Non-Formal Education: Alternative Pathway for Dropout Youth in Jordan

Overview of Educational Options in Jordan

Ministry of Education Certified Pathways

Options for out of school youth

Formal School

Non-Formal

Education

Informal Educatio

n

Non-Certified Pathways

Out of School Youth

Approximately 31,000 Jordanian and 90,000 Syrian youth are out of school.

In Jordan, when a youth is out of school for three years or more, they are ineligible to return to formal school.

Given the influx of refugees to Jordan, the formal school system has been overwhelmed and unable to serve all youth.

Sources:• UNICEF “Summary Jordan Country Report on Out of School Children,” available at

“http://www.unicef.org/jordan/150512_Jordan_Summary_English_Small.pdf”• Education Sector Working Group “Joint Education Needs Assessment,” available at:

file:///C:/Users/RGreenbe/Downloads/REACH_JENA_HC_March2015_.pdf

Syrians out of School

From Joint Education Needs Assessment 2015

The Questscope - MoENon-Formal Education Program

One Solution Questscope’s NFE is a second-chance program

created in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to serve out-of-school youth, including both refugees and Jordanians.

The non-formal education program serves males 13 – 18 and females 13 – 20 who have been out of school for at least one year.

NFE is a certified two-year program for social and emotional learning in which youth meet with facilitators five days a week, study nine different subjects, and participate in educational dialogues and activities.

Trajectory of NFE

24 monthsCycle 1

8 months~ grades 1 - 4

16 months

Cycle 2

8 months~ grades 5 - 7

Cycle 3

8 months~ grades 8 - 10

NFE: 89 Centers and Counting

Enrollment

NFE has registered over 2000 out of school youth thus far.

In the Azraq Camp pilot center, 175 youth have registered, which is 175% of the target (100 over 2 years).

Since its inception, the NFE program has served over 10,000 youth.

Theory of Change

Improved self-efficacy, social and emotional skills, deepened critical

consciousness, increased opportunities for economic wellbeing

Participatory

Learning Methodolo

gy

Positive Facilitator-

Learner Relationsh

ip

Prosocial Environm

ent

NFE

Four principles that contribute to the effectiveness of PLM & NFE

(1) education that builds critical consciousness

(2) change in individuals linked to changes in institutions and policy

(3) participation leading to increased personal agency

(4) support to every individual to develop moral and intellectual insight.

Trainings

Questscope provides over 30 hours of training to each facilitator and recruiter working with the program.

Facilitators are trained in Participatory Learning Methodology and NFE Curriculum.Recruiters are trained in PRA and engaging out of school youth in positive, empowering ways.

Participatory Learning MethodologyAt the core of the NFE program is Questscope’s Participatory Learning Methodology (PLM), a dialogue-based system for delivering academic curriculum through teaching strategies that increase personal agency for youth, who become active learners and contributors to their educational progress. Learners in Questscope’s NFE centers develop personally as well as academically, forging pro-social community within their classrooms and beyond.

Interactive activities & role plays

Ramadan Iftar

Learning about geography at the Dead Sea Panorama

Results

After NFENon-Formal Education is the only certified alternative education pathway in Jordan.

Graduates of NFE are eligible to earn a certificate of completion, which is officially recognized by the MoE as fulfilling entry requirements to the expert level of vocational training, which in turn allows its graduates to own their own small businesses. The NFE certificate also provides a continued pathway for education, as it allows—currently on a case-by-case basis—for students to take the 9th grade test and begin homeschooling at the tenth grade level if they desire, according to MoE guidelines.

According to M&E reports:

Green + yellow indicate positive responses: completely satisfied = green, or mostly satisfied = yellow.

somewhat satisfied = red, not at all satisfied = blue

Facilitators Say:“I’ve benefitted more from the students than I’ve taught them.”

-- Dr. Ibtisam, facilitator, Johud Mafraq NFE center

“I love students and I love teaching. I have found myself, my spirit, in this work, especially working with this group of students.”

-- Amira, facilitator, Johud Mafraq NFE center

“Education here is a little ‘frozen’ (jaamed) in the frameworks of the formal schools. But not with Questscope!”

-- Ola, facilitator, Aatika Girls NFE center

“Usually in the formal school I have 50 students in a classroom and too much pressure and tiredness. But in this program, I can do what I hope to do in the classroom, I can do the type of education that I love.”

-- Fatima, facilitator, Maysoon a-Dimashqiyya NFE center

When asked why he comes to the NFE center at Adib Wahbe school, Ahmad, age 17 (first from left), said, "To learn to read and write. To continue our studies through high school and Tawjihi. We're here because it gives us hope."

Israa, 17, in Roqiyya center says, "We just learned fractions. I used to hate fractions, but the way Miss Muna and Miss Israa explained it, it was so nice. I can do them now! All math really, I've started to like it a lot. They also help us get to know one another and we've all really become friends. We have a community in the classroom."

Questscope: Putting the Last, First