Showing Up: A Diagnostic of Primary Education in Somalia

Overview & Synopsis

The report follows the hierarchy of constraints that shape education outcomes in Somalia, moving from the outcomes experienced by children to the school-level practices, policies, and system-level conditions that produce them. Chapter 2 asks what Somali children are getting out of primary school. It examines outcomes along two dimensions: how many children reach school, and how much they learn in schools, assessing both through the lens of disparity across states and gender. Chapter 3 turns to the school level practices that plausibly explain these outcomes: the quality of teaching, the extent to which children arrive at school prepared to learn, the adequacy of inputs and infrastructure, and the strength of school management. For each of these practices, the chapter also examines the policies that govern them, since a shortfall in classroom practice is rarely a problem confined to the school; it typically traces back to how teachers are trained and deployed, how school funding and materials are allocated, or how school leaders are selected and held accountable. Chapter 4 moves a level deeper, to the political and bureaucratic capacity of the system to design and implement the policies examined in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 presents the report's key messages and takeaways, drawing together the findings from Chapters 2 through 4 into a set of priorities for policymakers and donors.