RCC Phase II Final Report December 31, 2006pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACJ458.pdf · Multigrade Teaching Manual ... Address crosscutting issues in ECD delivery, ... Assistance to M.Phil

Grant Number 391-G-00-04-01020-00

RCC Phase II Final Report

December 31, 2006

Submitted to the United States Agency for International Development

The Aga Khan Foundation

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Table of Contents1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................... 6

2. GOALS & OBJECTIVES: PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE RESULTS.................... 11 Objective 1: Encourage community and parental involvement in ECD efforts inside and outside the classroom 11

Selection of New Schools/Communities for RCC II Interventions 11 Increasing Community involvement in children’s learning and development 12

Interactions with Community members .......................................................................................... 12 Home Visits .................................................................................................................................... 13 Community Gatherings .................................................................................................................. 14

Encouraging and promoting Parental Involvement in children’s learning and development 16 Developing a cadre of community members with in-depth knowledge of ECD principles for sustainability of initiatives beyond intervention period 17 Construction and renovation of school rooms 17 Increasing the active participation of SMC/PTSMCs in schools 18

Objective 2: Develop technical competencies for ECD in teachers, school officials and NGOs in RCC communities 20

Professional Development of ECD teachers 20 Developing Competencies of ECD teachers................................................................................... 20 Training School Heads and Education Department Officials ........................................................ 22 Training Academic Leaders ........................................................................................................... 22 Review of Assessment practices ..................................................................................................... 22 Supervision and Monitoring........................................................................................................... 23

Capacity Building of Implementing Partners 23 Workshop on ‘Continuous Assessment of Learners’ ...................................................................... 23 SEF Trainings ................................................................................................................................ 23 Partners’ Sharing Meetings: .......................................................................................................... 25

Building Internal Capacities 25 Training workshop on ‘Community-Based Participatory Action Research’.................................. 25 Participation in Course on Statistics, Data Management and Analysis and Computer Skills ....... 26 SEF’s Professional Retreat ............................................................................................................ 26 Two day Workshop on Early Childhood Development .................................................................. 27 SEF’s Internal Sessions on ECD.................................................................................................... 27 M&E & Research Capacity Building:............................................................................................ 27

Developing Technical Competency in ECD 27 Training SMCs for increasing participation and efficiency ........................................................... 27 Stand Alone Graduate Seminars: From Early Childhood to Human Development – Integrating Perspectives ................................................................................................................................... 28 Advanced Diploma in Human Development .................................................................................. 28 Training of trainers ........................................................................................................................ 29 Workshop on Integrated Community-Based Programming in ECD .............................................. 30

Objective 3: Facilitate a network of concerned parties in which policy dialogue and coordination, advocacy, resource mobilization, and sharing of best practices can occur 30

Advocacy 30 ‘ALL ABOUT LIFESTYLES’ Exhibition: ....................................................................................... 30 ‘Re-discovering Childhood’ Symposium & Conference on ‘ECD: Challenges & Opportunities in Pakistan’ ........................................................................................................................................ 32 Media Coverage of the ‘Re-discovering Childhood’ Symposium and Conference ........................ 33 International symposium on ECD .................................................................................................. 33 “Raising Capable Children”: A Symposium on ECD, May 22-24, 2006 in Gilgit, Pakistan ........ 33 International conferences and meetings......................................................................................... 34

Networking for resource mobilization and sharing of best practices 34 Consultative Meeting with AKES, P............................................................................................... 34

Releasing Confidence and Creativity Phase II Final Report, December, 2006

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Meetings with Education Department and Government officials................................................... 35 Coordination with partners and other NGOs................................................................................. 36

RCC resource development 37 Development of RCC II Logo ......................................................................................................... 37 Development of RCC Phase II Brochure ....................................................................................... 38 RCC Documentary ......................................................................................................................... 38 RCC Phase 2 Close-out Document ................................................................................................ 39

ECD resource development 39 Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) ............................................................................................... 39 Nurture Magazine .......................................................................................................................... 40 Parwarish Magazine ...................................................................................................................... 42 ECD Booklets ................................................................................................................................. 43 ECDPAK Website........................................................................................................................... 43 ECD Mapping ................................................................................................................................ 44 Other Publications ......................................................................................................................... 45

Objective 4: Conduct research on the cost benefit of early childhood interventions and effective practices from RCC schools and disseminate to audiences in Pakistan 46

Monitoring and Evaluation 46 Baseline for RCC II ........................................................................................................................ 46

Research Studies 51 Comparative analysis of RCC and non-RCC schools .................................................................... 51 Shadowing RCC students ............................................................................................................... 52 Risk and Sustainability analysis ..................................................................................................... 52 Tracking progress of Katchi students............................................................................................. 52 Case Studies ................................................................................................................................... 53 The Record of Early Childhood Growth and Development and Suggestions for Caregivers (hereafter, Record) ......................................................................................................................... 53 Identifying Effective Sustainable Nutrition Education Delivery Strategies for a Rural Population........................................................................................................................................................ 55 Exploring the Community Perception of ECD ............................................................................... 56 Multigrade Teaching Manual......................................................................................................... 56 Understanding ECD Through Practice.......................................................................................... 57 Research Study: Exploring Parents’ Perceptions vis-à-vis ECD and impact of RCC programme on children and communities. ............................................................................................................. 62

Objective 5: Address crosscutting issues in ECD delivery, including attention to vulnerable populations, replicability and adaptability, institutional development, leadership development, and government ownership in program interventions 71

Participation in Policy Seminar on Early Childhood Education (ECE) on November 29-30, 2004........................................................................................................................................................ 71 Round Table Dialogue ................................................................................................................... 72 Participation in the National Education Conference, May 30-31, 2006: ...................................... 73 Participation in the National Education Policy Review (1998 - 2010) – Roundtable on Early Childhood Education, June 10, 2006:............................................................................................ 73 Policy Seminar on ECE in Sindh.................................................................................................... 74

Increasing Government ownership in programme interventions 74 Meeting with the Pakistan Institute of Training & Education (PITE)............................................ 74 Formation of Steering Committee .................................................................................................. 74 Meetings and discussions with Education Department and Government officials......................... 74 Hon’rable Federal Minister of Social Welfare & Special Education, Ms. Zubeida Jalal’s Visit to SEF................................................................................................................................................. 75

International tours 75 Study Tour to Bangladesh .............................................................................................................. 75 International Study Visits ............................................................................................................... 76

Other 77 Assistance to M.Phil. student of Quaid-e-Azam University regarding RCC information: ............. 77


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3. ACTIVITIES: PROJECT OUTPUTS; PROJECT OUTCOMES; RESULTS & IMPACTS BY PROGRAMME’S COMPONENTS & OBJECTIVES ........................................................................... 78

4. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION....................... 90 Liaising with the Government 90 Transfer of teachers 91 Dealing with Multi-grade situations 91 Teachers’ absenteeism/limited number of teachers 91 Lack of Coordination 92 Non-regularization of Katchi Classes 92 Maintenance of School records 92 Coordination between RCC partners 92 In-availability of ECE/D resources and material in local languages 93 Stories’ Collection 93 Difference in technical skills 93 On time Submission of Monitoring Data 94 Natural Disasters and Law & Order Situation 94

5. MANAGEMENT ISSUES ..................................................................................................................... 95 Human Resource for ECE/ECD 95 Administrative and Logistical Issues 95

6. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS.................................................................................. 96

7. REASONS WHY ESTABLISHED GOALS WERE NOT MET...................................................... 109

8. CHANGES IN SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY ............................................................................. 110

9. LESSONS LEARNED AND PROJECT IMPACT ........................................................................... 112 Lessons Learned 112 Project Impact 115


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Acronyms ADOE Assistant District Officer Education AKES, P Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan AKF Aga Khan Foundation AKU-HDP Aga Khan University-Human Development Program AKU-IED Aga Khan University-Institute for Educational Development BoC Bureau of Curriculum CAR Community Awareness Raising CBS Community-Based Schools DDO District Development Officer DIP Detailed Implementation Plan ECD Early Childhood Development ECE Early Childhood Education EFO Education Field Official GoP Government of Pakistan HANDS Health and Nutrition Development Society IRC International Rescue Committee LRC Learning Resource Center LHW Lady Health Worker PTSMC Parent Teacher School Management Committees PITE Provincial Institute of Teacher Education RCC Releasing Confidence and Creativity SCSPEB Society for Community Support for Primary Education In Balochistan SEF Sindh Education Foundation SPO Strengthening Participatory Organisation TRC Teachers’ Resource Center UC Union Council USAID United States Agency for International Development


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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) supported initiative, Releasing Confidence and Creativity (RCC) Phase II project (March 2004 - September 2006). The second phase of RCC was designed as a follow-on initiative on the achievements of RCC Phase I (September 2001 – March 2004). The project aimed to improve the quality of learning and teaching during the early developmental years of children in select government primary schools by engaging with school staff, surrounding communities and government officials in rural communities in selected districts of Sindh and Balochistan. The core focus of the project for the AKESP was to enhance ownership and sustainability of activities carried out under RCC I. Aiming to maximize impact AKESP originally continued to operate within the same 27 schools selected during the first phase, but later on the focus shifted beyond emphasis on katchi classes to incorporate the concerns of Class 1 and 2, particularly in schools where lessons were conducted in multi-grade environments. During the tenure of its implementation, the progress made by the RCC programme, as an integrated, pioneering initiative of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Pakistan, has been significant. The programme not only brought together partners with diverse experiences and expertise but also brought attention to the issue of children and childhood as a vital global and national concern at multiple provincial and federal policy forums. While Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) and Teachers’ Resource Center (TRC) were technical support partners, Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan (AKES,P), Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS), and Society for Community Support for Primary Education in Balochistan (SCSPEB) were implementing partners at the grassroots level. Aga Khan University – Human Development Program (AKU-HDP) provided not only technical support and worked in communities, but also provided opportunities for disseminating technical knowledge about ECD for professionals at an international level. RCC II built upon synergies that developed between partner organizations and between communities and project teams during the first phase of RCC to expand upon crucial gains in local understanding and application of ECD concepts. By developing its ability to serve as a conduit between communities, teachers and local governments, RCC II was successful in initiating dialogue, resolving conflict and operating as a multilayered project to support the development of appropriate early learning contexts in government schools. The project was also able to maintain intensive involvement of local communities in both ECD advocacy sessions and the management of RCC classes. Extensive capacity-building efforts were undertaken to enhance the ability of key stakeholders, in particular school teachers and parents, to contribute to classroom interventions. Implementing partners maintained strong community contact and the purpose of such interaction was manifold, ranging from facilitating admissions for the katchi classes to encouraging parental and community ownership of initiatives. Efforts were made to mainstream and systematize indigenous and experiential learning sessions so as to fully integrate them with other RCC initiatives.


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Partners undertook a range of training and advocacy sessions, from community awareness campaigns to formal seminars and workshops, to reinforce the message that parents and the larger community had a major role to play in children’s early cognitive development, both inside and outside the school. It built upon the innovative concept of katcheri (AKES,P) to involve parents and other community members in children’s educational experience by enabling them to utilize indigenous knowledge to contribute to their development. Networking with RCC partners and other organizations proved instrumental in the success of this measure, demonstrating that collaborative efforts enable the design of more informed and creative interventions, mobilization and pooling of resources. Community involvement was promoted through culturally-appropriate means such as melas (fairs) and exhibitions. The organization of Annual Sports Days in participating schools also proved to be a critical avenue for the promotion of community participation in ECD. The events helped foster a strong sense of achievement and pride within the RCC school staff and students. Independence Day (August 14) was celebrated with great fervor across the RCC communities, with the schools serving as focal points for community engagement. Street theater training and community performances were employed to create awareness on pivotal ECD issues. Such activities had positive impacts on enrolment and retention trends. Repair, rehabilitation and classroom construction continued to be major community development activities, with an increasing role for the School Management Committees (SMCs) and Parent Teacher School Management Committees (PTSCMs) in the administration and procurement of development funds. SMC capacity to utilize funds for developmental planning and to encourage parents to send their children to school was also enhanced. They also received training on different aspects of ECD such as Gender Sensitization and conflict resolution. Close coordination was maintained with non-partner NGOs such as PAIMAN and LEAD in order to strengthen the SMCs. As in RCC 1, the adoption of new interactive teaching techniques by teachers through a range of training sessions to equip them to provide children with the opportunity to experiment, create and learn in a safe and confidence-building environment was focused upon. Workshops were arranged for RCC teachers, mentors, academic leaders (ALs), master trainers and community teachers to train them on different aspects of teaching and learning including multi-grade teaching strategies, cooperative learning, etc. Trainings were also organized for heads of RCC schools and program staff to develop holistic school improvement frameworks and design implementation strategies for the same. Sessions were extended to Class 1 and 2 teachers as well as the RCC community assistant teachers for katchi classes. A few teachers from government schools that were not part of RCC II also attended, initiating the process of replication and adoption of the ECD model within all public schools. Academic support was provided on a continuous basis to the ALs to facilitate the development of their leadership and mentoring skills. Supervision and monitoring of the school teachers was organized through team visits, the use of mentor teachers and cluster school arrangements. Classroom observation tools to strengthen monitoring and follow-up support for teachers across RCC schools were developed and disseminated. Student assessment activities were also initiated to evaluate their development rates and identify areas for future concentration.


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The project was highly successful in forming and maintaining close ties with key government officials and in actively engaging with them to support and participate in local ECD activities. Officials were vocal in their appreciation of the project and pledged to continue to support the schools even when the project ended. However, changes within the district government and the formation of a newly elected local government meant that the RCC team had to reinitiate introductory sessions about ECD and the work of the project to orient the new government officials. Coordination and advocacy efforts to establish new partnerships within local government agencies and the DoE took up a significant proportion of the team’s time. RCC created resources which were both programme specific and had a general utility for ECD in general. Nurture and Parwarish magazines were launched and disseminated widely. The ECD website www.ecdpak.com is a learning resource for teachers, parents, ECD professionals and policy makers alike. Stories collected from the field are not only a record of local histories, but also help in the ECD objectives inside the classroom. They have been translated into local languages and are in use by teachers and parents. The establishment of the Learning Resource Centers (LRC) in the RCC communities was a major project milestone. Sites for LRCs in 24 RCC districts and clusters in both Sind and Balochistan were finalized on the basis of geographical accessibility from the RCC schools and efforts for their operationalisation were initiated soon after project inception. Action plans for the training of government teachers on LRC management were developed and implemented. Negotiations with the DoE regarding the secondment of government teachers to the LRCs were also undertaken. Systematic efforts were made to revitalize the SMCs/PTSMCs with workshops and discussion groups being organized for all RCC SMCs. These interventions resulted in the sensitization of the SMCs regarding their role in promoting education in their communities and enhancing their ability to act as a bridging facilitative agency between the community and the local government. SMC roles in income generation and development of school capacity were highlighted as well as their responsibility to initiate dialogue with community leaders and other key stakeholders. RCC II built upon baseline data collected during RCC I, as well as collected information on student and school progress rates. Research findings helped influence and streamline policy and practice. Data collection and analysis were undertaken throughout RCC II and were particularly useful in decision-making for the replication of the initiative on a broader scale in Pakistan. SEF, AKESP and HDP shared the research findings and insights with their respective partners. Project achievements were quantified and disseminated at various levels. Case studies on RCC initiatives were also developed. Risk and sustainability analysis of RCC communities was undertaken. Factors such as participation in meetings and RCC activities, community awareness, literacy rate, time invested and engagement of SMC, linkages with local government and other public departments were considered while categorizing various communities. Key players in the


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school and community with potential to contribute to continuing momentum for ECD awareness were identified and then engaged to promote community ownership and sustainability. While activities planned for RCC II were successfully implemented, due to the ambitious nature of the initiative, partners faced several challenges in project delivery. Persistent changes within government agencies resulting in the loss of motivated persons which had wide-spread impact on project outputs. Despite political lobbying and the signing of a MoU with the district and local governments and the DoE to prevent this, transfers of trained and experienced teachers out of RCC schools remained a sore point. Advocacy to encourage change and improve the situation was undertaken by the RCC team. However, red tape, politics and a range of other bureaucratic issues resulted in slow responses to these and other pressing issues like the regularization of the community teachers and the katchi classes. The involvement of many teachers from the RCC public schools in ESRA training programs limited their availability and left them with little time to complete the DoE syllabus. This not only put extra pressure on the community assistant teachers, but also resulted in long periods of teacher absences. In order to address this issue, skilled parents represented an important project resource and provided crucial historical perspective to new teachers or filled in for absent ones. Concerted efforts were made throughout the project period to enhance the skills, ability and understanding of staff within programme teams through a range of professional and capacity-development activities. A strong focus on the staff’s experiential learning was maintained throughout the project and along with formal trainings, workshops and exposure visits, interactions with communities and government agencies helped build the staff’s understanding of ECD issues in the field. Advocacy remained high on the agenda: high profile seminars and conferences were organized by partners to highlight the importance of ECD and protection of children. A “Rediscovering Early Childhood” conference and seminar was organised by SEF. HDP organised a seminar on ECD for professionals while AKF gathered not only all RCC partners but also other ECD experts and professionals in Gilgit for their 3 day conference titled “Raising Capable Children.” With the project coming to an end, it was heartening to note that community members including parents, teachers and village elders, and government officials from a range of district and local government agencies and the DoE, as well as members of local NGOs and partner organizations all displayed a high level of commitment to furthering project progress. RCC II was successful in maintaining intensive and effective involvement of local communities in both ECD advocacy sessions and the running of RCC classes. Government officials were also actively drawn in and were highly supportive of project activities from its inception. Even during program implementation itself, efforts to replicate its success in other government schools were initiated by government officials in various districts. Extensive trainings of the ALs and community teachers were


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undertaken to ensure that ECD expertise remained available to communities once the project ended. Networking with local NGOs with longstanding relationships in RCC communities was also undertaken in order to provide continuity to the program after the life of the RCC grant. Project research and analysis activities as well as feedback from the field helped generate a series of valuable lessons from the implementation of the RCC project. These will prove useful in informing the design of future initiatives in the sector. The success of the RCC project lay in its consultative and experimental approach to development and ECD interventions. Its ability to garner support from a wide cross-section of society and to sustain the same for the entire implementation period formed a critical project milestone. The project’s primary impact was both attitudinal and institutional. By creating sustainable, replicable models of ECD delivery and creating mass awareness about the importance of early learning, RCC was able to perpetuate a broad understanding of ECD concepts and appropriate teaching techniques within rural communities and create a culture supportive of children and conducive to their development.


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2. GOALS & OBJECTIVES: PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE RESULTS

Objective 1: Encourage community and parental involvement in ECD efforts inside and outside the classroom For the period under consideration, the project was successful in maintaining intensive and effective involvement of local communities in both ECD advocacy sessions and the running of RCC classes. The initial focus of activities under this objective was on programmatic planning, inter-agency coordination and advocacy for Phase II implementation. Extensive capacity-building efforts were undertaken early in the project cycle to enhance the ability of key stakeholders, in particular, school teachers and parents to contribute to classroom interventions. All implementing partners maintained strong community contact throughout and the purpose of such interaction was manifold, ranging from the mobilization of admissions for the katchi classes to encouraging parental and community ownership of RCC-ECD initiatives. Indeed facilitation of community and parental involvement in the education of their children remained a key project thrust area during the entire implementation period. Efforts were made to mainstream and systemize the indigenous and experiential learning sessions so as to fully integrate them with other RCC initiatives. The RCC teams undertook a range of training and advocacy sessions, from regular community awareness campaigns to formal seminars and workshops, to reinforce the message that parents in particular, and the larger community in general had a major role to play in children’s early cognitive development, both inside and outside the school. Such forums helped build community awareness, capacity and support for the project as well as assisted in the regularization of student attendance in RCC schools. As the project entered its final year of implementation, the sustainability of different initiatives became a key concern with more systematic attention being paid to enrolment and attendance regularization, parental awareness, and SMC involvement and strengthening. Structured awareness programs for mothers on ECD and health continued to be organized. Attention was also accorded to the capacity-building of the SMCs, which had been identified as an area of concern.

Selection of New Schools/Communities for RCC II Interventions While AKES,P focused on a vertical expansion of RCC activities in the schools and communities during the first phase of interventions, the first task facing RCC implementing partners HANDS and SCSPEB was the selection of new schools and communities for RCC II interventions in addition to the existing schools/communities during the first phase. These schools/communities were selected on the basis of meetings with community representatives and leaders along with an extensive baseline survey. HDP conducted a series of discussions with HANDS and AKES,P in Sindh and Society in Balochistan, followed by exploratory visits to field sites in Hyderabad, Matiari and


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Hala, Sindh, and Qila Abdullah, Bostan and Mastung, Balochistan, for selection of communities and implementation of the community-based programme. In December 2005, AKES,P formally agreed to support implementation of the community-based programme. Keeping in view, AKESP’s strategy for sustainability of the RCC project via the establishment of Learning Resource Centres (LRC), staffed by a government teacher, in neighboring Community Based School (CBS) communities, HDP decided to select a community that was in close proximity to an LRC and including the linked CBS community in programming efforts through the use of AKESP’s existing

staff in that community. Two communities of Tando Jam, Hyderabad, Mir Mohalla, an RCC community, and Mir Colony, CBS School community, were selected. The AKU-HDP community programme implementation team comprising of one Senior Community Coordinator and two Community Coordinators was positioned in Hyderabad to commence activities in January 2005. In October 2005, four adjacent communities were enrolled to expand programme coverage.

Selection of a community in Balochistan was initially deferred due to the unstable political and law and order situation. However, the process was revived in consultation with Society in April-May 2005 and the RCC Pringabad cluster, District Mastung, was selected. Eleven villages, six RCC and five non-RCC, were selected initially in July 2005, and later expanded to include three more RCC villages. This expansion brought all nine RCC communities of District Mastung under AKU-HDP’s ECD programme coverage. A demographic survey was carried out by the HDP field teams which helped determine population size, size of households, number of children aged 0-6 years and number of pregnant women in all the communities. The survey data guided operationalization of a baseline study and enrollment of families and their children in the programme.

Increasing Community involvement in children’s learning and development

Interactions with Community members The RCC implementing partners ensured regular interaction with community members through visits to schools and homes in the communities. Monitoring and supervisory visits by field teams resulted in discussion regarding ECD principles with community members along with increasing interest in participation of events organized in schools and communities.


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Based on demographic survey data, HDP programme team and ECD Workers identified families with children 0-6 years old and pregnant women in their intervention areas in Sind and Balochistan. An extensive baseline was conducted in the identified families. At the outset of baseline, ECD Workers, working in pairs, introduced the programme to the families and sought their consent to participate. After obtaining consent, the baseline instrument was administered and families, children and pregnant women were enrolled. The enrollment process continued throughout the programme cycle.

By the end of September 2006, 784 families with 1368 children aged 0-6 years and 142 pregnant women in Sindh, and 695 families with 1209 children and 102 pregnant women in Balochistan have been enrolled in the programme.

