Kiribati Education Improvement Program – The design and implementation of an independent evaluation for the Kiribati Classroom Tablet Trial

⁠⁠⁠Coffey International Development is the Managing Contractor for the Kiribati Education Improvement Program (KEIP), under Contract to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The KEIP support works closely with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and is the framework within which the major donors to the basic education sector assist the Government of Kiribati (GoK) to address goals set out in the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2012 -2015. Under the KEIP, it is proposed that a Trial using preloaded Tablet computers be used to provide the participating teachers and students with extensive learning materials and English-rich content into the classrooms, as a way of gauging how effective these extra materials and exposure to English language can be. By preloading learning materials, books, curriculum content and videos onto a Tablet computer, it is expected that the children will have access to a far deeper and broader range of learning materials and quality resources.

KEIP is now seeking Tender submissions from suitably qualified organisations who are experienced in the design and implementation of an external evaluation for the Kiribati Classroom Tablet Trial, which will be conducted for the 2018 school year in selected schools and classrooms.

In brief, tablets are potentially part of a solution to difficulties experienced when learning in English. This is especially the case when it starts to become the medium of instruction in Year 4, in a community environment where existing spoken English and written resources are generally insufficient to support acquisition and continued use of a second language. The purpose of the trial, proposed for the selected Year 4 classes (and its evaluation) is to test this hypothesis, so as to inform the Ministry of Education and DFAT as to whether tablets are proven to be effective in the Kiribati environment and so considered for any scaled-up investment.

The objectives for using the preloaded tablets in the classroom are to:

• support an increase in teachers’ English language fluency and subject understanding in English, to the level at which they can teach subject content and aid students’ understanding in English at Year 4 level

• aid the acquisition of targeted skills and Year 4 subject conceptual comprehension in English, through a variety of instructional materials that are provided in English and integrated by the teacher into effective lesson planning. This approach will be applied for the Year 4 curriculum with girls and boys across the full performance range of the class

• aid the acquisition of the basic components of literacy in English of students with indicators of dyslexia, through application of Universal Design Principles to the presentation of all materials on the tablets and through dyslexia-specific applications.

Qualified organisations with the necessary staff, experience and qualifications are now invited to tender for the Contract – “Designing and conducting an independent evaluation for the Kiribati Classroom Tablet Trial”.

For information on how to apply please visit http://www.coffey.com/en/expertise/industry/international-development/tender-opportunities.