Sustainability occurs when commitment, capacity, and resources enable continued replication of the conditions that produced the success or outcome. Alternatively, if the context changes, there is sufficient commitment to invest the time and resources required to adapt new responses to recreate the gain.
Sustainability in foundational learning means that efforts and gains are converted into long-term impact. This is achieved in common cause with government and civil society actors. Sustainability in foundational learning usually requires a government that is focused on learning outcomes (with systems and policies aligned to support learning outcomes), commitment to foundational learning improvement at decentralized levels, active engagement by school leaders (head teachers and instructional leaders), teachers who are capable of delivering evidence-based foundational learning instruction, strong assessment systems and feedback to learners, and teacher and learner well-being. Furthermore, it is important that these elements are aligned and sustained for a sufficient period to give teachers confidence that behavior change is positive and is not temporary (until the next new development program materializes). Many of the same elements are covered in program design (see the Development Partner Resource Guide section on Program Design).
It is difficult to define and work toward sustainability in a complex and dynamic environment. This resource serves as a starting point for defining sustainability for foundational learning programs.
Overview: A report on the GEC’s Sustainability Framework.
Host: U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) — Girls’ Education Challenge
Description: This document, while not specific to FLN, provides a five-point scale of different types of sustainability that can be applied to different sectors. Illustrative examples are given for sustainability as contribution (knowledge, practices, and/or processes are introduced to a targeted beneficiary group), sustainability as continuation (new practices are established behaviors for beneficiaries), sustainability as adoption (the integration of processes within systems), replication (picked up by others), and sustainability as scaling (the benefits are realized by a significant number of people). The resource provides examples of questions to consider when building sustainability plans as well as pop-out boxes of case studies.
Read MoreThis guidance focuses on government interest and ownership, which may be assessed and planned for. Government interest and ownership can be influenced in multiple ways, including advocacy and coalition-building, building evidence of the effectiveness of programs in the country context, and strengthening government capacity and systems to enable success.
Overview: A blog article with embedded videos on the Real-Time Scaling Labs program.
Host: Brookings Foundation
Description: A resource focused on technical solutions for scaling, development diplomacy, and influential skills and approaches. The blog provides case studies from multiple countries and discusses how to adopt a human-centric approach to scaling.
Read MoreOverview: A guide to foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) programs with a focus on stakeholder engagement (decision-makers and practitioners).
Host: Delivery Associates, with support from UNICEF Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Partnership
Description: Tools that guide public sector actors to implement FLN reforms through strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, data-driven decision-making, and the establishment of systems for evaluation and iteration. The guide also includes case studies that utilize the tools.
Read MoreOverview: A framework — users navigate the foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) context assessment to access tips. *Users must register.
Host: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Hub
Description: This framework features 15 generalizable criteria to support planning for FLN program implementation. It includes steps for development partners to to identify a key focus area, assess capacity, explore resources, and develop and implement an FLN program, as well as gauge the degree to which it may be contextually and politically feasible to deliver such a program. *Users must first register and be granted access.
Read MoreLocal leaders can strengthen foundational learning programming by increasing local ownership, accountability and motivation. Community leaders can support school quality and hold school leaders accountable by improving relationships and increasing engagement between communities and the schools their children attend.
Overview: A set of resources developed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), focus on incorporating knowledge management and learning into organizational infrastructure.
Host: Science of Teaching
Description: This set of resources includes the slide showing the model USAID has used for knowledge retention and transfer. It also includes thinking and planning for the types of information that need to be transferred, and documenting their level of development (or “maturity”). Suggest beginning with “KRT Model Mission Slide Deck”. Because many links are inaccessible, the main use is framing needs and describing the processes and tools.
Read MoreOverview: A blog article with embedded videos on the Real-Time Scaling Labs program.
Host: Brookings Foundation
Description: A resource focused on technical solutions for scaling, development diplomacy, and influential skills and approaches. The blog provides case studies from multiple countries and discusses how to adopt a human-centric approach to scaling.
