NGO Profile: Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAM Contemporary Approaches to Educational Problems Ed 855.716: Spring 2014

Name of Organization URL Contact Lead Phone and/or Skype (preferred) Location of Project Focus

Forum for African Women Educationalists http://FAWE.org Trevor Fisher, Coordinator trevor.fisher@skola.sundsvall.se Skype: trevfish1 Southeast village of Makumduchi, Zanzibar Access FAWE was founded in 1992 by five African women ministers of education the late Hon. Vida Yeboa of Ghana, Hon. Simone de Comarmond of Seychelles, Hon. Paulette Missambo of Gabon, Hon. Dr. Fay Chung of Zimbabwe, and Hon. Alice Tiendrebogo of Burkina Faso. FAWE was born out of discussions between African ministers and donor agency representatives of the Donors to African Education (DAE) and based on the belief that women in decision-making positions have the potential to make a significant difference.

Mission, Vision, History

FAWEs work is to encourage governments, international organizations and local communities to enact policies and provide positive learning environments that treat girls and boys equally. One of their most popular intervention models is called Tuseme and its goal is to: Improve girls self-esteem and in their leadership, social and life skills Improve teachers positive attitudinal change towards girls Create a significant reduction in sexual harassment

Context: Provide the location and the population being served and if the program is new or ongoing. In other words, provide background on the community.

FAWE works in many countries throughout Africa. This specific field study will have its focus on the Zanzibar chapter of FAWE, and specifically its programs at Kusini Secondary School in the South-East village of Makunduchi. Makunduchi is a traditional fishing village and a very patriarchal society. Females in the village have many chores and demands on them in addition to their schoolwork. Overall student achievement as Kusini is not very high, and females at the secondary level have poor results. Lack of properly educated teachers, poor resources, culture and all the extra tasks are creating serious issue for girls in the village. This is an ongoing project that is only a year old. The intervention program we will be implementing will be FAWEs Gender-Responsive Pedagogy program. The GRP model trains teachers in the design and use of gender-responsive:

Teaching and learning materials Lesson plans Language in the classroom Classroom interaction Classroom set-up Strategies to eliminate sexual harassment Management of sexual maturation School management systems

Our GRP also seeks to address male-dominated values by employing teaching methods that account for the individual needs of learners, especially girls. The Challenge (Capsule Summary) 1-2 sentences about research needs The central challenge and research question focuses on an initial analysis of issues facing FAWE as it attempts to implement and scale its GRP model in Zanzibar. We wish to work with the JHU students to determine a focused direction in either a (1) policy approach or (2) strategies and considerations for improved services and programs. Our goal is to develop an actionable theory of change that can help us target resources, enlist stakeholders, and justify the impacts of our work

The Challenge (Longer Description) Describe the challenge in terms of what research can do to support progress toward your intended goal. What obstacles are you facing? Examples may include strategic design, resistance from above, policy constraints, resource constraints, and integration of new knowledge on gender equality measures. The more focused the target (specific population and specific challenge), the more productive the results will be.

These main challenge(s) are shared by most small NGOs facing resource constraints, properly trained teachers, and agenda setting issues over which we may not have enough control. FAWE (Zanzibar) is running on very limited resources and thus they cannot properly implement the programs they are trying to initiate. Economic limitations mean that groups are larger and thus impersonal. GRP for example needs to be implemented in small steps and in small groups at a time. There simply are not enough resources to successfully sustain this intervention. Once they have started an implementation (GRP for example) teachers have difficulty maintaining the change. Poor pedagogical practice and overall ability are obstacles to change in this case. The agenda created simply does not prioritize FAWEs programs to the extent others believe it should. There are serious academic issues and many student are not passing national exams. Thus, administration has focused on preparing students for the national tests. This prioritization does not provide FAWEs programs room on the agenda. These are all considerations and variables that demonstrate complexity and which require a systematic approach. We know we cannot accomplish anywhere close to a comprehensive strategy over six weeks, but we can select a piece of the puzzle and work with JHU students to flesh it out.