Enrollment status of Tando Jam (TJ) and Pringabad (PA)

Baseline Enrollment Enrollment by September 2006

Children Children

Site

Fam

ilies

Hou

seho

lds

0-3 Years

3-6 Years

Total (0-6 Years)

Ant

enat

al

Fam

ilies

Hou

seho

lds

0-3 Years

3-6 Years

Total (0-6 Years)

Ant

enat

al

TJ 782 703 773 545 1318 120 812 727 796 548 1344 142

PA 667 471 615 497 1112 98 695 488 705 504 1209 102

Home Visits HANDS organized Home visits by not only the field teams, but also teachers, local TBAs and LHWs to create awareness about issues pertaining to children’s learning and development, along with parental health and their involvement in children’s lives.

The community-based ECD programme is essentially a home-visiting programme for parenting education; growth and development assessment of children aged 0-6 years; and provision of antenatal information and guidance using ‘the Record of Early Childhood Growth and Development and Suggestions for Caregivers’. The baseline observations form the basis for periodical home visits.

A home visit comprises assessment and monitoring of growth and development on various age specific functional abilities that a child acquires during the natural course of growing up and parenting education sessions. ECD Workers working in pairs assess children 0-12 months old every month and children 1-6 years old every quarter. Parenting education sessions are conducted with the help of the ‘Suggestions for Caregivers’ part of the Record and include the broad areas of health and hygiene, nutrition, child stimulation, social and emotional development, cognitive development and physical development. The importance of caregiver interaction with the child is emphasized and low-cost solutions to nutrition and stimulation requirements are suggested.

In order to monitor the effect of these suggestions on child development, the heights and weights of enrolled children are recorded, along with the acquisition of functional


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abilities. The parents retain a copy of the record of the periodical growth and assessment of their children and corresponding suggestions.

During a mid-term review of home visiting activities, families expressed a real appreciation of the opportunity to get feedback on their children’s growth. Mothers in Pringabad said that while previously they were unable to assess their children’s growth, they now knew if their heights and weights were age-appropriate and they saw this as a real benefit of the programme. In Tando Jam, families also appreciated feedback on their children’s growth and expressed their keenness to monitor their children’s growth themselves as well. Generally, mothers were found more aware of the importance of quality interaction, health and hygiene, nutrition and immunization in the growth and development of their children.

Community Gatherings HANDS used the traditional Otaque as a meeting place for men to engage them in discussion and disseminate information regarding ECD principles in general and the RCC programme in particular. AKESP also continued to build upon the innovative concept of katcheri1, which was adapted from RCC I in order to involve parents and other community members in the children’s educational experience by enabling them to utilize traditional and indigenous knowledge as a means of contributing to their children’s holistic development. Parents contributed to learning through sessions involving the narration of local folklore and songs as well as training children in local craftsmanship. They also delivered lectures on religious and moral matters. Through a range of consultative meetings and discussion sessions, various stakeholders including parents, community elders, members of School Management Committees (SMC) etc. were enabled to voice their concerns and stronger appreciation and consensus around respective roles and responsibilities emerged. This helped reduce duplication of efforts, assisted in effectively channeling resources and facilitated the resolution of conflicts. Teachers’ forums were organized by AKES,P to improve understanding of parental roles in the classroom and design mechanisms for increased effectiveness of the same. Efforts to expand parental contribution to include activities such as role plays or hands-on training in skills such as sowing seeds were also undertaken.

1 KATCHERI refers to a series of training programs conducted for RCC teachers during the first phase of the project. The concept was used in RCC II as a tool for community mobilization. KATCHERI focuses on Knowledge, Aims and Objectives for ECD and its sustainability, Teaching Techniques, Culture, History and Home Connections, Environment, Holistic Development, Rights and Responsibilities and Innovation and Intelligence.


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Community involvement was promoted through several creative and culturally-appropriate means such as the organization of melas (fairs) and exhibitions with the active support of community members. Such events served myriad purposes including providing a platform for community-level awareness creation about health and education and strengthening bonds between participating schools and the community within which they operated. Further the melas also served as an important avenue for fund-raising to run RCC schools as a result of community willingness to contribute a percentage of the income generated from such events to the school. The organization of Annual Sports Days in all the participating schools also proved to be another critical avenue for the promotion of community participation in ECD. In early 2005, 3204 students across the 27 RCC schools participated in sports day activities. 204 teachers were involved; 573 parents and 45 influential persons attended the events. In keeping with RCC principles, a mixture of local and popular sports ranging from chai ke pyali and kho kho to a sack race and cricket were offered. The events helped foster a strong sense of achievement and pride within the RCC school staff and students. Influential community members, impressed with the school spirit on display, donated cash and presents. In general, community members were supportive and appreciative of the effort. In certain extremely conservative communities such as Jeindo Halepoto and Alam Khan Talpur, the event marked the first time when local women were allowed to come to the school. Street theater training and community performances were also employed by AKES,P starting in the first half of 2005 as a means of creating public awareness on pivotal ECD issues. Folklore based nataunki (theatre/drama) has proved to be a highly effective media tool in rural communities and its employment as a means for community mobilization met with unprecedented success in many areas. However, in others women were not allowed to act in or attend the performances. Members of the RCC team were trained alongside local community members in the first training session in Hyderabad. This was followed by a similar training in Khairpur. The 12 day sessions attracted diverse participants and included components on a wide range of subjects including meditation, expression through sound and team-building. Each training session was followed by a community performance, which was often used to address negative practices in the area such as domestic violence. Awareness created through such performances helped facilitate the formation of an emotionally and physically safer and healthier environment within the communities. Katcheris were also organized on a mass scale to discuss the impact of negative social practices on child development. The forums generated appreciation about the importance of spending quality time with children and harmful impacts of habits such as watching excessive television or consuming large quantities of artificially sweetened beetel nut (chalia and gutka). Other events that were held to foster community involvement in ECD included medical camps organized with the support of the Department of Health, Basic Health Units (BHU) and several pharmaceutical companies and cultural melas. Free checkups and medication was provided, health information sessions were held for community members and large numbers of parents, children, SMC members, teachers, nazims and Lady Health Workers participated in the events. The cultural melas too generated a great deal of community spirit, with exhibitions of local handicrafts and presentation of folk dances.


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The proceedings garnered media coverage and were frequented by district and local government officials, feudal lords and other influential personages. Drama festivals were also organized in some RCC schools. Independence Day (August 14) was celebrated with great fervor across the RCC communities, with the schools serving as focal points for community engagement. Additionally, education walks to support the UNICEF effort were also organized in the Tando Muhammad Khan and Hyderabad districts. Prominent local and provincial political figures and government officials participated in the walks. Community engagement and ownership was also strengthened through the development of peer learning mechanisms through which children who had completed their primary schooling were enabled to assist local school teachers with the younger classes. AKES,P has introduced this system in their intervention areas and reports that it has proved to be strikingly useful in multi-grade schooling situations.

Encouraging and promoting Parental Involvement in children’s learning and development The quality of parental involvement continued to be bolstered through the contributions of mothers who had attended Adult Literacy Classes (ALP) during RCC I in AKES,P-RCC communities. Young women, who had also benefited from the program and volunteered their time at the schools were not only a crucial resource for local teachers, but also developed pronounced leadership capabilities and earned much respect from the community at large. A short remedial syllabus was designed in the first reporting quarter for those students of the katchi class who needed help in completing the transition to Class 1. Community assistant teachers conducted these lessons with assistance from ALP graduates who proved instrumental to its success. The ability of women from the rural communities to take on leadership roles and carve out careers for themselves is a major project milestone. Given the success of the literacy classes, similar programs were extended to 39 males in three communities during the second quarter of 2004 with support from the local wadera (landlord/feudal). Classes were conducted three times a week by male teachers from the local boys’ school, and imparted basic literacy and numeracy skills while addressing local social issues such as chewing tobacco and domestic violence. Work on the ALP corresponded with AKESP’s commitment to create a critical mass of community members who could contribute to the academic development of their children and ensure the long-term endurance of project activities. Additionally, in the face of continuing teacher transfers and absenteeism, parents provided much-needed continuity to ECD endeavors and served as reservoirs of project knowledge. Bringing mothers together regularly to discuss issues pertaining to their own lives and their family’s development has been another initiative undertaken by implementing partners during the project period. This initiative not only provided much needed information to these women regarding issues such as health, child development and learning, cleanliness and family care, which they deemed important, it also bolstered their


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confidence and self-esteem, resulting in a new found interest and involvement in their children’s education inside and outside the classroom. HDP’s ECD workers have also initiated regular centre-based meetings for discussion on matters of concern to mothers. At these meetings, provision is also made for children to play.

Developing a cadre of community members with in-depth knowledge of ECD principles for sustainability of initiatives beyond intervention period HDP selected its group of ECD workers for the integrated community-based ECD programme model from the team of data collectors who were invited for a simple interview and were inducted into the programme. Both groups of ECD Workers went through an extensive training process involving understanding of ECD concepts and practices, social mobilization, indigenous knowledge and practices and participatory approaches.

Over a period of more than a year, it has become evident that the ECD workers (26 in Sindh and 26 in Balochistan) constitute a major resource in each community. They are well trained and have acquired considerable experience in parent education and monitoring of child growth and development. Working in pairs, they have been able to communicate confidently with parents and children as well as assess the growth and development of the children reliably. They have established close links with teachers in pre-schools and primary schools and with the government’s health service for children and pregnant mothers. It is envisaged that they will play a critical role in sustaining ECD related services in the community, well beyond the programme cycle. AKESP also initiated the organization of fortnightly thematic activities focusing on issues like health and hygiene and local culture for the students and teachers. Parental and community involvement and capacity-building was encouraged and facilitated during the entire project period. Although frequent transfer of katchi and Class 1 teachers continued to be a major issue impacting on project delivery. Skilled parents represented an important project resource and also provided crucial historical perspective to new teachers. During Phase II the involvement of many teachers from the RCC public schools in ESRA training programs also limited their availability and left them with little time to complete the DoE syllabus. This not only put extra pressure on the community assistant teachers, but also resulted in long periods of teacher absences. In order to address this issue, community volunteers often filled in for regular RCC teachers.

Construction and renovation of school rooms Repair, rehabilitation and classroom construction continued to be a major community development activity of the RCC program, with an increasing role for the SMCs in the management and procurement of school development funds. The HDP programme team established three centers in their intervention areas which are being used by the ECD Workers as the focal point of their activities. These centres are equipped with height and weight measuring tools for anthropometric measurement of


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children. The ECD Workers have developed no-cost/low-cost indigenous materials to encourage play, exploration, child-child and caregiver-child interactions, language development, social development, and self-help skills.

In the long-term, it is expected that with support from the community, the centre may evolve to offer mothers relief from full-time child care by allowing them to leave their young children at the centre to pursue income generating activities, satisfied that their children are in a safe and nurturing environment. This period also saw the construction of school rooms and toilets where missing, along with renovation of existing structures. Matching grants were given to the SMCs for the construction and renovation of these buildings. Community members also participated in this process through both the provision of funds and labor for this construction and renovation. Society constructed 62 rooms and 27 toilets, repaired 18 existing rooms, provided water connection facilities to 24 schools and water storage facilities to 60 schools. Along with this, concrete structures for school buildings were also constructed in 11 out of the 24 schools which were functioning in mud-structures.

Increasing the active participation of SMC/PTSMCs in schools With the development of some basic parameters within the government and clarifying the role and legal status of the SMCs, it became possible for the project teams to initiate more focused work on their development. Society embarked on a process of forming PTSMCs and WVECs in the newly selected targeted communities in Balochistan. After the household survey, active persons in the communities were identified for the PTSMCs and were then elected by the community with at least 75% of community members participating in the process. These PTSMCs then went on to sign an agreement with the Government Education Department agreeing to perform their duties according to the roles identified for them and assist the government in school related affairs. This written agreement has given the PTSMC and community members a sense of accountability, increasing their participation and efficiency. AKES,P organized meetings with the Department of Education (DoE) and Education Sector Reform Agency (ESRA) supported programs in the region, that is, PAIMAN in Hyderabad and Tando Muhammad Khan and LEAD-Pakistan in Khairpur. SMC chairpersons and heads of schools were invited to the meetings to enable them to discuss relevant issues. A basic mapping of initiatives was undertaken to establish current areas of intervention and design the way forward. A quick needs assessment exercise revealed that SMCs had only been effectively mobilized in the past when supported by an external program like RCC or LEAD and lacked capacity to undertake school development activities beyond basic record checking on their own. Programs to address these issues by developing SMC capacity to undertake strategic planning and to augment their understanding of their roles were designed and implemented. The capacity-building effort also included mechanisms for dialogue between local SMCs and the DoE to build trust and an improved understanding of each other’s functions.


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Regular coordination meetings between the key stakeholders were organized as a first step towards streamlining information sharing between them. SMC capacity to utilize funds for school development planning and to encourage parents to send their children to school was also enhanced. SMCs initiated independent operations and took on a number of issues such as the procurement of salaries for the RCC community teachers and their regularization. They also worked with the project team to facilitate the appointment of local teachers in the Government Girls Primary Schools (GGPS) using their own funds. Close coordination was maintained with PAIMAN and LEAD in order to strengthen the SMCs. This helped the AKESP access funds for the construction of classrooms and the provision of infrastructural support for the RCC schools. The operationalisation of the SMCs is a key achievement for RCC II and bodes well for the sustainability of ECD initiatives in the future. The measures listed above had positive impacts on enrolment and retention trends. Drop-out rates continued to be extremely low, with the family’s migration from the area being the most often cited reason for leaving school. While a significant increase in the number of girls enrolled in katchi classes across all the RCC communities was indicative both of the communities’ confidence in RCC measures and also the increasing value attached to education within the villages, the interest of government personages has also served to further generate enthusiasm for participating schools within the communities. Government officials’ participation in community events, particularly that of nazims and DCOs frequently resulted in the development of infrastructure such as roads in the area or the pledging of funds for community development. Recognition of the importance of pre-primary education and the use of interactive teaching techniques has had a visible impact on the cognitive development of child beneficiaries of the program.


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Objective 2: Develop technical competencies for ECD in teachers, school officials and NGOs in RCC communities Activities under this objective were critical to program success at the classroom level, as the capacity of teachers and school officials was pivotal to the transformation of class environments into supportive learning spaces. As in RCC I, much of the effort at the field-level remained concentrated on the adoption of new interactive teaching techniques by teachers and other school officials through a range of capacity-building and training sessions to equip them to provide children with the opportunity to experiment, create and learn in a safe and confidence-building environment. Input was sought from the teaching staff of the participating schools in order to design training modules to address issues within the school context such as multi-grade and multi-age teaching spaces, limited teaching staff or physical space etc.

Professional Development of ECD teachers

Developing Competencies of ECD teachers A series of workshops were conducted for the RCC government and community teachers and program staff to facilitate planning and delivery of capacity-building activities by AKES,P, RCC partners SOCIETY and HANDS. In the early part of the RCC II, planning workshops were arranged for RCC teachers, mentors, master trainers and community teachers to train them on different aspects of teaching and learning including multi-grade teaching strategies, cooperative learning, etc. Workshops were also organized for heads of RCC schools and the program staff to develop holistic school improvement framework and design implementation strategies for the same. The involvement of the entire school during RCC II is likely to have beneficial impacts on project sustainability. Sessions on arts and crafts were also organized for RCC teachers, RCC program staff (AKESP and HANDS) to promote skills required to prepare low-cost indigenous teaching and learning material. The AKESP RCC team in collaboration with school heads, teachers, government officials, and subject specialists developed a guide for Class 1 teachers. Based on the government syllabus, various teaching activities were designed to help teachers make the classroom more learner-centered and interactive. Once course material based on the national curriculum had been finalized, several rounds of teacher training and development sessions were undertaken in 2005 and 2006. Capacity-building sessions were organized at both the cluster and school levels. Training was extended to Class 1 and 2 teachers as well as the RCC community assistant teachers for katchi classes in all 27 schools. Field-tested training methodologies developed by AKESP and the Teachers’ Resource Center (TRC) were used to train teachers in early childhood curricula and its effective implementation. Sessions were undertaken both for new teachers for Class 1 and 2, and as refresher courses, focusing on the use of teaching kits and strategies for teaching in multi-age and multi-grade environments, for community and school teachers who had been previously trained under RCC 1. Project


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partners such as HANDS and the DoE, and members of NGOs such as the IRC and NOVA also participated in the trainings. Early training sessions were conducted under the katcheri framework, which proved to be a successful attempt at incorporating a local approach for real classroom situations in government schools. A few teachers from government schools that were not part of RCC II also attended the training, initiating the process of replication and adoption of the ECD model within all public schools. The katcheri approach has also been adapted by teachers in participating schools with ‘greeting time’ continuing to be used as a means by which children share experiences and issues that concern them. Trainings have also impacted positively on indigenous learning, with stronger emphasis being placed on local culture and history as a means of building a sense of local pride and association. The summer breaks were utilized to undertake intensive professional development sessions for Academic Leaders (AL) and ECD teachers in Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan and Khairpur RCC schools. A second round of training courses and refresher sessions to promote the effective implementation of the katcheri concept in the class were organized in mid-2005 and continued until the end of the new academic year. The workshops helped motivate school staff and clarify key concepts. A particular focus of the sessions was on the management of multi-grade teaching environments. Training sessions for teachers focused on integrated approaches at the national ECD and Primary curriculum and the creation of vibrant learning activities to facilitate the development of critical thinking skills among students. The concept of a ‘learning web’ formed through the interaction of relationships with children, parents and other community members and its potential to impact on a child’s early cognitive development was reinforced. Focus was also accorded to helping teachers plan for the new school year. Key DoE officials and representatives of the local district governments were invited to the training sessions. Attempts were also made to address gaps in teachers’ knowledge of subject content through a series of intensive training sessions. As new communities and schools had been selected for RCC interventions in Phase II by both Society and HANDS, selection of assistant teachers was the first step in programme implementation. TRC conducted extensive trainings for these new teachers to develop their understanding regarding the ECE curriculum and engaging young children through play techniques. “Mazboot Bunyadein” (Strong Foundations) a teachers’ guide was used in this process by the TRC teacher training team. 80 teachers from 35 schools attended this 8 day training in early 2004. The same training was provided to 25 teachers from 25 schools where HANDS was implementing the RCC programme. Following the lessons learnt from RCC I, regular refresher training sessions were arranged for all teachers by implementing partners throughout the school year. Teachers identified needs for trainings were considered when planning these sessions. Such training increased the efficiency of teachers using active learning methods in classrooms.


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Training School Heads and Education Department Officials TRC conducted two 10-hour workshops for school heads of public sector and education department officials on key ECE concepts, teaching and supervision practices. The participants, with an interesting mix of teaching and supervision experience, felt energetic and enthusiastic about converting their schools and teaching practices into a child-friendly environment. Through interactive sessions and stimulating exercises, they were equipped with basic skills and knowledge base required for active learning in early years. The supervisors were engaged in reflective discussions on their practices and were facilitated in changing the focus of their school visits to learning from administrative aspects. Participants expressed a need of continuing input and support to ensure their learning is not only deepened but also utilized at school and district levels.

Training Academic Leaders Special workshops were conducted to train teachers and head teachers in the use of low-cost indigenous materials for preparation of classroom resources by HANDS and AKES,P. Similar sessions were organized for Academic Leaders (AL) by AKES,P in all 27 RCC schools to enable them to perpetuate a conducive learning environment in RCC schools, followed by other capacity-building trainings for ALs during 2005 and early 2006. Academic support was provided on a continuous basis to the ALs to facilitate the development of their leadership and mentoring skills, as part of the AKESP’s project sustainability strategy. Other members of the staff and representatives of the DoE also attended the sessions. The trainings enhanced the capacity of the ALs to serve as ECD Master Trainers for the DoE and also developed their ability to lead ECD efforts as mentors. This enabled them to support and motivate RCC school teachers, and act as a resource for them. The trainings covered a range of crucial subjects from basic ECD concepts to teaching methodologies, gradually transitioning to more technical aspects of education such as planning, material development, monitoring classrooms and assessing child performance. These positively impacted on the ALs role within the RCC community setting, resulting in development of closer working relationships with other school teachers. The ALs tended to be either heads of schools or committed teachers ideally suited to their envisaged roles. In the last quarter of 2005 exposure visits to various public and private sector schools were organized to enable ALs to observe the ECD models being followed there.

Review of Assessment practices In the first quarter of 2006, extensive time was devoted by AKES,P to sessions on assessment tools and indicators for katchi class and Classes 1 and 2, using national curriculum objectives as the major reference point. The sessions challenged the use of conventional pencil-paper tests as core means of assessment and demonstrated how assessment practices could diminish students’ creativity and motivation. Teachers were encouraged to critically review and reassess their own grading systems. Learning standards and indicators were also developed, based on key objectives of the academic year. Following these initiatives, phase-out activities were initiated in early 2006 to sustain the RCC endeavor in the long-term. The RCC team remained available to assist the ALs and provide support and feedback when required, particularly to hone the teachers and ALs’ assessment skills.


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Student assessment activities were initiated at the end of 2005 to evaluate student development rates and identify areas for future concentration. The exercise revealed that while students of the katchi class were performing to the expected level as per the ECD curriculum, Class 1 students lagged behind. Part of the reason for this was the longer period of organized project intervention in the katchi classes and as discussed above, the persistent transfer of teachers, resulting in long periods where no teachers were available to hold classes.

Supervision and Monitoring Supervision and monitoring of the school teachers was organized through team visits, the use of mentor teachers and cluster school arrangements. Government officials were invited in all training and refresher sessions and encouraged to be involved in classroom observation and monitoring. Classroom observation tools to strengthen monitoring and follow-up support for teachers across RCC schools were developed and disseminated to mentor teachers and community mobilizers. The tool enabled the delivery of timely and focused feedback on areas requiring improvement to teachers enabling them to innovate in teaching and learning processes. Data collected through this tool was analyzed and used to design more effective and responsive classroom support and training activities based on the teaching staff’s strengths and needs. This was supplemented with regular school visits by the RCC team to support the community and school teachers and the ALs.

Capacity Building of Implementing Partners

Workshop on ‘Continuous Assessment of Learners’ At the invitation of RCC partner AKES,P, the Planning Coordinator and Community Programmes and Training Coordinator of AKU-HDP conducted a day-long workshop titled ‘Continuous assessment of learners’ in April 2005, with special reference to the baseline information collected for the RCC project. A number of representatives from AKES,P RCC team, and teachers of the ECD section of Aga Khan School participated.

SEF Trainings Technical support partner SEF organized a series of trainings for all implementing partners for conducting the Baseline Survey and uploading it on the database provided by SEF. Detailed discussions regarding the objectives of collecting Baseline information, along with strategies for data collection ensued among partners. The main highlight of the RCC II Baseline Database was the inclusion of an additional feature based upon the partners’ demand: ‘Data Analysis & Query Tool’, through which the partners had the option to analyze the collected data by performing statistical operations, and representing the desired output in graphical/tabular format at their end. Hands-on training was provided to participants in the field to orient them with proper survey methodologies and ethics of data collection and input. Extensive support was also provided to partners for the use of Monitoring tools developed for RCC II.


