Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant – Inclusion and Quality of Education of Migrant and Refugee Children

UNICEF in Serbia is seeking Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant for Inclusion and Quality of Education of Migrant and Refugee Children. Consultant will support Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and their Central coordination team for inclusion of migrant and refugee children to monitor quality of inclusion and learning of refugee and migrant children in education institutions in Serbia. The duration of the assignment is 58 working days, from September 2017 to 31 July 2018.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Serbia is situated along the preferred route through the Western Balkans for refugees and migrants originating from the Middle East and Asia, aiming to seek asylum in Europe. The vast majority of them want to seek international protection in the European Union. According to the available data, there are currently around 6.650 refugees, asylum- seekers and migrants present in the country, out of whom 94% accommodated in the governmental facilities and out of whom around 2.600 children.

As children and their families started to stay for longer period of time in Serbia, it has become necessary to ensure access to education in addition to provision of adequate nutrition, child protection and health care, to enable children to attain relevant skills and knowledge, maintain studying habits and improve the sense of academic competence.

The legal framework in Serbia is in line with a number of international covenants which regulate the right to education; however institutional capacities to provide access to quality education for refugee and migrant children remains weak. The concept of multicultural education has not been developed and there are no strategies and approaches for integration of children who do not speak the language of instruction.

In order to overcome these barriers, UNICEF has provided technical support to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (MoESTD) and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations (CRM) to develop a strategic approach to the education of refugee and migrant children based on the review of international practices and its contextualisation to the situation in Serbia which includes access to education, both through inclusion in mainstream education and through provision of non-formal learning opportunities in Government centres that should support development of the EU key competencies for life-long learning. The pilot programme, supported by UNICEF, supporting the inclusion of refugee and migrant children in mainstream education was initiated in September 2016 in 10 schools in Belgrade and Lajkovac municipalities. Intensive capacity-building and on-the-job mentoring were provided to schools and teachers, as well as support for school preparation and individual education support plans, all resulting in the successful school attendance of approximately 200 children in school 2016/2017 year.

Experiences from the pilot project will be used for full roll-out to the education system in Serbia in order to prepare schools for integration of migrants and refugees.

Consultant will support Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and their Central coordination team for inclusion of migrant and refugee children to monitor quality of inclusion and learning of refugee and migrant children in education institutions in Serbia.

Beyond performance in school, an indication of how well immigrant students are integrating into their new community is whether, and to what extent, they feel they belong to their new surroundings – and, for 15-year-olds, one of the most important social environments is school (HELPING IMMIGRANT STUDENTS TO SUCCEED AT SCHOOL – AND BEYOND, OECD 2015). Therefore, this consultancy will focus on monitoring school support to migrant and refugee children, on expectance in schools, on children progression etc.

Start Date: September 2017         

End Date: 31 July 2018   

Number of working days/months Total number of days is up to 58 during 11 months period.

Work Assignment Overview Tasks

Task 1:  Develop framework for monitoring quality of inclusion and learning of refugee and migrant children in education institutions in Serbia taking into consideration all recommendations and documents developed during the pilot phase of the project.

Deliverables: 

•             Monitoring and evaluation systems developed and established in consultation with partners and approved by UNICEF

•             Monitoring tools/check lists developed and available to schools (End of September 2017)

Timeframe: 10 days/ September 2017

Task 2: Monitoring of quality of inclusion and learning in schools.

Activities:

•             Collection of the data relevant for the monitoring using base-line, monthly reports, observations and mentor’s inputs

•             Analytical work – based on data collected from partners and schools and monitoring field visits/qualitative assessment Preparation and delivery of webinar and instructions for schools on monitoring tools and data gathering (Beginning of October 2017)

•             On-line communication/support to schools/NGOs (throughout the assignment)

Deliverables:

•             Analytical Quarterly Monitoring reports based on data gathered from schools and partner NGOs - produced and shared with the Ministry of Education and  UNICEF (End of October, January, April, End of June – final)

Timeframe:  33 days in total - 3 days per month in the period September 2017- July 2018

Task 3.  Development of the final study on the effectiveness of the intervention in school year 2017/2018

Activities:

•             Analytical work – based on data available

Deliverables:

•             Draft final report submitted for UNICEF’ comments and recommendations.

•             Final report including system level recommendations;

•             Presentation of the findings and system level recommendations to relevant stakeholders;

Timeframe:  15 days in total – June/July 2018

Minimum Qualifications required:             

Master University degree in psychology, pedagogy, education or other related fields

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

•             More than 10 years of professional experience in education both in practice and at the policy level

•             Experience in research and M&E in education (design of protocols, design of tools, quantitative or qualitative methods, design and facilitation of focus group discussions (FGDs), impact studies, research ethics);

•             Experience in trainings and mentoring;

•             Usage of ICT skills

•             Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment

•             Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving

•             Excellent oral and written English and Serbian language skills.

•             Sound judgement is required in follow-up on requests; high degree of accuracy is important.

•             Ability to meet tight deadlines through excellent time management, organization and multi-tasking skills.