Education

DAI’s Education Practice strengthens the provision of high-quality, inclusive education for children and youth around the world. We work hand-in-hand with educators, policy makers, communities, and stakeholders to implement local solutions, borrowing and building on ideas and innovations from across sectors and working to understand education systems as a whole.

DAI supports partner countries to create safe learning environments for students of all ages to help them acquire 21st-century skills—literacy, STEM, vocational skills, and critical thinking—and promote their self-reliance. We work within global education frameworks—from the Sustainable Development Goals to bilateral donor agencies’ strategies—to connect our initiatives to the broader development agenda, focusing on core areas including:

School Safety—Young people cannot learn if they feel threatened or fear for their safety. DAI works with education systems holistically—including with communities, teachers, school leaders, ministries of education, and nontraditional education stakeholders—to improve school safety.

Psycho-Emotional Support—The education process can help to heal traumatized children and youth who face adversity. Psycho-emotional support affords children an environment in which they feel safe to learn. Our activities include equipping teachers and education professionals with strategies for efficacy in difficult environments, and developing materials and extracurricular activities that make learning enjoyable and healing for children.

Pre- and In-Service Professional Development for Educators—DAI provides technical support to ministries of education and institutions to improve teacher professional development policy and practices, curriculum and course content, pedagogical approaches, field-based practicums, and performance assessment aligning with global and national indicators. DAI also creates high-quality student and teacher resources, in language, literacy, numeracy, and content areas that are appropriate for the context.

Systems-Level Support—DAI manages innovative programming to better engage communities and a broad range of stakeholders in the education sector, including through mass media campaigns, using tech-enabled tools to solicit citizen feedback, and working to incorporate public priorities into policy and budget decisions. DAI provides all levels of support, from teacher training to policy reform.

Peace and Resiliency—The education sector is a critical avenue for reaching young people and promoting factors that build confidence, resiliency, and—ultimately—peace. DAI’s education programming works at the intersection between formal education and positive youth development, involving parents, caregivers, teachers, and policy makers, and using various tools—from comic books to popular media—to re-shape narratives to promote inclusive messages.

Technology and Innovation—Technology is re-shaping the way we live, but not all technology is equal or applicable to the needs of educators. DAI is committed to testing and understanding the innovative use of technology in improving learning outcomes—and finding ways to scale the solutions that are proven to work.

Cross-Sectoral Programming—Children and young people need books and teachers to learn; they also need to feel safe and healthy. As a cross-sectoral implementer, DAI is committed to making linkages between programs, avoiding siloes, and applying learning and innovation across sectors.