Education options for out-of-school children and those at risk of dropping out: a research synthesis

Executive Summary

From 2021 to 2024, the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), a joint endeavour with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), commissioned four research projects to test, assess and develop strategies to scale education innovations that can increase access to quality education for out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) and those at risk of dropping out. The projects involved 11 partners and 15 countries. They were:

• A Comparative Study of Accelerated Education Programs and Girls’ Focused Education Models in Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone
• The Back2School Project: Scaling an Accelerated Learning Model for Out-of-School Girls in Rural Communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania
• A New Model of Bridging Classes to Improve Learning of Out-of-School Children and Youth in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Senegal
• Effectiveness and Scalability of Programs for Children Who Are Out-of-School and at Risk of Dropping Out in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal

Each project assessed a wide range of innovative education programs and school-based practices, deepening knowledge of their characteristics and the quality of their implementation. In total, more than 30 accelerated education programs (AEPs) and practices were reviewed, with students, parents, teachers, education officials and other key stakeholders providing input on what works and what needs to be improved. These findings were used to inform government and other stakeholders about effective policies, strategies and approaches so they can be replicated and scaled up.

This report provides a synthesis of the findings that have emerged from the four research projects addressing the challenge of OOSCY and those at risk of dropping out. By consolidating findings across the four projects, the synthesis identifies both generalizable lessons and particularities in findings, situating the specific contributions of grounded research in broader bodies of knowledge. This report informs regional and global education debates by highlighting key features of effective AEPs across the four projects and lessons learned that can help future efforts to scale education options for out-of-school and at-risk learners.