Catch Up – foundational literacy, numeracy and social emotional learning skills
Principal Investigator: Dr Ale Okada (OU)
Co-Investigator: Dr Margaret Ebubedike (OU)
Implementing partner: World Vision
Focus countries: Chile, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe
Members: Dr Keetie Roelen (OU), Claire Hedges (OU)
Expert Advisors: Prof Kwame Akyeampong (OU), Prof Peter Gray (External)
Funders: USA-WV
World Vision initiated the Catch-Up Programme (CUP) in response to COVID-19 education disruption.
CUP focuses on the acquisition of early-grade foudational skills of vulnerable children aged 6-10 who have experienced educational disruption. This includes literacy, numeracy and social emotional learning. The program was developed to help them recover lost learning and return to education .
The programme is designed to provide safe, play-based, inclusive, enjoyable(fun) and carefully sequenced instruction at the right level that also addresses the SEL social emotional learning of children.
The three key actions of the CUP project are:
- Mobilizes communities to support children’s learning.
- Supports the well-being of community facilitators.
- Forges partnerships with schools and teachers to provide holistic support.
The Open University is conducting mixed-methods research to evaluate the implementation, effectiveness, relevance, and adaptation of the program in Chile (humanitarian setting), Ethiopia (conflict setting), and Zimbabwe (development setting). The research aims to identify strengths, challenges, and opportunities to improve learning experiences and outcomes for these children.
The evaluation methodology, underpinned by equity, diversity, and inclusion, using open educational resources (slides, videos, tools), open research (evaluation articles, research briefs), and open science (evaluation data wih open access ).
Responsible Research and Innovation aims to strengthen evidence for CUP in real-world implementation contexts for further adaptations and scale.
Dr. Okada and her team also developed a new Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Instrument. The SEL self-reflective instrument was designed for children to reflect on their educational experiences supported by social emotional learning.
“CUP is helping to bridge the gap in learning created by COVID” Headteacher in Zimbabwe
The Open University conducted a research visit in May 2024 to:
- Explore how the Catch-Up Programme is being adopted in Zimbabwe and across different schools.
- Identify common aspects and differences in implementation and adaptation developed locally.
- Understand strengths, challenges, and opportunities for increasing learning outcomes for the most vulnerable children.
The research was qualitative and the activities were:
- Observation of Catch-Up Club sessions.
- Discussions with participating children and facilitators.
- Focus groups and interviews with school teachers and school heads.
- Focus groups with parents and community members.
Some considerations and recommendations to strengthen the outcomes and sustainability of the CUP programme include:
- Retention and support strategies, particularly for volunteers.
- Targeting the most vulnerable children.
- Using an integrated approach to literacy teaching and learning.
- Making sufficient time for CUP learning.
- Parental engagement and learning beyond the school.
The Open University will support World Vision through mixed-methods research to explore the effectiveness, relevance and adaptation of the CUP programme.
Open Education Research Tools
Open Access research instrument
Research Team
The Open University UK team
Dr Alexandra Okada is a senior research fellow in the UK and associate professor vistor in Brazil. She brings 20+ years’ experience of leading complex at-scale research and development programmes in Education. She has coordinated more than 10 international multi-language and multi-actor projects (€15M in total). Her expertise includes: large scale research projects: design, implementation, evaluation, dissemination, including multiapproaches, mixedmethods and longitudinal studies underpinned by responsible research and innovation – ethics, gender, open access, education, governance and public engagement. Contact: ale.okada@open.ac.uk
Dr Margaret Ebubedike has over 15 years’ experience of teaching, training, and educational research in low-income contexts. Her research focuses on girls’ access, retention and completing education, gender equality and development across cultures and contexts, especially conflict affected areas. Her expertise focused on qualitative studies, focus groups, interviews, and photovoice; bringing together researchers, communities and children. Most recently Margaret is leading research to support the empowerment of girl victims of human trafficking in Nigeria and Nepal.
Dr Keetie Roelen is Senior Research Fellow in The Open University’s Centre for the Study of Global Development (CSGD). She is a development economist by training and current research interests include the dynamics of (child) poverty, social protection and the linkages between child protection and social protection. She has delivered qualitative and quantitative research including longitudinal studies, programme evaluations and policy advice for various organisations such as UNICEF, World Bank, FAO and Concern Worldwide, across South-East Asia, Africa and Europe.
Claire Hedges is the Centre Manager for The Open University’s Centre for the Study of Global Development and a member of the Centre Directorate team guiding its research strategy, vision, and values. With over 15 years of experience in international teacher and community education for development, research, and programme management, she focuses on inclusive and collaborative education and health initiatives. Her research specifically centers on evaluating the cost-effectiveness of various programmes and initiatives, ensuring they are situated within the broader contexts and lives of communities, learners, educators, and health workers
Discover more about World Vision Catch-up project
Our Partners from World Vision:
Janelle Zwier (janelle_zwier@wvi.org)
Blessing Mukandakand (Zimbabwe)
Richard Chokera (Zimbabwe)
Mesfin Jonfa (Ethiopia)