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Monitoring and evaluation being an integral part of the RCC II programme, implementing partners were also trained in the use of M&E mechanisms. The purpose of these trainings was stated as follows:

• To understand the fundamentals of school support mechanisms; • To discuss Monitoring & Evaluation mechanisms; • To discuss examples of monitoring, classroom observation & teacher’s

competency indicators; • To familiarize the participants with the data analysis process; and • To share and discuss the RCC-II Monitoring tools.

Details of these trainings organized and conducted by SEF are given in the following tables: Table 1: Baseline Survey Trainings

S.No Title Date Number of participants

1 Baseline Survey Training Workshops for SOCIETY, Quetta

Aug 4th – 6th, 2004 21

2 Baseline Survey Training Workshops for AKES, P, Karachi

Aug 4th & 5th, 2004 9

3 Baseline Survey Training Workshops for HANDS, Karachi

Aug 27th & 28th, 2004 9

4 Monitoring Training Workshops for AKES, P and HANDS in Hyderabad

January 12 & 13, 2005 19

5 Monitoring Training Workshops for SOCIETY in Quetta

January 31 & Feb 1, 2005

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6 Monitoring & Evaluation Training Workshop conducted for AKES, P and HANDS

August 31, 2005 24

7 Monitoring & Evaluation Training Workshop for SCSPEB

Sept 5, 2005 21

8 Monitoring & Evaluation Refresher Training Workshops for HANDS

January 31, 2006 12

9 Monitoring & Evaluation Refresher Training Workshops for AKES,P

February 3, 2006 15

10 Monitoring & Evaluation Refresher Training Workshops for SOCIETY

February 13, 2006 22

Table 1: Database trainings

S.No Title Date Number of participants

1 Baseline Database Training Workshops for Society, Quetta

October 8th & 9th, 2004 4

2 Baseline Database Training Workshops for AKES, P, Karachi

October 11th & 12th, 2004

3

3 Baseline Database Training Workshops for October 18th & 19th, 3


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HANDS, Hala 2004 4 Database Training Workshop for AKES, P September 24, 2005 3 5 Database Training Workshop for SOCIETY October 5 & 6, 2005 6 6 Database Training Workshop for HANDS October 11, 2005 3 7 Database Refresher Training Workshop for HANDS March 17, 2006 5

Partners’ Sharing Meetings: Regular coordination and communication have always been a part of SEF’s technical support to the partners. During Phase 2, various meetings were called out to re-group with all partners in order to chalk out future plans. The details are as follows: a) All Partners’ Meeting on April 11, 2005 The primary objective of the partners’ sharing meeting was to regroup and share each other's experiences, especially vis-à-vis monitoring, advocacy, awareness, research and Nurture magazine. The highlight of the meeting was the presentation on the key findings that had emerged from the research study ‘Understanding ECD through Practice’ that was undertaken by SEF. This study focused on exploring RCC teachers’ understanding of ECD concepts, their perception of learning ECD concepts and their implementation in the classroom including challenges and prospects and the impact of RCC program on their practices, school and community. The second presentation on the preliminary findings of the RCC II baseline survey comprised of tabular and graphical illustrations of the data obtained on the key indicators of the baseline tools. The presentation ended with a comparison drawn between results of the common indicators of RCC-I & RCC-II Baseline surveys. The presenters also shared the common set of errors identified in the data collected by the partner NGOs, so that they would be aware of these common gaps and would make an effort to minimize such data collection errors in future surveys. b) Meetings with each Implementing partner NGO: Based on the discussions that took place in the all partners’ sharing meeting on April 11, 2005, SEF held individual meetings with each Implementing partner NGO. The meetings helped in identifying the issues/points (focusing on school: curriculum and teachers) that the implementing partners suggested to be addressed at the policy level through various means i.e. meetings, dialogues, material etc. Furthermore partners were requested to initiate collection of local stories/song/poems and also share all the learning material details. Additionally, monitoring tools and frequency were discussed.

Building Internal Capacities

Training workshop on ‘Community-Based Participatory Action Research’


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Since the inception of community programme activities by AKU-HDP in Tando Jam, Sindh in January 2005, there have been four training events conducted for ECD workers in Sindh and Balochistan. A comprehensive training programme was conducted in order to enhance the capacity of ECD workers to work effectively in a community setting, to provide parenting education related to early child nurture and antenatal care, and to accurately collect data on children’s growth and development, and antenatal maternal

development using the Record of Early Childhood Growth and Development and Suggestions for Caregivers.

These trainings were conducted and delivered with an ‘experiential learning’ approach. An overall informal environment was maintained so that all the participants could find their comfort zone and participate to their optimum level. Classroom teaching was complemented with field practice in between the sessions.

The Field practice offered the ECD workers an opportunity to understand child assessment and baseline data collection in a practical setting and helped them overcome their fears and boosted their confidence. The training had an evaluation mechanism built into the design, leading to a number of one-on-one sessions with the participants who were finding some of the concepts difficult to understand. After the first training in March 2005, the more experienced ECD Workers played a pivotal role as mentors to new ECD workers in the subsequent trainings and in the field exposure.

Two of these trainings were organized in Hyderabad, Sindh, and one in Pringabad, Balochistan. A total of sixty ECD workers have been trained in both field sites.

Participation in Course on Statistics, Data Management and Analysis and Computer Skills During the first quarter of Phase 2, SEF’s focus was on internal capacity building to strengthen its role of technical support agency. Based on SEF’s scope of work two of SEF’s team members directly responsible for conducting statistical and data analysis, attended a workshop on statistics at the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Aga Khan University.

SEF’s Professional Retreat The professional retreat combined both an opportunity for reflection and rethinking as well as some structured courses in various areas, as another avenue for internal capacity building. The RCC team specially benefited from courses on Social Research Methods, Social Marketing and Project Development and Management.


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Two day Workshop on Early Childhood Development As part of SEF’s ongoing internal capacity building on different dimensions of ECD, a two day workshop was held at SEF’s Head Office in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan (AKF, P) on July 8th & 9th, 2004. This workshop was carried out on the request from the SEF. Ms. Wendy Griffin, an ECD Expert from New Zealand and also an RCC Consultant, carried out an interactive training session for the entire RCC team. The main objectives of the workshop were aiming:

• To help develop a broad based understanding of key ECD concepts, especially in the context of South Asian countries;

• To share and discuss research based ECD programming experiences from around the world;

• To focus on issues and challenges related to ECD program implementation with relation to different stakeholders involved in children’s early learning and development;

• To discuss the importance of teacher development for promoting and implementing ECD

SEF’s Internal Sessions on ECD As part of continued capacity building there were two sessions conducted by the two members who attended the ECD Seminar: From Early Childhood Development to Human Development: Integrating Perspectives. The participants of these sessions were other members of the SEF team. During these sessions the participants were given a detailed presentation of the ECE Seminar, its focused areas and how these areas can be helpful for SEF’s activities. Some of the areas seemed not only relevant to the RCC programme but to other programs of SEF as well.

M&E & Research Capacity Building: In addition to other capacity building endeavors, M&E and research teams at SEF remained part of frequent capacity building sessions with regards to qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis.

Developing Technical Competency in ECD

Training SMCs for increasing participation and efficiency Comprising of community members, the SMCs/PTSMCs are structures which contribute to effective school function and regular monitoring of school staff and infrastructure. Being part of the community, these resource persons can contribute to the effective functioning of schools in the long term. Although these structures are approved by the government, no training is imparted to the SMCs to enable them to carry out their roles. Under RCC II, all implementing partners not only involved SMC members in their activities they also increased their capacities, enabling them to carry out their roles more effectively and efficiently.


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Financial Management, Participatory School Monitoring, preparation and use of the School Development plan, RCC Gender Sensitization, and development of linkages were some of the topics covered in these trainings by partners.

Stand Alone Graduate Seminars: From Early Childhood to Human Development – Integrating Perspectives As part of the capacity building thrust of RCC, HDP offered two, three-week residential seminars on the theme ‘From Early Childhood to Human Development: Integrating Perspectives’, in September 2004 and February 2005. The seminars were a step towards a work-linked Advanced Diploma in Human Development, and aimed at encouraging managers and professionals involved in programmes related to Early Child Development (ECD) to link ECD (as viewed from a number of inter-related perspectives) to life-long learning, behaviour, mental and physical health. The first week of the seminars focused on genetic, health, nutrition, neurological and biological perspectives, enriched by afternoon sessions involving web-based access to the Science of ECD multi-media resources. The second week focused on cultural, social, child, family, school and community perspectives. The focus of the third week shifted to programming considerations, and the roles of teams and networks in promoting integrated ECD programs. Post-seminar assignment options were discussed and planned, and participants were invited to help refine the focus and sequencing of proposed work-linked graduate studies at AKU.

In September 2004, 29 participants represented RCC partners in Sindh and Balochistan, and AKDN partners in Chitral and Gilgit. Participants included three faculty members from AKU-SON, and small teams from Kenya, Afghanistan and China. UNICEF Pakistan supported two government participants from Punjab and two from Balochistan.

In February 2005, there were 24 participants from nine countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Syria, Tanzania (Zanzibar), and Uganda. Participants were variously employed by government, NGO, AKDN and RCC partners as managers, trainers, supervisors, academics, health and education project officers, and teachers. Five Commonwealth countries (Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Tanzania (Zanzibar), and Uganda) accounted for 17 / 24 participants.

For some participants, the September and February Seminars proved to be an opportunity to begin an extended programme of work-linked graduate studies focusing on ECD as an integrating approach. For other participants, the Seminar served as a refresher experience for senior professionals and managers not wishing to pursue graduate studies through the AKU.

Wendy Griffin was overall Seminar Facilitator at both events. Janet Jamieson, Red River College, Canada, facilitated the sessions using the Science of ECD web-based resource.

Advanced Diploma in Human Development The Advanced Diploma in Human Development (Early Child Development) is offered by HDP as an in-service, multi-disciplinary, graduate programme. The programme has 3


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courses, each of five months duration. Two months of self study and related assignments lead to a ‘seminar’ of two weeks at AKU consisting of intensive interaction with faculty on integrated aspects of early child development, followed by 3 months of work-related assignments.

Jane Bertrand, Executive Director of the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, was hired as a consultant for development of the curriculum for the Advanced Diploma.

Advanced Diploma Course-2 Seminar was conducted from 24 July to 5 August 2006. Ten Participants (seven national and three international from Egypt, Syria and Tanzania) including two HDP staff members who attended the residential seminar. Of the ten participants, seven had completed Course-1, offered as a Stand Alone Graduate Seminar in September 2004 and February 2005; three participants, two from HDP and one from AKU School of Nursing, enrolled in Course-2 after completing an intensive work linked course on ECD in February and March 2006.

Advanced Diploma Course-1 Seminar was held in August 2006. Seventeen participants from four countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos and Tajikistan) attended the Seminar.

Janet Jamieson, Red River College, Canada, coordinated the seminar. A multidisciplinary team of Aga Khan University Faculty and HDP staff facilitated the face-to-face teaching sessions.

Training of trainers RCC partners programme teams are regularly involved in conducting training and capacity building activities at various levels. ECD Workers implement the program through regular home visits to families in both sites. These and other community activities require that ECD Workers hone their teaching skills. In turn, their supervisors and the AKU-HDP technical support staff need similar staff development training to continually improve their skills in designing and implementing teaching and learning events for the ECD Workers and other client groups.

A training of trainers (TOT) entitled ‘Learning to Listen – Learning to Teach: An Introduction to Dialogue Education’ was conducted at the end of August 2006. The four-day training event was organized in collaboration with Global Learning Partners (GLP), a US based company providing training and consulting services and specializing in Dialogue Education. Two participants from HANDS (RCC partner), one from AKHS,P, nine HDP Karachi community programme and research staff and four ECD Workers from Tando Jam, Hyderabad attended the training. The participants thought that the training was very useful and the method of learning was satisfying.


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Dr Gail VonHahmann, Consultant Education and Training, assisted by HDP staff, facilitated the training sessions.

Workshop on Integrated Community-Based Programming in ECD AKU-HDP organized a 3-week intensive training workshop for facilitators from June 1-25, 2004 held at the AKU Stadium Road Campus. This 3-week workshop was the first training of RCC Phase 2. The participants represented the AKDN/RCC partner organizations such as AKU-HDP, AKU-IED, AKESP, AKHSP, AKRSP, Society, HANDS, SEF, TRC. The workshop aimed at building a team comprised of RCC and other Partners with a shared understanding of holistic community-based programming in Early Childhood Development and Education, possessing strong facilitation and training skills to enable participants to become key ECD / ECE focal points in their communities.

The workshop was attended by 27 participants (eight of whom represented RCC partners) and was facilitated by Ms. Wendy Griffin, AKU-HDP’s ECD/ECE Consultant.

Objective 3: Facilitate a network of concerned parties in which policy dialogue and coordination, advocacy, resource mobilization, and sharing of best practices can occur RCC II continued to focus on facilitating and supporting a sharing community of learning around ECD. Efforts were made to work with government agencies and local NGOs and to engage in dialogue and resolve issues at a policy level. Activities under this objective were not only undertaken to solve recurring problems at the field-level but also to contribute to the formation of a more integrated and coherent ECD community in Pakistan. The project was highly successful in forming and maintaining close ties with key government officials and in actively engaging with them to support and participate in local ECD activities. Other significant project achievements under this objective included the results of an AKF-HDP baseline survey that revealed that children who attended RCC schools tended to be more confident and expressive and had a stronger grasp on their academic material than those who did not. Furthermore, government and community support for the project was overwhelming with pledges from both that they would continue to support the schools to ensure effective early childhood practices in their communities even when the project ended. The establishment of the Learning Resource Centers (LRC) in the RCC communities was also a huge project milestone.

Advocacy

‘ALL ABOUT LIFESTYLES’ Exhibition: During the entire timeline of the RCC programme there were always such attempts made to explore innovative avenues to further augment the efforts vis-à-vis creating awareness about ECD amongst the general public. Participation in the “All about Lifestyles” exhibition was part of such efforts. Details regarding the participation in the exhibition are as follows:


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The DAWN Group of Newspapers conducted the much celebrated ‘ALL ABOUT LIFESTYLES’ exhibition from June 10-12, 2005. This show offered an opportunity for families to come together under one roof and take a look at all that is vital to the maintenance of their lifestyles. The exhibition not only included goods and products but also services, both private and public, that various organizations provide.

SEF participated in this exhibition as it was believed that this exhibition would provide a great opportunity to have the RCC programme associated with an event that is considered to be the definitive showcase of all that is innovative, productive and imaginative. Also it was believed that this opportunity would also prove to be instrumental in promoting the ECD agenda and would ensure exposure of the RCC programme, its schools and its publications, thereby creating awareness

regarding ECD – an extremely important concept to be communicated to the families. This initiative was much supported and appreciated by AKF. The exhibition proved to be an extremely exciting endeavor.

SEF represented the RCC programme in the Books and Authors Pavilion of the exhibition. This pavilion was dedicated for Pakistani publishers and sellers of magazines and books such as Oxford University Press, Liberty Books, and Paramount Books etc.

Amongst the publications at the stall were Nurture & Parwarish. RCC flyers and artwork created by children. This was in continuation with the theme of ECD and how children’s abilities are blossomed if they are provided with the right opportunities at the right age. The art work included various items such as fancy pencils, bracelets made of beads and other wonderful works of art made by children aged between 4-10 yrs.

Posters of Nurture at the stall during the “All About Lifestyles” Exhibition

Some of the material developed by children, displayed on the stall during the exhibition


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One of the highlights of the event was the visit by the Governor of Sindh, Mr. Ishratul Ibad. Mr. Ibad was thoroughly briefed about Parwarish and Nurture and how these publications are striving to create awareness and advocate for Early Childhood and its importance. He showed keen interest in Parwarish and Nurture and also much appreciated the efforts of promoting the information regarding various important concepts at the grassroots and policy levels.

The sixth annual nation-wide ALL ABOUT LIFESTYLES exhibition had more than 200 exhibitors and during the 3-day exhibition approximately 600,000 people visited the exhibition. More than 300 subscriptions of Nurture and Parwarish combined (100 for Nurture & 200 for Parwarish) were achieved during the exhibition.

‘Re-discovering Childhood’ Symposium & Conference on ‘ECD: Challenges & Opportunities in Pakistan’ As part of the continued efforts vis-à-vis advocacy and sharing best practices a 3 day symposium entitled ‘Rediscovering Childhood’ was organized from April 3-5, 2006. To conclude the symposium a day long conference was organized to aim at engaging the decision makers and policy makers in a dialogue to review challenges and opportunities for Early Childhood Development in Pakistan. Resource mobilization efforts along with synergy development were also undertaken extensively for the symposium and conference. In this regard Catco Kids Inc. showed keen interest to not only participate but also sponsor portions of the conference. The 3 day symposium focused on 4 essential thematic areas namely:

i) Social Institutions & Childhood ii) Media, Technology & Childhood iii) Development & its Impact on Childhood iv) Shaping of Childhood in the Age of Globalization

The conference highlighted the opportunities and major challenges that implementation regarding ECD faces in Pakistan whereas, acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, there is no formal provision for Early Childhood Education (ECE) although the National Plan of Action aims to institutionalize and formalize katchi class and further expand ECE facilities for the katchi class.

Governor of Sindh, Dr. Ishratul Ibad being briefed by two SEF’s representatives when he visited SEF’s stall


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It was brought to the forefront that what we as a nation need to determine is what priority ECD initiatives have for our people, in terms of benefits, in terms of costs and in terms of overall relevance. On the whole, the conference sought to achieve to view ECD as a concept and as a programme through the perspective of our nation’s priorities, its diverse culture, its resources, its requirements and the opportunities and challenges it provides.

Media Coverage of the ‘Re-discovering Childhood’ Symposium and Conference Meticulous attention was paid of communicating the efforts to the media by inviting correspondents of the leading newspapers to the symposium and conference. Furthermore, the topic of the symposium and conference generated so much interest in the general public that the media coverage was beyond expectations.

International symposium on ECD HDP held a symposium titled “Early Child Development: Enabling Evidence-Based Practice and Policy” on August 7 and 8, between the two seminars of the Advanced Diploma to enable course participants to attend; 19 of 27 did so and felt that the opportunity both enhanced their learning and enabled the participants of the two cohorts from different countries to establish contacts. The Symposium was complemented by four concurrent workshops.

Some 200 persons registered for the symposium. Officials of the provincial and federal government were invited, as were international development agencies. Nine District Education Officers from Hyderabad, Khairpur and Tando Jam participated, from the area where AKU-HDP is active in communities; of them one wrote favourable and constructive comments on the evaluation form and suggested themes for future symposia on training, quality, improvement and monitoring of ‘elementary education’.

Six major national daily newspapers including Dawn, The News and The Nation covered the Symposium. Radio Pakistan broadcasted an interview with Naureen Madhani, Programme Manager HDP, on the eve of the Symposium.

“Raising Capable Children”: A Symposium on ECD, May 22-24, 2006 in Gilgit, Pakistan AKF, P organized a 3-day symposium entitled “Raising Capable Children” from May 22-24, 2006 in Gilgit, Pakistan. This 3-day symposium brought Government representatives, NGOs, and AKDN partners together to examine the current programmes for ECD in Pakistan, share lessons learned by these different experiences and chalk out a way for the future. During this


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symposium it was endeavored to realize collectively how the commitment to supporting childhood development at the earliest possible moment can be recognized and rediscovered for children by being able to use the unique strengths and talents from various organizations. The event was divided into three themes namely Early Environments, Childhood Care, and Development Diversity. These thematic areas were brought to the center stage on each respective day of the symposium. Participating organizations presented their work and shared ideas through presentations and group discussions. The final day saw AKDN agencies, RCC partners, NGO and government representatives and University students outlining possible ways for increasing and improving ECD focus in Pakistan. SEF provided technical support to AKF(P) for this conference in the form of designing the backdrop, development of giveaways for the participants and developing the layout of the final report.

International conferences and meetings Aiming to share the RCC experience and learn from other ECD programs, RCC partners attended the following meetings: At the invitation of the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development Secretariat, HDP’s Planning Coordinator participated in the Group’s Annual Consultation in Istanbul, Turkey in October, 2004, as one of 20 invited guests, in addition to 28 CG members representing the CG donor agencies.

Senior Instructor Research, attended a 3 day conference in Kenya in April, 2005. The focus of the conference was “Quality education: The Aga Khan Development Network Experience” with a special theme on “Meeting challenges of quality education for all in East Africa and beyond”. In general, the visit afforded a very good opportunity to link up with ECD initiatives in East Africa, introduce HDP and RCC and share experiences and practices of Pakistan.

Dr Camer Vellani, Acting Director AKU-HDP, was invited to join an international “Knowledge Network” (KN) on ECD by Clyde Hertzman, University of British Columbia. Dr Hertzman is the Leader of the ECD “Knowledge Hub”, which is a component of the World Health Organization’s global Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). The first meeting was held in April 2006. A conference on Measuring Early Child Development was also held in conjunction with the meeting. Dr Aisha Yousafzai, Assistant Professor, participated in the conference.

Networking for resource mobilization and sharing of best practices

Consultative Meeting with AKES, P A consultative meeting was conducted with AKES, P by SEF in June 2004 to discuss the respective work plans of SEF and AKES, P. As each organization had developed its own


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work plan, it was important to share the work plans, exchange views and explore avenues of mutual support during the Phase 2 of the RCC programme. The issue of advocacy was the main focus of the meeting. Generally all the implementing partners at the onset of Phase 2 expressed interest in designing their own promotional campaigns to which SEF offered to extend its complete support. SEF also proposed to provide capacity building and technical support in developing and executing advocacy activities.

Meetings with Education Department and Government officials Government officials, in particular, key figures from the DoE and the district and local governments were kept abreast of project activities from the start. Information-sharing and dialogue promoting mechanisms were established early during Phase II. Liaising with DoE and Government Officials for change Contact with officials of the DoE was maintained throughout the project cycle. Meetings with key decision-makers such as the Minister for Education, Sindh and Balochistan, and the Advisor to the Chief Minister, Sindh were also organized to disseminate the work of the RCC and lobby for regularization of the katchi classes. Opportunities such as the Heads’ Forum organized in late 2004 were utilized as avenues to further dialogue on issues such as teachers’ transfer and resultant gaps in school functioning and implementation of infrastructure development plans. Assurances of support were garnered from concerned government officials and frequently set into motion strategies to deal with the identified problems. Liaison efforts with the Department of Health also met with success and as a result, a series of free medical camps and community information sessions were organized. The RCC teams were also highly successful in collaborating and forming partnerships with the SMCs, local NGOs and a range of other institutions. Regular meetings with government officials were used as platform to lobby for change and resolution of problems. For example, in early 2005, a meeting of AKES,P-RCC team with the Executive District Officer Education (EDOE) of Khairpur and the Union Councilor Nazim of Wada Macho served to prevent the transfer of a Class 1 government teacher to another section. Government support in this regard was indicative of the degree to which the project was able to establish local ownership and deliver on results. Such confidence in RCC outputs also produced rewarding developmental milestones such as the inclusion of the katchi classes in the General Record of schools in Hyderabad city by the local EDO. The DoE also pledged support for the RCC schools once the project had phased out and sought opportunities to work collaboratively with RCC partners HANDS and AKESP. For example, the DoE in Hyderabad asked for the AKES,P-RCC team’s support in the design of an ECD training for the non-RCC government schools. Similarly, after a visit to schools in Bela by the Secretary of Education and Director schools, the Secretary met with the ESRA Chief to discuss the possibilities of implementing a programme similar to RCC in all Government schools in the province. This provided the project teams with an opportunity to expand the scope and impact of RCC interventions.


