International Development - Consultant ? Program Mid Term Review

Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) is a non-profit international agency that supports social development programs in Asia and Africa. As a member of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), AKFC works to address the root causes of poverty: finding and sharing effective and lasting solutions that help improve the quality of life for poor communities.

AKFC is seeking a Consultant for a Program Mid-term Review for the Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan (STEP) project. STEP is a five-year initiative financed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and AKFC with the aim of improving the quality and delivery of elementary education services appropriate to the poor, particularly women and children, by strengthening professional development and performance of teachers, teacher educators and education managers.

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The more immediate purpose of the program is to strengthen the professional development and performance of teachers, teacher educators and education managers in Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.?

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To effectively achieve this purpose, the program focuses on three primary components, leading to three main outcomes:?

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i)???????? Teacher Education - Improved performance of teacher education institutions in providing quality teacher education;

ii)?????? Teaching, Learning and Education Management - Improved performance of teachers and education managers in delivering and supporting quality teaching and learning; and

iii)????? Policies, Practice and Networking - Improved policies, practices and networking for the professional development of teachers, teacher educators and education managers.

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Using training programs and models that have been successfully tested by the Aga Khan University ? Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED), STEP aims to build the capacity of teacher educators and teacher education institutions; education managers at all levels; teacher mentors, who will then go on to improve the capacity of their peers through a cluster-based mentoring program (CBMP); and various stakeholders in a number of rural elementary schools through a whole school improvement program (WSIP). The principal activities include providing certified training to 5,880 beneficiaries, including 300 teacher educators, 5,360 teachers and 220 education managers; implementing a cluster-based mentoring program and a whole school improvement program that will reach over 3,200 public elementary school teachers; scaling up the activities of the Professional Teachers Association Network to reach approximately 2,000 members; and conducting a program of documentation, research, dissemination and policy dialogue at district, provincial and national levels.

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STEP is implemented in Pakistan by AKU-IED, with management support from Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan (AKF-P).

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This mid-term review is being initiated by AKFC, AKF-P and AKU-IED in the fourth year of a six and a half year project. While this review was initially planned to take place in the third year of the project, certain delays in project activities necessitated a deviation from this timeline. The objective of the review is to assess performance, achievements and lessons learned. The results should contribute to better informed decision-making, foster an environment of learning by doing and promote accountability for performance. Findings and lessons learned will be used by management to adjust approaches over the second half of the project.

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The primary audience for the review is AKU-IED, and specifically the STEP project management and implementation team in Pakistan, who will use the report to contribute to ongoing learning and project refinement. The review will also benefit other stakeholders, including AKF-P, AKFC, AKF Geneva and CIDA who will use the report to tailor future technical support over the following two and a half years. The review will also benefit primary beneficiaries of the project such as schools, teachers, educators, researchers and managers who will be able to reflect on their work and revise their actions to ensure enhanced performance and results.

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