Education of Disadvantaged Children in OIC:
The Key to Escape from Poverty
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544 QuestScope (2011)
cycle with grades 8-10. Graduates receive a 10th-grade alternative certificate that enables them
to participate in vocational training and receive government business loans.
Innovation. NFE is based on a participatory education model and it is considered first a ‘social’
activity. Adult facilitators and youth are both considered co-learners and co-teachers. Adult
‘facilitators’ are select MOE teachers that go through 85 hours of special youth development and
educational training to integrate the participatory methodology. The youth are to determine the
learning topics and activities while the adults help build their confidence and skills to contribute.
Results. The rigorous evaluation of the program by an Oxford University team544 found that
after 4 months of participation in the NFE program, there are statistically significant positive
results on the measured outcome: conduct problem. While not statistically significant, improved
outcomes were observed in terms of social skills, emotional symptoms and behavioral
difficulties. The program was more effective in changing observed outcomes for younger youths
(13-15) than older youths (16- 21) who tended to have with higher social and emotional scores
to begin with. Centres with higher empowerment ratings by youth had more positive impact on
youth outcomes, suggesting an important role of the empowerment process in shaping youth
outcomes.
Source: QuestScope and Oxford University (2011)