Education Officer, Early Grade Learning

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF works to help the children of Indonesia reach their full potential. We assist our partners to monitor and measure progress against these rights via the child-focused Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable children. Our programme interventions are rights-based, cut across different sectors, respond to the specific needs of girls and boys and address the vulnerabilities and strengths of children in their first and second decades of life. UNICEF has a strong on-the-ground presence in Indonesia, with seven regional and sub-regional offices. These are primarily in areas with the greatest disparities and service gaps. They complement our high-level policy and programme advice with practical support for planning, financing and service delivery, especially to advocate for quality, equity and sustainability. Indonesia has the world’s fourth largest child population. UNICEF's presence in the country means we have the potential to impact more than 80 million children. We take this responsibility seriously and are committed to ensuring that children and adolescents – the building blocks of Indonesia’s future – have an equal chance in life.

Context

Despite progress towards universal education in Indonesia, the country still lags behind in terms of learning outcomes and is facing a ‘learning crisis’ with multiple dimensions as reflected in large proportions of children and youth lacking foundational literacy and numeracy skills, as well as the 21st century skills needed to fulfil their potential in life. The Indonesian National Assessment Program (INAP) in 2016 showed that only 53 per cent of children in grade 4 performed well in reading, 23 per cent in mathematics and 26 per cent in science. There similarly concerning results at higher age levels, as the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 showed that 70 per cent of 15-year-old students did not achieve the minimum proficiency level in reading and 71 per cent in mathematics. Concerningly, due to the impact of the pandemic, learning outcomes are weaker because of large scale learning loss caused by prolonged school closures and haphazard school re-openings. So much so, that a 16-point decline in Indonesia’s PISA reading scores (most optimistic scenario) among 15-year-old students has been forecast (World Bank). Furthermore, evidence suggests a serious decline in learning proficiency amongst early grade primary school students. UNICEF’s recent baseline student learning assessment of early grade primary students in South Sulawesi, for example, found a significant increase in the percentage of children who are unable to read, including 7 per cent in 2014, compared with 11 per cent in 2021. The impact on learning is also impacting students in the region, as UNICEF estimates a 10 to 20 per cent increase in the percentage of children performing below the expected reading proficiency level for Grade 5 students, based on findings from the South East Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) student assessment. Research shows that low performance in reading is a strong predictor and determinant of performance in other subject areas. So, addressing the learning crisis needs to begin with improving children’s basic literacy skills from the very beginning of their schooling experiences; and supporting early development of numeracy skills. Against this situation of learning crisis and inequity in learning outcomes, UNICEF has been providing support to improve the quality of education in the most disadvantaged regions, with particular attention to Papua and West Papua provinces. With the success of the Early Grade Learning (EGL) program in Papua over the past country program (2016-2020), UNICEF is now focusing on scaling-up and mainstreaming interventions for learning improvement under the current country program (2021-2025). The current phase (phase 3) of the EGL programme will run for three years - September 2021 until January 2024. The UNV will be work as part of the UNICEF Indonesia education team, working specifically on issues related to the promotion of foundation learning (including literacy and numeracy skills); and helping with work to scale-up and mainstream EGL interventions. Under the guidance of the Education Specialist for Early Grade Learning, as the direct supervisor for this position, the UNV will be expected to work cross-sectorally with other UNICEF clusters and to provide support to UNICEF Field Offices in the area of foundational skills development.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and supervision of the Education Specialist for Early Grade Learning, and in coordination with the education teams in UNICEF Indonesia Field Offices (located in Jayapura, Kupang and Makassar), the UNV for Early Grade Learning will: Facilitate communication with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECRT), Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and other governmental organizations regarding mainstreaming early grade learning improvement programs into national systems. Convene and engage with internal and external experts and partners, including government officials, civil society partners and teacher preparation institutions to promote learning with special attention to foundational skills. This includes supporting the organization of advocacy and knowledge sharing workshops and other relevant activities. Support UNICEF education team in facilitating the implementation of research studies on issues related to foundational learning and teacher absenteeism; the collection and analysis of baseline and endline student learning data; and up-keep of monitoring and evaluation data for programme analysis and reporting, particularly relating to GEDSI elements. This includes supporting contractual arrangements, data collection/tracking and coordination, as well as undertaking field work to program sites, as required. Identify and establish relationships with civil society organization and academic partners at the national level for strengthening UNICEF’s advocacy for foundational learning in literacy and numeracy, including with reference to GEDSI dimensions. Maintain close coordination and collaboration with the education teams in UNICEF field offices (particularly Jayapura, Kupang and Makassar) on issues related to the scaling-up and replication of the EGL program. Keep abreast of national priorities, programs and initiatives on learning and coordinate internally towards aligning the interventions of UNICEF and implementing partners with these. Provide inputs into the development of donor proposals, reports and contribute to resource mobilization efforts. Undertake any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.