STRENGTHENING SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS THROUGH PARTICIPATION: ADDRESSING EDUCATION QUALITY AND EQUITY IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN

低收入国家的残疾儿童，特别是残疾儿童越来越多地进入学校，但由于课堂上的社会排斥和不良教学方法，无法有效地学习，从而使不平等现象长期存在。为了解开公平与质量之间的关系，教育研究和政策需要超越通过实现基本认知技能和完成学业周期的基准来评估服务提供的考虑，这些基准传统上被认为是教育质量的有效替代物;主张非认知或心理社会技能在评估优质教育中的重要性的专家对这一观点提出了质疑。促进问责制进程被认为是提高教育质量和公平的一种方式。我们认为，家长和社区成员可以发挥的作用，通过创新的社会问责机制，提高教育质量还没有充分探讨在低收入国家。在以前的研究基础上，我们将制定，实施和评估社会责任干预措施-与包容性教育培训相结合-吸引家长，教师和儿童。我们将评估干预措施对学习者的基本认知能力和心理社会技能的影响，以及家长的期望和参与，以及教师对残疾儿童融入的信心。瑞典援助阿富汗委员会和巴基斯坦国家农村支助方案这两个伙伴在偏远地区开办社区学校。他们需要了解哪些因素可以促进或阻碍有意义的学习经验。我们假设，加强现有的社会横向问责机制，通过基于社区的系统动力学（CBSD）-一种参与式的方法，促进当地所有权的过程中，破译和改变复杂的系统，从系统动力学的反馈角度-可以提高包容性和弱势儿童的学习经验。为学校管理委员会（SMCs）成员制定有效的角色需要仔细考虑CBSD所坚持的背景和社区动态。我们将与SMC开展小组模型构建（GMB）会议-一种特定的CBSD方法-以确定有关社会责任改革的见解。SCA/NRSP支持的SMC将根据这些见解在干预CBS中实施更改。一项随机对照试验（RCT）将评估这种干预措施。定性方法将验证心理社会评估工具，并探讨利益攸关方对教育的看法。在第一阶段，调查人员将（i）解读CBSs中使用的现有问责和监测机制（ii）对教师、4个NRSP和SCA团队（各由3名促进者和2名协调员组成）进行全纳教育培训，并（iii）对SCA/NRSP团队进行GMB培训，以促进80所随机选择的干预学校的课程。在第二阶段，校董会成员（校长、教职员、教师和家长）将分别参加专线小巴的会议，以设计相关的学校社会问责系统，并确定重点干预的杠杆点。在第三阶段，每所学校将在SCA/NRSP团队和调查人员的支持下实施干预措施。在第四阶段，研究人员将使用两波访谈的集群RCT来衡量社会责任干预对学习成果的影响：在第一年对所有160所学校的工作人员，教师，3至5年级的学生和家长进行基线调查;结束线调查将在第四年开始时进行。在深度访谈和FGD，游戏和视听活动与儿童将在第2年和第3年举行。在第五阶段，调查人员将在各国（大学、教育非政府组织）发展能力，并通过学术界、决策者和从业人员网络，以各种形式向广大受众传播调查结果。

Disadvantaged children in Low Income Countries (LICs) particularly children with disabilities are increasingly accessing schools, but not learning effectively due to social exclusion within the classroom and poor teaching methods, that perpetuate inequality. In order to unpack the equity-quality nexus, education research and policy need to move beyond considerations of service delivery assessed through achieving benchmarks on basic cognitive skills and completing school cycles, traditionally considered valid proxies for quality of education; a view challenged by experts advocating for the importance of non-cognitive or psychosocial skills in assessing quality education. Promoting processes of accountability is recognised as a way of promoting quality and equity in education. We argue that the role that parents and community members can play in improving the quality of education through innovative social accountability mechanisms has not been sufficiently explored in LICs. Building upon previous research, we will develop, implement and evaluate a social accountability intervention - combined with inclusive education training - engaging parents, teachers and children. We will assess the intervention's impact on basic cognitive but also psychosocial skills of learners as well as parent's expectations and engagement, and teachers' confidence with regards to inclusion of children with disabilities. Two partners, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) and the National Rural Support Programme in Pakistan (NRSP) run Community Based Schools (CBS) in remote areas. They require knowledge as to the factors that can promote or hinder a meaningful learning experience. We hypothesize that strengthening existing social horizontal accountability mechanisms through a Community Based System Dynamics (CBSD) - a participatory approach promoting local ownership in the process of deciphering and changing complex systems from the feedback perspective of system dynamics - can enhance inclusion and the learning experience of disadvantaged children. Developing an effective role for school management committee (SMCs) members requires careful consideration of context and community dynamics, which CBSD upholds. We will carry out Group Model Building (GMB) sessions with SMCs - a specific CBSD method- to identify insights about social accountability reforms. SMCs supported by SCA/NRSP will implement changes based on these insights in intervention CBSs. A randomised control trial (RCT) will evaluate this intervention. Qualitative methods will validate psychosocial assessment tools and explore stakeholders' perception of education. In stage 1, investigators will (i) decipher existing mechanisms of accountability and monitoring being used in CBSs (ii) train teachers, 4 NRSP and SCA teams of 3 facilitators and 2 coordinators each on inclusive education and (iii) train SCA/NRSP teams on GMB to facilitate sessions in 80 randomly selected intervention schools. In stage 2, SMCs members (principals, staff, teachers and parents) will participate in separate GMB sessions to design a relevant school social accountability system and identify leverage points on which to focus the intervention. In stage 3, each school, with the support from SCA/NRSP teams and the investigators will implement the intervention. In stage 4 the investigators will measure the impact of the social accountability intervention on learning outcomes using a cluster RCT with two waves of interviews: baseline survey in all 160 schools from staff, teachers, students in classes 3 to 5 and parents in year 1; end line survey will take place at the beginning of year 4. In depth interviews and FGDs, games and audio-visual activities with children will take place in years 2 and 3. In stage 5, the investigators will develop capacity in countries (universities, education NGOs) and disseminate findings to a broad audience in various formats through academic, policy makers and practitioners' networks.