Asia

IRA is leading this new EQUIP project which is focusing on primary grades reading in Spanish-speaking Latin America, Arabic-speaking Middle East, and Anglophone and Francophone Africa. The objective of this activity is to use research conducted by IRA on early grades reading policies in countries in these regions both at the school level and the preservice level to help support the development of a document that will serve as a guidance to aid international and national education development donors and NGO partners in developing pertinent and effective early grades reading programs in these countries.

The broad purpose of this collaborative effort is to develop a high quality, nationwide, sustainable literacy professional development program to enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Education in Oman. The project will focus on improving Professional Development for Literacy Instruction both in and out of school. Components of the project include: development and implementation of an Action Research program; a Diagnostic Teaching program; and Curriculum Development.

IRA teamed with Room to Read in Bangladesh to conduct a review of secondary data on assessments available from government and other studies as well as conducting assessments in selected schools while interacting with teachers and students and other relevant education stakeholders to identify specific needs.

The Literacy Hub is a resource developed over a series of discussions between representatives of the G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and representatives of the countries making up the Broader Middle East and North Africa region (Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen).

The Literacy Hub is designed to provide policymakers and program developers in the BMENA region with an extensive database of exemplary practices and programs in literacy. The database is a diverse collection of effective programs for achieving basic literacy, academic literacy, or everyday literacy.

IRA, in partnership with the Research Triangle Institute and leaders in policy decentralization, teacher training, literacy, and public-private partnership development, is working to implement the Education Sector Reform Action (ESRA) plan within the Pakistani education system. This four-year, US$60 million project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. RTI has overall management responsibility; the American Institutes for Research and the Education Development Center are also partners, as are numerous Pakistani organizations.

Through discussions, research, and monitoring, IRA will help develop the capacity of local Pakistani educators and education ministry personnel to create a consistent, coherent framework for incorporating active learning approaches into classroom practice. IRA will address in-service education and improved standards for teacher performance. We are also working to facilitate change in primary and secondary curricula, and to develop instructional materials, student assessment policies, and preservice teacher education programs. Technical consultants are being recruited from within IRA’s extensive network of members and affiliated partners in North America, Europe, and Central Asia.