British Council/Ministry of Education Malaysia English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTDP) Terms of Reference & Invitation to Tender

Transcription

1 British Council/Ministry of Education Malaysia English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTDP) Terms of Reference & Invitation to Tender The ELTDP is seeking a consultancy to build on its Participatory Impact Monitoring and Evaluation system Background The British Council is a world leader in cultural relations, building long-term relationships and trust between people in the UK and other countries, for mutual benefit. The programmes cover the arts, education, English, science and society. The British Council operates in 238 cities in 110 countries. The Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah comprise the northern and western parts of island of Borneo and are famous for their ancient rainforests and wildlife. The population of both states is made up of many indigenous groups, alongside people of Chinese, Indian and Malay origin. These states of East Malaysia are the poorest in the country, and most children are linguistically, economically, culturally and geographically marginalised. The project extends also to the island Federal Territory of Labuan. In 2003, schools in Malaysia began teaching maths and science in English. This sudden shift in policy and was met with criticism by many in Malaysia. In 2008, the government withdrew the maths and science in English approach. Following further criticism, the Malaysian government created a new policy focussing on improving English teaching in early primary school. In January 2011 the Ministry of Education (MoE) launched a new primary curriculum designed to transform the way children are taught. The English language part of this curriculum focuses on early literacy and phonics with an emphasis on continuous assessment. The English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTDP), was conceived to support this new policy and curriculum by providing Early Primary English teachers with in-service mentoring and professional development opportunities. ELTDP, managed for the Malaysia Ministry of Education by the British Council, aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning of English in primary schools in East Malaysia, increase teachers English proficiency, identify and promote the use of materials to support the learning and assessment of English, to ensure continuing teacher development, and to promote communication, engagement and participation amongst all stakeholders. This programme was established to support the implementation of the new curriculum, the KSSR 1. Essentially this is a mentoring programme with one British Council mentor working with 5 schools and focusing on the Year 1-3 (Level 1) teachers. 120 mentors were placed in clusters totalling primary 600 schools throughout Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan for up to 1 Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah Bahasa Inggeris Page 1 of 6

2 32 months from 2011 to A second phase of the project started in January 2014 running until September This involves teachers in a mix of new and previous schools being served by 120 mentors, of whom over half are retained from the previous phase. Based on the principles of participation, relationship building and sustainability, this programme aims to forge new relationships in, identify new tools for, and cultivate new perceptions of, teacher development, learning and change. Project Aim This project aims to enhance the lower primary ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers ability to plan, deliver and evaluate quality learning outcomes in 600 schools in East Malaysia. This will improve pupil learning through effective implementation of the KSSR and facilitate the teachers continuing professional development Objectives 1. To improve classroom teaching and learning as demonstrated through classroom observations, mentor and self-assessments. 2. To improve English Language proficiency of participating teachers as shown through mentor and self-assessment. 3. To ensure that professional development is sustained beyond the life of the project. 4. To encourage participation and relationship building amongst pupils, teachers, parents, the wider school community and education authorities. Participatory Impact Monitoring & Evaluation (PIME) for the First Phase of ELTDP A consultancy was established with the Enabling Education Network (EENET) First Phase Consultancy goals The goal of this consultancy was to lead on the design of methods to further effective, appropriate and sustainable approaches to the monitoring and evaluating of the ELTDP, to develop a participatory impact monitoring system for the project and to produce and follow-up intermediate and final evaluation reports This was to: help participants learn about parts of the project in which they were not directly involved build the capacity of stakeholders to increase participation in all activities equip stakeholders to sustain their involvement in similar activities after the project end. produce recommendations that would be understood and implemented because those who would do the work would be involved. engage the broadest possible constituency in contributing to the project evaluation Activities Four workshops were held for mentors offering training in participatory methods, and supporting participating mentors to plan PIME investigations. Two meetings were held with the national Ministry of Education, two workshops were held with the Sabah and 4 Page 2 of 6

3 with the Sarawak State Ministry. 5 meetings were facilitated at District level. 49 schools were visited and the fieldwork conducted involved a mixture of classroom observations, focus groups and interviews with teachers, mentors, and head teachers The consultancy delivered: Written implementation proposal A PIME Toolkit Mid-project interim report and recommendations. Final evaluation interim report and final evaluation. New Consultancy This consultancy will provide services to the ELTDP towards building on its Participatory Impact Monitoring and Evaluation system for the project, and producing an interim and final evaluation report. The consultancy will benefit the Ministry of Education and the British Council by providing robust data on which project development and future work can be based. British Council (management and mentors) and ministry staff (at district, state and national level) will benefit from participation and training in participatory monitoring methodologies. Teachers, head teachers, department heads, families and pupils will benefit from increasing their capacity to be involved in this project, and similar activities in the future. This consultancy will be carried out at various field venues in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, and will include desk work in preparation and report writing Policy framework for this consultancy The ELTDP project is faced with several barriers to utilising all the elements of theorybased impact evaluation 2. The project cannot work in non-project schools to establish a control group. Establishing a robust causal chain will not be possible due to the purposely vague project objectives (to improve teaching and learning, teachers language proficiency, participation and relationship building), and the reasonable expectation of heterogeneity that, as in almost all education interventions, the ELTDP will witness some form of output, outcome and impact, makes measurement of attributable variation difficult. However, ELTDP has made a concerted effort to become acquainted with its context, it is committed to rigorous continuing factual analysis, and will design mixed methods to further effective, appropriate and sustainable approaches to monitoring and evaluating the project. The principle of participation is central to the ELTDP design and implementation. The project aims to progressively develop partnerships with the Ministry of Education at national, state and district level, and to extend these to schools and their communities. By these means, a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers, children and their 2 White H. (2009) What is impact evaluation, when and how should we use it, and how to go about it? Asia Development Bank/International Initiative for Impact Evaluation %20Introduction%20to%20IE%20-%20Dec% pdf Page 3 of 6