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However, constant changes within the district setup in Hyderabad resulted in a range of problems in RCC schools which was further aggravated by persistent teacher transfers due to political interference. This adversely impacted student development due to increased absenteeism by teachers and their reluctance to participate in RCC trainings. Advocacy to encourage change and improve the situation was undertaken by the RCC team to motivate the teaching staff. Government engagement in RCC trainings and other events were promoted to affect an improved understanding of the issues and resolution of the same. Engagement of government officials not only helped in securing teachers’ attendance in schools as well as in RCC activities, but also had a positive impact on their morale. While government commitment to stem transfers at the local level was frequently secured through extensive dialogue and negotiation, discussions revealed that district officials often had little control over transfer orders, particularly those that were politically motivated. Further, changes within the district government and the formation of a newly elected local government meant that the RCC team had to reinitiate introductory sessions about ECD and the work of the project to orient the new government officials such as the nazims and naib nazims of the districts where the project was operating. Coordination and advocacy efforts to establish new partnerships within local government agencies and the DoE took up much of the team’s time during 2005. MoU Modifications At inception, meetings between partners and relevant government officials resulted in required modification in their terms of partnership as encompassed earlier by the RCC Phase I Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This was essential as interventions under RCC II focus beyond the katchi class, necessitating the involvement of the entire school staff. Draft MoUs were circulated among key officials for comment and finalization. Although formal endorsement of the MoUs took some time due to staff transfers in the DoE and other bureaucratic hiccups, the issue was eventually resolved to the satisfaction of all the key stakeholders. Dialogue with the Secretary Education Complete support was extended to AKF, P for organizing all partners’ meeting on Aug 17, 2005 at SEF. Moreover, SEF invited Secretary Education, Mr. Ghulam Ali Pasha for implementing partners to share their issues pertaining to ECD implementation in RCC schools in Sindh. Several issues identified by the implementing partners such as: i) Institutionalization of Kachi class; ii) Regularization of RCC community teachers and iii) Children age issue were presented to the Secretary Education.

Coordination with partners and other NGOs AKES,P’s katcheri trainings provided a unique opportunity for coordination and information-sharing between different RCC partners and community and government

Secy. Education Mr. Ghulam Ali Pasha with other participants of the meeting


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stakeholders. The input of HANDS and SOCIETY in developing and disseminating the katcheri concept proved invaluable and helped build a stronger sense of camaraderie and team spirit within the RCC implementing partner agencies. The involvement of NOVA and IRC in the katcheri training in Khairpur also paved the way for the dissemination of ECD concepts to other organizations working in rural Sindh The participation of government officials helped develop insight on ECD issues within governmental agencies. The katcheri trainings thus facilitated the development of an ECD information-sharing network and helped provide a platform for advocacy aimed at promoting the sustainability and replicability of the program in government schools. AKESP also collaborated extensively with HANDS to design health programs and related material for RCC schools. AKESP undertook discussions with TRC and piloted the TRC Manual for Multigrade Teaching in participating RCC schools so specific insights could be drawn about its relevance in public school settings. Discussions with the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) also regularly took place, particularly in the context of tool development and data analysis. Efforts were also made to engage with private schools and an ECD workshop organized by the RCC team in early 2005 invited teachers and head teachers from schools like Beacon House, Karachi Grammar School, Foundation Public School etc. along with representatives from local NGOs. This opened another avenue for information-sharing and collaborative learning mechanisms. Similarly site visits were organized for representatives of institutions such as AKF Pakistan and Geneva, Commonwealth Secretariat, and AKU – HDP to share RCC successes and obtain crucial feedback on ways to improve program delivery. Dialogue with ESRA was initiated and maintained and resulted in a partnership that worked to both institutions advantage. Coordination between AKESP, AKF and ESRA reduced the duplication of effort in teacher training programs and capacity-building initiatives for the SMCs in Hyderabad and Tando Muhammad Khan. Contact was also established with another important government project in Khairpur, i.e., LEAD-Pakistan. Both AKESP and LEAD agreed to share information and resources and to actualize opportunities for collaboration and partnership. AKESP undertook extensive negotiations with LEAD-Pakistan to enable the SMCs to receive infrastructure development funds being awarded under ESRA. Similar discussions were also undertaken with PAIMAN and efforts were made to prevent overlaps in activities. Engagement with these agencies remained a core success for the AKESP initiative and enabled improvement in the disbursement and utilization of funds for RCC schools. By sharing planned activities, the organizations were able to ensure more efficient delivery of outputs.

RCC resource development

Development of RCC II Logo RCC II logo was designed during Phase 2. The Phase 2 logo much like the logo of Phase 1 depicted the true spirit of the RCC programme by using vibrant colours and a cheerful design.


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Development of RCC Phase II Brochure

The beginning of a second phase of the RCC programme raised the need to develop a new brochure that would:

Underscore the achievements of RCC Phase I, and Inform target audience of the objectives of the RCC Phase II

along with, Highlight the importance of first eight years of a child’s life.

Taking into account the above areas it was also decided that the new

brochure would be designed with a different look containing more information regarding the programme with different color scheme and design. The brochure was designed, printed and disseminated during the 2nd quarter of 2005.

RCC Documentary2 To document RCC’s Phase 2, its activities and achievements in an effective manner it was proposed by SEF that a documentary be developed. The documentary is deemed to be a potent tool to reach out to the target audience in this case: government officials, donors, policy makers and other organizations to learn about ECD in general and the RCC programme in particular. It is being aimed to also showcase the programme’s communities’ interventions, its attempts to revitalize the kachi system and its different approach of teaching children during their early years. The documentary is shot to be essentially a 20-30 minute captivating video that includes details of the programme including the objectives of the programme along with why such objectives were set. It also seeks to highlight the importance of a good start

to life and what are the parameters of it and how these parameters have been encompassed in the programme. Although the selection process was undertaken swiftly the filming of the documentary got delayed due to a law and order situation in Balochistan and torrential rains and 2 RCC Documentary is in the process of being edited.

Documentary being shot in Hala


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flooding in Sindh. Owing to the still persistent law and order situation in Balochistan it was decided to restrict the filming of the documentary to the province of Sindh only. The documentary production team consisted of 8 people including the director and his technical crew. The production team is guided and advised by SEF on a continual basis to ensure that the necessary nuances of the programme are captured. HANDS also produced a documentary showcasing achievements of the RCC programme. This documentary was shared with the partners at the RCC Conference in Gilgit.

RCC Phase 2 Close-out Document Through AKF-P’s support, Jill Worrall, an award winning writer, worked on developing RCC’s first coffee table reader. This reader attempts to narrate the RCC story through the voices of those most closely involved ranging from children to facilitators, teachers to government officials, partner NGOs management staff to community support workers and many more.

ECD resource development

Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) Considerable time and energy was spent on the development and finalization of the location of Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) and provision of necessary orientation to local Executive District Officers (EDOs), District Officers Education (DOEs) and Assistant District Officers Education (ADEOs), and Education Supervisors. The formation of the centers was probably the major strategy adopted by the implementing partners as part of project phase-out to ensure the sustainability of its initiatives, project replicability and institutionalization of the RCC interventions. A participatory approach was adopted to enhance ownership of the LRCs by key players in the sector. Sites for the 17 Society, 3 AKES,P and 4 HANDS LRCs were finalized on the basis of geographical accessibility from the RCC schools and efforts for their operationalisation were initiated soon after project inception. It was decided that the RCC LRCs would operate towards the following objectives:

• Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships by o Providing a common platform to public, private and community schools to

learn from each other by sharing ideas and resource material, o Engaging the local leadership, DoE and communities in building

capacities at the grassroots through shared responsibilities

• Creating a collaborative learning culture for professional growth by o Engaging teachers of different schools in organizing, conducting and

attending various professional development activities o Providing easy and friendly access to the required learning resources


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• Ensuring the sustainability and strengthening of new RCC initiatives by o Establishing independent learning resource units with a trained resource

person to continue the work after project is over o Engaging communities so that they become confident for such activities

Lobbying for the formation of Executive Committees (EC) at the district, taluka and community levels to coordinate, evaluate and monitor LRCs’ functioning and maintenance was undertaken. It was envisaged that at least one representative each from the district and local governments, the DoE, community-based education societies (CBES), partner agency, head teacher of the selected LRC and its resource person would be part of the LRC EC. Negotiations with the government for this and other issues such as the allocation of teachers for the LRCs and signing of an MoU to ensure formal government involvement in LRC interventions faced numerous delays due to changes in local government. However, the RCC team continued to lobby with the government and also coordinated with the ALs and teachers from other schools in the vicinity for effective operationalization of LRCs. Action plans for the training of government teachers on LRC management were developed and implemented. Negotiations with the DoE regarding the secondment of government teachers to the LRCs were also undertaken. Meetings were organized with a range of NGOs such as Oxfam, Children Resources International (CRI), TRC, UNICEF, ESRA, AKU–HDP etc. to mobilize learning resources for the LRC. Close coordination with the district government, the DoE and local NGOs was maintained throughout the preparatory period. The establishment of the LRCs met with much government and community support.

Nurture Magazine Nurture Issue I In May 2004 a mailing list on both national and international levels was developed for the Nurture magazine, as well as for other RCC publications. Continued efforts were made to promote Nurture and enhance its subscription. The promotional activities began through the 2nd quarter of RCC Phase 2 after Nurture Issue I was published. The efforts aimed at enhancing the awareness level of parents, teachers and other caregivers regarding Early Childhood Development by expanding the readership base of the magazine. The following promotional activities were planned and executed by SEF during the quarter spanning July-September 2004: - Mailing to International Organizations - Mass Mailing of NURTURE to Educational Institutes - Visits to Educational Institutes - Visits to Pediatricians - Participation in Educational Seminars


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The Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan, one of the partner agencies in the RCC programme, organized two educational seminars titled ‘Parental Role in Early Years’ & ‘Impact of Media on Children’ on September 24th & 25th, 2004. These seminars were aimed at increasing the awareness level of parents for better nurturing of children. Approximately 1,200 parents attended these seminars. This opportunity was availed by SEF by participating in the seminars in order to promote Nurture. AKES, P provided continuous support during the entire activity. There was representation from the SEF3 as guest speaker on ‘Parental role in Early Years’. SEF also set up a stall for Nurture for this event. Parents, teachers and guest speakers who participated in the event provided valuable comments on the magazine and subscribed for it instantly. As a result of this two day promotional activity 406 subscriptions of Nurture were received. Cumulatively the above mentioned activities during the July-September 2004 quarter resulted in 647 subscriptions for Nurture which included 50 international subscriptions. Nurture Issue II Issue II of Nurture magazine was sent for print during the last quarter of 2005. Initially, keeping in mind the subscription base of the magazine, it was decided that approximately 4000 copies would be published. However in time, through distributing the magazine amongst bookstores and sending it to subscribers, there was a need to print more copies to use during seminars and other meetings. Hence approx. 1800 additional copies were printed. Like the first issue, Nurture Issue II also proved to be immensely popular. Teachers particularly appreciated the initiative because they began to use the magazine as a valuable source of information. Parents too found the magazine a useful. Not only did they show their appreciation by positive feedback and congratulations but they also showed a lot of eagerness to contribute to the magazine in the form of articles, original write-ups etc. According to one parent who had recently subscribed and received the issue II of Nurture: “It is really a Herculean job that SEF is trying to educate the masses about parenting. I wish you all the luck for this great effort.” 3 Mr. Aziz Kabani, Associate Director, Research & Development, Sindh Education Foundation, participated as the Guest Speaker for the seminar.


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Another reader mentioned: “It is really nice to know that there is such a document that gives written material that can be helpful for the parents in parenting and care giving. My daughter is of one year and 10 days. I am sure Nurture would be very helpful in her better growth. Thanking you for your cooperation. God bless you abundantly to carry on the specific mission you are working for.”4 Nurture Issue III Update Preparations vis-à-vis Nurture Issue III continued through the quarters of January-March and April-June 2006. The theme and outline were decided after having extensive discussions with AKF and the RCC partners. Issue III of Nurture focused on the Value of Health & Hygiene and featured articles from professional writers.

Parwarish Magazine During the phase 2 of the RCC programme more efforts were geared towards making the advocacy material more local and contextualized. In this pursuit portions of the pioneering ECD magazine in English were translated along with additional articles on local issues and topics to bring out another pioneering publication on ECD but this time in Urdu called Parwarish. The relevant portions of Nurture Issues were translated in Urdu for Parwarish Issues. Additionally more contextually relevant articles and sections were included e.g. information about local foods to be fed to children from 0-8 years, how teachers can ensure parents’ participation in school and how parents themselves can get involved in children’s education and schooling .Urdu language was chosen so that the magazine can be distributed in both Balochistan and Sindh. Parwarish is one of RCC’s most widely read publications and the only RCC publication in Urdu. Although the English version of the publication – Nurture – enjoys a larger subscription base, Parwarish has a higher distribution network as it is widely read amongst all of SEF’s schools and communities. Through the last quarter of RCC phase 2, Parwarish enjoyed a growing subscription base of 350+ readers. During the entire phase 2 various efforts were made to promote the magazine. The magazine was introduced to the teachers during a number of SEF’s trainings. During the last quarter of phase 2, alongside the development, design and editing of Nurture Issue III, work was carried out on Parwarish’s third issue. The articles of the

4 Kamran Sadiq - Xavor Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd.


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third issue were translated from Nurture Issue III but these articles were contextualized for local audience.

ECD Booklets These thematic booklets were developed to supplement the reflective discourse that was initiated during the April 2006 symposium and the conference on some thought provoking issues and challenges that children face in today’s world.

The complete set comprises of five booklets; the first being the introduction to the symposium and conference. This introductory booklet contains a complete list of all the panelists and messages by the keynote speakers. The second, third and fourth booklets are based on some of the important themes that were deliberated upon during the symposium. These themes included: ‘Social Institutions and Childhood’, ‘Media and its Impact on Childhood’ and ‘Globalization, Development and Childhood’. Each of these three booklets contain informative sections that highlight the exploratory research about the respective theme, the rich discourse that took

place amongst the panelists and some interesting facts about the respective theme in the present context. The fifth and last booklet covers the conference ‘Early Childhood Development in Pakistan: Opportunities and Challenges’. The booklets serve as a crucial resource guide for people from all walks of life who want to learn more about relevant issues that affect childhood today.

ECDPAK Website Development of ECDPAK Website New Outline The ECDPAK.com website went through a facelift both in the outlook and content during October-December 2004. As part of the ecdpak website management it was felt that the flash introduction made the site heavy for the user to visit therefore, the introduction was improved to make surfing easier. Simultaneously extensive work was undertaken to develop the contents for the inner pages which resulted in development of 100 pages. During the quarter of October-December 2005 the ECDPAK website was given another extreme makeover. Barring a few color combinations and the theme of the homepage,


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there were tremendous updates to the website which is Pakistan’s first website that focuses on the concept of early childhood development. Many new and innovative sections were added e.g. an “Ask your ECD expert” section and separate sections for parents and teachers respectively all of which made the website more meaningful and wholesome and much easier to browse through. During the quarter April-June 2006, the ecdpak website was updated with information pertaining to the conference titled ‘Rediscovering Childhood’ held in Karachi from April 3-6, 2006 and the symposium named ‘Raising Capable Children’ held in Gilgit from May 22-24, 2006. PDF files containing information related to the profiles of speakers & panelists, symposium/conference material, presentations delivered by the speakers and articles related to the themes of both symposiums were attached to the website.

ECD Mapping The ECD Mapping Survey was conceived to describe broadly the current provision of and support for ECE in Pakistan; highlight areas of opportunities, gaps and challenges; and make recommendations for addressing the opportunities and gaps in the upcoming years to further enhance the provision of ECE in Pakistan. ECD Mapping Survey (initiated by AKF in phase I of the RCC programme) started during the April-June 2005 quarter. Therefore, a number of organizations working in ECE/ECD were contacted to update their information. Moreover, the information obtained enabled the ECD PAK website to become further comprehensive and extensive. ECD Mapping information was updated during July-September 2005 quarter. Details pertaining to agencies implementing and funding early learning efforts were included in the mapping study. Information related to the following agencies was added to the study:

1. Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan 2. Society for Community Support for Primary Education in Pakistan (SCSPEB) 3. Health and Nutrition Development Society 4. Human Development Programme- Aga Khan University 5. Teachers’ Resource Centre 6. Sindh Education Foundation 7. Children’s Resources International 8. Institute for Education Development- Aga Khan University 9. CATCO Kids 10. Institute for Education Research, University of Punjab 11. READ 12. Strengthening Participatory Organization


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13. SAHE 14. Idara-e-Taleem O Agahi 15. Plan Pakistan 16. Aga Khan Foundation 17. JICA 18. UNICEF 19. European Union 20. Asian Development Bank 21. USAID 22. UNESCO 23. Muslim Aid

The information vis-à-vis each organization comprised:

- Geographical Coverage of the Organization - Areas of Operations in ECD - Major Activities undertaken in ECD

The information pertaining to each organization was shared with the RCC partners during the quarterly meeting organized by the Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan on Aug 17, 2005. The partners’ suggestions were incorporated in the mapping information accordingly.

Other Publications Case Study Booklet: The RCC case studies booklets were mailed to NGOs, donors, government officials, schools and educationists. ECD Resource Book & ECD Planner: The ECD Resource Book and the ECD planners were also disseminated amongst NGOs, donors, government officials, schools and educationists, besides the RCC partners.


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Objective 4: Conduct research on the cost benefit of early childhood interventions and effective practices from RCC schools and disseminate to audiences in Pakistan The primary project concern under this objective was to continue to build upon the baseline data collected during RCC I, as well as collect information on student and school progress rates. Research findings helped influence and streamline policy and practice and also impacted upon policy dialogue. Data collection and analysis activities were undertaken throughout RCC II and were particularly useful in making the case for the replication of the initiative on a broader scale in Pakistan. Although it was SEF and AKU-HDP that played a lead role in the conduct of research on cost benefits and the effectiveness of ECD interventions, AKESP also devoted time and energy to the collection of data and analysis of the effectiveness of its implementation strategies with respect to improving teaching and learning practices and community ownership of RCC interventions.

Monitoring and Evaluation As technical support partner, SEF was responsible for monitoring and evaluation of the programme. SEF’s organized coordination between partners for finalization of M&E tools, data collection and entry and support in the process of data analysis and presentation. Implementing partners also played their respective roles. Staff members from implementing partners attended data collection and entry trainings soon after project inception and then spent a significant amount of time in completing baseline data collection forms. The team provided feedback to address gaps and ambiguities in the tools that were identified during pilot testing. Efforts were made to allocate qualified and relevant staff for data collection to ensure the quality of the data collected.

Baseline for RCC II The Monitoring & Evaluation component remained one of the priority areas for SEF in RCC II. Rigorous planning activities for the baseline were undertaken especially with regards to the baseline tools and collaboration with the implementing partners. The baseline and monitoring experiences and learning of RCC Phase 1 were the key reference points for the baseline planning exercise of RCC II. The baseline tools of RCC Phase 1 included: Classroom Observation Form; Child Assessment Form; School Profile; Family Profile and Community Profile. In RCC phase II it was decided that the main focus would remain on Classroom Observation and School Profile forms. Several meetings were held with educationalists and research specialists in the field of ECD. Dr. Kathy Bartlett, Dr. Jim Irvine and Ms. Wendy Griffin provided their valuable suggestions and feedback on the M&E tools. Suggestions on the Child Assessment form resulted in a greater measurement of children’s creativity rather than just learning alphabets and numbers, while tools for the newly inducted classes I and II were also developed in consultation with these specialists.


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Implementing partners were invited to review and discuss the tools and provide feedback to be incorporated into the tools. Their input was more important as they had first hand knowledge of the ground level realities and could provide a more realistic image of the communities where these tools were to be implemented. For RCC Phase 2, the following baseline tools were finalized whose first draft was prepared in April 2004:

1. Classroom Observation Form 2. Child Assessment Form (katchi) 3. School Profile (Yearly) 4. School Profile (Quarterly) 5. Family Profile 6. Department of Education/Local Government Form

The reason for developing two types of the School Profile was to increase the efficacy of this tool. The yearly School Profile was meant to be more detailed and included sections on school infrastructure, school administration and finances, SMCs/PTSMCs, etc. Since these areas are such that they do not show change very frequently therefore these indicators were a part of the annual form whereas the quarterly School Profile was briefer and was designed to capture data on indicators which frequently vary like students’ attendance and enrollment trends. In addition to the baseline forms, a few other issues were also discussed at meetings. One of the suggestions put forward, and accepted by all the participants was to make a focal group for M&E. This group was to constitute of focal persons from each partner organization, who would be coordinating all the M&E activities at each partner’s end. It was discussed that the formation of such a group would:

a) make it easier for SEF to coordinate all the M&E activities; b) provide a network through which constant feedback could be exchanged between

all the partners; c) bring more focus and order to the M&E component of the RCC project.