Read MoreOverview: A tool that tracks organizational capacity development by aligning incentives and performance.
Host: PACT
Description: This tool is easy to use to track the performance of an organization in different areas of work, including the immediate aspects of effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the longer-term aspects of relevance and sustainability. The results provide evidence for organizational learning.
Read MoreOverview: A toolkit that can be used for government capacity building.
Host: PACT
Description: This sector-agnostic toolkit helps governments to critically assess their context and determine the most appropriate programmatic or decision-making approach. The facilitated application of the Cynefin framework is particularly helpful for this purpose and is included in the Pact resources. The tools are practical and provide clear step-by-step guidance on their application. Pact also offers tools on the Organizational Performance Index (OPI), Governmental Performance Index (GPI), Change Action Plan (CAP), Network Analysis Training and Mentoring Tracker, and the USAID Non-U.S. Organization Pre-Award Survey (NUPAS).
Read MoreOverview: A guide to foundational literacy and numeracy programs with a focus on stakeholder engagement (decision-makers and practitioners).
Host: Delivery Associates, with support from the UNICEF Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Partnership
Description: Tools that guide public sector actors to implement foundational literacy and numeracy reforms through strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, data-driven decision-making, and the establishment of systems for evaluation and iteration. The guide also includes case studies that utilize the tools.
Read MoreOverview: A framework — users navigate the foundational literacy and numeracy context assessment to access tips. *Users must register
Host: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Hub
Description: This framework features 15 generalizable criteria to support planning for foundational literacy and numeracy program implementation. It includes steps that development partners use to identify a key focus area, assess capacity, explore resources, and develop and implement an FLN program, as well as gauge the degree to which it may be contextually and politically feasible to deliver such a program. *Users must first register and be granted access.
Read MorePolicies document expectations for the education system and actors, ensure schools and resources are in alignment, reduce confusion, improve compliance to government guidance, and stabilize school operations so that longer-term change can be institutionalized. The following web-based databases provide examples of successful FLN policies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Overview: An online database of social science research from across sub-Saharan Africa.
Host: Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA)
Description: The African Education Research Database is a curated collection of social science research from across sub-Saharan Africa with a particular focus on educational policy and practice in response to global priorities and targets set as part of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.
Read MoreOverview: A document describing the reasons behind successes and failures in teacher policies.
Host: World Bank Group
Description: This comprehensive document includes recommendations and case study examples (including FLN examples) and describes the ways in which policies do and do not work for teachers. This includes how policies relate to teacher motivation, teacher practice, and resources for teachers. It also includes analysis and recommendations regarding systems and sustainability.
Read MoreOverview: A searchable database featuring research on technology in education for decision-making and learning.
Host: EdTech Hub (with support from UNICEF and multiple international development partners)
Description: A resource within the EdTech database that offers practical information on developing a national EdTech strategy. It is designed for education policymakers and decision-makers, including officials within ministries of education and major development agencies who work with them.
Read MoreNationalization of reforms may take many more years than most would prefer to admit. Foundational literacy and numeracy reforms at a national level could easily take 20 years. The following table records the general phases of a literacy reform, based on professional experience of the authors. It does not take into account potentially significant complications, such as a change in the primary language of instruction, that may re-start or delay the timeline.
| Duration | Activity | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Phase: Pilot to Scale | ||
| 1–2 years | Context analysis and content preparation | Context analysis, linguistic analysis, and the preparation of core content matter (e.g., gathering linguistic data, generating letter and word lists, documenting linguistic and grammatical patterns for teaching, sequencing content, and negotiating these elements in relation to a curriculum that may not be research-based). |
| 3–5 years | Piloting and successive grade-level development |
Development of a pilot package of teaching and learning materials (TLMs): - Piloting can take six months to one year per grade. - Piloting confirms the level of difficulty, and the next grade is developed and piloted, based on the final scope and difficulty level of the previous grade. Thus, five grades may take five or more years. |
| +1 year | Procurement and delivery | Within and after the final package, content must be formatted, authorizations must be obtained, and then procurement and delivery must be executed. |
| At Scale Use and Learning | ||
| 4–5 years (overlaps with piloting/development) |
Use at scale & research and learning at scale |
Piloting goes to scale if the program continues to show results.
