Liberia

Donor: USAID • Partner: FHI360 • Timeframe: September 2023 – January 2028 

Education Systems Strengthening Activity (ESSA)

Map of Liberia shows its major cities (Monrovia, Gbamga, Tubmanburg, Zwedru, and others) on the coast of the Atlantic ocean. It is shown to border the countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire.

The Education Systems Strengthening Activity (ESSA) works to build a more capable education system that functions better at the county and district levels to drive, measure, and incentivize the delivery of quality and inclusive education. ESSA addresses system-wide constraints and increases the MOE’s capacity to provide decentralized and inclusive education, monitor progress, and sustain improved learning outcomes for all children and youth, especially marginalized students in Monteserrado, Margibi, Lofa, Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties.

The ESSA program will target education officials and professionals at the central, county, district, and school levels by using a locally-led framework and process for solving complex problems called Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA). IDP serves as a subcontractor to FHI360 and will support inclusion across project activities, including working closely with the EMIS department in efforts to support better inclusion of learners with disabilities in Ministry databases and working closely with the Inclusive Education department.

Project Highlights

  • IDP Senior Consultant Dr. Niraj Poudyal travelled to Monrovia to support the SABER-EMIS workshop in December 2023, presenting to Ministry of Education officials on the importance of including data on learners with disabilities in the education system 
  • IDP is working closely with the EMIS and Inclusive Education Departments of the MOE to update the Annual School Census tool with better indicators for disability

Donor: USAID • Partner: RTI International • Timeframe: September 2021 – September 2026 

Transforming the Education System for Teachers and Students in Liberia (TESTS)

The goal of Transforming the Education System for Teachers and Students in Liberia (TESTS) is to improve the quality of targeted Liberian early childhood education and primary teachers’ ability to deliver quality instruction. To achieve these aims, TESTS will support eight teacher training institutions (TTIs) in Liberia to ensure all curriculum and teacher training efforts are inclusive of marginalized populations, including women and persons with disabilities.  IDP will support an embedded focus on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and inclusive education strategies throughout teacher preparation activities to ensure the next generation of Liberian teachers can support ALL students to learn. 

Project Highlights

  • Ensuring pre-service curricula are inclusive of UDL and social-emotional learning (SEL) principles
  • Supporting TTIs to assess and improve the extent to which their teacher preparation programs are supportive of women and persons with disabilities
  • Ensuring practicum opportunities prepare teachers to deliver inclusive education for girls, children with disabilities, and other marginalized populations
  • Supporting TTIs and demonstration schools to be equipped with the material resources that will support inclusive teaching and learning
  • Engaging disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) as essential partners in advising on issues related to disability-inclusive education

Project Resources