QUEST’s overall goal is to improve the performance of children in primary schools in Africa, paying specific attention to barriers facing girls. Its focus is on the learning, practice, and mastery of literacy at primary school by poor children in rural areas.
A range of research / demonstration / experimentation projects are being supported by the Rockefeller Foundation in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe to address these issues.
QUEST has three components:
Improving the capacity of teachers to help rural children master literacy in English
Improving teacher knowledge on sexual maturation in order to encourage a supportive curricula and environment at school so as to enhance the retention of girls
Disseminating the findings of QUEST sponsored projects, particularly to policy makers
QUEST has a dual geographic focus. At the continental level, support is provided to the UNESCO sponsored Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) as well as to the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE).
This continental work is complimented by a focus on three countries - Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe - so as to address literacy and sexual maturation with deeper on-the-ground experimentation and demonstration.
Support is currently being provided to the Ghana FAWE Chapter, The Uganda FAWE Chapter, The Kenya FAWE chapter and the Zimbabwe FAWE chapter to disseminate the results of work on Sexual Maturation.