4 families are actively engaged in situation analysis, planning and implementing the project, and through work around this consultancy they will also play a central part in monitoring the progress of the project and its evaluation. Implementation Framework The implementation framework will be compiled in detail by the lead consultant, but will include: Meeting and consultation with the PIME Board to consider learning from the previous ELTDP PIME processes and challenges, including how stakeholders, especially teachers, families and children can be best reached; how to ensure managers and mentors are fully engaged with the process; how relevant indicators can be derived etc. documenting external knowledge of approaches, other experiences of participatory evaluation, and also of other projects, problems and solutions that have been found. document search and review drawing up implementation framework, agreed with MoE partners citing purpose, objectives, methodology, identification of stakeholders, roles, timeframes and budgets, outputs and their dissemination induction with mentors and ministry partners to reduce their anxieties, to show the advantages of PIME, and to assist in planning the evaluation process identification and training of investigators made up of 6 teams of stakeholders including mentors, teachers, families etc. facilitating implementation and review of the Interim Report by team(s) Time frame and indicative allocation of days July 2014 TOR Distributed. Invitation to tender Aug 2014 Consultant identified. Contract signed Document review. Planning, implementation framework (3 days, desk) Sep 2014 Induction. Selection of teams, zonal training (10 days, field) Oct/Nov 2014 Oversight of team activities (10 days, desk) Mid-project Evaluation (10 days, field) Dec 2014 Mid Project Interim report (3 days, desk) Jan - July 2015 Oversight of team activities (6 days, desk) Aug 2015 Final Evaluation (10 days field). Final Report (3 days, desk). Sep 30 th 2015 ELTDP Project ends Deliverables Written implementation framework Induction workshop with partners and mentors Written monthly reports on team activities (Oct-Nov 2014)) Mid-project evaluation, interim report and recommendations, mid-project report Two monthly reports on team activities (Jan 2015-July 2015) Final evaluation, interim report and final evaluation report Page 4 of 6

5 Accountability The lead consultant will be responsible for design and delivery of the PIME programme. The Project Director or staff designated by her will be responsible for logistics, finance, clerical and general facilitation of the consultant s work through the engagement of project staff (managers and mentors). Issuance of visas, medical and other insurance, travel arrangements outside Malaysia, IT and communication requirements will be the responsibility of the consultancy. Levels of Authority Management of the consultancy will be under the overall supervision of the Project Director and decisions regarding budget, terms and conditions, policy, relationship with partners MoE partners will rest with her. The Deputy Director will manage issues related to finance, logistics and clerical support. In the field at state and zonal level the consultancy will be jointly managed by the consultant and designated Project Managers. Communication All communications regarding the consultancy must be copied to the Project Director. Records of telephone or ICP calls, meetings etc. must be made available to her. Matters relating to finance, logistics and clerical support should be directed to the Deputy Director. Matters concerning the field implementation of the project, relationship with mentors, contacts at district and school level should be communicated with the Project Managers concerned. The Director will designate staff (mentors and Project Managers) to form a PIME Board who should also be included in communications concerning the consultancy. Communications with MoE partners will be decided as the project progresses. Reporting Framework and Schedule Written implementation framework (Aug 22 nd ) Report Induction workshop with partners and mentors (Sep) Written reports on team activities (Nov) Interim mid-project report and recommendations (Dec 11th) Two monthly reports on team activities (Feb, April, June 2015) Draft final evaluation report (to be presented to staff) Sep 4th Final Evaluation Report (Sep 18 th ) In addition the consultant will prepare and offer a verbal report on progress, monthly and at the end of each field visit, to the Project Director Required Competencies The lead consultant will present evidence of previous experience in designing and participatory monitoring and evaluation systems. They will have experience and show evidence of work in developing countries. Skills required: rapid and effective training of diverse stakeholders in necessary techniques and methods of data collection organising and managing qualitative data collection and analysis Page 5 of 6

6 distance management of PIME teams clear and accessible oral and written English for diverse audiences Ability to rapidly read, analyse and utilise documents and literature to develop a clear understanding of the project and its context Knowledge required: Understanding of approaches, other experiences of participatory evaluation, other projects, problems and solutions that have been found Knowledge of any of the Malaysian, Brunei or Indonesian Borneo contexts, bahasa malayu or mandarin languages, teacher development, or projects based education development would be an asset. Personal qualities Ability to work effectively in difficult circumstances where the reliability of services, service providers, co-workers and systems are not always guaranteed excellent communication and eliciting skills with people of varying linguistic, educational, socio economic and cultural backgrounds ability to build, motivate and sustain effective teams made up of disparate stakeholders and project staff Remuneration This consultancy requires a total of 52 days of work over 13 months. Expenses for travel, accommodation, daily allowance, etc., and compensation for travel time (at 50% of daily rate) will be covered by ELTDP. Call for Proposal Suitable candidates are invited to apply for this consultancy as individuals or as a group. This should include a full CVs in English, an account of relevant previous experience (including designing and implementing participatory monitoring and evaluation systems), a brief proposal (2 pages maximum) outlining how they would go about this commission, and an indication of the daily remuneration they would require. Selection will be based on the applicant s experience, the relevance, practicality and conciseness of the proposal, and value for money. Applications should be sent by August 11 th 2014 to: Tricia Thorlby, Project Director ELTDP c/o Goh Kok Wah <KokWah.Goh@britishcouncil.org.my> Page 6 of 6