PROJECT TIMELINE

February 2019 – March 2020

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Funded by Mastercard Foundation, under its Leaders in Teaching (LIT) initiative, part of the initiative’s “Recruit” Pillar, IEE is piloting the Teaching Assistantships Project in Rwanda. This project aims at providing opportunities for bright young women who have completed secondary education, with an interest in teaching and education to gain experience in the teaching profession and in secondary education. This project is providing the young women/ Teaching Assistants with exposure to work in the classroom, sparking a passion for education as a career pathway or area of further academic study and is providing additional support to teachers. The pilot is leveraging MasterCard Foundation’s existing partnership with FAWE Rwanda by recruiting young women from FAWE intervention schools to take part in the assistantships. Outcomes of the pilot will be used to scale up the Teaching Assistantships project.

The Teaching Assistantships Project is complementing the Mastercard Foundation Scholars’ programme being implemented by FAWE Rwanda, supporting the education of girls, to mitigate possibilities of drop out by academically talented yet economically disadvantaged girls, particularly in rural areas. Disempowered women have limited roles and participation in decision-making. This project is benefitting school leaver girls with skills for mentorship, independent learning, knowledge sharing, and enhanced confidence as they collaborate with teachers to support fellow student’s learning. This is intended to be a path way for them to transition into tertiary education, with sharpened abilities, while also having supported the learning of their peers in mathematics and science. Through this approach, this project is to benefit not only participating students, but also will impact the learning of future women who will meaningfully contribute not only to their families, but also to the larger Rwandan society. The focus of the project is tied to schools and areas where Mastercard supported scholars come from and is intended to support learning for learners in rural areas.

The Teaching Assistantships Project is premised on the Theory of Change asserting that IF school leavers in their transitional year are involved in Teaching Assistantships, and IF they gain skills, values and attitudes for effective knowledge searching and sharing, THEN they could be interested in joining the teaching career, hence a new generation of teachers contributing to quality learning.

The major outcome of the project is intended to be school leavers gaining skills, values and attitudes necessary for a young generation of teachers contributing to quality learning.

Specific Outputs of the project are:  Support 150 bright young people with a passion for education to undertake 6-month STEM-focused Teaching Assistantships in 75 schools in Rwanda; Deliver preparatory and ongoing training and capacity support to the Teaching Assistants; Provide support to 15 Teaching Assistantship Mentors and 75 Host Teachers, to provide mentorship support to the 150 Teaching Assistants; Project Monitoring and Evaluation.

PARTNERS

• Mastercard Foundation

• Ministry of Education

• Rwanda Education Board

• District Education Officers

• Directors of Education

• Sector Education Officials

• National Itorero Commission

• FAWE Rwanda

• Schools

PROJECT IMPACT

The Project Will Benefit