Steps Towards Afghan Girls' Education Success (STAGES)
- P Project/Program
I Inactive
Key Information
STAGES II is a UK funded Girl’s Education Challenge project with a contribution from USAID for a total of GBP 46m over four years (April 2017 – March 2021). Problem: Girls face specific cultural and socio-economic barriers preventing them from accessing education in Afghanistan, particularly in remote rural and insecure areas and especially during adolescence. Solution: A multi-faced approach focusing on girls’ learning outcomes, their interpersonal relationships, the social, physical, and economic environments surrounding them and the wider political and economic climate. Theory of change: If marginalized girls are provided with access to education close to their homes, in a context which recognizes community values and concerns, they are more likely to go to school, stay in school and learn. Reach: Since 2017, STAGES has supported 88,395 parents and community members as well as 7,605 teachers to help improve education for 324,958 children/adolescents, 33,695 (69% female) of them enrolled in project community-based classes in 16 provinces of Afghanistan.
Lead Implementing Organization(s)
Location(s)
South Asia
Afghanistan
Activity URL
Not applicable or unknown
Government Affiliation
Non-governmental programYears
2017 - 2023
Partner(s)
- Aga Khan Education Services
- CARE
- Catholic Relief Services
- Girls' Education Challenge
- Save the Children
Afghan Education Production Organization
Ministry Affiliation
UnknownFunder(s)
COVID-19 Response
UnknownGeographic Scope
NationalMeets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES
UnknownAreas of Work Back to Top
Education areas
Attainment
- Primary to secondary transition
Other
- Transition from school to work
Other skills
- Life skills/sexuality education
- Rights/empowerment education
- Social and emotional learning
- Vocational training
Quality
- Curricula/lesson plans
- School facilities
- School quality
- School-related gender-based violence
- Teacher training
Skills
- Civics education
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- STEM
Cross-cutting areas
- Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
- Community sensitization
- Early/child marriage
- Empowerment
- Gender equality
- Masculinities/boys
- Menstrual hygiene management
- Mentorship
- Nutrition
- Other cultural practices
- Sexual harassment & coercion
- Social and gender norms and beliefs
- Sports
- Violence (at home, in relationships)
- WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)
Program participants
Target Audience(s)
Community leaders, Girls out of school, Youth
Age
6 - 17
School Enrolment Status
Some in school
School Level
- Lower primary
- Upper primary
- Lower secondary
- Vocational
- Tertiary
Other populations reached
- Boys (both in school and out of school)
- Fathers
- Girls (both in school and out of school)
- Mothers
- Other caregivers
- Other community members - female
- Other community members - male
- Other family members
- Parent-teacher associations/school management committees
- Religious leaders
- Spouses/partners
- Teachers - female
- Teachers - male
Participants include
- Displaced/refugee - Internal (from other areas of the same country)
- Indigenous
- Internal migrants (from other areas of the same country)
- People with disabilities
Program Approaches Back to Top
Access to school
- Alternative learning centers/mobile schools/home schools
- Improving transportation
Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization
- Community-based monitoring (e.g. school report cards)
- Community mobilization
- General awareness-raising/community engagement
Curriculum/learning
- Competency-level grouping
- Gender-sensitive curricula
- Increased availability of learning materials
- Remedial education/skills
Educational Technology
- Digital devices for the purposes of studying, learning
Facilities construction/improvement
- Construction/improvement of classrooms
- Construction/improvement of libraries
Learning while working
- Vocational training
Life skills education
- Gender, rights and power
- Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building
Menstrual hygiene management
- Educating girls about menstruation
- Raising awareness about menstruation (beyond just girls)
- Sanitary product distribution
Mentoring/psychosocial support
- Adult (non-teacher) mentors
- Teachers as mentors
Reducing economic barriers
- Addressing cost of school supplies
- Conditional cash transfers (including non-cash goods) to individuals/households
- Scholarships/stipends for school fees
- Vouchers/grants
School-related gender-based violence
- Anti-violence policies and codes of conduct
- Safe and welcoming schools
- Safe channels/mechanisms for reporting violence
- Safe transportation
- Support in and around schools (e.g. peer counseling, adult-to-student counseling)
- Training of school personnel (including teachers)
- Violence prevention curriculum/activities for students
Social/gender norms change
- Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
- Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents
- Media campaigns
- Work with community leaders
Teaching
- Diagnostic feedback
- Hiring more female teachers
- In-service teacher training – gender-responsive pedagogy
- In-service teacher training – pedagogy general
- Pre-service teacher training – gender-responsive pedagogy
- Pre-service teacher training – pedagogy general
- Teaching materials (e.g. lesson plans, curricula)
Tutoring/strengthening academic skills
- Literacy - in the classroom
- Literacy - outside the classroom
- Numeracy - in the classroom
- STEM - in the classroom
- Tutoring - general
Program Goals Back to Top
Education goals
- Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
- Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
- Increased enrolment in primary school
- Increased grade attainment
- Increased primary school completion
- Increased progression to secondary school
- Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
- Increased secondary school completion
- Increased years of schooling
- Reduced absenteeism
- Reduced grade repetition
Cross-cutting goals
- Changed social norms
- Improved mental health
- Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
- Increased advocacy/civic engagement
- Increased agency and empowerment
- Increased employment/job-related skills
- Increased knowledge of rights
- More equal power in relationships
- More equitable gender attitudes and norms
- Reduced child marriage
- Reduced intimate partner violence
- Reduced poverty/increase household well-being
- Reduced violence against children in the home
Additional Information Back to Top
Primary Contact
- Lia Van Nieuwenhuijzen
- Aga Khan Foundation
- PMU manager
- lia.vn@akdn.org