Soul Beat Africa

• Educating Girls...
• ICTS in Education...
• Education and Rights...
• Involving Children and Communities...

• 1. Because I am a Girl: Africa Report - Progress and Obstacles to Girls Education in Africa [2012]By Annie KanyembaThis edition of the pan-Africa "Because I am a Girl" 2012 report is a culmination of research conducted in 11 African countries to assess the "Progress and Obstacles to Girls' Education in Africa." Launched in October 2012, Because I am a Girl (BIAAG) is Plan International's campaign to fight gender inequality, promote girls' rights, and lift millions of girls out of poverty. According to the report, educating girls is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and improving the lives of girls, boys, and everyone in their communities.
  
• 2. Tsogolo Langa - My Future! Campaign - MalawiLaunched in 2010, the Tsogolo Langa - My Future! project is working to promote girls education in the Zomba district in Malawi by raising awareness of girls' rights, increasing efficacy among primary school girls to claim their right to education, and increasing active support by traditional leaders, religious leaders, school management committees, and parents. The project is led by Pakachere Institute of Health and Development Communication (IHDC) in partnership with Swedish Organisation for Individual Relief (SOIR). The project uses a three tiered approach which includes mass media, community mobilisation, and grassroots advocacy.
  
• 3. The Kasiisi Project Girls Support Program - UgandaLaunched in 2006, the Kasiisi Project Girls Support Program works to keep girls in school, inform them about their sexual health, and assist them to be economically independent. Strategies to assist girls to successfully complete their primary education include: supplying sanitary pads to girls who are menstruating; constructing private 'girls only' latrines at schools; and providing accurate health information and mentorship through a female health worker. The support programme is led by the Kasiisi Project in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute.
  
• 4. Empowering Village Education: Improving Enrolment and Retention of Girls in Primary Schools in South Sudan [2011]By Lesley WallerThis report highlights findings from an evaluation of a project designed to improve enrolment and retention of girls in primary schools in south Sudan. According to the report, enrolment of girls in primary schools in South Sudan is particularly low, and in response, the Africa Educational Trust (AET), in cooperation with the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) and Ministry of Education introduced the Empowering Village Education (EVE) project in 2008. According to the evaluations, the findings indicate that a range of focused interventions such as those supported by the EVE project can help to improve enrolment and retention of girls in primary schools in South Sudan.
  
• 5. Growing Up at School: A Guide to Menstrual Management for School Girls [March, 2011]This booklet, published by Water Supply's Sanitation Collaborative Council, was developed to help school girls manage the critical period when they enter adolescence between the ages of 10 and 14 and commence menstruation. The booklet describes the changes that take place in young girls during this period and provides tips on personal hygiene, sanitary pads usage, and pain management, as well as diet tips, exercises, and how to relax. The guide also advises girls to discuss the topic in groups with their teachers.
  

• 11. Action for Children's Rights in Education: End of Project Evaluation Report [August, 2013]This report discusses findings of an evaluation to assess the extent to which ActionAid International's Action for Children's Rights in Education (ACRE) project started bringing about anticipated changes during its initial phase, as well as examine factors critical in helping or hindering change and draw lessons for future programming. According to the evaluation, despite the relatively short implementation period, it is clear that the basic premises of the Promoting Rights in Schools (PRS) approach is valid in practice and that broader stakeholder engagement in participatory processes promotes an improved understanding, buy-in, and action for children's rights in education.
  
• 12. Sustainable Development Starts and Ends with Safe, Healthy, Well-Educated Children [May, 2013]This paper explores the interplay between the realisation of children's rights and sustainable development. The first section sets the context: how and why children are central to the concept, principles, and future progress of sustainable development - and why sustainable development, in turn, is crucial for children. The second section introduces three key messages for the attention of decisionmakers on the Post-2015 Development Agenda on the centrality of children and young people to sustainable development: Ensure that all children have access to education. "Inclusive, rights-based quality education, both formal and non-formal, is a primary driver of both development progress and societal transformation to sustainable development pathways."
  

• 13. Politics of Participation: Parental Support for Children's Learning and School Governance in Burundi, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda [May, 2010]By Akanksha A. Marphatia, Karen Edge, Elise Legault, and David ArcherThis report discusses the findings and recommendations from the Improving Learning Outcomes in Primary Schools (ILOPS) Project, a collaborative research study to explore the role of parents and teachers in improving children's learning in primary schools in Burundi, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda. The ILOPS Project was supported by William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and brought together key stakeholders, parents, teachers, teachers' unions, education coalitions, research institutes, and Ministry officials - to conduct the research.
  
• 14. Start Your Own School Newspaper: A Media Literacy ToolkitBy Hugh LewinThe Start You Own School Newspaper toolkit was produced to help encourage students to produce their own newspapers as a way to assist young people to be more critical consumers and producers of media, as well as to stimulate an interest in media as a field of study. The toolkit is a result of numerous consultations with key stakeholders and experts in the field of children/youth media, journalism practitioners, educators, and the learners themselves. It is envisioned that through this initiative a platform will be created to develop media literacy skills which can be used across the school curriculum, thereby contributing to the upliftment of educational standards and promotion of a culture of reading.
  
• 15. Radio Quiz Competition - UgandaRun by Nakaseke Community Radio with primary school teachers from government and private schools since 2006, the Radio Quiz Competition is designed to challenge students to perform better and raise the low literacy levels and poor academic performance of students in the impoverished district of Nakaseke in Uganda. The Radio Quiz Competition runs live every Sunday and is broadcast by Nakaseke Community Radio. Three schools are hosted on each show, with each school represented by two pupils in a live question and answer session. A panel of teachers conducts the quiz, and the programme is run by teachers and principals of the different schools with the help from the radio staff.
  
• 16. How-to Guide: Child-Led School Health Education Programs [2009]Published by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), this guide explores the ways that children can be mobilised as leaders in the effort to create more healthy school environments and communities. The guide does not only looks at activities to ensure a sound body, but outlines how shifting the focus of efforts and resources from adults to children can have a far greater impact on both children and adults, in the present and, most importantly, for the future. According to the guide, a child's health status is a major determinant in whether or not she/he will succeed in school. Reducing environmental threats to health and promoting healthy behaviours can positively impact attendance and achievement at a school.
  

• The Soul Beat 200 - Promoting Education in Africa
• The Soul Beat 178 - Communication for Education and Development