Partners decided upon the following points for data collection:

• Uniformity regarding the sample sizes for all the forms which were: o 100% sample for Child Assessment (Kachi & Class 1) o 30% sample families of both kachi and class 1 children for Family Profile

form o For Local Government form, implementing partners will communicate the

sample size to SEF • All three implementing partners to nominate a focal person for M&E to

coordinate all M&E activities with SEF


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The SEF team translated all the forms of Baseline Survey in Urdu and Sindhi. After translations, the forms were composed and sent to print. The forms were printed and disseminated during July and August, 2004. Field-based Support The issues of data errors during the baseline of phase I were identified and categorized in order to establish processes to circumvent such issues in the future. Field-based support emerged as the biggest supplementary tool to not only thwart such issues but to further ensure the quality of data. Therefore, field visits followed the baseline survey training to support the partners’ data collectors’ teams. These visits have been lauded by the partners as well during phase 2. The framework of these visits was multi-dimensional which was applicable on all the visits: 1: Extend support to the implementing partners regarding any data collection issues especially pertaining to the survey forms. Also some of the questions in which issues were foreseen during the training workshops were identified. These identified questions were verified along with partners’ specific issues regarding the questions. 2: Visits provided an opportunity for critical observations at the field level which were then discussed with the partners for improving data collection resulting in better quality of data. 3: Lastly the indicators on which either the results are too low or have improved considerably will be seen in the light of field observations to substantiate authenticity of data. In this regard there were visits undertaken in Sindh & Balochistan. During discussions findings indicated that there may be some programmatic implications. According to their information the communities were not responding to Family Profile form because of a survey being conducted by the Aga Khan University (AKU). As per their observation this activity is regarded as repetition. It was also shared with the SEF team that data related to katchi class is not available in some new RCC schools. Monitoring Field visits The process of field visits continued during October-December 2004 quarter also. One school each in four districts of Balochistan was visited whereas two schools of HANDS were visited. These field visits were more observational and focused on the practices in the classroom along with the classroom environment. The team visited the RCC schools of SCSPEB on October 8-9, 2004 and the RCC schools of HANDS on October 11, 2004. For each school, the members conducted a 45


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minute classroom observation, followed by an hour-long interview of the RCC teacher, based on a set of open-ended questions concerning the teaching practices of the teacher. Furthermore, in order to verify the improvement in the monitoring results of certain indicators as compared to the baseline results, the SEF team members also prepared a checklist of certain aspects to be observed during these school visits. These observations related to the teaching methodologies adopted by the teachers, the classroom practices and learning environment, etc. For example, the results of child displays showed significant improvement in the monitoring survey as compared to the baseline results. The classroom observations conducted by the SEF team members in the RCC schools indicated that there were a greater number of wall hangings in the classroom environment prepared by the teachers and supplied by the implementing partners as compared to displays prepared by students. Therefore, the monitoring results might be depicting an increase in the number of classroom displays in the RCC classrooms rather than distinguishing an increase in the material developed exclusively by the students. The data collectors might have counted wall hangings as materials developed by children while administering the Classroom Observation form. Similarly, the results of color recognition showed significant improvement in the monitoring survey as compared to the baseline results of RCC I, with the primary colors yellow and red standing out to be the most recognized colors by the students. The SEF team observed that numerous objects, color of the walls and display charts in the environment of the classrooms were yellow and red, thereby verifying the monitoring results. The results of Lesson Plan’s existence and plan being followed also showed striking improvements in the monitoring survey as compared to the baseline results, which were verified by the SEF team members during the classroom observations of the RCC schools, where the teachers practiced weekly/daily lesson planning and followed the activities chalked in the lesson plan. The team was also informed by the RCC teachers that they conducted certain activities in the class that were also present in the Child Assessment form, such as the draw-a-person activity, since they knew that the students would be evaluated at the time of monitoring on the basis of their performance on the activities and tests present in the Child Assessment tools. This observation brought forth the same debate that SEF and TRC had initiated since the very outset of the programme regarding the attitude of the teachers. It was always emphasized in all the trainings conducted by SEF that the administration of Child Assessment should be done in a non-exam manner but it was always feared that the subjectiveness of teachers might step in making it more of an examination test than a data collection tool. It was also suggested that this biasness could have only been eliminated if the administration of Child Assessment is done by an independent data collector but the feasibility of this option was not extensively explored. Field based support remained helpful in lessening the errors and issues pertaining to data, consequently helped in enhancing the quality of data. Additional visits were undertaken


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during the quarter of July-Sept 2005 and they were immensely lauded by the partners as well. Also these visits were conducted keeping partners’ schedules in mind. Modifications in the Monitoring Framework and Data Collection Owing to the discussions with the participants during the two baseline trainings in Hyderabad and Quetta respectively, it was observed that the data collectors were over burdened with the tools’ administration mainly due to the length of the tools. Also the implementing partners’ shared their concern about the lack of human resource for data collection a few times during a year. Although all the tools were developed with the mutual consensus and input from all the partners but being the main technical agency to handle the issues pertaining to the length and frequency of the tools, SEF took the initiative of considerably reducing the length of the tools along with entirely eliminating some tools from the monitoring framework on the basis of either administering them in the research or at the end of the programme. It was suggested to eliminate Family Profile form altogether since a comprehensive profile of families was captured during the first baseline. It was also put forth that School Profile form will be reduced in length: focusing more on the quantitative indicators more i.e. the ones that change frequently. The modified school profile form will be administered after every four months. Only the Classroom Observation form was decided to be kept in the same format with same indicators to be administered bi-annually. RCC-II Monitoring & Evaluation Framework5

Tool Respondent/Sample size Timelines

1. School Monitoring form 2. Classroom Observation form 3. School Profile Annual form

1. School records/School In-charge (100%) 2. Teachers (100%)

i) September, 2005 ii) January, 2006 iii) May, 2006 (The timelines for Balochistan winter zone are September, Feb & June 2006 respectively) i) September, 2005 ii) Jan, 2006 iii) September 2006* (*Optional and will be finalized based on the need) 2nd data collection in Balochistan winter zone will be undertaken in Feb 2006. September 2006

RCC II Baseline Analysis

5 School Profile Baseline form was targeted to be administered at the end of the programme in Sept. 2006. Also if required, the other baseline tool(s) might be repeated in Sept 2006 i.e. Family Profile form and Local Government form


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The RCC-II baseline survey was conducted in order to capture the situation of the new RCC schools selected in phase II. For partners like AKES, P who had not selected new schools, the data was collected for the new classes and new teachers. The main purpose of baseline was to gauge the situation at one point in time (before any intervention) in order to devise intervention strategies on the basis of the baseline results. The data collection took place in the months of September & October, 2004, in which five baseline tools were administered. These tools comprised of approximately 70% quantitative indicators and 30% qualitative indicators. After the data had been entered at the partners’ ends into the RCC-II baseline database, the data was consolidated after cleaning identified gaps and logical errors. Efforts were made to categorize the missing data into relevant categories. After performing the data consolidation and cleaning procedures, the RCC baseline data analysis framework was developed, according to which descriptive analysis on the collected data was performed. The analysis was done NGO-wise along with the analysis of each indicator. The final report was developed and was shared with all partners. Although continuous efforts were made by SEF to address the gaps, still after reviewing the data received there were some errors identified out of which some were rectified.

• Date of births of almost 30% of the students was found missing • Data of certain other indicators was also found to be missing, such as gender of

the child, date of enrolment of the child in the school, date of administering the form, etc.

• Teacher’s academic and professional qualifications were also missing • Ambiguous data for recording the number of classrooms in the school, such as

‘3+9’ • In some cases, the total number of classes were not mentioned and only the

classes being conducted in veranda were mentioned • Date of birth of the child and the date when the child was enrolled in the school

was missing • In most of the forms, relationship of the individual being interviewed with the

child and information on the type of family was found missing • In some cases, conflicting data has been provided between the total attendance in

the class on particular day and the enrolment figures recorded in the School Profile form

Research Studies

Comparative analysis of RCC and non-RCC schools The need for data on other schools in the vicinity of the RCC communities on key indicators such as enrolment and attendance rates was essential to qualify the success of RCC and develop reflective accounts which could inform policies and sustainability initiatives for ECD. The AKES,P-RCC team collected and analyzed quantitative data on


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student enrolments, drop outs and progression in RCC schools and at the same time, admission trends and attendance were also collected for other schools in the vicinity schools. Data was collected from all 27 RCC schools and 30 neighboring schools for 3 academic years (2003-2005) using internally developed research tools and formats. While enrolments have grown over time in the other districts, numbers in Hyderabad fell in 2005 – 06 due to extensive migration as a result of the closing of a sugar mill which provided employment to many community members. In general, parental dissatisfaction with the non-availability of teachers or their irregular attendance also impacted on enrolment rates. The data shows that dropout rates in RCC schools are far lower than the provincial average of more than 45% in the first two years of schooling. Also significantly, katchi drop-out rates fell by almost 50% in 2004 – 05, which is strongly indicative of growing parental and community awareness about the importance of the ECD. In general, qualitative data that was collected to support quantitative information indicates that space constraints in school buildings and non-availability of teachers are frequently responsible for drop-outs. In addition, family migration due to economic consideration also impacted continuity rates. Gender differentiated data also was collected by the project team to enable the design of targeted interventions to improve female enrolment and lower drop-out rates.

Shadowing RCC students AKESP also initiated the shadowing of selected students to study their home environments and how they were supported in the community. Initially, this activity was undertaken in Hyderabad district where the RCC team made home visits to: observe practices related to education and health adopted by children from their environment, understand child and parent relationships, identify factors that could impact children’s learning, identify problems faced by parents and children at home and understand local values and traditions that could support child creativity and enhance their confidence. These visits served the additional purpose of strengthening the team’s ties with the communities.

Risk and Sustainability analysis Risk and sustainability analysis of all RCC communities was also undertaken by AKES,P. Factors such as participation in meetings and RCC activities, community awareness, literacy rate, time invested and engagement of SMC, linkages with local government and other public departments were considered while categorizing various communities. Preliminary analysis undertaken in the last quarter of 2004 showed that 89% of the communities were actively engaged in RCC activities; however most lacked adequate networks of social capital as well as the confidence to independently take on school improvement initiatives. Key players in the school and community with potential to contribute to continuing momentum for ECD awareness were identified and then engaged with to promote community ownership and sustainability.

Tracking progress of Katchi students Towards the end of 2005, attention was focused by AKES,P on tracking the progress made by katchi students enrolled in the year 2003. The main sources of data were the attendance registers of katchi class of 2003, Class 1 of 2004 and Class 2 of 2005.


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Community teachers and team members helped to fill in any gaps in the data. Of the 908 katchi students in 27 RCC schools in 2003, 48% are currently enrolled in Class 2, while the district wise percentage is as follows: 48.9% in Khairpur, 40% in Tando Muhammad Khan and 53.49% in Hyderabad districts respectively. These figures need to be evaluated keeping the context of public schooling in rural areas, drop-out rates, and the number of underage children admitted in 2003 that were kept back in later years in mind. The percentage of underage children (not promoted to the next class) was quite high with 40%, 27.94% and 20.88% in Khairpur, Tando Muhammad Khan and Hyderabad district respectively.

Case Studies In order to capture the qualitative impact of the program, AKESP planned a series of case studies on the RCC schools which were completed at the end of the project cycle. Schools were chosen against dimensions which are crucial to ECD initiatives and their sustainability. The case studies synthesized RCC insights and learning from the intensive interaction with communities and are serving as important advocacy and dissemination tools. Lessons and field findings were also documented for dissemination.

The Record of Early Childhood Growth and Development and Suggestions for Caregivers (hereafter, Record) The Record has been developed by the AKU-HDP in collaboration with RCC and AKDN partners. The Record enables regular observations of children’s growth and development in the early years and is intended for use by community-based workers to:

• Help caregivers understand and support the critical stages in their child’s early growth and development;

• Observe trends in a child’s growth and development and relate this information to conditions in the child’s nurturing environment; and

• Promote the importance of social environments, child-care, and nurturing practices for the overall development of children.

In Phase 1, the AKU-HDP team successfully completed the development and pre-testing of the 0-3 year old scale by pre-testing 1,000 children in that age range. Simultaneously, the team developed the Antenatal Scale, Growth Monitoring Charts, and the 3-6 Scale. The 3-6 year scale was developed in close coordination with RCC and other AKDN partners through the formation of a Working Group and the consolidation of its work by Ms. Wendy Griffin. Pre-testing of 150 pregnant mothers for the Antenatal Section and 240 children for the 3-6 Scale was completed in the beginning of RCC-II. The pre-testing of the 3-6 scale was made possible largely through a partnership with AKES, with AKES teachers trained by the HDP team in administering and testing the tool. Components of the Record – The Record encourages observations during three critical periods of development: gestation and birth, the first 3 years, and the 3-6 year periods of life. Each section of the Record includes descriptions of antenatal observations and developmental tasks and suggestions for expectant mothers and caregivers. These descriptions are supplemented by sketched illustrations so that they are easily


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communicated to, and understood by, mothers and other caregivers. Every attempt has been made to ensure that the sketches are relevant in the Pakistani context.

The Antenatal Section pertains to the health of the expectant mother, the growth/development of the baby during gestation, the nature of the delivery, and the health of the child at birth. The section consists of a pregnancy information card which will be used with an educational component to keep a record of the antenatal period of a child’s life and suggestions for expectant mothers to provide basic health information to expectant mothers.

The 0-3 and 3-6 Sections focus on the acquisition of functional abilities as indicators of development, and the application of these abilities for increasingly complex functions during the 0-6 year period of a child’s life. Both sections consist of a record which observes a child with reference to a series of domains that are seen as key developmental areas for children as they grow into the early years: physical growth, gross and fine motor functions, language acquisition, perception and learning abilities, and behavior and emotion. These sections also include a caregiver’s education section which provides important information for caregivers to assist them in creating an environment conducive to their child’s optimal growth and development. The 0-6 Sections are accompanied by Growth Monitoring Charts that measure and observe trends in height, weight, and head circumference (for 0-3 years only) in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) standards. Each section of the Record is accompanied by an Observer’s Guide which provides guidelines for community-based workers regarding the administration of different components of the sections. The Observer’s Guide will facilitate better understanding of each item, its purpose, and its administration, and thus, uniform use by workers. The Record’s use and value – The Record will be retained by parents and updated by the assigned community ECD worker. The information collected will be recorded in an ECD Data Management System developed by the AKU-HDP. This database of children’s acquisition of functional ability over time, in the context of their nutrition, health, sensory stimulation, and social environment, will enable feedback to communities and service providers on the outcomes of effective child nurture and the role that various community entities can play in supporting early childhood development. The database will also serve as a useful source of information on early childhood development in Pakistan The Record was translated into Sindhi and Urdu, printed in-house and copies distributed to 784 families enrolled in Sindh and to 695 families enrolled in Balochistan. ECD Workers


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have conducted 3820 growth and development assessments in Sindh and 3353 assessments in Balochistan using the Record. The data of these assessments has been fed into Data Management System and is ready for analysis. Baseline study HDP research team designed, developed, field-tested, refined, finalized and translated a baseline survey questionnaire to be administered before enrolling the families, their children and pregnant mothers in the home-visiting programme. The baseline questionnaire consisted of five sections:

• Section I: Socio-demographic Profile (Population, family size, household income, living standard, etc.)

• Section II: Baseline information related to index child (Mothers’ antenatal and postnatal history of the child, current health status, child’s hygiene, child rearing practices, safe physical environment, daily routines, food intake, etc.)

• Section III: Record of Early Childhood Growth and Development – 0-6 Years (Assessment of age specific functional abilities, anthropometry, immunization coverage)

• Section IV: Record of Early Childhood Growth and Development – Pregnancy Card

• Section V: Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale After the first use of this baseline questionnaire in Tando Jam in April-May 2005, it was reviewed, modified and simplified based on the feedback of ECD Workers. Two baseline studies were conducted, one each in Sindh and Balochistan. The analysis and findings were shared with implementing partners and other stakeholders from the communities in Tando Jam, Sindh.

Identifying Effective Sustainable Nutrition Education Delivery Strategies for a Rural Population This nutrition intervention study aims to identify the most sustainable and practical approaches aimed at improving the nutritional status of women and children. It will focus on identifying the most sustainable community driven models aimed at enhancing and improving the knowledge, attitudes and practices vis-à-vis nutritional intake of women and children. The Nutrition Coordinator developed nutrition guidelines and were reviewed by nutrition experts in and out of AKU. The guidelines were also field tested with ECD Workers during the field visits. The preparation of the education material was completed during the last quarter of RCC-II.


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This study would be conducted in Pringabad, Mastung District. The impact of these nutrition guidelines will be monitored through focus group surveys and tracking of children’s heights and weights.

Exploring the Community Perception of ECD Working with ECD workers during action research training, qualitative enquiries such as photovoice and community mapping were used. Consequently, an understanding of the local perceptions of ECD and gaps in child well being services were better understood. This information can help inform future ECD programme planning by the HDP.

Multigrade Teaching Manual One of the most frequent issues highlighted by RCC teachers during Phase I and Phase II was the excessive workload and management problems faced since they had too many students from different grades to teach at the same time. This was also presented as an excuse for not using PTB or teaching strategies they were oriented to during various workshops. The situation in RCC fairly sums up the issues of larger public sector schools where multigrade teaching is seen as an irredeemable situation. Since quick fixes or borrowed answers would neither satisfy teachers nor resolve their issues, TRC decided to undertake a proper investigation into mulitgrade situation in public schools and develop a teachers’ guide upon piloting strategies and models. The main aim was to help teachers in seeing the benefits of multigrade teaching and thus getting rid of the stereotyped issues surrounding the multigrade teaching, and for this purpose, TRC highlighted cooperative learning as key principle for dealing with multigrade situation. Looking at the effectiveness and positive feedback received on “Strong Foundations – a guide for ECE teachers’, TRC has developed the Multigrade teaching manual on similar lines. The manual comprising 11 sections, provides critical information on learning processes and facilitative factors and then maps out the ways in which teachers can convert Multigrade setting into beneficial for learning rather than just a management tool. Thus the strategies and lesson routines and plans suggested in the manual challenge the commonly found quasi mono-grade strategy in Pakistan. With classroom management as the key objective, this strategy involves teachers keeping each grade group separate and giving direct teaching to one group at a time while other grade groups work unsupervised on an activity set by the teacher. In TRC experience, this presents multigrade setting as a problem rather than a possibility. Therefore, the manual currently developed is based on the principles of cooperative learning where learners of different ages and abilities can work together to develop practical knowledge and skills across the various subjects. While piloting of multi-grade approach was successfully done in AKESP and HANDS Schools, TRC focussed on analyzing the data collected and writing up the manual. However, the process was considerably slow owing to the health problems faced by one of the key members of the manual development team. This also had implications for timely translation and printing of the manual before the end of RCC Phase II.


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It is expected that the manual will be completed by mid of October 2006 along with the Urdu translation of remaining chapters. TRC is hopeful that the process of piloting and developing the multigrade teaching manual will reach the public sector teachers and supervisors, and funding could be made available for its printing.

Understanding ECD Through Practice A research study was initiated by SEF during October-December 2004 quarter after discussions and input from AKF, P. This study focused on exploring RCC teachers’ understanding of ECD concepts, their perception of learning ECD concepts and their implementation in the classroom including challenges and prospects and the impact of RCC programme on their practices, school and community. Besides parents, teachers are deemed as most important contributing factor in bringing about any meaningful transformation in early childhood related programs. Hence, in RCC programme capacity building of teachers remained a critical part of program success, as teachers are perhaps the most visible catalyst for change in the classroom/school. It was endeavored that through training and follow-ups, teachers will gain understanding of child centered concepts and new pedagogical techniques that allow children to explore their self-confidence and creativity in a safe environment, instigating a positive change in classroom environments and in student achievements and enrolments. The teacher training programs by the Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan (AKES,P) and Teachers’ Resource Center (TRC) entailed a framework that emphasized more on the deeper understanding of ECD concepts and related practices instead of focusing only at the mere transference of mechanical training components in the classroom. Observations and reflections from the field did indicate that these models of teacher development helped in creating better understanding amongst teachers along with generating creativity not only in children but the teachers as well, resulting in a vibrant learning environment.

o The research namely ‘Understanding ECD through Practice’ further explored the notion of how successfully the ECD concepts were implemented in the classroom/schools since capacity development of the teachers in ECD concepts was one of the fundamental tasks in the RCC programme. Significant resources had been invested in building the capacity of RCC school teachers and ECD support teacher (known as community teacher), selected from the community. Teacher Resource Center conducted training for HANDS and SOCIETY whereas AKES, P conducted training for their own RCC school teachers. Through intensive training workshops, ensued by field based support and follow up visits, ECD concepts and their implementation techniques were communicated to teachers. The documentation at different levels such as the reflections on the training process, the reports of implementing partners’ continuous interaction with schools and the comparative analysis of baseline and the monitoring data, suggested that the capacity building initiatives helped the teachers to understand ECD concepts and the corresponding teaching


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methodologies. However, no study was conducted directly with teachers to explore/document their perception of learning ECD concepts, the articulation of these concepts and their experiences of translating these concepts into classroom practices and their impact on children’s learning/development6.

Following observations/reflections emerged from the field during the beginning of the research study:

• Almost all the ECD classroom demonstrated lively and vibrant learning environment where, both children and teacher were actively involved in the classroom activities. Majority of the children seemed participating in the classroom proceedings. One of the reasons may be the ‘activity approach’ employed by the teacher which keeps the children embroiled in different tasks and also cater to the fact that in early years children usually have short attention span and require myriad of activities to stay engaged. Moreover, balance in time allocation for each task/activity also seems helpful for teacher to keep children’s attention intact in the classroom.

• Most of the teachers were successful in applying their learning; through the training programs, in the classroom. Most of the teachers acknowledged that the ongoing follow up strategy including field based support and refreshers, employed by the partner NGOs had played a key role for them to retain and practice most of the ECD concepts. Almost all the teachers in the sample reported that they prepare their day to day activity (lesson) plans either on daily or weekly basis. Similarly, almost all the teachers were observed to use the teaching learning material and emphasized its importance in their interviews.

• Most of the teachers admitted that the RCC experience enriched their prior knowledge and perspective about ECD. Most of them reported to enjoy learning process with children and they believed that it is reciprocal whereas children were also attached with RCC class and teacher.

• Although most of the teachers found it difficult to recall different ECD concepts such as Children’s (age wise) Needs, Stages of Brain Development, Child-Centered Learning Approach, different dimensions of development as narrated in the books. However, they seemed to have general idea about these concepts and they were observed practicing them. For example, it was observed in more than one class that after every activity teacher would ask children what they wanted to do next. Similarly, when teachers were asked about employing activity approach most of them knew that at this particular age range children have very short attention/attachment span. Similarly, they were also aware that how different activities, which they conduct in the classroom, influence children’s different domains of development such as cognitive and linguistic, socio-emotional, aesthetic and moral development.

6 If they have taught in past do they feel any difference between their previous and present practices and approaches?


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• It was observed that although teachers were well aware with the purpose and utility of learning material and learning corners these resources were frequently used by them. However, a striking resemblance was observed in most of the schools, including the schools in Balochistan, that teachers follow very similar routine of activities everyday. For example, following pattern of activities was practiced in most of the classes:

o Listening and speaking o Group work o Outside classroom activity o Work in learning corners o Story telling/poem

As far as poems were concerned they were sung in the classroom randomly depending on children’s mood/memory or at teacher’s discretion. This point has been further elaborated in the research report.

