Innovative Finance
August 1, 2024
Context and issue
Effective reading abilities are crucial for academic success. However, early-grade learners in Ghana have consistently exhibited weak reading performance. Enhancing reading outcomes has emerged as a central policy objective in Ghana. One relevant initiative toward this aim was the Transition-to-English Plus Activity (T2E+).
Solution
From July 2021 to March 2023, T2E+ implemented a multilingual education program for children from Kindergarten to Basic 3 (B3) across 5,425 public primary schools spanning 16 regions in Ghana. The program focused on enhancing children's English reading skills by imparting transferable language and reading competencies in their native language.
Impact
There were several factors that helped in the overall achievement of the program; some of these included alignment of the national primary curriculum with the learning material. The second was monitoring the beneficiary schools' and students' progress. Third, teacher training focuses on more application and participation, and lastly, mentorship and coaching for the teaching staff. Based on the evaluation results, the treatment group's (receiving the program) outcomes improved in oral English reading compared to the control group.