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Supporting Holistic and Actionable Research in Education

Date Range: 2020 - 2027Project Lead: Pulte InstituteNotre Dame Collaborators: Institute for Educational InitiativesContact: Tom Purekal

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WHAT IS SHARE?

SHARE is a cooperative agreement between USAID and the University of Notre Dame that advances global education priorities to improve learning outcomes.

  • SHARE conducts primary research internationally in partnership with locally based research institutions with a commitment to capacity exchange. SHARE leverages the demonstrated strengths of local partners while offering partners the opportunity to strengthen research capacities through mentorship and accompaniment.

  • SHARE fortifies linkages between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to ensure research is designed to meet the knowledge needs of decision-makers and promote the movement of evidence to action, creating transformational change in educational and research landscapes.
  • SHARE is active in 19 Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) around the world, with an aim to identify transferable findings & recommendations to inform educational development on a global scale.


SHARE Studies overview

Multi-Country Studies

To date, SHARE has completed 6 of its 7 multi-country studies across 12 countries to identify transferable educational policy recommendations through the first round of research. The remaining multi-country studies will be completed in the summer of 2025.

SHARE’s second round of studies will further advance global education learning priorities from the newly revised Foundational Skills Development and Education in Crisis & Conflict learning agendas, as well as the existing Higher Education and Youth Workforce Development learning agendas. This next round of research will launch 5 multi-country initiatives across 15 countries, including 8 small grants to both USAID- and non-USAID implementing partners, to conduct implementation research around current education interventions. The focus on implementation research will enable education actors to understand why and how interventions work by considering the context, stakeholders, and process of implementation.

Single-Country Studies

Additionally, SHARE has launched 11 single-country studies, which provide highly specialized, technical research assistance to design and implement education evaluation and learning tasks in support of country-specific priorities. These country-specific studies also contribute to USAID‘s global learning priorities in education.

Global & Regional Education Products

SHARE also produces learning products that both advance global learning priorities and offer guidance to USAID and other education researchers and implementers. Currently, SHARE is advancing 5 distinct global and regional education products.

Evidence Ecosystems

SHARE is focused on both producing evidence through targeted research within specific research areas and strengthening evidence ecosystems. SHARE recognizes that evidence ecosystems must be able to generate, translate, and use high-quality, actionable data and evidence to inform programmatic and investment decisions.

 

MULTI-COUNTRY STUDIES

 

SINGLE-COUNTRY STUDIES

  • Basic Education Quality and Transition (BEQT) Impact Evaluation: Measures BEQT’s influence on improving the transition rate from sixth grade to lower secondary school and the contributing factors. Guatemala. For more information, see the study overview document >
  • Advancing Partnerships for Improved Learning (APIL) Impact Evaluation: Assesses the APIL Activity's effectiveness in improving student learning outcomes, sustaining low cost private schools (LCPSs) as viable businesses, and strengthening linkages between LCPSs, the Government of Ghana, and relevant professional networks. Ghana. For more information, see the study overview document >
  • Higher Education Portfolio Evaluation: Strengthening Higher Education Access in Malawi Activity (SHEAMA); Strengthening Teacher Education and Practice (STEP); Transforming Higher Education Systems (THES). All three activities broadly focus on improving access to higher education, strengthening institutional capacity via the quality of options for delivery of education, and by strengthening linkages between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other stakeholders. The results will inform USAID/Malawi’s higher education programming, with focus on strengthening the delivery of quality higher education, access, and governance. Malawi
  • Burma Lincoln Scholarship Program (LSP) Implementation Research. Works to understand the extent to which the LSP has contributed to USAID/Burma’s Strategic Framework and pro-democratic outcomes. The results will strengthen and inform the design and implementation of USAID/Burma’s Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Program (DISP) Activity and other USAID/Burma programming. Burma/Myanmar
  • Evaluation of the YALI Alumni small catalytic grants offered under the YALI Regional Learning Centre East Africa Activity. Examines the progress made by the Young African Leaders Initiative’s (YALI) Regional Leadership Program in supporting the youth (18-35 years) from 14 East and Central African countries in business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and public management. To achieve this goal, the study will evaluate the effect of YALI Alumni small catalytic grants offered under the YALI Regional Leadership Centre in Kenya in partnership with Kenyatta University and the private sector. Kenya
  • Low-Cost Private Schools (LCPS) Assessment: Assessed the sustainability, accessibility, and quality of LCPSs. Ghana 
  • Inclusive Education Diagnostic Study: A rapid systems diagnostic study which assessed the status and quality of education for children with disabilities. Uzbekistan
  • Non-State School Assessment (NSSA): Assessed the quality and level of access to non-state, pre-primary, and primary schools in urban areas. Uganda
  • Transition-to-English Plus (T2E+) Impact Evaluation: Considered the T2E+ program’s impact on reading outcomes as part of the language of instruction transition efforts. Ghana
  • Local Scholarship Program (LSP) for Non-Public Universities Performance Evaluation: Evaluated the LSP for Non-Public Universities to better understand how the program enhanced higher education achievement and post-graduation outcomes of Egyptian university students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Egypt
  • READ II Evaluation and Diagnostic of the Education Context: Studied the progress of USAID/Ethiopia’s Reading for Ethiopia’s Achievement Developed (READ) II Activity in the conflict- and crisis-affected areas of Afar and Amhara. Ethiopia

