LSI Continues Advancing On The USAID Tunoze Gusoma (Schools and Systems) Activity In Rwanda

Tallahassee, FL – Florida State’s Learning Systems Institute (LSI) is leading the USAID Tunoze Gusoma (Schools and Systems) activity in Rwanda. The activity supports the Ministry of Education in ensuring that the Kinyarwanda literacy environment, for all pre-primary and lower primary schools and classrooms, is of high quality and inclusive and utilizes best practices in the teaching and learning of foundational literacy skills.

Dr. Adrienne Barnes-Story is the Principal Investigator and has been leading the activity since 2021. Rwanda has achieved near-universal and gender-equitable primary school enrollment. However, 50% of learners in P2 are unable to read in Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, by the end of the academic year. The number of learners accessing pre-primary education is low, as is the quality of pre-primary education and many children enter primary school without the necessary foundations to learn. 

“In the past three years, LSI has supported intensive professional development and continued mentoring for teacher educators from the 16 Teacher Training Colleges across Rwanda,” said Dr. Barnes-Story on the accomplishments of the activity over the last three years. “Additionally, we have supported the Rwanda Basic Education Board to develop a refined teaching practice and school attachment model for student teachers. These interventions improve the knowledge and skills of teachers entering the Rwandan work force.”

During project year three, successes include strengthening Teacher Training College (TTC) literary resource centers by procuring services to print the existing teaching materials being used in early childhood classrooms for distribution to the TTCs as part of their resource libraries to support instruction. Also, the activity has advanced the TTC tutor instruction emergent and early literacy pedagogy in a competence-based approach. Tunoze Gusoma has strengthened the link between in-service training for early childhood education practices and practices used within the Early Childhood and Lower Primary Education (ECLPE) programs at TTCs. 

One area of improvement has been the capacity of pre-service education to prepare lower primary teachers to teach literacy effectively. Tunoze Gusoma provided copies of the newly revised lower primary Teacher Guides to TTCs. The Tunoze Gusoma pre-service team continued the monitoring and mentoring practices started in project year two as part of the Foundational Literacy Course. Each TTC was visited to observe tutors providing instruction to student teachers and to provide mentorship on improving instruction and integrating the primary and early childhood education curriculum. Tunoze Gusoma has strengthened the link between in-service training for early childhood/lower primary education practices and practices used within the ECLPE programs at TTCs.

“During this past quarter, LSI has collaborated with the local Tunoze Gusoma team and the Rwanda Basic Education Board to develop a plan for updating the teacher education curriculum for literacy-related topics in lower primary teacher education,” Dr. Barnes-Story on the progress made this quarter.

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