This volume provides a broad-based account of strategies used by southern nations to overcome the challenges of Education for All. Through local cases in context, the authors delve into the nitty-gritty of classroom dynamics including instructional strategies, teaching resources, age, gender, and the socio-economic context of going to school.

Ensuring All Children Learn: Lessons from the South on What Works in Equity and Inclusion brings together a rich tapestry of cases from three southern continents focusing on issues germane to the access, learning, and retention in basic education in the context of Education for All (EFA). It is a narrative of both the disappointment that the implementation of EFA did not go as envisaged and of policy alternatives and hopes for a brighter future. The focus on Africa, Asia, and Latin America permits the reader to appreciate both the diversity of issues central to EFA and the physical spread of the challenges. The book confirms that whereas southern countries have adopted EFA as an overall policy goal, empirical evidence from the case studies uncovers critical lapses in policies and strategies. Four key issues inform the thematic analysis in the book: the overall experience in implementing EFA, the specific challenges faced, the lessons learned, and prospects for the future. The solutions to these challenges provide avenues for the attainment of basic education for all school-eligible children in tandem with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education.

PART 1: FRAMING THE ISSUES

Chapter 1: Equity and Inclusion in Education for All: What works in the South

Ishmael I. Munene

PART 2: CASES FROM AFRICA

Chapter 2: Factors Affecting Learning Outcomes of Marginalized Girls in Meru, Laikipia, and Mombasa Counties in Kenya

Joyce Kinyanjui

Chapter 3: What Age Should Our Children Start Schooling to Optimize on Learning Outcomes

James Ciera and Dionne Oguna

Chapter 4: Linking Socioeconomic Background to Learning outcomes: New Evidence from Nigeria

Bridget Azubuike and Modupe Adefeso-Olateju

Chapter 5: How Remediation Helps to Improve Children’s Educational Learnings in Primary Education in Senegal

Soufianou Moussa, Rokhaya Cissé, and Codé Lô

Chapter 6: Scaling Teaching at the Right Level: Insights from the Catch-Up Literacy and Numeracy Intervention in Zambia

Nico Vromant, Line Kuppens, Mahuba Hazemba, and Faith Kyulabantua

PART 3: FINDINGS FROM ASIA

Chapter 7: Evidence-based Decision Making for Policy and Practice: The Case of Pre-Primary in Punjab, India

Rajat Bagga and Rukmini Banerji

Chapter 8: Bringing Girls Back to Bringing Girls Back to School: Measuring the Effectiveness of Second Chance Program for Adolescent Girls in South Punjab, Pakistan

Moaaz Hamid and Zain Ul Abidin

Chapter 9: Local Perspectives, Global Goals: Reflections from Citizen-led Assessments on Measuring Learning Outcomes in Nepal

Rajib Timalsina and Sakar Pudasaini

PART 4: EVIDENCE FROM LATIN AMERICA

Chapter 10: An approach to Basic Learning for Life in the Mexican Southeast: Citizenship, Emotion Management and Self-care

Samana Vergara-Lope Tristán, Felipe J. Hevia, and Anabel Velásquez

Chapter 11: Improvement in Basic Learning through the Scaling Up of Educational Innovations

Anabel Velásquez, Felipe J. Hevia, and Samana Vergara-Lope Tristán

Chapter 12: Evidence-based Practices: Effects on Literacy and Numeracy using Teaching at the Right Level Approach in Mexico

Felipe J. Hevia, Samana Vergara-Lope Tristán, and Anabel Velásquez

PART 5: RESULTS FROM COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Chapter 13: Exploring Learning Outcomes in Multi-grade and Mono-grade Classrooms in India and Pakistan

Steffi Elizabeth Thomas

Chapter 14: Exploring Citizen-led Assessment Data to Investigate Disparities in Learning Outcomes for Out-of-School and In-School Children: Evidence from Pakistan and Tanzania

Waqas Imran and Baela Jamil

PART 5: EPILOGUE

Chapter 15: Honor the Past, Embrace the Future, Live in the Present: The Future of Equity and Inclusion in EFA in the South

Ishmael I. Munene