- Almost 350,000 children were reached directly.
- Over 386,000 children benefited indirectly from our education activities.
- Over half of the children we reached were girls
Education
Why education? Education is at the heart of development and is key to breaking the poverty cycle, and improving health, nutrition, income and opportunities for all children. In 2018, Concern’s education programming supported over 208,000 people directly and 449,000 people indirectly.
Key focus areas
Three key focus areas of our work on education are:
- Increasing access to education
- Improving the quality of teachers and learning literacy, in particular, literacy through the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool
- Improving child well-being by providing safe and encouraging learning environments.
Kabale is a student of Maikona Primary School, Kenya Photo: Jennifer Nolan / Concern Worldwide.
Maikona Primary School, Maikona, Kenya. Photo: Jennifer K Nolan / Concern Worldwide.
Female students attend SHG literacy and numeracy classes. Photo: Marco Gualazzini / Concern Worldwide.
Mercy attends class in Nairobi. Photograph: Abbie Trayler-Smith / Panos Pictures.
Farah* and Nadia* attend an education programme in Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi /Concern Worldwide.
Syrian children attending Concern’s non-formal education in Lebanon. Photo: Chantale Fahmi / Concern Worldwide.
A closer look at our education programmes
We aim to contribute to lasting improvements in the lives of extremely poor people through the implementation of high-quality, multi-dimensional education programmes. Here we spotlight two of our approaches.
Improving literacy with EGRA
At least 250 million school-age children worldwide currently do not know the basics in reading and mathematics. This poor level of literacy drives school drop-out and exam failure and blocks students from progressing to secondary school. Ultimately, it puts millions of children at a cruel disadvantage for the rest of their lives. In order to accurately assess, improve and monitor literacy levels, Concern has refined and expanded the sector-leading Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool among the most vulnerable communities.
Our EGRA tool – a series of short oral tests taken in the early grades of primary school – allows us to assess and then address children’s learning needs at an early age. It also allows us to identify knowledge gaps, gather robust data and monitor progress so we can accurately evaluate the success of programmes over time.
Safe Learning Model
Publications on the theme of Education
Research and insights from our education programmes in action.
