SDG 4

QUALITY EDUCATION

Tracer study for TVET system reform

UNESCO has published an ECOPER tracer study report on agriculture TVET in Jordan Reducing mismatches between the skills demanded by employers and those actually acquired by students is an important contributor to improving employability and supporting economic growth. Multiple studies conducted by international agencies in the last decade have found that skills mismatches are particularly …

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Tourism and hospitality TVET tracer study

UNESCO has published an ECOPER report on a tourism and hospitality TVET tracer study in Jordan Tracer studies are invaluable tools for informing education system reforms, potentially providing rich data for future decision making and planning. This month UNESCO published a ‘Tracer Study of Tourism and Hospitality Vocational Secondary Education in Jordan’, which was conducted …

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Bilbao’s 3rd International Cooperation Master Plan

ECOPER has evaluated Bilbao municipal government’s 3rd International Cooperation for Development Plan covering the years 2016 to 2020. In addition to assessing the extent to which the plan had achieved its aims, the evaluation considered other factors including how well the plan was adapted to the policies, resources and capacities of the municipality; the instruments and processes applied in pursuing its goals; and the impact on and involvement of the city Bilbao and its stakeholders. A key aim was to inform the elaboration of the fourth master plan. Along with the analysis of data and documents, the evaluation included an online survey and focus groups involving cooperation partners; an online survey of citizens of Bilbao; and interviews with Bilbao’s international cooperation team and other actors with knowledge of the plan’s design and execution.

Agriculture TVET in Jordan

ECOPER has reported on its tracer study of former agriculture TVET students in Jordan. The study aimed to collect information from the students on areas such as their education, current occupation and school-to-work transition. The conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the researchers used an online approach to data collection. A survey was distributed by text message and focus groups were conducted via videoconference to gather further insights. These methods proved to be both efficient and well-suited to the conditions.

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TVET scholarships for refugees and vulnerable youth

ECOPER has completed the external evaluation of the UNESCO project ‘Provision of TVET, On‐ the‐Job Training, and Entrepreneurship Education to Youth Affected by the Syria Crisis in Jordan (Phase III).’ The project sought to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian youths who need financial support to access technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education programmes at national institutions in Jordan. The evaluation differed from others in that it was conducted entirely online, owing to the travel restrictions and health measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, interviews and focus groups with project stakeholders and beneficiaries were conducted via videoconference. Meanwhile, a student satisfaction survey was conducted using an online survey platform, following distribution of the questionnaire by text message. The use of these approaches allowed data to be successfully collected despite the challenges provided by the backdrop.

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Better Education for Africa’s Rise II

The adequate provision of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is considered a key element in improving the prospects of young people in the areas of decent work and entrepreneurship. ECOPER consultants have collaborated with Ockham IPS in the evaluation of the joint UNESCO-Republic of Korea project ‘Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR) II’, …

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Vocational education in tourism and hospitality

Tourism is one of the most important sectors in the Jordanian economy but faces several challenges, including a lack of suitably qualified workers. This tracer study by ECOPER researchers aimed to collect feedback from former students of the tourism and hospitality stream of vocational programmes run by the Ministry of Education. In doing so, it …

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ECOPER conducts review of Afghanistan literacy project evaluation

The services of ECOPER were called upon to review an evaluation report on the UNESCO project ‘Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA)’, which had previously been presented by another evaluation team. It was requested that ECOPER consultants rewrite the existing report in order to improve its structure and coherence. The review was conducted in September …

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Improving capacity of teacher training institutes

ECOPER has collaborated with Ockham IPS to evaluate Phase II of the UNESCO– CFIT project ‘Improving Quality Teacher Education in a selected number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa’. The evaluation involved an online survey and a large number of interviews conducted with stakeholders. ECOPER conducted field missions to two project countries, Congo and Togo, in order to collect a data and gain a better understanding of the intervention and its results.

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Centres of African Excellence

ECOPER and OCKHAM IPS have collaborated on an evaluation and tracer study for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) ‘Centres of African Excellence’ (CoAE) programme. The evaluation was undertaken with the aim of assessing the performance of the overall programme to date and allowing lessons to be drawn to inform future improvements to the programme. ECOPER conducted field missions to centres in two of the programme countries: Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The accompanying tracer study sought information on the current occupations of alumni through an online survey and a series of individual and group interviews in order to draw conclusions on the programme’s impact.

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