Attachments
CFK Africa partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study evidence-based solutions to improve educational outcomes among students in Kenya. Out of 120 applicants, it was one of 10 global partners selected for the program Leveraging Evidence for Action to Promote Change (LEAP), a collaborative initiative between MIT and the Jacobs Foundation which pairs each of the 10 worldwide organizations with four MIT LEAP fellows who are tasked with assisting the organizations and improving the assessment of what the organizations are doing that are innovative solutions to worldwide problems. This 50-page report rigorously analyzes an ongoing data collection effort by CFK Africa to study which interventions have the best effect on boosting the rate of primary school graduation among students in informal settlements like Kibera in Nairobi.
2022 LEAP Challenge: LEAP Final Deliverable(s)
Executive Summary
Introduction
Schools in informal settlements in Kenya provide access to crucial education for many young students, yet rates of finishing primary school are low. CFK Africa is working to improve attendance via a variety of methods, and this LEAP project was designed to provide guidance on how to implement, measure, and eventually scale specific interventions to improve school attendance in informal settlements in Kenya.
Organization’s role & strength
In Kenya, millions of people live in informal settlements. In these communities, residents lack access to quality health care, proper nutrition, and adequate sanitation, leaving them susceptible to preventable diseases. Limited access to quality education and economic advancement opportunities, high levels of unemployment, and gender inequity further impede individual and community progress. Though residents are talented, resilient, and entrepreneurial, many lack the opportunities needed to break cycles of poverty. CFK Africa is working to change that narrative.
CFK Africa’s Best Schools Initiative (BSI) works with students ages 5 to 12 and collects data from 64 primary schools in Kibera. This initiative targets equitable and sustainable education development at multiple levels; building capacity at the school level, assisting school leaders in implementing transformative policies, and helping guide the greater educational community in leading similar research.
Need summary
Schools in informal settlements are critical for providing accessible education for many students, but it can be difficult to keep attendance rates high. CFK Africa, through their Best Schools Initiative, worked closely with stakeholders to identify 12 factors (for example, providing school lunches, teacher training) that could potentially improve school attendance in informal settlements. They are now implementing these practices in partnership with schools, but had questions about data collection and levels of evidence required to evaluate the practices. The focus of this LEAP project was therefore to provide advice and strategies for collecting data to evaluate these practices and providing a framework in which to do so.