We are pleased to report that the MacArthur Foundation has provided Catholic University with a grant to help improve our teacher training work in Lagos, Nigeria! This project will analyze the impact of training on educational techniques and motivation as a source of improving secondary education and then promoting integral economic development. Special emphasis will be put on analyzing the impact of training of female teachers and its impact on girls’ learning and retention in secondary school.
Nigeria, with 158 million people, is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world. In 2006, progression from primary school to secondary school was only 43.85%. Clearly, there is a problem on promoting secondary school education. We will use an innovative integral approach methodology to underline the need of training a new generation.
Dr. Sophia Aguirre, IEDM Program Chair, is the Principal Investigator. Graduate students of our IEDM program are expected to also become involved! The proposed evaluation is the result of a collaborative effort between Economics faculty (Dr. Sophia Aguirre and Dr. Martha Cruz Zuniga) at Catholic University and the Quality Assurance and Development Agency (QAARDAN) in Lagos, Nigeria.
We thank the MacArthur Foundation for their generous assistance, and look forward to contributing to the improvement of secondary education in Nigeria.