Baseline Assessment of the Project ‘Building Resilient Education Systems’

About Plan International

We strive to advance children’s rights and equality for girls all over the world. With a bold purpose of ensuring “All Girls Standing Strong Creating Global Change” and as an independent development and humanitarian organization, we work alongside children, young people, our supporters, and partners to tackle the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. For over 80 years we have been building powerful partnerships for children, and we are active in over 75 countries.

Plan International Nigeria was registered as a National Organization in 2014 in Nigeria and since then, our intervention has been focused on basic education, Nutrition, Health services and strengthening, youth and citizens’ participation in governance, Livelihood and creating economic opportunities for the vulnerable people and building resilient communities through our humanitarian and development response in Nigeria. Plan Nigeria works with communities, civil society organizations, development partners, government at all levels and the private sector. With its country strategy, “Girls are empowered to take action and drive change,” Plan International Nigeria is committed to reaching 20 million girls during the strategy period of 2023 to 2028, covering all 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Project Background

The Building Resilient Education Systems: Supporting Professional Development, Well-Being, and Policy Reforms for Teachers in crisis contexts of Adamawa and Sokoto (Teacher Education and Professional Development) Project is a targeted response to the challenges of teacher shortages and inadequate professional development in crisis-affected contexts of Northern Nigeria with Adamawa and Sokoto states as case studies. With a focus on pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary education, the project aims to build resilience within the education framework and enhance teacher retention and well-being. The project is built on three key outcomes: fostering community-based strategies to integrate and retain teachers, enhancing teacher professional development and personal well-being, and strengthening policies that promote teacher onboarding, retention, and career development. To achieve these outcomes, the project will work closely with communities to develop culturally and contextually appropriate strategies for teacher integration, leveraging the capacity of School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) to promote acceptance of teachers and their critical role in improving learning outcomes. Teachers will be trained in gender-transformative and inclusive pedagogy, foundational literacy and numeracy skills, and digital and green skills. Mental health support will also be prioritized through the establishment of feedback platforms and mapping of existing services to address stress and trauma management for teachers. Also, the project will strengthen the capacity of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and local civil society organizations to engage in strategic advocacy for the adoption and implementation of policies that ensure teacher incentives and career pathways.

The project is aligned with national education priorities and will ensure sustainability by institutionalizing training programs and empowering local stakeholders to replicate and advocate for similar interventions, contributing to long-term improvements in the educational ecosystem of Northern Nigeria.

With a project duration of 24 months, the Teacher Education and Professional Development project will target a wide range of teachers, students, government officials, and teacher unions, with an indirect reach of approximately 1.39 million beneficiaries out of which 60% are female and 40% are male. Refer to Annex-A for a detailed project M&E framework.

Purpose of the Baseline Evaluation

Plan International is committed to measuring progress and the impact of its work by comparing the situation at the start of all projects with the situation at the middle and the end of a project. With this in mind, the main purpose of conducting a baseline evaluation for the Teacher Education and Professional Development Project is to establish a comprehensive understanding of the existing conditions in the education sector within the crisis-affected contexts of Adamawa and Sokoto states. Specifically, the baseline assessment will seek to:

• Assess the current capacity of target schools to implement school-based capacity development and wellbeing actions
• Identify the extent of teacher shortages, gaps in professional development, and barriers to teacher retention and well-being in pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary education.
• Evaluate the readiness and capacity of School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), local communities, and teacher unions to support teacher integration and professional development initiatives.
• Generate baseline data on key project indicators, such as teacher onboarding and retention, teachers coping and stress management, use of inclusive and gender-transformative pedagogies, access to mental health support services, and so on.
• Make recommendations that will support the project’s strategic direction, ensuring effective resource allocation, and demonstrating accountability to all project stakeholders.

Assessment of Baseline Values for Project Indicators

The assessment of the baseline values will conducted around the three key project-specific outcomes namely,

• SO1: Community-based strategies that foster teacher integration and retention in crisis-affected contexts of Adamawa and Sokoto states are enhanced.
• SO2: Teachers’ professional development and well-being are strengthened and supported in the crisis-affected contexts of Adamawa and Sokoto states.
• SO3: Supportive environments are created and policies that promote teacher onboarding, retention and career development are strengthened in Adamawa and Sokoto states.

The information on the project indicators will later be used to measure and monitor the project’s progress against the set indicators throughout the project implementation. Refer to Annex-A for a detailed project M&E framework.

Optional: Additional Baseline Research Questions

The baseline will, in addition to collecting data to measure the project indicators, seek to answer the following questions:

• What are the current community perceptions and attitudes towards teachers?
• What are the key barriers faced by teachers in integrating into and staying within local communities?
• What are the current professional development opportunities available for teachers in the target states, and how accessible are they? Are current systems in place able to replicate capacity building routine independently?
• What are the current school-based teachers’ welllbeing and peer-to-peer approaches to promote well-being at state level?
• To what extent are gender-transformative and inclusive pedagogies being used in classrooms at the pre-primary, primary, and lower-secondary levels?
• What specific challenges do female teachers and students face in the education system in Adamawa and Sokoto?
• What policies currently exist at the state and federal levels to support teacher onboarding, retention, and career development?

