Tenders Are Invited For Baseline Study Usaid SomaliaS Accelerated Education Activity

Tenders are invited for Baseline Study USAID Somalias Accelerated Education Activity Closing Date: 24 Oct 2024 Type: Consultancy Summary Through the present Terms of Reference/TOR, CARE Somalia seeks to procure consultancy services to conduct a baseline study for the USAID Somalias Accelerated Education Activity (AEA). The baseline study will enable the use of a quasi-experimental evaluation at the subsequent evaluation round.[1] The subsequent evaluation study will be contracted directly by USAID Somalia. The baseline study will use a complexity-aware, gender-responsive, inclusive, and conflict-sensitive approach for tool design, data collection protocols, and data analysis. The selected consultancy firm will be responsive for data collection and analysis/ reporting services, working in close collaboration with USAID Somalia, CARE, and USAID Somalias Evaluation, Learning and Monitoring Initiative (ELMI)[2] to design tools, data collection protocols, and the analysis framework for this study. This ToR outlines the purpose, methodology, requirements, timeline, and deliverables for the baseline study consultancy, anticipated to take place in October-January 2024. Background The USAID Somalias Accelerated Education Activity (AEA) is a $30M, five-year initiative (2024-2029) designed to assist the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE) to strengthen and expand the provision of accelerated basic education (ABE) and non-formal education (NFE) in country and facilitate the transition of ABE and NFE graduates into further education and livelihoods. The USAID Somalias AEA will support the MoECHEs priority objective of expanding access to basic education while also enhancing equity and completion rates. The 2022-2026 Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) identifies the enhanced access to ABE as one of the key approaches to achieve this priority objective, seeking to expand ABE enrolment to 250,000 students by 2026, out of whom 50% female.[3] To do so, the ESSP highlights the need to expand platforms for ABE delivery; strengthen the quality of ABE provision, achieving 72% completion by 2026; and provide appropriate teaching and learning materials to ABE classes.[4] The ESSP also prioritizes the need to expand the provision of Adult Education (NFE), reaching 75,000 students by 2026, thus requiring the development of associated teaching and learning materials and teacher training.[5] The USAID Somalias AEA will contribute to these priorities by enabling 67,072 out-of-school children and youth to enroll or remain in ABE/ NFE, equipping them with the foundational skills necessary to transition into further education and/or livelihood opportunities. Additionally, AEA will support the MoECHE and Federal Member States Ministries of Education (FMS MOEs) to consolidate and expand the provision of ABE and NFE, strengthening regulatory systems and quality assurance processes. The USAID Somalias AEA will target areas where an estimated 1.9M children and youth ages 10-19 are in need of ABE, and nearly 300,000 youth in need of Adult Education/ NFE services.[6] Those include the Banadir Regional Administration (BRA) and Hirshabelle, Jubaland, and South West states of Somalia. Theory of Change The Theory of Change (ToC) for the USAID Somalia AEA considers that: If there is increased equitable access to safe, free, relevant, accelerated basic education and non-formal education programs (Intermediate Result/IR 1); If there are improved learning outcomes in foundational skills areas (literacy, numeracy and social-emotional learning) and other key skills as appropriate (IR 2); If there is increased community engagement and local ownership of ABE and NFE programming (IR 3); and If there is strengthened capacity of government at local and federal levels to oversee the provision of quality public education (IR 4), then There will be a greater number and a more equitable distribution of out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) with the foundational skills necessary to transition to further learning and/or social and economic opportunities within their communities (expected outcome). This outcome will ultimately contribute to the achievement of USAID Somalias Development Objective/DO 2, strengthening the social capital of marginalized groups and the human capital of women, thus enabling marginalized Somalis to more effectively withstand shocks and stresses. A graphic representation of USAID Somalias AEA Theory of Change is provided below. Baseline Study Objectives The baseline study aims to: -Develop a baseline for applicable indicators, enabling future assessment of progress vis a vis targets at the subsequent evaluation round. -Identify factors affecting outcomes and map those against the Theory of Change, validating it. -Create in-depth profiles of schools, students, and teachers, identifying vulnerabilities and needs. -Generate evidence to inform