Most of the teachers held the view that RCC programme was creating positive impact on schools and communities. In the context of school, attempts were made to replicate some of the RCC practices into other classes. During the quarter of January-March 2005 the study was concluded and data analysis was started after completion of data transcription and data categorization. Some of the research findings are given below: Research Findings a) Quantitative Findings Findings are presented into two parts. The first part of the finding is based on the quantitative overview primarily related to basic information about the ECD teachers in the RCC schools. This includes teachers’ age, their academic and professional qualifications, their marital status and their work experience. Following is the analysis of the quantitative data:

The data suggests that the average age of teachers in the RCC programme is 25 years while most of the teachers have completed their education up to 12th grade and beyond. Moreover, a considerable number of teachers have been exposed to professional training programs. Additionally, all the teachers have got training in ECD concepts and their


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implementation under the RCC programme. Besides a significant number of teachers falling in age group from early to mid 20s, most of the RCC teachers are unmarried which means that the programme has engaged young female members of the community into a professional development process. Thus, a possibility has been created for the young women to benefit from the options in their lives other than marriage7. This point was further highlighted during detailed discussions with the teachers. Except a few, most of the teachers have started their professional careers through RCC programme. Qualitative Findings Following is the summary of the qualitative data: As mentioned earlier, extensive discussions were carried out with the ECD teachers. During the conversation a number of issues were discussed with teachers which included:

• Teachers’ association with the teaching profession • Teachers’ learning of ECD concepts and their implementation in the classroom • The impact of RCC programme on teachers’ professional and personal lives,

school and community i) Teachers’ Association with Teaching Profession During the discussion most of the teachers acknowledged that RCC programme created learning and employment opportunities for them. This was particularly highlighted by the young community teachers who, after completing their education, were seeking opportunities for professional growth. The respondents also underlined that becoming ECD teacher did not only create a professional opportunity but it was also a wonderful learning experience which subsequently brought a major shift in their attitude towards young children. The capacity building workshops under the RCC programme were a remarkable learning experience which sparked creativity and confidence in them. Moreover, they got this opportunity to equip themselves with ‘developmentally appropriate’ teaching techniques. Thus, teachers realized that young children’s learning is inextricably entwined with their own learning. Some of the respondents candidly said that they became teachers to fulfill their financial needs. However, after experiencing the profession, they did not want to switch to any other profession. Some of the teachers reported to join the profession to respond to their childhood aspirations. One of the teachers regarded teaching as a ‘prophet’s profession’ (paigambari paisha). While another teacher argued that it is a teacher’s responsibility to help children become ‘good citizens’. Most of the teachers were convinced that teachers, through their actions, create a lasting impact on the lives of their students. ii) Teacher’s Learning of ECD Concepts and their Implementation in the Classroom

7 This is a cultural phenomenon, particularly in the rural context of the country, when girls reach their teen age or their early twenties their marriage becomes the most preferred option for the families.


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A comprehensive discussion was held with teachers focusing on the learning and implementation of ECD concepts in the classroom. The salient features are as follows:

• Almost all the teachers reported that they prepared and used lesson plans. Lesson plan development was not a mere formality in their ECD teaching as most of the teachers were unequivocal about the impact of lesson planning on their teaching. Teachers argued that lesson plan helped them to organize their teaching, manage the classroom well and consequently save time. It also helped them in assessing the impact of their teaching particularly by reviewing the lesson plan they randomly identified certain topics which were already covered, and then asked children to revise them. This in turn helped them to assess children’s ability to retain their learning. Most of the teachers prepared their lesson plans on daily and weekly basis.

• Interestingly, during the discussion some of the teachers were not able to recall the description/meaning of ‘Child-Centered Learning’. However, during the observation it was noticed that after each activity the teachers were asking children what they wanted to do next. Further discussion with teachers revealed that most of them were aware of the fact that teaching children as per their will/wish is at the heart of ECD teaching. Teachers also expressed their confidence in children’s ability to learn on their own as most of the teachers seemed convinced that children learn best by doing.

• Most of the teachers were able to relate their classroom activities with children’s developmental process. The optimal learning and development takes place when children are able to use all their senses. Responding to the research questions pertaining to the relationship between classroom activities and child development teachers elucidated how different activities, they were doing with children, will improve children’s skills and competency. These activities included group work, drawing, coloring, counting, physical exercise, learning alphabets etc.

Conclusion The preceding discussion helped in establishing the conclusion that the RCC programme remarkably transformed the learning environment in schools. This was primarily achieved by enhancing the teachers’ capacity to create a ‘conducive’ environment in the classroom based on children’s developmental and learning needs. Also the low cost material that had been produced and provided in the programme complemented teachers’ efforts and students’ enthusiasm as teachers had been well equipped to use the material. Also the teachers were mostly aware of the basic ECD concepts which had been at the heart of RCC programme design. Instead of relying on theoretical explanations of the developmental and learning processes in the early years, teachers started to apply their understanding of ECD into classroom practices. Given the brief programme duration since its inception, this can be regarded as a major success. However, critical examination of different aspects of the program revealed that nevertheless there was a need for strengthening in several areas as suggested following:


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• It was suggested that despite best intentions and efforts, following a set of

activities ritualistically on daily basis may result in children and teachers’ detachment from the learning process in the long run. Therefore, it was mentioned that it is important for teachers to take initiative beyond the set of activities prescribed in the training program to respond to children and their own creativity. Similarly, teachers should not confine their efforts to become skilled practitioners, but should rather aim to cultivate creative and independent thinking in children by continuously exploring new avenues for action and reflection.

• The efforts towards the impact of RCC at the time of the research needed to be further amplified as communities had started to ask teachers about the future of the program and consequently their children’s future. It was suggested that in order to ensure the sustainability of good practices promoted by RCC, all the stakeholders such as government, school management and communities had to show greater ownership and commitment towards the programme. Efforts made by just one or two teachers couldn’t have changed much unless the whole school environment did not reflect those values promoting optimum development and learning of children.

• Although, it can be said that RCC programme had created positive influence on schools, it should not be disregarded that the programme had created both ‘discrimination and reverse discrimination’. ‘Discrimination’ was denoted by several comments by the parents and government officials that the kachi class in RCC schools is ‘privileged’. The inclination of teachers and children of the upper classes to study the content of ECD class, with similar pedagogy, indicated that the rest of the school felt ‘underprivileged’ or ‘left out’ whereas ‘Reverse Discrimination’ meant that in some schools the ECD teachers (both government and community) were demanded to teach more classes due to their training under RCC programme. Similarly parents of the children in other classes wanted their children to study in kachi class due to the vibrant environment. This over burdened the teachers who either had to teach additional classes or more children.

The initial findings of the research study ‘Understanding ECD through practice’ were captured in a précis and disseminated to all RCC partners during the partners’ sharing meeting on April 11, 2005. A presentation on the key findings of the research study was also delivered during this meeting.

Research Study: Exploring Parents’ Perceptions vis-à-vis ECD and impact of RCC programme on children and communities. Study # 2 focused on exploring parents’ perceptions vis-à-vis Early Childhood Development (ECD) and impact of the RCC programme on children and communities. Being the first initiative of its kind in the country, the implementation of RCC programme depended on the collective efforts of all the stakeholders including communities, families and especially parents, teachers, policy makers (district, provincial and federal government), partner NGOs, donor agency and the children.


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Being an early learning model, the RCC programme acknowledged the vital role of parents and family in children’s holistic development. Siddiqui (2004) argues that ‘family is a primary context in which children’s competencies develop, especially during the early years from birth through 5 years of age’. Peterson and Cooper (in Siddiqui, 2004) highlight the role of parents in the development of a child in the early years and emphasize the need for investing more in the capacity building of parents to help them to extend their ‘natural’ role in the child development. They also believe that the success of any early learning intervention is inextricably linked with parents’ active and ‘informed’ participation. Along with parents, traditionally, extended family (including grandparents, uncles, aunts, elder siblings and cousins) also has an important role in the early child care and development. Essa (2003) argues that in the Western context (where emergence of ‘nuclear family has contributed to the declining influence of the extended family’ vis-à-vis child development in the early years), ‘until relatively recently, the most prevalent form of child care was that provided by a relative. Parental and relatives care, combined, continue to be most widely used for infants and toddlers, although center care for this age group has been increasing.’ In the local context, the involvement of the extended families in early child care still remains common and in certain cases it’s the extended family which is primarily responsible for the upbringing and early care of a child. Keeping in consideration, the significance of parental involvement in the successful implementation of the programme and role of parents and family in the early years, efforts were made in RCC to create awareness amongst the communities regarding the importance of early years. Parents, family and community members were provided research-based information through printed material in the local languages (Urdu and Sindhi). Moreover, the ongoing interface of the implementing partners with the communities also created opportunities for exchange of information and knowledge regarding safe and nurturing care for children. Although efforts were made in RCC to raise awareness regarding children’s learning and development in the early years, parental perceptions regarding early years and their significance had not been explored. No formal study was conducted with parents and communities to explore their perceptions of children’s early years, their perception regarding the impact of RCC and their expectations from RCC in future. The proposed study aimed to create possibilities to explore all these issues. Following are the tasks which were completed in January-March 2006 quarter with regards to research study # 2:

1. Development of tools for study in Sindh. The study focused on the following areas:

a. Parents’ perception of ECD and RCC program b. Perception of teachers and children (of non-RCC classes) of the RCC

program c. Head teachers’ perception of the RCC program


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d. Observation of RCC/non-RCC classes 2. Development of tools for research studies in Balochistan. The study focused on

the following areas: a. The perception of RCC teachers of learning and implementing ECD

concepts b. Perception of teachers and children (of non-RCC classes) of the RCC

program c. Head teachers’ perception of the RCC program d. Observation of RCC/non-RCC classes

3. Selection of Data Collectors for RCC research study ‘Parents’ Perceptions about Impact of RCC8’ was almost completed during the quarter of April-June 2006. Data collection from the schools of Sindh was completed, with just two schools of district Khairpur left because these schools were closed for summer vacations. Data from these schools was collected when they re-opened in August, 2006. The research team was then extensively involved in transcribing, processing and analyzing the collected data. Meanwhile, data collection from the sample RCC schools of Balochistan was to be carried out in the months of July and August, 2006 – the winter-belt schools were to be covered in the end of July while the summer-belt schools were to be covered in the beginning of August 2006. It is imperative to note here that the data collection was delayed in Sindh due to torrential rains and flood whereas it was cancelled for Balochistan due to extremely tumultuous law and order situation. As part of the research study titled “Parents’ Perceptions of RCC in Sindh”, the data collection from the following stakeholders was completed:

19 head teachers 19 non RCC teachers 62 non RCC children 56 RCC parents

Please note that there has been a 3rd research study which was undertaken alongside entitled: ‘Perceptions of non-RCC teachers & children about RCC impact’9. In addition to the stakeholder interviews in Sindh, following classrooms were also observed to examine time-wise schedule of RCC and non-RCC classes and assess average time allocated for different classroom activities.

18 non RCC classrooms 18 RCC classrooms

Since a study to examine teachers’ perceptions of RCC had already been conducted by SEF, this study focused on exploring perceptions of head teachers, parents, non-RCC teachers and non-RCC children regarding the impact of the project. Rigorous efforts were made in RCC to create awareness amongst the parents and communities regarding the 8 Please see annexure for more details 9 Ibid


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importance of early years and information material in local languages (Urdu and Sindhi) was also provided. Moreover, the ongoing interface of the implementing partners with the communities also created opportunities for exchange of information and knowledge regarding safe and nurturing care for children. Discussions with non-RCC teachers led to an understanding regarding the holistic impact of RCC on schools. Although, it can be said that RCC has created positive influence on schools, it should not be disregarded that the programme may have created ‘reverse discrimination’ as RCC teacher and children are observed by the rest of the school as ‘privileged ones’. The inclination of teachers and children of the upper classes to study the content of ECD class, with similar pedagogy, indicated that the rest of the school feels ‘underprivileged’ or ‘left out’. To further study this notion, interviews and discussions were carried out with the teachers and students of the ‘non-RCC’ classes. To further substantiate the data from key stakeholders, classroom observations were carried out for both RCC and non-RCC classes to record average time allocated for classroom activities, observe the teaching-learning environment, assess student-teacher relationship and gauge the level of children’s participation and engagement in class regimen. The key findings are based on data gathered through one-to- one interviews, discussions and focus groups with stakeholders i.e. head teachers, non-RCC teachers and non-RCC children. Views of Head Teachers on RCC’s Impact in the Schools

Head teachers play a leading role in school management and development and are responsible for ensuring an enabling learning environment for children. To understand the impact of RCC in their schools and the need for replicating RCC practices in other classes, 19 school heads were interviewed as part of this study. Drawing a comparison between RCC and non-RCC classes, the head teachers were of the view that RCC classes represent a more vibrant, interactive and child friendly environment equipped with resources to make learning an engaging experience for children. On the other hand the non-RCC classes still have a long way to go: dearth of learning resources and professionally trained teachers has visibly created a disparity between RCC and non-RCC classrooms in the schools. The head teachers attributed a higher enrolment rate in RCC classes to the conducive learning environment which focuses on involving children in learning through multifaceted pedagogical techniques and experiential activities. This resulted higher community acceptance and parental approval of the RCC program subsequently leading to a shortage of RCC teachers to cater to the demand. The physical appearance of the RCC classrooms has also played a significant role in enticing parents to enroll their children. According to the head teachers, the parents opt


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not to put their children in non-RCC classes because of the lack of furniture or charts on the wall. Highlighting the key differences that set RCC classes apart from non-RCC, the head teachers pointed out that activity based teaching methodologies practiced by RCC teachers have resulted in the success of RCC classes. Children have become more confident as they are a part of a learning set-up which is charged with energy and creativity; poems, group activities and singing as opposed to conventional lecture based teaching approaches have made children the pivot of the teaching-learning process. Instead of being mere recipients of information imparted by teachers, children are directly involved in activities, individually and in groups, that complement and enhance their cognition. In non-RCC classes, unfortunately, children do not enjoy the opportunities of engaging in learning and play through various interactive techniques and resources that are accessible to RCC children. According to the head teachers, the non-RCC classes use the blackboard as the main teaching tool which limits the possibility of exploration, creativity and interaction amongst children and teachers. The head teachers further stated that since poems and songs are the most popular activities amongst children, the non-RCC children have eagerly requested for the inclusion of similar teaching-learning approaches in the curriculum. Most head teachers interviewed strongly felt that the RCC teaching methodology and learning resources should be incorporated in the rest of the classes, especially up to class 5. Commenting on the dynamics between RCC and non-RCC teachers, the head teachers were of the view that a cooperative relationship exists which is often manifested through switching classes. One school presented an instance where at times the RCC and non-RCC teachers switched classes in order to expose the children to a different methodology of teaching. However RCC teachers faced difficulties in implementing RCC teaching-learning activities because non-RCC class size was easily twice that of RCC. In addition to highlighting the constructive facets of RCC classes, most head teachers also identified that the emphasis on activity based learning came at the expense of writing skills. RCC children did poorly in written material particularly when they moved to higher classes where the syllabus and pedagogical style were more orthodox. Another critical issue highlighted by a head teacher was major differences in enrolment has occurred in the age group of children entering the school. Previously the bar was set at 5, however now children from ages 3 and up also enter the classroom. Some HT feel the youngest of the RCC class often have difficulty understanding what is going on in the class and hence need more time. With relation to the comprehensive teacher development and support component of RCC intervention, the head teachers corroborated the fact that regular teacher and classroom monitoring has made RCC a successful model. Capacity building follow-ups and refreshers as well as teacher mentoring by the implementers have ensured transparent and effective transference of skills and knowledge acquired through training in the classrooms.


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Responding to the issue of sustaining RCC efforts in the school and replicating some of the practices in other classes, the head teachers said they will make maximum efforts to channel SMC funds towards the initiative once the project funding ends. Views of Non-RCC teachers on RCC’s Impact in the Schools

In RCC, the focus of school level interventions was two pronged:

Professional development of teachers for transformation of classroom environment, pedagogical practices and the teacher-student bond;

Fostering creativity and confidence amongst children through innovative, interactive and child friendly teaching-learning processes that also entailed equipping classrooms with resource material and learning corners.

Extensive capacity building programs for RCC teachers formed the basis for introducing and sustaining qualitative and child-friendly reforms in the classrooms geared towards providing children with an alternative learning experience, unprecedented in conventional government schools. Even though non-RCC teachers interviewed for the study had attended training programs offered by organizations like ESRA, HANDS and PTC, they still felt that RCC teachers were better trained. It was generally believed that the training programs under RCC were more comprehensive, in-depth and catered to the professional development needs of teachers. Innovative concepts and methodologies like activity based teachings were introduced through RCC workshops while on the other hand non-RCC teachers had no exposure to such learnings. Additionally the teaching aids and resource materials provided to RCC classes also played an integral role in allowing the RCC teachers to teach in a particular way. Since RCC classes appeared more colorful and vibrant due to the presence of learning corners and wall displays, the non-RCC teachers attributed the lack of such resources in other classes a major hindrance to child centered learning which was customary to RCC classes. They said that they would try to use the SMC funds to obtain the same materials as the RCC teachers. Regardless of resource and skill limitations, the non-RCC teachers still tried to set-up their classes in the same way but felt they needed a much larger classroom to implement the RCC teaching methodology. Adhering to a strict syllabus was also quoted as an impediment to implementing RCC techniques as RCC teachers taught without a specific syllabus. The teachers felt that RCC children were also confident and active compared to non-RCC children. They also noted that post- RCC the enrolment rate in the school had increased and children were attending school more regularly. The fact that the RCC teachers taught in English while the non-RCC teachers taught mainly in Sindhi was also identified as a cause for preferring RCC classes over non-RCC. Highlighting the key differences between RCC and non-RCC teaching programs, the teachers felt that the extent of monitoring in RCC ensured that innovative teaching


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methods introduced through trainings were effectively translated into classroom practice. Also, extensive field support to teachers by implementing partners created opportunities for ongoing reflection and self-development of RCC teachers which eventually led to creation of a nurturing and inspiring learning environment in RCC classes. Non RCC Children’s Observations about RCC

In order to explore non-RCC children’s perceptions about the RCC intervention in their schools, focus group discussions were carried out. The responses and observations of children clearly pointed towards an inclination to be part of the RCC experience. It appears that in most cases children were questioned in groups as opposed to individually as there are at least two given examples where they vacillated between loyalty to the non-RCC children and attraction towards the RCC classrooms and teaching methods. The interviewers noted that most children were shy and silent and seemed confused about what they were asked. The children indicated their attraction and appreciation of the environment in RCC classrooms. In particular they noted the absence of toys, furniture, charts, pictures and sheets from their own classrooms. A child noted that “we only have books.” The children were clearly attracted by the games and activities played in the RCC classrooms for they said that although the teaching material was the same, their teacher did not use activities or sports to teach them. At times when the teachers have made an attempt to teach through the RCC method one child noted “the actions were not the same”. The children were eager to be taught the poems and stories that RCC children learnt. They said, their siblings in the RCC program shared the poems and stories with them. Parental observations on RCC impact

The focal interviews drew three core observations that extended across the range of parental sample. At the outset parents indicated physical manifestations of the program on the behavior of their children at home and divulged details of behavior enthusiastically clearly indicating an appreciation of the program. However, on the issue of parental expectations and association with RCC itself, responses though cognizant of the dynamics of classroom activities, largely depicted a relationship that assigned a peripheral role to parents. The following section focuses on parental observation and implications on child behavior and the RCC curriculum. Changes in observed behavior of children

ECD children were described by all parents as enthusiastic about their school experience. Parents clearly noted an increase in the child’s interest and involvement with the school exemplified by accounts of enthusiasm about school work in after school hours; recitation


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of poetry at home and production of colored drawings, charts etcetera. Children were also more vocal at home and outside home which the parents attributed to an increase in self-confidence. Most parents, particularly mothers detected a change in observance of the child’s personal hygiene i.e. children had become more particular about washing their hands before dinner, daily showers and clean clothes. The permeation of these practices to the rest of the family and the extent to which hygiene and health were focal to the activities carried out by families, were two issues that were not discussed in the focus group, leaving a loose end in as much as determining the extent to which parents’ current practices were impacted by ECD. Parental knowledge of RCC curriculum

As noted above, most observations were home based, interaction with the formal school was mostly limited to the pre-registration period where parents enrolled their children in the program usually after looking in on the physical structure of the RCC classroom. A couple of head teachers noted that admission was spurred by the relative impression RCC and non-RCC classrooms made on the parents. Few parents acknowledged meeting the teacher before admitting the child though one head teacher said she encouraged the parents to interview the teacher personally. Increasingly, children also taught their parents what they picked up in school i.e. a scattering of English words, and polite behavior such as saying “Assalamualaikum” upon meeting. The fact that the classes taught English formed the cornerstone of the parents’ approval of the program particularly since they noted that non-RCC classes did not teach English. Parental role in the curriculum was limited in most instances as one mother affirmed that parental literacy was not at par with the level required to assist ECD children with their school work. This factor highlights two serious concerns with regards to RCC program, i.e.

1. Community readiness for the program was conceptualized largely in terms of acceptability of the program discounting the literacy level of parents and their readiness in terms of forming a support pillar of the program.

2. The curriculum did not seem to allocate a proactive role for parents in terms of activities that were built around family structures or even activities that built upon home-grown knowledge systems. The assumption appears to treat the learning process for the child as a one-way channel flowing from the school/teacher to the child.

Evidently, parental enthusiasm and community approval of the RCC initiative (as testified by Head Teachers in most schools) has had no bearing upon parental involvement with the schooling system. Parent-teacher nexus


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Some parents claimed that teachers had called them to inform them about ECD, others claimed the teachers had made no initiative in that regard. The majority of the parents falling in the first category admitted that they could not/did not attend the meetings since it took them away from their place or business of work. Those who did attend the meeting said the major learning emphasized on teaching and instructing through love rather than punishment. Teaching methodologies per se were not discussed in detail with most parents identifying the punishment-love dichotomy as the main topic of discussion. Most parents were ambiguous on the necessity of dealing out punishment. While a few agreed that it should be used as a last resort, most felt love and punishment should be used for instruction in equal measure. A few fathers indicated that the fact that the teacher was a community member eased their concerns about the new program. There was no recorded discussion on parental interaction with teachers outside the school or the junctures (e.g. child being disruptive/non-attending etcetera) at which teachers called in parents for child performance reviews. Nevertheless a couple of parents expressed concerns about the low remuneration received by the HANDS teachers as they felt the necessity of part-time occupations detracts from the attention a teacher would pay children in class.


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Objective 5: Address crosscutting issues in ECD delivery, including attention to vulnerable populations, replicability and adaptability, institutional development, leadership development, and government ownership in program interventions RCC Phase II had themes consistent with the activities listed in the above objective, in both a direct and cross-cutting manner. Specific attention was accorded to gender and minority concerns throughout the project’s implementation period. One of the main features of RCC II was its clear and consistent emphasis on augmenting the program’s ability to up-scale operations and support replicable models of ECD in other public sector schools. The capacity-building and institutional development of program partners and stakeholders was also a key focus of RCC II interventions. Leadership development was undertaken by supporting and developing the capacity of local communities and SMCs. Government ownership of the initiative was promoted throughout by continually engaging with key agencies and officials and lobbying for the cause of ECD. The support the project received throughout its implementation period from district and local governments and the DoE is indicative of the extent to which the RCC model is deemed to be replicable in other public sector primary schools across Sindh. For example, the new Sindh Text Book Board books for teaching Sindhi and English to Class 1 have incorporated material from the ECD curriculum. This indicates government commitment to duplicate RCC success in other schools.

