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CAMFED: Girls’ education in sub-Saharan Africa

two school pupils and a teacher sit under a tree with a school building in the background

Image: CAMFED


Reaching marginalised secondary school girls through CAMFED’s programmes

The first phase of the REAL Centre’s collaboration with CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education) has contributed to the evidence-base on what works to support marginalised girls. This work has focused on CAMFED’s support to marginalised girls in Tanzanian government secondary schools.

The second phase of the collaboration looks in more depth at the CAMFED Learner Guide Programme, where girls are supported to complete secondary education and take on a leadership role to support others. We examine whether and how this model can be adapted and adopted by the national governments of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in order to extend wider access to quality education for marginalised girls. We also explore the potential longer-term benefits of the Learner Guide Programme, in terms of whether and how it is contributing to shifting gender social norms.

CAMFED’s Learner Guide Programme in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Project summary

This research aims to explore the potential for scaling up CAMFED’s youth-led social support and mentorship programme (namely, the Learner Guide Programme) to improve quality of education for marginalised girls in Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

It further aims to identify whether and how the Learner Guide Programme is contributing to changing gender social norms, in particular in the communities in which CAMFED has supported government secondary schools in Tanzania.

Research team

Cambridge Lead Research Adviser: Professor Pauline Rose

Cambridge Research Advisor: Professor Ricardo Sabates

Research Associate: Dr Luisa Ciampi

Partners: CAMFED Tanzania with CAMFED Zambia and CAMFED Zimbabwe; School of Education and Centre for Gender Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam; Altamont Group

Duration

June 2021 – August 2023

Funders

Global Partnership for Education’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) programme– implemented by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC); Allan & Gill Gray Foundation

Reaching marginalised secondary school girls through CAMFED’s programme in Tanzania

Project summary

At the Girls’ Education Forum in London in July 2016, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge announced the REAL Centre’s commitment to a partnership with CAMFED, a non-governmental organisation that aims to provide good quality education to marginalised girls. Drawing on quantitative data generated under FCDO’s Girls’ Education Challenge, the REAL Centre has analysed the cost of supporting a marginalised girl through secondary school and improving her learning. From this, we assessed the cost-effectiveness of scaling up a community-led approach to support marginalised girls to improve their retention and learning in secondary education. This has provided a reference point for the global community, ensuring that no girl is left behind in the drive for quality education for all.

Research team

Principal Investigator: Professor Pauline Rose

Co-Investigators: Dr Ben Alcott; Professor Ricardo Sabates

Research Associate: Dr Marcos Delprato

Research Assistants: Ms Lisa Walker; Dr Asma Zubairi

Duration

June 2016 – August 2017

Funder

Echnida Giving; FCDO Girls’ Education Challenge (via CAMFED)

Publications

Scaling up a life skills and mentorship programme led by young women in sub-Saharan Africa:

Scaling up a life skills and mentorship programme led by young women in sub-Saharan Africa
Report cover

Regional overview
Ciampi, L., Rose, P., Chimuka, L., Mgonda, N., and Maambo, O. 2023
Regional overview

Tanzania
Mgonda, N. and Ciampi, L. 2023
Country brief

Zambia
Maambo, O. and Ciampi, L., 2023
Country brief

Zimbabwe
Chimuka, L. and Ciampi, L., 2023
Country brief

Blog
Ciampi, L., Rose, P., Chimuka, L., Maambo, O. and Mgonda, N. July 2023 UKFIET blog



Targeted and multidimensional approaches to overcome inequalities in secondary education for adolescent girls: The impact of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) program in Tanzania and Zimbabwe
Rose, P., Sabates, R., Delprato, M. and Alcott, B. 2022
Comparative Education Review

Assessing cost-effectiveness with equity of a programme targeting marginalised girls in secondary schools in Tanzania
Sabates, R., Rose, P, Alcott, B. and Delprato, M. 2021 Journal of Development Effectiveness

Cost-effectiveness with equity: Raising learning for marginalised girls through Camfed’s programme in Tanzania
Sabates, R., Rose, P., Delprato, M. and Alcott, B. 2018
Research and Policy Paper No. 18/2

Analysing cost‐effectiveness of raising learning for marginalised girls through CAMFED’s programme
Delprato, M., Alcott, B., Rose, P. and Sabates, R. 2017
Methodological Note

‘A girl without education is nothing in the world. Education is everything'
Walsh, L. 2017
University of Cambridge Research Horizons 32

Targeted, multidimensional approaches to overcome inequalities in secondary education: Case study of CAMFED in Tanzania
Alcott, B., Rose P. and Sabates, R. 2016
Background paper for the Learning Generation, Education Commission

Blogs

Working at the confluence of research and implementation to support girls’ education: Reflections on the REAL Centre – CAMFED partnership
Luisa Ciampi and Lilla Oliver, BAICE and CAMFED, 15 December 2022

Other media

Our journey to transforming education systems through youth-led innovations
CAMFED, 11 January 2023

Girls can be the catalyst for change in their communities - and new research in Tanzania will identify how
CAMFED, 3 October 2022

New research initiative to influence global policy and funding priorities to support girls’ education in sub-Saharan Africa
University of Cambridge Faculty of Education News, October 2021

Spill-over effects show hidden value of prioritising education of poorest children and marginalised girls
University of Cambridge Faculty of Education News, November 2020

University of Cambridge study: Girls’ education must be global priority
Camfed News, 2019

REAL Centre research reveals 'what works' in education
CAMFED News, 29 January 2018

How effective is your donation? Research can help find the answers
University of Cambridge Alumni News

Girls’ Education Forum 2016: An equal right to education
Summary of Commitments

Further information

See CAMFED’s website: CAMFED