Take Action for Girls' Education | The Coalition For Adolescent Girls

GLOBAL ACTIONS
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Collect and compile data on non-formal education

A questionnaire module on non-formal education should be introduced into national household surveys and censuses to collect data on the extent and coverage of non-formal schooling, and its implementation should be tested on a pilot basis in several countries.

Build and maintain a global database for education programs for adolescent girls

Our program and project compendium should become the platform for the development of a dynamic global database of education programs that serve adolescent girls Its scope should be expanded in order to identify promising models appropriate to girls’ educational needs in different settings. This database should be made available to donors, practitioners, and international agencies.

INVEST

Expand opportunities for girls to attend secondary school

Governments should define basic education as education through lower secondary school, or to age 16. To accommodate the resulting influx of students, governments and the private sector should increase the number of formal and non-formal secondary school places in the educational system by extending existing primary school facilities and offering well-targeted subsidies to disadvantaged girls to attend either public or private secondary schools.

Support the non-formal education system

The non-formal education system must be well integrated with the formal system and be designed to help adolescent girls to achieve their educational and developmental needs. Non-formal schools must be upgraded, certified, and licensed, and pathways should be established from the non-formal to the formal sector, as well as from the formal to the non-formal sector. Baseline surveys should assess educational backgrounds, skills, and knowledge gaps of population subgroups who are potential beneficiaries, in order that educational systems can be designed to address existing needs.

Develop after-school tutoring and mentoring programs in both primary and secondary schools

These programs should support girls’ education and development and enhance their chances of progressing to or succeeding in secondary school. They can provide one-on- one mentoring and ensure that after-school hours are dedicated to study and not to part-time jobs or family obligations. The programs can also provide supplementary training beyond the formal curriculum for the development of skills for social and civic participation—in the process teaching basic health, reproductive health, and financial literacy.

Produce curricula relevant to adolescent girls

Adolescent girls in the developing world need to acquire remunerative and marketable skills which are not taught at home, such as facility with computers, fluency in an internationally spoken language, financial skills, and knowledge of social systems. New methods to promote interactive and collaborative learning can help develop critical thinking and decisionmaking skills and instill a habit of lifelong learning—capacities that will equip girls for a rapidly changing world.

Offer post-secondary vocational programs

The majority of girls who complete secondary school do not continue on to university. For girls going directly into the workforce, it is important to offer programs that support them in making a successful transition to remunerative work and household financial management. Such programs must be based on market assessments and provide relevant, flexible skills for employment and professional growth in an ever-changing global economy.

Provide training and ongoing incentives for women to enter and remain in teaching

Female teachers can reinforce the importance of education to girls, and many girls respond better to female teachers. The number of women who enter teaching is increasing, and teaching appears to be a viable, desirable profession for women who have completed secondary school.

ADVOCATE

Promote easy transitions between non-formal and formal schools

Complementary schools should be developed within the non-formal education system to help girls, many of them primary-school dropouts, continue on to formal secondary school. They should also offer younger adolescents the opportunity to reenter formal primary school.

Encourage and evaluate innovation

The curricula in both formal and non-formal schools attended by adolescents should be revamped to develop new approaches to education. Although many of the current approaches are unproven, some appear particularly promising. To test their effectiveness, research/program partnerships should invest in designing and implementing pilot projects to measure and assess their impact on girls over the short and medium term.

New Lessons: The Power of Educating Adolescent Girls shows that secondary school is critical to helping adolescent girls realize their potential. These actions help fulfill the promise of education for adolescent girls around the world.

Want to know more?
Check out the action plans focused on other sectors.

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WHY GIRLS?
- Because they’re ready to change our world
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Research
- Girls Count
  A global investment & action agenda
- Education
  The transformative power of educating teen girls
- Health
  Generations of healthy families start with a girl
- Voice
  Girls speak, we listen
- Maps
  The first girl-specific global maps
Action
- Big Picture
  10 actions, one global agenda
- Education
  Fulfill the promise of education for girls
- Health
  Work inside the health system and beyond
- Voice
  Give adolescent girls a bigger microphone
- ACT NOW
  Getting everyone involved
ABOUT US
- We believe that adolescent girls are the key to changing the course of global poverty. They just need a chance.
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COUNT

INVEST

ADVOCATE

Want to know more? Check out the action plans focused on other sectors.

Want to know more?
Check out the action plans focused on other sectors.