Girls' Education Challenge evaluation
Project summary
The Girls’ Education Challenge was launched by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2012 as a 12 year commitment to reach the most marginalised girls in the world and is the largest global fund dedicated to girls’ education. The Girls’ Education Challenge aims to transform the lives of over one million of the world’s most marginalised girls through quality education and learning. Access to a good quality education and learning opportunities is expected to empower these girls to secure a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.
The current second phase of the programme comprises of two types of projects:
- A Girls’ transition window (GEC-T) to continue funding successful GEC Phase I projects and ensure that one million marginalised girls transition successfully from primary education into secondary education, further education, vocational education or training. This window comprises of 27 projects (selected from 37 GEC Phase I) located in 14 countries.
- A Leave no girl behind window (LNGB) to fund 14 targeted ‘catch up’ projects for up to 500,000 highly marginalised girls in 10 countries.
These projects are being implemented by a range of organisations across 17 countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Independent Evaluation is led by Tetra Tech, with the consortium including the REAL Centre and Fab Inc, amongst others. The Evaluation will conduct approximately eight standalone research or evaluation studies. This includes primary qualitative research combined with quantitative analysis of existing project evaluation data.
The evaluation is also responsible for commissioning and managing research under Rapid Research and Learning Fund on behalf of the FCDO, which aims to answer specific research questions related to girls’ education in countries included in the GEC via shorter term research projects.
Research team
REAL Centre team:
Technical Director: Pauline Rose
Senior Research Lead: Phoebe Downing
Disability and Social Inclusion Expert: Nidhi Singal
School Governance and Management Expert: Ricardo Sabates
External partners: Simon Griffiths (Programme Director, Tetra Tech), Janki Rajpura (Programme Manager, Tetra Tech), Monazza Aslam (Team Leader), Shenila Rawal (Deputy Team Leader), Maria Jose Ogando Portela (Synthesis Lead, Fab Inc), Paul Atherton (Evaluation Studies Lead, Fab Inc), Sophie Amili (Lead Qualitative Analyst, Tetra Tech), Paola Pereznieto (Rapid Research Fund Manager), Julia Midland (Field Research Manager).
Duration
February 2020 - June 2025
Funder
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC).
Publications and blogs
Educational pathways beyond formal schooling
Independent evaluation of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II – Education Pathways for Marginalised Adolescent Girls Beyond Formal Schooling
Rose, P., Aslam, M., Gupta, R., Koutecký, T., Ogando Portela, M. J., Rawal, S., Tangpornpaiboon, S. and Zubairi, A. October 2023 Summary Study Brief
Full Report
Annexes
Using the River of Life participatory approach to evaluate education pathways for marginalised adolescent girls
Zubairi, A. Rose, P., Aslam, M., Rawal, S., Gupta, R. and Jere, K. January 2024 Tetra Tech International Development research report (also on the Girls' Education Challenge website)
Blog
Elevating the perspectives of marginalised adolescent girls: Exploring education journeys using the River of Life participatory approach
Zubairi, A., Rose, P., Aslam, M., Gupta, R., Rawal, S. and Jere, C. Participatory Methods, 22 January 2024, and Girls' Education Challenge, 26 January 2024
Leave No Girl Behind: Improves girls’ confidence in decision-making, but needs to be sustained to tackle gender social norms
Zubairi, A., Rose, P., Aslam, M., Rawal, S. and Gupta, R. UNGEI, 9 October 2023
Media
Sustained, purposeful investment key to ‘leaving no girl behind’, either in education or beyond
Faculty of Education News, 19 October 2023 (Also covered by Mirage and myScience)
Educating girls with disabilities
Independent evaluation of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II – Evaluation study 4: Educating girls with disabilities in GEC II
Singal, N., Niaz, L., Gupta, R., Bligh, L., Oganda-Portela, M.J., Aslam, M. and Rawal, S. May 2023
Summary
Full Report
Annexes
Blogs
Notions around a “Successful Woman with Disabilities”: Exploring voices of girls in Nepal, Malawi and Uganda
Nidhi Singal and Laraib Niaz, UKFIET, 29 August 2023
Notions around a “successful woman with disabilities”: Exploring voices of girls in Nepal, Malawi and Uganda
Nidhi Singal and Laraib Niaz, World Bank Inclusive Education Initiative, 24 July 2023
Centring the voices of girls with disabilities: A Photovoice exploration of school life and challenges
Nidhi Singal and Laraib Niaz, UNGEI, 13 July 2023
Centring the voices of girls with disabilities: A Photovoice exploration of school life and challenges
Nidhi Singal and Laraib Niaz, Girls' Education Challenge, 6 June 2023
Focused interventions for girls with disabilities builds ‘life-changing’ self-esteem and aspirations
Nidhi Singal and Laraib Niaz, World Education Blog, 31 May 2023
Media
Focused interventions for girls with disabilities fuelled ‘life-changing’ impact on aspirations and self-esteem
Faculty of Education News, 31 May 2023
Teachers and teaching for marginalised girls
Independent evaluation of the Girls' Education Challenge Phase II - Teachers and teaching for marginalised girls
Rose, P., Aslam A., Downing, P., Gupta, R., Law, B., Ogando Portela, M-J., Rawal, S. and Stewart, K. 2022
Summary
Full Report
Annexes
News Article (PDF version)
Blog
Adapting interventions to strengthen teaching quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of the Girls’ Education Challenge in Afghanistan, Ghana, and Sierra Leone
Monazza Aslam, Phoebe Downing, Romanishi Gupta, Shenila Rawal, Pauline Rose and Katie Stewart, UKFIET, 5 October 2021
Media
85% of teachers in the Global South provided extra care for girls in education
Open Access Government, 7 February 2022
Teachers leading global drive to improve girls’ education became frontline workers during COVID-19 closures University of Cambridge Research News, 4 February 2022
Faculty of Education News, 4 February 2022
Teachers leading global drive to improve girls’ education took on ‘humanitarian role’ during COVID-19 closures African Eye Report, 4 February 2022
Phys.Org, 4 February 2022
EurekAlert! 3 February 2022
Other
Girls’ Education Challenge research feasibility study
Aslam, M., Gordon, R., Rawal, S., Rose, P. and Watson J. 2020
Full Report
Further Information
See Girls’ Education Challenge website: Girls’ Education Challenge
Evaluating the Girls' Education Challenge Fund: Tetra Tech International Development's project page