To see the true potential for a reform to impact student outcomes, one must follow children from the start of the program (such as Grade 1) through several the years of the program (for example, following children from Grade 1 to 4). Research into change over time provides an understanding of the added value of the reforms and how different populations of students and teachers, under different school conditions, fare with the program. This research and learning also leads to concrete information on how to improve the full package for better effectiveness a national scale. |
| 1–2 years | Revision to fit at-scale use, based on contextualized research | Ideally, the full package is then revised to best fit the national context and sub-populations, using research on program performance at scale. |
| Systems Integration and Strengthening | ||
| Adding months or years | Curriculum and policy changes & procurement system and policies |
Changes in the curriculum or language policies are not unusual. These changes require a more robust
process of subsequent materials adaptation, piloting, and revision, potentially spanning months or years,
depending on the scope of the changes.
The timeline above does not necessarily account for a complete cycle of printing and distribution (international procurement action if local capacity for printing is lacking and/or building capacity in the local system). |
| Multi-year process | Systems strengthening and reform |
Simultaneously with the implementation of the new reform in schools, leadership at all levels must be
well-aligned regarding the new literacy instructional methods, e.g., materials and practices in
pre-service institutions, curriculum revision, and updates to national assessments and benchmarks.
(For more information on alignment processes, see Aligning Learning Inputs to Global Norms (ALIGN) tools and case studies.) |
Sustainability implies the stability and maintenance of an effective reform effort. Governments in LMICs managing extremely limited resources are frequently subject to following the donor funds and therefore interests, and development partners often get caught up in innovative or recent models (or initiatives presenting similar principles in new ways). The result is a type of revolving door of FLN programs that do not mature long enough to be researched and improved for effectiveness at scale (see “Stamina — the FLN reform horizon”). Frequent changes in models may reduce the likelihood that governments will make the effort required to align their institutions, curriculum, and assessment to an FLN reform effort (that they know will shift again in the near future). This also undermines instruction when teachers experience donor fatigue and only half-heartedly attempt to use new models of instruction (recognizing they will have to make an effort to learn a new model in the near future). With these issues in mind, development partners should make considerable efforts to build upon previous FLN programs that use research-based methods (materials, curriculum improvements — whether official or implied in effective instructional models — and other program components). Without this type of concerted effort, it will remain challenging to attain significant improvements in FLN.
Ensuring the accessibility of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) created by high quality foundational learning programs is crucial for preserving education investments. Developing high-quality TLMs requires expertise in grade-appropriate publishing practices (writers, editors, artists, designers, etc.) as well as evidence-based literacy pedagogy (language and literacy specialists). The initial investment can be costly, but these resources become more cost-effective with every re-print and adaptation. Proper documentation and management are essential for long-term use. Unfortunately, many countries and development partners lack systems for archiving these materials. When new programs come in, TLMs are often created from scratch without access to previous resources, and often without awareness of their existence, leading to unnecessary costs.
Assuring accessibility requires a long-term strategy, infrastructure, and a management framework. Key categories of foundational learning materials include student books, teacher guides, mathematics workbooks and games, training resources, assessment tools, curriculum scope and sequence, evidence of TLMs’ effectiveness, and policy documents.
Final Notes
An important recent advancement in making open-licensed print materials available to ministries and educational partners is the Early Learning Resource Network, which houses ministry-approved TLMs (digital and print-ready resources).
The following are some aspects of policy to consider in programming to support FLN objectives: