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For Applicants | Focus Areas | Haiti/ Education
Eligible Country:
Haiti
Additional Criteria for Applicants:
Please see Section V of the Solicitation for General Eligibility requirements. PEER applicants for the Haiti focus area only are not required to partner with a U.S. Government (USG)-supported researcher from one of PEER's nine partner agencies. However, applicants must have a partner based at an accredited U.S. higher education institution. The U.S. partner must have a proven track record in research (with publications) in elementary education and relevant to the specific topics listed below.
Objectives:
PEER is seeking to support research that contributes to several topics around education and educational practices in Haiti. USAID/Haiti would like data for decision making around the following topics:
Classroom Instruction and Effective Learning
The Inter-American Development Bank’s 2010 Haiti Country Strategy states that between 70 and 80 percent of teachers lack accreditation and one-quarter have an educational level less than the ninth grade. Evidence-based teaching practices are limited; many teachers have not mastered the competencies they are expected to teach; classroom management and disciplinary techniques are anachronistic; and the curriculum is outdated and often overlooked in practice.
USAID/Haiti is interested in gathering observational data on typical classroom practices and behaviors in the early grades of school (grades 1-3) in Haiti. Some particular research questions of interest to be included in this observational data collection include:
- What pedagogical practices are being used most frequently by teachers in formal and informal classroom settings?
- How much time in the classroom is spent “on task” (i.e., direct instruction, student work, group work, etc.) vs time spent on behavior management and other non-learning activities?
- During a typical school day, how much oral instruction is given in Creole and how much in French?
- What do teachers expect their students to learn in a school year/month/week/day?
- What pre-service training is completed by the teachers observed in the study, including degree(s) held, level of education attained, etc.
PEER award applicants are encouraged to propose further observational data that may be relevant as part of the research on classroom practices and behaviors.
Children and Youth with Disabilities
There is a need to expand research about children and youth with disabilities (including but not limited to visual, hearing, physical, and cognitive disabilities) in Haiti. USAID/Haiti would like to use data to make decisions on the design of future educational activities to increase educational access to children and youth (4-18 years of age) with disabilities. A desk review/survey is requested on the following:
- A desk review/survey of available organizations working in Haiti to increase access of children and youth with disabilities to quality education, and documentation of the approaches and practices employed by these organizations to increase access to education for children and youth with disabilities.
This desk review/survey could also include an overview of educational policies, resources, and services that support access to quality education in Haiti for children and youth with disabilities.
Effectiveness of School Feeding for Improved Academic Outcomes
It has been shown in other country contexts that school feeding programs can have a positive outcome on academic outcomes. Ongoing efforts by the Government of Haiti, USAID, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and others have been made for school feeding programs in Haiti. USAID/Haiti would like to have information on school feeding practices to in order to better understand nutrition and its effect on academic outcomes in the Haitian context. USAID/Haiti and PEER are particularly interested in the following:
- A survey of school feeding programs ongoing in Haiti, with comparative analysis of inputs, processes, and outcomes on student achievement.
Researchers with ideas for projects that can address one or more of the above priority areas are highly encouraged to apply.
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