Users of the Baseline

The uses of the baseline information will include but not limited to;

• Plan International Ireland (PII) – Irish
• Plan International Nigeria (PIN) – Nigerian
• Save the Child Initiative (STCI) – Nigerian
• Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) – Nigerian
• Ministry of Education
• National Union of Teachers
• Project participants

Methods for Data Collection and Analysis

it is expected that the consultant will develop a detailed methodology for data collection, data management and analysis in their proposal. This methodology should be in direct response to the project indicators and baseline research questions regarding the project context. It is recommended that the consultant utilize a mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative data collection methodologies, outline the reasons for selecting this method and demonstrate the skills and experience in the mentioned method. Also, the consultant will be responsible for piloting the evaluation instrument (tools), ensuring that they are aligned and respond to key questions.

The consultant will be provided with all project documents to support desk and literature reviews. It is therefore necessary that the technical proposal from the consultant contain a description of the data validation approach and quality assurance techniques.

This methodology will be further unpacked in the Inception Report by the consultant prior to the commencement of the next phases of the baseline data collection.

Sample

The consultant shall propose a sampling strategy for the quantitative (primary data collection) and Qualitative to answer the baseline evaluation objectives and questions, including how the respondents will be identified. More specifically, the intended sample strategy shall include a description of the:

• Sample size
• Necessary respondent disaggregation (this will be proposed by the consultant)
• Number and type of locations
• Sampling approach (stating the reasons for the approach selected)

All relevant information will be made available to the consultant to support data collection on indicators.

Participant Selection and Recruitment

As a minimum requirement, the consultant is required to engage and give opportunities to key project stakeholders which include the project team, project partners, NUT, Education authorities, and community leaders to provide information on the current situation in the project location. The project stakeholders to engage with will include but not be limited to;

• Project team
• Plan Ireland National Office (INO)
• Project partners
• Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT)
• Education authorities
• Community leaders

The consultant is allowed to also identify and suggest additional or excluded stakeholders that they feel are important to involve to ensure they get the information they need to assess the baseline values thoroughly.

Ethics and Child Protection

Plan International is committed to ensuring that the rights of those participating in data collection or analysis are respected and protected, per the Plan International Framework for Ethical MERL and our Global Policy on Safeguarding Children and Young People. All applicants should include details in their proposal on how they will ensure ethics and child protection in the data collection process. Specifically, the consultant shall explain how appropriate, safe, and non-discriminatory participation of all stakeholders will be ensured and how special attention will be paid to the needs of children and other vulnerable groups in the event of any contact. The consultant shall also explain how the confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed.

Other Ethics that the consultant should adhere to include the following;

• All terms/conditions stipulated in the contract agreement.
• Conducting the evaluation respectfully and not making any commitments to communities and any other persons, on behalf of Plan International Nigeria.
• The agreed time frame and conditions in the TOR

Key Deliverables

At a minimum, consultant deliverables for the baseline assessment and services will include:

• Inception Report including:
• an updated timeline;
• detailed methodology, including draft sampling methodology and size;
• draft data collection tools;
• ethical considerations;
• consent forms for any primary data collection;
• (draft) methods for data analysis;
• a brief justification of the methods and techniques used (including relevant underlying values and assumptions/ theories) with a justification of the selections made (e.g. of persons interviewed).
• Draft Baseline Report including an Indicator Tracking Table with baseline data inserted
• Final Baseline Report (including Executive Summary)
• Final Sampling methodology (including unit of sampling and sampling frame) and size
• Final Data Collection Tools
• Cleaned Data (including data files (e.g. Excel, SPSS), transcripts of qualitative data, syntax/ code books etc.)
• Completed Consent Forms (including for children and their caregivers and adults if applicable)
• Other Communication Products for Dissemination

It is of extraordinary importance to have the consultant deliver the final versions of Data Collection Tools since these tools shall be used for all future monitoring activities during the project duration to ensure consistency in measurement.

The consultant is expected to provide a detailed budget, including details on the timeline and deliverables. Where possible, the budget should include the estimated number of days.

The baseline assessment consultancy will implement the below payment schedule according to the key milestones.

Expected Qualifications

The consultant is expected to have at least a master’s degree in Social work, Education, or other related field with the following additional requirements:

• Minimum of 5 years of working experience with INGOs, CBOs, and CSOs in the field of education in both development and Humanitarian or crisis-affected environments. (Experience in Northeast and West Nigeria context is desirable).
• Strong experience in carrying out complex evaluations in the region or other areas with similar contexts. The sample assessment(s) must be attached.
• Proficiency in quantitative and qualitative methods of data
• Strong analytical skills and research experience, with solid knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Experiences on Plan’s cross-cutting issues such as gender, inclusion as well as awareness of child protection and child rights issues
• Ability to work on own initiative and to meet deadlines
• Attention to producing and presenting high-quality accurate presentations/reports
• Ability and willingness to travel to very remote areas
• Excellent command of written and spoken English and at least one local language in Adamawa and Sokoto states.