Participation in Policy Seminar on Early Childhood Education (ECE) on November 29-30, 2004 A Policy Seminar on Early Childhood Education (ECE) organized by the Department of Education & Literacy, Government of Sindh in collaboration with United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) and Teachers Resource Centre (TRC). The two day seminar was held on November 29 - 30, 2004 at a local hotel. Dr. Hameeda Khuhro, Minister for Education, Sindh presided over the ceremony. The purpose of the seminar was to increase awareness regarding ECE amongst Executive District Officers (EDO) - Education and District Nazims with the aim of promoting ECE at the district level. The seminar highlighted the need and significance of ECE interventions and reviewed the current situation of ECE efforts within Pakistan, specifically in Sindh. The seminar helped identify the disparities between policy and practices within the field of ECE and presented possible solutions for effective implementation of ECE efforts. SEF due to its work in the field of ECE especially under RCC Program was invited to share its experiences. A detailed presentation was made vis-à-vis ‘Monitoring & Evaluation System in ECE’ on the second day of the seminar followed by an interactive session with the participants. There was a preparatory meeting organized at the Secretariat by the Department of Education & Literacy, Government of Sindh in collaboration with United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) and Teachers Resource Centre (TRC). SEF participated along with other agencies who are undertaking ECE/D projects e.g. CRI,


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AKU-IED etc. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss and finalize the agenda of the seminar and allocating responsibilities to the respective agencies.

Round Table Dialogue As part of the conference held on April 6, 2006 a round table discussion was held which brought together government, donors and NGOs to deliberate on policy issues, challenges and strategies vis-à-vis Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Pakistan. The round table dialogue was a pioneering effort to understand different ECD initiatives currently underway across the country and to explore possibilities of harmonizing experiences and resources for effective and integrated ECD programming in Pakistan. Representatives from government, NGOs, academics and donor agencies presented their ECD portfolios including achievements, sector specific issues and challenges and future course of action. Presentations were made by Plan Pakistan, Catco, Home Economics College (Lahore), AKU-IED, CRI, UNICEF, USAID and government functionaries from Sindh and Punjab. To set the premise of the round table conference and discussion amongst the participating members, the Sindh Education Foundation presented the macro and micro level issues and challenges vis-à-vis ECD implementation based on the RCC experience. These entailed: MACRO

MICRO

In-depth understanding of the concept of ECD and its efficacies at the policy level

Lack of ownership at all levels of Governments

Federal Provincial District

Lack of long-term approach at the policy level Synergy amongst govt. departments

Education Health Women’s Welfare Works etc

Integration of ECE training for all teachers’ trainings by the government

Lack of holistic approach towards ECD implementation (ECE vs ECD)

Regularization of: Katchi Classes

SMS funds Teachers Infrastructure

Assistant Teachers In-availability of ECD Curriculum Transfer of ECD trained teachers Age (3 – 5 yrs) Size of the class (esp. enrollment increase

during enrollment drives) Assessment Vertical Progression. Disparity between the Katchi Class and the

entire school

The key recommendations which emerged from the round table dialogue were:

• Establishment of a national forum for Early Childhood Development for integrating efforts and resources for effective, need-based and sustainable ECD programs via public-private partnerships and advocacy for children friendly ECD


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policies both at provincial and federal levels. Since the Education Foundations have been earmarked in Education Sector Reforms to lead the public-private partnership agenda, it was proposed that Sindh Education Foundation should assume a leading role to operationalize the national forum for ECD. The forum will also provide a platform to advocate diversity of learning and acknowledging learning beyond the boundaries of school. Respect for indigenous culture and knowledge, age-old traditions of learning and child rearing, significance of caregivers i.e. parents, extended family and community and multi-sectoral and holistic programmatic approaches will be the vital components of the forum’s conceptual and operational framework. It was also proposed that the forum should meet at least twice a year;

Participation in the National Education Conference, May 30-31, 2006: SEF10 participated in the National Education Conference organized by Ministry of Education - Policy & Planning Wing. The conference was held at the National Library Auditorium, Islamabad from May 30-31, 2006. The objective of the conference was to improve understanding of the causes of various problems that in collaboration hinder both the policy and the system in realizing quality education goals and targets. One of the key areas of policy concern was the issue of relevance of education and the SEF representative co-chaired the group discussing the issue of relevance. It was emphasized by Mr. Rizvi that the contextualized, local, closer to the real life education is the relevant education for children especially if such education is imparted during the early years of children to provide them with a solid foundation for ensuring such capable children who are to meet life’s challenges with thoughtfulness, confidence, purpose, hope and empathy and responsibility.

Participation in the National Education Policy Review (1998 - 2010) – Roundtable on Early Childhood Education, June 10, 2006: SEF also participated in the National Education Policy Review (1998 - 2010) – Roundtable on Early Childhood Education which was convened by UNESCO and was held in Islamabad on June 10, 2006. In this session, the participants reviewed the Green Paper on ECE, prepared and circulated by the Ministry of Education. On the basis of review, feedback was communicated by the participating stakeholders to refine the scope and content of the paper in context of the commitment of Government of Pakistan towards EFA and ECE targets envisaged in Pakistan’s National Plan of Action for EFA (2001-2015). Moreover, policy-related critical issues and challenges in the area of ECE were identified, drawing upon rich and diverse expertise and experiences of the participants. In the context of effective ECE implementation, Mr. Rizvi mentioned that the importance of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) can never be over-emphasized. He mentioned that PPP can prove to be extremely effective in enhancing the service delivery vis-à-vis ECD in Pakistan particularly for the public sector.

10 Mr. Mashhood Rizvi, Director- Programs, Operations & Research, SEF participated on behalf of SEF


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Policy Seminar on ECE in Sindh A two-day, provincial level seminar entitled, "Policy Seminar on ECE in Sindh" brought together district decision-makers and policy-makers with the aim of spreading awareness of the benefits of ECE. Held on 29, 30 November 2004, the seminar was organised by the Sindh Education Department and the Teachers' Resource Centre in collaboration with UNESCO and Unicef. The principle participants were the Executive District Officers for Education from each district. Representatives from related NGOs, Sindh Education Department, and donor agencies were also in attendance. The Provincial Minister of Education, Dr. Hameeda Khuhro, and the Provincial Secretary of Education, Mr. Hashim Leghari, both addressed the participants during the inaugural ceremony. In terms of the three objectives of raising awareness, sharing knowledge and forming recommendations, the seminar was a complete success. The EDOs and DOEs actively participated in learning about the benefits of ECE in Sindh. They were able to take the knowledge shared in the presentations and apply it to their own recommendations. It is hoped that they will take this information with them and continue sharing awareness at the district level and implement ECE with a greater understanding.

Increasing Government ownership in programme interventions

Meeting with the Pakistan Institute of Training & Education (PITE) A meeting was held with Director General (DG), PITE, Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Shahni on Aug 15, 2005. The main focus of the meeting was to give thorough details to DG, PITE vis-à-vis ECD and the RCC programme and it was emphasized that the RCC programme can be a good model for replication and upscaling. Also details pertaining to the pool of resources in the RCC programme such as teachers, documents, tools, training modules etc were discussed with him. He showed keen interest in the programme and mentioned of recommending RCC programme to the Department of Education as a good model for replication especially in teachers’ training and ECD classroom set up.

Formation of Steering Committee SEF endeavored to generate enough interest at various levels of government including Department of Education. In this regard, the Secretary Education Mr. Ghulam Ali Pasha was invited to participate in RCC All Partners’ meeting which was held at SEF on Aug 17, 2005. Mr. Pasha was primarily invited for implementing partners to share their issues pertaining to ECD implementation in RCC schools in Sindh. During that meeting the Secretary Education recommended to form a steering committee for ECD related projects which was finally formed during the quarter of October-December 2005. The formation of the steering was notified by the Secretary. SEF still have a leading role in the committee which aimed at bringing synergies amongst various models of ECD along with eliminating duplications and ensuring replicability or upscaling of effective models.

Meetings and discussions with Education Department and Government officials A series of discussions and meetings were held with Education for All, ECE section, Islamabad and representatives of the Project Wing and ECE focal Person in Sindh. TRC also held dialogues with Department of Non-Formal Education and Literacy, Sindh. The


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Children in a Bangladeshi school engrossed in an activity

Hon’rable Federal Minister for Social Welfare & Special Education, Ms. Zubeida Jalal is presented a copy of Parwarish on her visit to SEF

focus of the discussion was the promotion of ECE in the country based on the National Plan of Action. Support for building government teachers’ capacities in undertaking ECE curriculum and creating a child-friendly environment was also discussed.

All partners met with officials ranging from the

Hon’rable Federal Minister of Social Welfare & Special Education, Ms. Zubeida Jalal’s Visit to SEF

Ms. Zubeida Jalal, Federal Minister of Social Welfare & Special Education visited SEF on August 11, 2005. She was updated about the RCC programme for which she used to get thoroughly briefed on frequent basis by SEF when she was the federal minister for Education. She was much pleased with the progress of the programme and appreciated the initiatives taken under RCC programme including various publications such as Nurture and Parwarish as she mentioned that importance of ECD should be emphasized immensely especially in the scope of her ministry which deals directly with women.

International tours

Study Tour to Bangladesh As part of the institutional development and capacity building exposure visits to some of the international ECD models have been organized by AKF, P. One such visit was organized to Bangladesh during the last quarter from June 25–29, 2006 for RCC partners including AKF, SEF, AKES,P, HANDS and AKU-HDP. They visited NGOs and other organizations involved in ECD programmes, discussing the RCC programme and learning from their experiences. Due to extensive

integration of health in various programs of Bangladesh, some of the health agencies were also visited to observe the health intervention in ECD models. Also various communities were also visited to assess the parental and community involvement in Bangladesh. General observations include the following:


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• It was observed that the ECD classrooms in Bangladesh are relatively similar to the RCC classrooms in Pakistan.

• Teaching methodologies similar to those practiced by RCC teachers were used in the classrooms in Bangladesh. Furthermore, the classroom learning environment was also found to be similar, e.g. the concept of goshas, student and teacher displays, etc. was observed in these classrooms.

• The classroom leaning material was provided by funding organizations and also by the local NGOs.

• In order to enhance the creativity of students, the teachers conduct reading sessions and to clarify concepts they also perform experiments using different local material.

• The NGOs also help teachers in developing low cost teaching material for children. • Throughout the entire trip, it was observed that teachers’ training plays a vital role

and for this purpose the NGOs conduct training sessions and ongoing refresher trainings for teachers.

International Study Visits As part of the institutional development and capacity building exposure visits to some of the international ECD models were organized by AKF, P. Nominated representatives from partner organizations visited Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, Phillipines and Portugal. In addition, the visits have established linkages with professionals in institutions in these countries that are exploring sustainable support for ECD It was suggested that research on learning outcomes to prove the value and cost effectiveness of the programme be undertaken. At the same time the importance of giving government the space to adopt the practices introduced, showing what children are gaining and where gains are made in involvement and creativity, in language and math was iterated.


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Other

Assistance to M.Phil. student of Quaid-e-Azam University regarding RCC information: Ms. Zainab Salim, an M.Phil student of American Studies at the Quaid-e-Azam University was referred by AKF, P to consult SEF for acquiring information related to the RCC programme. She needed the information to complete her dissertation: ‘Human Development in Pakistan: The U.S. Role in the Post 9/11 Era’, which primarily focused on the development assistance extended by USAID in the sectors of education, health and gender mainstreaming. In this regard, she was provided with quantitative figures of key indicators such as increase in enrolment and attendance, and decrease in dropouts. Information regarding the support provided by School Management Committees, the number of teachers’ trained over the programme duration, the infrastructural and support and material provided to the schools and impact on the classroom learning environment was also provided. It is hoped that the information provided will help Ms. Salim assess the successes, lessons and impact of the RCC intervention.


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3. ACTIVITIES: PROJECT OUTPUTS; PROJECT OUTCOMES; RESULTS & IMPACTS BY PROGRAMME’S COMPONENTS & OBJECTIVES

RELEASING CONFIDENCE & CREATIVITY PROGRAMME

Objective 1: Encourage Community and parental involvement in ECD efforts inside and outside the classroom

Performance Indicator Definition Data

Source

Method of Data

Collection

Frequency and

Schedule of Data

Collection

Responsibility of Acquiring Data

Unit of Measure Baseline

Target for

entire project period

Actual

Rationale for target

achievement

Increased percent of RCC classrooms in which a community member visits at least twice a week

Non-school personnel stop by school to engage school personnel or children

Partner records

Observation and entry in school visitors book

Ongoing (report to partner on quarterly basis)

Partners (AKES, HANDS, Society)

Number of visits and percentage of schools

5 40 AKESP 312 visits to all 27 schools HANDS 4,364 100% shools Society 15

Community participation and visits have been focused on by all partners, to facilitate greater ownership of RCC. HANDS More than 13537 Parents & community members specially mothers regularly visited the schools and actively participated in the different sessions on ECD/ECE


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Increased percent of SMCs meeting one or more times per month and utilizing funds for school improvement projects

Improvement projects include any activity with an intention of significantly improving the functioning of the school

Partner records

Reading SMC records

Quarterly basis


Percentage of schools

25 75 AKESP 633 HANDS 86% Society 9%

SMCs and PTSMCs were given regular training in order to give them a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. As a result, regular meetings of these groups take place. They not only disburse funds for school improvement, but also interact regularly with Education Department and Local Government Officials for school improvement initiatives.

Increased percentage of children entering grade one at passing level on child assessments

Passing level on child assessments refer to RCC monitoring tools definitions

Child assessment forms

Outside observer administers forms

Once per year

RCC partners at field level (AKES, HANDS, Society) and AKU-HDP and SEF

Percentage of children assessed as ready for school by test definitions

40 70 AKESP 80% HANDS 148% Society 80%

AKES,P in particular reported that underage (below 5 years) and slow learners have not been promoted.


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Objective 2: Develop technical competencies for ECD in teachers, school officials and NGOs in RCC communities


Source

Method of Data

Collection

Frequency and

Schedule of Data

Collection

Responsibility of Acquiring Data


Target for entire

project period

Actual Rationale

Increased percent of RCC teachers using active learning techniques

Learner centered approaches including songs, plays, games, learning corners, reflective feedback

Teacher observation forms

Observation Once per quarter

Community level partners (AKES, Society, HANDS)

Percent of teachers showing at least one active learning technique in the classroom

70 95 AKESP 87% HANDS 100% Society 80% SEF 76%

AKU-HDP 90%

Increased per cent in the usage of active learning techniques is a result of teacher trainings based on ECE methodology. SEF reports that at the beginning of the programme there were no ECD classrooms in all 157 government schools whereas now: - In 75% of the classes teachers engage


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children through questioning. - In 79% of the classrooms children participate actively during lessons, OR group activities. - In 80% of the classrooms teachers listen carefully to the children. - In 82% of the classrooms children are able to express themselves freely. - In 85% of the classrooms children feel free to ask question from the teacher - In 68% of


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the classrooms teachers use less lecturing In 55% of the classrooms teachers use the small grouping technique for activities.

Increased percent of course participants who can articulate ECD concepts and are using them in their professions.

Course participants in HDP training can show evidence of understanding their learning and can give examples of how they are using those concepts

Follow-up evaluation forms

Questionnaire

Twice a year, two months after training

AKU-HDP Percent of participants

20 90 (AKU-HDP 18)

AKESP 92% AKU-HDP 198

AKES,P has tapped into this resource actively with making the transition from ECE to ECD via readings and discussions on ECD AKU-HDP’s Advanced Diploma in Human Development witnessed a late beginning, however participants increased with time and more than


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40% of current course participants have expressed the desire to be part of the second phase as well.


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Objective 3: Facilitate a network of concerned parties in which policy dialogue and coordination, advocacy, resource mobilization, and sharing of best practices can occur.


Source

Method of Data

Collection

Frequency and

Schedule of Data

Collection

Responsibility of

Acquiring Data


Target for entire project period

Actual

Rationale

Increase in new government sponsored ECD efforts in target provinces

Early childhood funding or programming initiatives endorsed by the government in Sindh and Balochistan since beginning of RCC

Partner records

Quarterly consultations with government officials

Quarterly Partners Numbers of initiatives

20 50 AKESP 5 SEF 75%

Although the situation was not very encouraging at the beginning of RCC II with government support at the Federal and Provincial levels not being geared towards ECD in particular. However, local support for the initiatives continued to be strong and gained more strength with time as an increased percentage of local government and Education department officals came to recognize the positive effects of ECD in schools.


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At present the contribution of the project has been significant in terms of National Policy formation. As a result of the programme continuous interaction and advocacy at the policymaking levels, ECD has a separate chapter in the upcoming National Education Policy. The partners of RCC Programme have actively participated in the design of that chapter and have played a central role in brining ECD at the forefront of the national policy debates.

Greater number of subscribers and contributors to ECD website and magazine

Number of site visits and subscribers as well as unpaid or paid authors for material on website/magazine

Partner records

Web statistics and viewing mailing lists – consultation with editors

Quarterly Partners (SEF)

Numbers of people

100 (s) 4 (c)

800 (s) 24 (c)

1807 (s) 24 (c)

Subscriptions stand at 1,569 for Nurture & 448 for Parwarish.


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Increased number of early childhood forum attended by at least one RCC partner

Any forum in which early child hood issues are discussed

Partner records

Participant reports

Quarterly in regular reporting

All partners and AKF

Number of events attended or organized

4 12 AKU-HDP 01

AKESP 12 HANDS 8 Society 18 TRC 3 SEF 7 AKU-HDP 23

Partners were engaged in organizing and attending forums to discuss ECD with educationalists, policy makers and stakeholders throughout the course of the programme. Major programmes included an ECD seminar by SEF, the ECD symposium organized by AKF in Gilgit and HDP’s seminar in conjunction with its Advanced Diploma in Human Development.


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Objective 4: Conduct research on the cost benefit of early childhood interventions and effective practices from RCC schools and disseminate to audiences in Pakistan


Source

Method of Data

Collection

Frequency and

Schedule of Data

Collection

Responsibility of

Acquiring Data


Target for entire project period

Actual Rationale

Increased amount of information available about RCC results and findings

Information includes any thing published for dissemination or delivered to an audience of peers

Partner records

Survey of staff

Quarterly reporting

All partners

Number of events or for a

10 45 AKESP 99 HANDS 35 Society 174 AKU-HDP 20

During the course of the project, partners met with representatives of local, provincial and federal government and Education department officals. Along with briefing them about the programme, fact sheets and promotional material was also distributed including Parwarish and Nurture magazines. Partners also disseminated information through other print media.

Improved percentage of government officials who can articulate the benefits of early childhood interventions

Any government employee who can give effective examples of why ECD is important

Partner records

Focus groups Semi-annually

All partners

Percentage of individuals

50 90 AKESP 100% HANDS 136 Society 182 AKU-HDP

Regular meetings with officials at the schools, their offices and partners’ offices in formal and informal settings have enabled an increased number of officials to articulate these concepts with more clarity.


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4


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Objective 5: Address crosscutting issues in ECD delivery, including attention to vulnerable populations, replicability and adaptability, institutional development, leadership development, and government ownership in program interventions


Source

Method of Data

Collection

Frequency and

Schedule of Data

Collection

Responsibility of

Acquiring Data


Target for entire

project period

Actual

Rationale

Decreased percentage of girls dropping out between katchi class and grade two

Dropping out refers to girls who did not finish school

School records

Verification of school records with teachers and officials

Annual basis


Percentage of girls who leave school each year from katchi to grand two

40 20 N/A A small percentage of girls have continued to drop out of school due to the seasonal migration of families especially in Sind.

Increased number of ways in which RCC partners say they have benefited from the program

Selected RCC program officers indentify their benefits from the program

RCC program partners

Questionnaire

Semi-annually

AKF Number of areas which partners identify in a questionnaire

7 12 - -

Increased percentage of RCC districts with increased allocation of resources to ECD since program start

More funding allocated to early learning programming

RCC program partners

Interviews Annually Partners (AKES, HANDS, Society)

Percentage districts with an increase

50 90 AKESP 90 HANDS 6 Society 15


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4. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION While all the activities planned for RCC II were successfully implemented, due to the ambitious nature of the initiative AKESP and its partners faced several challenges in project delivery. These have been discussed in detail in earlier sections and are also are highlighted below. For the most part, the project implementation team was able to resolve these issues and none seriously impacted on overall project delivery. The overlapping of the last quarter of RCC Phase I and Phase II, proved to be a challenge. Phase I, which was supposed to end on March 24th, got extended till May 15th. The RCC Phase I activities carried well into April, which made it impossible to be prepared for the RCC Phase II Baseline survey, which should technically have been conducted in May, just before the schools close down could not be undertaken. The baseline survey was undertaken as soon as the schools were opened in the first week of August 2004.

Liaising with the Government Collaborating with the government remained on going challenge but so far it has been dealt deftly. There was a major personnel shuffling that took place within governmental structures and Department of Education at the time of the nomination of a new prime minister and also shuffling kept happening even after that. These changes offered multi-dimensional challenges including keeping track of transfers and changing schedules. Additionally, working closely with government and department of education has been a pre-requisite for the programme. A great deal of time and other resources were invested in establishing liaison with the relevant members which due to sudden changes in government order ceased to exist hence new efforts were to be launched to build rapport with the new officials. This was not only time consuming but also had increased redundancy of efforts. A recurring problem faced by the RCC team was persistent changes of personnel within the relevant bureaucracy and the DoE. This posed hindrances in ensuring smooth continuity of dialogue and hampered progress on the resolution of issues like the regularization of the katchi classes. Strong ties that were developed with the EDOs, DOEs and ADEOS of the RCC districts during Phase I had helped in facilitating program implementation. The loss of motivated persons who encouraged RCC teachers had wide-spread impact on project outputs. Efforts made in establishing and maintaining these linkages had to be duplicated in Phase II resulting in delays in delivery of some program milestones. Reestablishment of ties and development of government interest in and knowledge of ECD concepts takes time and even if changes are not department-wide, ADOEs are reluctant to facilitate program implementation without support from upper levels of government. Additionally, any such changes in the future will also have strong implications for project sustainability.


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Transfer of teachers Despite political lobbying and the signing of a MoU with the district and local governments and the DoE, transfers of trained and experienced teachers out of RCC schools remained continued. This impacted program delivery and child development due to the loss of trained individuals and the constant need to fill the gaps created. Advocacy to encourage change and improve the situation was undertaken by the RCC team. The issue was discussed with relevant government officials on a number of occasions with lists of teachers transferred being provided to the DoE. While government commitment to stem transfers at the local level was frequently secured through extensive dialogue and negotiation, discussions revealed that district officials often had little control over transfer orders, particularly those that were politically motivated. Similarly, as discussed above transfer of local government and DoE officials who had knowledge about the RCC program and had been brought on board to take its objectives further also created implementation problems.

Dealing with Multi-grade situations Another key challenge was to train the teachers to effectively deal with the multi-grade environment within which most classes were undertaken. Nearly 60% of the AKESP’s RCC schools functioned in small two-roomed buildings and generally only two teachers were available. This made conducting classes difficult and pedagogically demanding. Before RCC, there was no concept of a katchi class and drop-out rates were high. The transformation of the situation due to the introduction of RCC in these schools resulted in higher enrolments, lower drop-outs and the addition of one more class, exerting additional pressure on the teachers. AKESP adopted a two prong strategy to resolve this problem. Apart from a comprehensive training program to build the capacity of the teachers in the use of multi-grade teaching techniques, the team also worked in conjunction with them to plan and implement curricular activities. Classroom arrangements and the schedule of curricula delivery was modified with support from the heads of the school, which better enabled the teachers to cope with the issue. However, this required concerted effort and the teachers needed project support for much of its implementation period.

