Academy for Educational Development
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EDUCATION: Parent Participation and System Reform in Yemen
Al-Hussein Bin Ali School sits at the foot of Thula Mountain in an area of Yemen known for its conservatism. Getting women involved with the school through a mothers' council was considered impossible because it was unacceptable for them to mingle with the male teachers. Understanding the importance of parent participation in the school environment, and the social norms in Yemen, AED created an ally in Hajj Al-Rowni, a 70-year-old sheikh who agreed that forming a mothers' council did not conflict with culture or religion. The first council meeting, which he hosted in his home, included his daughters and other village women. More than 100 mothers' and fathers' councils have been formed in 77 rural schools in the past three years. As the lead of USAID's Basic Education project*, the AED Center for Gender Equity also facilitated major school renovations, trained more than 1,200 teachers in child-centered instructional practices, established more than a dozen community literacy programs, launched 25 summer camps for more than 3,000 girls and boys, and supported the improvement of educational management and information systems in three governorates.
"The center's in-depth understanding of educational processes at all levels has led to new opportunities for AED to scale up its educational support in Yemen to achieve a broader impact," said May Rihani, senior vice president and director of the center. In addition, the U.S. State Department asked the center to establish a new two-year project to help Yemen's Ministry of Education build on the successes of the mothers' and fathers' councils. The project seeks to help create a national model and pilot 100 student councils to help girls and boys learn about elections, debate and compromise, different perspectives, and student leadership. - SALWA AZZANI AND CORY HEYMAN *AED is leading this project as a sub-award from the American Institutes of Research under the EQUIP1 program.
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Because of the success of that work, USAID asked AED to implement a new, five year Basic Education Support and Training project to inform educational policy at the school, governorate, and national levels.
