Improving the performance of children in primary schools in Africa, paying specific attention to barriers facing girls.
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Resources and Links
Resources
Resources and events related to the areas of research of the QUEST project are profiled here. Should you have any links to contribute, Contact Us.

Growing Up and Sexual Maturation

Life skills, sexual maturation and sanitation. What's (not) happening in our schools? An exploratory study. Edited by Peter Matungu, Series editor Julie Stewart, Published by The Women's Law Centre with Weaver Press. [Book].

This exploratory research from Kenya was part of a three-part study conducted in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe that focused on the provision and teaching of life skills in primary schools, how the process of sexual maturation for both boys and girls was handled in schools and at home and, finally, explored whether there was a link between adequate sanitation and sanitary protection for girls and their retention in school.

For more information, visit: Weaver Press

Tell our daughters about sex and periods. Growing up and facing the challenges of adolescence was a subject that was unlikely to feature on the agenda at the Commonwealth Education Ministers’ meeting in Edinburgh. Yet natural developments such as puberty and the onset of menstruation were still compromising the level of girls’ education in many parts of Africa.

English Literacy

UNESCO's Literacy in Africa Website. This website focuses on Africa and aims at providing information on Literacy in this region.

Appropriate Technology

General Visit: Institute of Water and Sanitation Development. The IWSD is a non-profit making non-governmental organisation based in Zimbabwe but operating throughout Southern Africa. The Institute aims to assist in the achievement of sustainable development of water resources and waste management through the provision of support to development agencies in Zimbabwe and the Southern Africa region
Schooling: Through Children's Eyes was part of a broader research project that looked at the challenges facing primary schools in Uganda, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. The project attempted to access the voices of pupils, parents, teachers and policy makers to hear a variety of different views about the role of primary education, problems that were experienced, and ideas about what was to be done to address these. Through Children's Eyes proved a creative and effective way of capturing young children's perspectives.

Publications:
1. Life skills, sexual maturation and sanitation: What's (not) happening in our schools? An exploratory study from Kenya.

2. Life skills, sexual maturation and sanitation: What's (not) happening in our schools? An exploratory study from Zimbabwe.

3. Life skills, sexual maturation and sanitation: What's (not) happening in our schools? An exploratory study from Uganda.

For further information, visit:

The Rockefeller Foundation

QUEST Country Projects:
  • Kenya
  • Uganda
  • Zimbabwe
  • Ghana