non-profit organization of Language Arts teaching professionals in Sierra Leone. It was formed in 2004 and supports the Sierra Leone Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and other education stakeholders to promote effective teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy skills which are the cornerstone of academic excellence.

We-Care-Logo

The WE-CARE Foundation is a non-for profit education organization helping to enhance literacy in Liberia since 1994. WE-CARE promotes a culture of reading and love of books and quality education for all Liberians.

Pampana Commnications is a children’s book publisher in Sierra Leone, which additionally provides a variety of related services including coaching, training and mentoring of authors and illustrators.

PROGRAM PARTNER

Funding Partner

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