Teachers’ absenteeism/limited number of teachers Teachers’ absenteeism along with the limited numbers of teachers assigned to each school was another continuing program challenge with serious implications on the quality of teaching and learning. The downside of the success of the community educational drives was that enrolments increased without complementary change in staff, space and resources. For instance, student strength increased rapidly in some schools without the availability of a single teacher for Class 1. In others, community assistant teachers were overworked and in the absence of regular government teachers had to take responsibility for 3 or more classes. This had major implications for the quality of teaching in the RCC schools. The team raised these issues with the DoE on a number of occasions but steps towards problem resolution were slow and no significant change occurred. The problem was compounded in 2005 with the initiation of teacher trainings by ESRA-financed programs. This caused duplication in training programs for SMCs and teachers, and made it difficult for the school staff to manage the demands on their time. Due to the length of


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period for which teachers were away from school, classroom activities and regularity of sessions were impeded. Coordination efforts were initiated with ESRA, PAIMAN, LEAD-Pakistan and the DoE to share plans and ensure that there was no overlap or duplication. Networking and information-sharing in this regard helped resolve the problem to some degree.

Lack of Coordination Similar lack of coordination between different initiatives for government schools by other agencies resulted in the ‘deconstruction’ of existing facilities. For instance, in the Essan Bahiyo school refurbishment and renovation work undertaken as part of the RCC project was wasted because the school owner received construction funds from the government which he had to spend before the end of the financial year. In a rush to utilize the money, he ordered the reconstruction of even the newly refurbished classrooms, without considering the option of expansion of the school.

Non-regularization of Katchi Classes Another key challenge remained the non-regularization of the katchi classes at the provincial level. This does not bode well for the sustainability of ECD initiatives. In particular, it implies that new enrolments in Class 1 have missed out on essential ECD experiences. It also creates a lopsided situation in Class 1 where half the children have progressed from katchi with strong foundations and the other are ill-prepared to deal with the curriculum. The situation is further complicated by the fact that space and teacher constraints restrict the extent to which differential input can be provided to students. The problem also generated concern by the community assistant teachers regarding the continuity of their jobs and impacted their morale. However, despite concerted engagement with the government, the issue could not be resolved due to a provincial ban on further recruitment. A case-based approach to the formal hiring of the community teachers could also not be adopted as it would result in political controversy. As RCC II approached completion, a significant drop in teachers’ motivation was observed because of the lack of clarity regarding project continuation.

Maintenance of School records Irregularity in the maintenance of school records across RCC communities was noted in the final quarter of 2005. This made the accuracy of school records in general and attendance registers in particular, suspect. Inappropriate practices were prevalent in maintaining records of numbers of enrolled, dropped out and promoted children. In general, teachers tended not to register students in katchi and Class 1 before December as they feared that they may drop-out. Once enrolled, teachers were also reluctant to remove names from registers if children dropped out. Such practices posed a serious data reliability threat and as a result a comprehensive tracking process was initiated to verify and validate the information through multiple sources. This is time-consuming but represented the only way that data authenticity could be assured.

Coordination between RCC partners Although coordination with the RCC partners can be termed as a success story for the RCC programme, but sometimes it also became challenging to bring all partners on the


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same wavelength especially when it came to NURTURE magazine and M&E activities. Similarly having to meet with partners more frequently posed another challenge as the RCC teams for each implementing partner agency comprised limited staff who were also engaged in the field and other activities therefore, assembling all of them at one time became challenging. Hence working with different schedules of the field teams sometimes resulted in deferring of some time critical activities.

In-availability of ECE/D resources and material in local languages One of the bigger problems encountered on a regular basis is the in-availability of resource material for ECE/D in local languages. There have been virtually no research studies available in any local language/s. Also there has been hardly any material available in Urdu (national language) or any other local language. Hence a constant challenge was faced, when it came to developing material in local language for its more contextualized usage. Contextualization for Nurture and Parwarish always proved challenging. Due to a dearth of local material vis-à-vis Early Childhood Development material from several foreign (mostly western) resources was gathered which required contextualization especially for Parwarish which mostly contains translated portions of Nurture. Sometimes whilst translating from English to Urdu, the real essence of few topics is not conveyed very convincingly. During the mapping visits to various organizations it was requested that more material which is relevant to the local context needs to be developed and shared and more people need to write in various local languages regarding ECD related matters.

Stories’ Collection During the story collection process, the main objective was to collect stories that would represent the specific culture and a chapter of the history of the targeted communities, but it was felt during the collection that most of the stories were those that are generally well-known in all regions of the subcontinent and also which were heavily influenced by television. These stories were mostly those of which the origin couldn’t be specifically traced. During collection it was made part of the strategy to mention to the people of the community that although all their stories were welcomed but it would be highly appreciated if such stories were shared which are more region specific and are not those that they have heard on the radio or read in any publication etc. More emphasis was given on collecting stories that are usually passed on through word of mouth. With four visits, two in Sindh and two in Balochistan, a total of 52 stories were collected out of which only two could be short listed to be relevant. However, judging by the fact that HANDS, SCSPEB and AKES, P were also involved in this activity and there has not been much success that they could achieve hence it goes to prove that the story collection process is a challenging task.

Difference in technical skills All three implementing partners have different levels of technical skills especially when it came to computer-based skills. The challenge was to customize the training for each


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partner separately as AKES, P data entry team had sufficient technical knowledge whereas Society and HANDS’ teams needed improvement when it came to their computer skills. Therefore, it became challenging to customize trainings for all three partners accordingly.

On time Submission of Monitoring Data The implementing partners had been responsible for monitoring data collection and entry. Once they completed the data entry the data was sent to SEF for cleaning and analysis. But timely submission of data remained a challenge throughout RCC phase 2. There have been several steps taken by SEF to expedite the process of entry e.g. undertaking database refresher trainings alongside the data collection so that the process of data entry would be swift but even then the submission was delayed by several months by some of the partners which subsequently delayed the process of cleaning and analysis.

Natural Disasters and Law & Order Situation Law & order situation both in Sindh & Balochistan remained one of the bigger problems which surely impacted the activities to be undertaken. Law & order situation remained unpredictable throughout phase 2. Also torrential rains and flood in Sindh posed a constant challenge during the quarter of July-August 2006. Thus, several activities were delayed. Portion of the research study’s data that had to be collected in Balochistan had to be initially postponed and then eventually cancelled considering the perilous law & order condition in Balochistan. Similarly the shooting for the portions of the RCC documentary that had to be done in Balochistan had to be cancelled. The tribal rivalries in the communities in Balochistan were a source of conflict and had made it difficult to recruit a Community Coordinator; each tribe wanted HDP to appoint someone from their tribe. The selection process had to be put on hold for a very long time whilst negotiations with the tribes continued.


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5. MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Human Resource for ECE/ECD Hiring more people, who have expertise in ECE/ECD, emerged as one of the major management issues. The positions for ECD human resource was advertised in the most widely circulated newspaper with very encouraging results of receiving plenty of applications but eventually there were not many applicants who could be short listed due to lack of required skills therefore, recruitment of new staff to work in RCC Phase II, especially in the areas of monitoring, evaluation and research was a challenging task as there has always been a lack of available expertise in ECD. At the very outset, HDP had to operate with a very lean staffing structure and had to depend on a core group of staff for multiple activities. Before the commencement of implementation of ECD community-based programme in Tando Jam Sindh, two Senior Community Coordinators left the programme in January and February 2005. Two Karachi based Community Coordinators were posted out and based in Hyderabad. Finding a suitable and safe place for their living and providing them transportation at the beginning and end of the week was a challenging task.

In Balochistan programme activities had commenced in July but the Senior Community Coordinator hired was only able to join at the beginning of September 2005, and unfortunately chose to quit at the end of the month citing her personal reasons. As a result, the Senior Community Coordinator in Sindh was posted to Quetta whilst a Senior Community Coordinator for Quetta was recruited. This posed a new challenge in Sindh since one of the Community Coordinators in Sindh also left the programme in August 2005 for higher studies abroad. Karachi based staff had to make frequent travels to Tando Jam to supervise the work of ECD Workers. Eventually, two local Hyderabad based Community Coordinators were hired in October and November 2005 and a Senior Community Coordinator in Balochistan in November.

Administrative and Logistical Issues A few small administrative and logistical issues surfaced during project implementation. These were of minor concern and did not impact project delivery in any major way. During Phase I, the AKESP RCC team and the SEF field staff were both accomodated in Khairpur House with the latter overseeing administrative affairs and office security. SEF’s decision to move offices at the beginning of RCC II resulted in considerable time demands being extended upon AKESP staff to manage administrative tasks. Since this was an unforeseen development, administrative positions and other expenses had not been budgeted for in RCC Phase II. AKESP management revised the budget to resolve this issue and conserve staff time for crucial academic activities. The shifting of the RCC Program Office from Karachi to Hyderabad early during RCC II delivered results and effectively contributed in the development of close linkages with partners especially HANDS. It also enabled program staff to provide regular support to field personnel in Hyderabad, Khairpur and Tando Muhammad Khan. Issues such as RCC teachers’ dissatisfaction with salaries were also resolved quickly and efficiently.


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6. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

Introduction: RCC IS was designed and developed to create a software based platform which provides database for storing information collected in Baseline Survey and Monitoring Surveys and facilitates its users to enter the data from the paper based forms to the desktop based computer software and perform immediate data analysis over the collected datasets. Objectives: The design of this Information System addresses the following needs of RCC Surveys

• Efficient storage of enormous amount of data. • Multi-purpose utilization of data. • Effective and easy utilization of data. • Swift data analysis. • Provide user friendly and easy to understand GUI( Graphical User Interface) for

facilitation in quick data insertion. Modules: RCC Information System comprises of two separate modules

1. Baseline Survey Database Management Module 2. Monitoring Survey Database Management Module

Both modules contains their respective user guides and self executable installation programs so that user can install the software on the required workstation. Brief overview of both the modules are given below. Baseline Survey Database Management Module RCC Baseline Survey consists of following five questionnaires

• School Profile. • Child Assessment– Kachi • Child Assessment– Class 1 • Family Profile. • Classroom Observation

Therefore five separate Data Entry forms were designed and together with the Data Analysis and Reporting Component it was packaged into the single standalone module with the screen name “RCC Baseline Survey Database “ Some snapshots of RCC Baseline Survey Database are as follow


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a.. Splash Screen

b. Main Menu.


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c. School Profile Form.

.


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e. Child Assessment form for Class 1.


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f. Family Profile Form.


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g. Classroom Observation Form.


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h. Data Analysis Tool.

Monitoring Survey Database Management Module RCC Monitoring Survey was conducted on following two questionnaires

• School Profile • Classroom Observation

A custom module was developed and packaged containing two related Data Entry forms with the Data Analysis and Reporting Component and the screen name “RCC Monitoring Survey Database “ . Snap shots from this module are as follow


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a. Splash Screen.

b. Main Menu.


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c. School Monitoring Form.


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d. Classroom Observation Form.


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e. Logical View of the Monitoring Database Module.


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f. Logical Flow chart of the Database System.


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Database specifications:

• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 (Front-End). • Microsoft Access (Back-End). • Database Components. • HTML Reports.

Advantages of the chosen environment:

• User-Friendly Environment. • Windows-based application. • Rapid Application Development Model driven. • Compatible with all Windows versions. • Minimum installation & usage conflicts. • Uses minimum amount of disk storage space.


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7. REASONS WHY ESTABLISHED GOALS WERE NOT MET HDP could not initiate proposed four research studies in collaboration with partners for multiple reasons, one being AKU-HDP’s limited capacity in terms of research, and constraints in recruiting key positions, as discussed above. Also, RCC implementing partners remained heavily committed to their part of RCC programme implementation. Opportunities to discuss and agree on a common research agenda and research questions remained very limited.

TRC reports that arranging logistics for pilot testing multigrade manual and workshops with partners was a time-consuming activity. The pace of meeting deadlines and deliverables was slowed because of health concerns of core team members.


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8. CHANGES IN SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY As highlighted in the sections above, sustainability of the RCC initiative was advanced by fostering a sense of ownership within communities and government agencies and was a primary target of the current phase of the project. Given that the continuity of any endeavor depends largely on the involvement and interest of key stakeholders in its activities, it can be assumed that the RCC was successful in this regard. Community members including parents, teachers and village elders; government officials from a range of district and local government agencies and the DoE; and members of local NGOs and partner organizations all displayed a high level of commitment to furthering project progress. The RCC team ensured their involvement in all aspects of project delivery and decision-making so that ownership could easily be devolved to them. The project goal of creating a conducive ECD environment for the development of young children in the target areas was therefore realized to a very large extent. Parental and community support for the project was a high point for RCC. The project was successful in maintaining intensive and effective involvement of local communities in both ECD advocacy sessions and the running of RCC classes. Communities also actively participated in a range of events from cultural melas to annual sports days. Additionally, in the face of persistent teacher transfers, parents volunteered time in schools, providing much-needed continuity to ECD learning. They also regularly conducted sessions to promote local traditions and indigenous learning in the classroom. Government officials were also actively drawn in and were highly supportive of project activities from its inception. They not only participated in community events but voiced their sincere appreciation and backing for the project. Even during program implementation itself, efforts to replicate its success in other government schools were initiated by government officials in various districts. Details of these activities have been provided in earlier sections of the report. The project focus on research has yielded some interesting data and analysis. This can be used to inform policy direction in the future. During RCC II the capacities of communities and institutions such as the SMCs and the LRCs were augmented to enable them to take over project operations once the current initiative phased-out. The SMCs were strengthened to enable them to function as strong decision-making and liaison bodies. Extensive trainings of the ALs and community teachers was undertaken to ensure that ECD expertise remains available to communities once the project ends. Networking with local NGOs with longstanding relationships in RCC communities was also undertaken in order to provide continuity to the program after the life of the RCC grant. Provision has to be made for two crucial elements of sustainability; i.e. support for the work done by ECD workers and the workers’ salaries.

Financial support for the salaries of the ECD workers is a greater challenge for sustainability of parenting services and liaison with health and education services. Government funds could sustain ECD workers, if the need for supporting ECD is recognized and a change in policy effected. Alternatives for consideration, although not feasible for adoption generally, include the development of ECD workers as teachers or


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providers of private centre-based activities or day-care centers but privatization will not serve the purpose of providing the opportunity of nurture for every child, to which the ECD workers are committed.

Community representatives have repeatedly expressed ideas of development that hinged on elimination of poverty and expectations that AKU or AKDN will fund or assist in obtaining funds from donor agencies for this purpose, ignoring the fact that such a solution will neither eliminate poverty nor sustain the support needed for ECD at home and in the community. However addressing deeper determinants of child development such as poverty and access to services require attention and careful consideration. Integrated approaches and coordinated efforts to community development and involvement of government line departments of health, education and community development seems a prudent way forward.

However, the overall responsibility for the sustainability and replicability of the RCC lies with the government. Despite efforts to cultivate relationships with government to ensure institutional and not individual interest in the program, political polarization, frequent transfers of skilled teachers and government staff, untimely changes in administrative structures, lack of impetus to regularize the katchi class and its teachers and lack of cohesion and coordination in activities at the district level all need to be addressed to ensure the consistency of RCC outputs and ability of the program to sustain activities into the future. With the end of Phase II, the AKESP Field Education Office in Khairpur was officially closed on September 30, 2006. However, the AKESP team has continued to work towards the consolidation of existing work for effective phase-out, ensuring the smooth functioning of the newly established LRCs and lobbying for the regularization of the community assistant teachers. This highlights the degree of commitment to project objectives on the part of the AKESP RCC team and bodes well for project sustainability in the future. HDP on the other hand, has decided to engage in establishing a parenting programme in the communities in Sindh and Balochistan for a period of three to five years and facilitate the development of sustainable services to support ECD during that time.


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9. LESSONS LEARNED AND PROJECT IMPACT

Lessons Learned Project research and analysis activities as well as feedback from the field have helped generate a series of valuable lessons from the implementation of the RCC project. These would have great value in informing future initiatives in the sector. Some key lessons from the project are listed below: Advocacy in RCC The first and foremost lesson that had been learned in phase 2 of the programme is that if advocacy strategy is well thought out and well coordinated then it can prove to be effective in achieving the desired objectives. In RCC programme two of the main objectives of the advocacy strategy; spearheaded by SEF, have been creating awareness and developing synergies. When efforts were focused on achieving these objectives the results were more than satisfactory. Also the efficacy of advocacy helped in breaking the myths that it is difficult to create awareness about a new concept in a short time. Based on the government’s ongoing appreciation for the RCC programme, it was learnt that through consistent and structured advocacy efforts for RCC in particular and ECD in general, government can be convinced to allocate more and more resources towards strengthening ECD initiatives. Many government officials have declared RCC as “the best recipe for the revival of government schools.” This clearly reflects the government’s willingness and commitment towards supporting the RCC programme. Finalization of forms after the training One of the lessons learned during the phase 2 is finalization of baseline or monitoring tools after the training of the implementing partners – much like the way it was done in RCC I baseline. There were useful suggestions from the participants after the training but they could not be incorporated due to the finalization and printing of forms before the training. Health in Advocacy “Health” (esp. preventive health) should be one of the primary focus areas of advocacy to ensure success of such campaigns at the communities’ level attributing to devastating health conditions at the grassroots. Since major portion of income is spent on health related activities therefore, creating awareness regarding health issues will help introduce better preventive health practices. Based on this lesson, the recent issue of Nurture and Parwarish focused on Health & Hygiene. Overall Lessons for the Program

• An extremely critical lesson that has been learned during the field visits is at the programmatic level which might lead to making important policy decisions. Due to the nature of vertical intervention, now RCC II is implemented in class 1, which consists of three categories of children:


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1. RCC class 2. (Government) katchi class 3. New admissions (as a result of different enrollment drives)

This has drastically increased number of children in a class. Currently, average 60-70 children are enrolled in grade 1 classes, which is a drastic change from RCC I where enrolment criteria was 30 children in one class. The high enrolment makes it difficult for a teacher to manage children in the classroom and teach effectively which also has direct effect on children’s learning and development.

• Another critical lesson for the program is to consider decisions regarding the ‘Age Issue’ which was raised to the government. Now in RCC II most of the younger children in the RCC I classes (children who enrolled in RCC I at the age of 3) have been put in government kachi classes as they cannot be promoted to class 1 for not having met the age criteria which is 5. This may create an adverse and regressive impact on their learning; reason being in government kachi classes children are not taught as per the requirements of early learning. Owing to this reason there is a possibility that some of these children might drop out for a year which has implications on morale, parental expectations, risk of not returning to school.

• During the field visits the team was informed by the RCC teachers that they conduct certain activities in the class that are present in the Child Assessment form, such as the draw-a-person activity, since they are aware that the students will be evaluated at the time monitoring or baseline second round on the basis of their performance on the activities and tests present in the Child Assessment tools. This brings the same debate that SEF and TRC initiated since the very outset of the program regarding the attitude of the teachers. Although it was emphasized in all the trainings conducted by SEF that the administration of Child Assessment should be done in a non-exam manner but it was always feared that the subjectivity of teachers might step in making it more of an examination test than a data collection tool. It was also suggested that this biasness can be eliminated if the administration of Child Assessment was done by an independent data collector but the feasibility of this option was not extensively explored by the concerned partners.

Working in the specified areas One of the lessons learned is restricting the technical assistance to partners in the programme specified areas only. This lesson emerged whilst dealing with implementing partners’ hardware issues. Initially support was extended to resolve the hardware issues as they were impeding the functioning of the database although it was out of SEF’s scope of work. This support resulted in partners’ directing all such issues towards SEF. Consequently it became cumbersome for the database team to address the hardware issues. Political Acceptability One of the major lessons learned is how the focus of interventions changes with the change of governments. During the tenure of former Federal Minister for Education Ms.


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Zubeida Jalal, who had keen interest in early childhood education and development therefore as a result it was translated at the provincial levels. ECD could never become an area of focus for the existing federal ministry which exceedingly became evident at the provincial levels as well since the provincial ministries are not too keen about this extremely important concept. Hence, if ECE/D has to be made an area of prime importance then the efforts will also have to focus on the Federal Ministry as they will have to be mobilized consequently resulting at galvanizing support and patronage at the provincial levels. RCC Programme: The major impetus During the ECD mapping activity, it was observed that there are quite a few agencies and individuals who are working in ECD but there are no avenues of sharing their available resources. Therefore, more work is done in isolation which results in duplication and redundancy. Based on its design the RCC programme; in which various diverse agencies came together and benefited from each other’s strengths and expertise, can prove to be the major impetus for promoting sharing and developing synergies at various levels as there is a dire need for agencies working in ECD within Pakistan to work together at various levels to further the advantages of Early Childhood Development. Strength lies in Collectiveness The lesson that has been learned is regarding the collectiveness and strength of synergized efforts of various agencies which can definitely enrich any initiative vis-à-vis ECD and also can make a difference in the long run. During the symposium and the conference diverse private and donor agencies were gathered under one roof and from different corners of the country which generated thought provoking discourses and also gave different agencies to share their ideas and experiences so that any redundancies and duplication of effort can be eliminated. Also the sense of collectiveness generated the spirit of working together and then convincing the government in each province as well as at the federal level to take impetus from the efforts of various agencies and donors for further upscaling rather than waiting for the government to take initiative and the rest of the agencies to follow suit. Increased Fora result in Increased Participation & Synergy Increased number of fora ensure increased participation as it has been learned through organizing one conference in Karachi i.e. Rediscovering Childhood and extending support in another i.e. Raising Capable Children in Gilgit. Various individuals and organizations enthusiastically participated in these conferences and shared their experiences. Also more such events will help in synergizing the efforts of various individuals as well as organizations resulting in a collective vision which ECD interventions require increasingly with time. Also the collectiveness and strength of synergized efforts of various agencies can definitely enrich any initiative vis-à-vis ECD and also can make a difference in the long run. Project research and analysis activities as well as feedback from the field have helped generate a series of valuable lessons from the implementation of the RCC project.


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Project Impact The success of the RCC project lay in its consultative and experimental approach to development and ECD interventions. Its ability to garner support from a wide cross-section of society and to sustain the same for the entire implementation period represents a unique example of partnership and confidence-building to effect change. The engagement and support of government officials, parents, school staff and local organizations is indicative of the degree to which the project was able to build trust within the stakeholders and vouches for the quality of its delivery. As a result the project’s primary impact was both attitudinal and institutional. By creating sustainable, replicable models of ECD delivery and creating mass awareness about the importance of early learning, RCC was able to perpetuate a broad understanding of ECD concepts and appropriate teaching techniques within rural communities in the short span of four years and create a culture supportive of children and conducive to their development. The project also helped transform the lives of rural women by building their capacity and enhancing their leadership capabilities.

Documents

RCC Phase II Final Report December 31, 2006pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACJ458.pdf · Multigrade Teaching Manual ... Address crosscutting issues in ECD delivery, ... Assistance to M.Phil