 

GLOBAL & REGIONAL EDUCATION PRODUCTS

  • Receptive and Expressive Language Module (RELM): The main objective of the RELM is to assess pertinent aspects of receptive and expressive language skills in students in pre-primary and primary grades across low- and middle-income countries. The RELM examines key components of students' linguistic abilities and how these relate to reading competency. The RELM toolkit, including an adaptation guide and training materials, will be finalized after two rounds of piloting of all tools. Kenya, Mozambique, the Philippines & Rwanda. For more information, see the study overview document >
  • Applied Education Systems Diagnostic How-To Guide: The How-To-Guide equips the education development sector with practical, step-by-step directions on conducting a system mapping to inform a more localized program design. It identifies existing assumptions during project inception and/or provides mid-point assessments of the intervention’s effectiveness to address root causes. This toolkit is not a primer on systems thinking but rather a practical guide to assist practitioners who already have a level of familiarity with systems thinking and complexity-aware research/programming in applying those concepts to their work. Access this resource here >
  • LAC Education Learning Agenda: Developed an educational learning agenda to identify and prioritize future regional research needs in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information, see the LAC Education Learning Agenda >
  • Learning Agenda Refresh: SHARE is leading the Learning Agenda Refresh process for USAID-Center for Education’s Foundational Skills (FS) and Education in Crisis and Conflict (EiCC) learning agendas.
  • USAID’s previous FS and EiCC learning agendas were developed prior to the 2018 USAID Education Policy. Since then, some questions have been addressed to varying degrees while new priorities have emerged. Additionally, SHARE recognizes that the learning agendas of donor organizations may not always align with the learning priorities of local-level institutions. As such, SHARE worked with USAID Missions, subject matter experts, implementing partners, and local-level institutions to refresh these learning agendas, determining USAID’s global education research priorities for the next five years. SHARE’s process acknowledges the new body of knowledge, global learning needs, and the value of local voices in informing learning agendas. Access the new Foundational Skills Learning Agenda here >
    Access the new Education in Crisis and Conflict Learning Agenda here >
  • Evidence Ecosystem Diagnostic Toolkit: This toolkit offers a detailed guide for planning and implementing participatory activities in ecosystem diagnostics. It addresses challenges, adaptations, and insights from the SHARE Ecosystem Diagnostic Process. Aimed at enhancing participatory efforts using a systems thinking approach, it underscores the importance of stakeholders in complex systems. Rooted in the recognition that stakeholders are integral, the toolkit encourages human-centered, holistic initiatives that preserve and utilize local knowledge, providing a framework for similar initiatives that may benefit from a systems thinking approach.


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