the implementation of other ABE/NFE-focused interventions in country. The baseline findings will be used to: -Refine targets for applicable indicators. -Inform adaptations to the Theory of Change and Activity design/modalities of implementation. -Inform policy design and changes. Evaluation Questions -What are the critical factors influencing the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills among ABE/ NFE students? How do those map out against AEAs proposed interventions? -Are there differences in learning outcomes by sex, geography, disability status, language, displacement status, and minority condition? What are the recommendations for adaptations to reduce learning gaps? -To what extent are ABE/NFE teachers adopting improved practices aligned with Universal Design for Learning principles? Which subgroups of ABE/NFE teachers are most/less likely to apply those? -To what extent are ABE/NFE teachers adopting gender-responsive and inclusive classroom practices? Qualitative sub-question: What are the attitudes and perceptions of ABE/NFE teachers towards female students, students with disabilities, displaced students, and those with a minority background? -What are the actual attendance rates among ABE/NFE students and teachers? Which factors are affecting student attendance? -What factors are affecting student retention? -To what extent are CECs implementing their expected tasks in ABE/NFE centers, including enrolment, attendance tracking, teacher monitoring, safeguarding, school maintenance, and fundraising? Qualitative sub-question: What are the main barriers to CEC performance? -What school/system-level structures are in place to facilitate transition from ABE into formal education? What are the critical gaps? -How and to what extent are state, regional, and district-level structures supporting the implementation of ABE and NFE courses? What are the perceived capacity/ resource gaps for ABE/NFE support? Methodology The evaluation will use a two-arm quasi-experimental design (QED) with a mixed-method approach. The QED will enable the following comparisons: 1. Learning and retention trends compared between ABE L1/L3 and primary school students:[7]The evaluation will compare learning and retention trends between longitudinally tracked ABE levels 1 and 3 students and cross-sectional samples[8] of primary school students in grades 1 and 5 at the baseline, respectively. Both samples will be drawn from the same locations or neighboring locations in the case of ABE-only learning centers. At the final evaluation, the learning trends for longitudinally tracked ABE students (L1 at the baseline) will be compared to those of a cross-sectional sample of grade 8 graduates. To ensure comparability, the external evaluator will refine samples using propensity score matching (PSM). A schematic representation of the comparisons over time is presented in the figure below. Figure 2: Evaluation design - ABE x primary education comparisons for learning outcomes Therefore, this consultancy will require the external evaluator to randomly select samples of ABE L1 and ABE L3 students as well as students in primary grades 1 and 5. 2. Learning and transition trends comparison between NFE students and OOSCY: The evaluation will compare learning and transition trends for longitudinally tracked NFE students with cross-sectional, randomly selected samples of OOSCY in the same age ranges at the baseline (15-25 years) and subsequent evaluation round in sampled school communities. The external evaluator will identify randomly selected NFE and OOSCY samples at the baseline, using propensity score matching to ensure comparability and thus avoiding disparities in terms of gender, education history, displacement history, and motivation for enrolment. Figure 3: Schematic representation of the evaluation design to assess differences in learning and transition trends between NFE students and comparison groups of youth drawn from targeted school communities. Sampling. At the baseline, the external evaluator will randomly select a sample of 84 schools among the 293 schools targeted in Year 2 in the three states and the BRA. The total number of sampled schools per state will be allocated proportionally to the distribution of the ABE/NFE student population in each state and the BRA. The sampled schools will be longitudinally tracked at the subsequent evaluation round. At the baseline, the external evaluator will draw six samples ABE L1 students, ABE L3 students, primary school students in grades 1 and 5, NFE students, and OOSCY ages 15-25. Each sample will include 703 individuals, or an average of nine students per class and nine OOSCY in the same catchment area.[9] The sample size is calculated considering 95% confidence level; 80% power; an effect size of 0.25; a design effect of 2; disaggregation by sex in each sample; and an attrition rate of 40%. Therefo Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4101323/baseline-study-usaid-somalias-accelerated-education-activity