Consultancy: Support for Action Research
SUPPORT FOR ACTION-RESEARCH “Integrating the Citizen Journey into Koranic schools in N'Djamena (Chad). »
Terms of reference
1. GROWTH PRESENTATION
2. HISTORY AND CONTEXT
3. JUSTIFICATION FOR SUPPORT
4. PRESENTATION OF THE ACTION RESEARCH
5. OBJECTIVES OF SUPPORT
6. METHODOLOGY / RESOURCES / INDICATIVE CALENDAR
7. PROFILE OF CANDIDATES AND APPLICATION
1. ESSOR PRESENTATION
Founded in 1992, ESSOR is an international solidarity association whose mission is to help the most vulnerable populations acquire the means to sustainably improve their living conditions. To achieve this, ESSOR leads, in partnership with NGOs and local associations, development projects in education, training and professional integration, agricultural development and social orientation in Brazil, Mozambique, Chad, Guinea Bissau and the Republic of Congo. These projects are financed by public institutions (EU, AFD, local authorities) and benefit from numerous private support from foundations, companies, individuals, etc.
Site internet : http://www.essor-ong.org/
2. HISTORY AND CONTEXT
In the education sector, ESSOR has developed an innovative methodology for supporting adolescents, the Citizen Journey (PC). Its particularity is to place the adolescent at the center of activities, in an inclusive and participatory approach combining educational training and human training. The objective is to enable them to gain self-confidence, to help them better define their life project and to encourage their commitment to their community. The PC is intended for adolescents in vulnerable situations aged 13 to 18. It takes place in parallel with school time over a period of 5 months at a rate of 8 hours per week. It is delivered by local facilitators trained in the Citizen Journey methodology. The Citizen Journey is implemented in Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Chad, according to different methods adapted to the realities of each country.
These actions are being implemented today as part of the Education, Experimentation, Learning Program Convention (CPEEA) , which started in July 2021 and ends in June 2024, co-financed by AFD. The objective of this CP is to contribute to making public and private education stakeholders essential levers of quality inclusive and civic education. These actors have been trained in educational methodologies for several years with a view to their appropriation and replication, and are involved in the process of improving these methods, particularly today through action research. More specifically in N'Djamena (Chad), ESSOR is experimenting with an action research (AR) process which aims to integrate the Citizen Journey methodology with adolescents from Koranic schools in partnership with the Union of Koranic Schools (UECT).
3. JUSTIFICATION FOR SUPPORT
Initiated in September 2022 by a service provider, the action research was interrupted in October 2023 after the production of the inventory and impact measurement reports. Formed into a steering committee (COPIL), the teams from the ESSOR education sector in Chad and at headquarters are taking over the coordination of action research to close it in the first half of 2024.
To carry out these activities, ESSOR wishes to have its teams and the UECT teams supported by an expert in action research . This support should take the form of training in March 2024 on action research methods and one-off monitoring until the end of the action research in May 2024. The support will be done remotely.
4. PRESENTATION OF THE ACTION RESEARCH
In order to improve its practices and continue its educational innovations with public and private stakeholders in education for adolescence, ESSOR wishes to approach partnership work from a new angle: experimentation via action research. It is about questioning and finding answers about the merits and relevance of the educational methodologies implemented by Essor in the different contexts and countries and by the actors involved.
In the Ambassatna district of N'Djamena (Chad), the PC has been set up within a Koranic school and in partnership with the Union of Koranic Schools since 2018. Currently, the training of facilitators, the Selection of adolescents and implementation of activities are done according to the same methods within UECT as in other PC implementation organizations. However, this method does not fully meet the constraints and specific needs of adolescents, families and educational teams in Koranic schools. This is why the Action Research aims to contribute to the definition of strategies for integrating all or part of the Citizen Journey methodology within the Union of Koranic Schools and more particularly Koranic schools that are members of the UECT.
Since its implementation, the action research has produced an inventory of the teaching context within Koranic schools members of the UECT in Chad and a measure of the impact of the Citizen Journey on young people and their families.
The COPIL takes over the coordination of action research with three main objectives:
· The creation of a tool for assessing the citizenship skills of young people
· Adaptation of educational content and Citizen Journey tools
· The organization of a final appropriation workshop.
The final workshop will bring together all the actors involved in the action research, in order to validate the tools created and reflect on implementation strategies within Koranic schools in Chad.
At the end of the action research, the COPIL will produce a detailed report including the methodology used, the state of play of the teaching of Koranic schools in Chad, the results of the PC impact measurement, the prospects for integration of the Citizen Journey within the UECT teaching curriculum as well as the tools created within the framework of action research.
5. OBJECTIVES OF SUPPORT
The COPIL's support aims to prepare the teams to carry out the activities defined above using action research methods. This support should be divided into two stages:
· Training :
Train the ESSOR educational team in Chad and at headquarters, and the UECT team in the concepts and methods of action research, in particular the tools and posture of the researcher. This training must be adapted to the needs of the action research carried out by ESSOR and its partners and offer concrete avenues for moving forward with the activities. The group of participants will be made up of 5 to 8 people, coordinators, technical referents, technician and PC facilitators.
· Follow-up:
Support teams trained in the application of learning within the framework of action research. This monitoring can take the form of one-off meetings or the review of support documents or procedures. Under no circumstances should the consultant replace COPIL in carrying out the action research activities. The activities “creation of the citizen skills tool” and “adaptation of the content and tools of the PC” are planned from mid-March to the end of April; the “organization of a final appropriation workshop” activity is planned for May.
6. METHODOLOGY / RESOURCES / INDICATIVE CALENDAR
· Methodology
The consultant is expected to provide a methodological proposal in addition to his financial proposal, which details the support arrangements.
· Resources
The consultant will have available the preparatory documents and reports produced as part of the action research, the bibliography and history of the PC methodology in Chad, and any other material deemed relevant for good preparation and implementation. of accompaniment.
· Provisional timetable
02/26/24 Limit for sending proposals
02/27/24 Selection of the consultant
02/28/24 Framework meeting with the RA COPIL and validation of the proposal
March 2024 Step 1: Training
March-May 2024 Step 2: Monitoring
Total number of working days: 3-4 days.
7. PROFILE OF CANDIDATES AND APPLICATION
The following skills are sought:
· Proven experience in action research processes;
· Experience in the field of education, pedagogy, youth, sociology, psycho-social skills, particularly in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa;
· Knowledge of popular education methods;
· Knowledge and experience of organizations (OCB and NGOs);
· Knowledge of participatory animation techniques;
Interested candidates must send before Monday February 26, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. (UTC+01:00) a technical and financial proposal in French of 2 pages maximum, accompanied by their CV and references, to the following address: rachel .souvre@essor-ong.org.
The amount of offers must not exceed €1,200.
Important: the proposal must explain the conditions for using the training content.
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