About
This desk review and qualitative study provides an overview of the implementation ecosystems of six of the Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) projects, highlighting influential factors in the enabling environments that led to the particular challenges of each and their strategies to overcoming those. It emphasises the importance of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) informed approaches, and stakeholder engagement in preparation phases, with ongoing training and relationship maintenance during implementation.
Key Findings
The study synthesises the findings of the GEC with regard to EdTech and cost-effectiveness, and specifically six selected GEC projects, providing some comparative analysis and recommendations, including the importance of:
- Organisational factors such as expertise, flexibility, and strong coordination also play vital roles.
- External factors such as infrastructure, attitudes, policies, and socio-political contexts impact implementation, requiring a deep understanding and adaptability.
Recommendations include alignment with sector plans, evidence-building, and stakeholder partnerships for sustainability.
Bridging the Gap
The Challenge
The Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) is the FCDO’s flagship investment in girls’ education. Many GEC projects have used technology within their implementations — some more effectively (including cost-effectively) than others. To further benefit the sector, a study of GEC’s programming would provide insights into allocating technology resources to maximise the positive impact on girls’ education and learning outcomes.
How this Work Aims to Address It
To identify and present findings regarding lessons learned from the experience of the GEC and their portfolio of projects about the effective (including cost-effective) use of technology within girls’ education, and how these lessons can be used to improve future programmes and investments. In doing so, we help ensure that future investments using technology to support girls’ education are based on better evidence, understanding what works within specific contexts, why and how and at what cost. The learning will be helpful for the sector as a whole, as well as for strengthening the ongoing delivery of GEC projects.
Objective
The objective of this research is to synthesise findings from across the Girls Education Challenge (GEC) that relate to how the education of marginalised girls can be improved through EdTech. This comparative study on EdTech within the GEC is an important learning point for one of FCDO’s largest investments in girls’ education. It provided an opportunity to conduct a desk-based review of all the tech-specific learning from the GEC in order to guide future investments.
The Research Questions
- What are the key factors relating to the implementation of EdTech interventions within GEC programmes that have facilitated successful implementation and intervention outcomes?
- What lessons relating to the implementation of successful EdTech interventions within the GEC can be harnessed to optimise the implementation of future programmes?
Study Design and Methodology
This project consisted of a desk review of a selection of GEC EdTech programmes and their data, along with some consultation interviews with project leads. The study draws on two main secondary data sources for the sampled projects, including:
- GEC project and portfolio documentation related to technology for the sampled projects.
- GEC baseline, midline and endline evaluations for the sampled projects
Following the document review, primary qualitative data collection was conducted for the six selected projects, which included:
- Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from five GEC projects
- A focus group discussion (FGD) with four stakeholders from the IE project
- An FGD with nine key informants from the GEC portfolio level, and a follow-up interview with one portfolio-level staff member.
Timeline of Activities
September 2022
Inceptions
October 2022
Finalise the literature review and study design
November–December 2022
Data review
The Importance of the Results
This comparative study on EdTech within the GEC is a unique reference point for the sector on how to integrate technology effectively into large scale girls’ education interventions, highlighting challenges and recommendations for future investments.
The study underscores the critical role of context-specific implementation in EdTech projects, particularly for marginalised girls. It acknowledges gaps in long-term sustainability data post-project closure and suggests strategies to address them, such as continued funding or independent monitoring and evaluation systems. It advocates for an ecosystemic approach to EdTech implementation while cautioning against perpetuating digital inequities.
Implications for Policy and Practice
The policy implications of this study can be considered differently with respect to each of the countries where the studied interventions were implemented, but broadly they point to the importance of prioritising sustainable partnerships to support girls’ education in the long run, aligning them with sector plans.
This research study enables the education sector to benefit from the significant evidence and insights of the GEC regarding the use of technology to advance girls’ education and its effectiveness and cost.
Study Team
- Julia Pacitto, Principal Investigator
- Katrina Barnes, Co-Investigator
- Aimee Mukankusi, Research Assistant
- Rozina Zazai, Research Assistant
Key Partners
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