British Council – ‘English and Digital for Girls’ Education (EDGE)

British Council - ‘English and Digital for Girls' Education (EDGE)

Asia Pacific

2019 - 2020

Countries

India | Bangladesh | Nepal

Lead M&E Consultant(s)

Gavin Dudeney & Nicky Hockly [ TCE ]

Project Overview

The EDGE [ English and Digital for Girls’ Education ] programme aimed to improve employability and life prospects of adolescent girls in socio-economically marginalised communities in rural Bangladesh, India and Nepal by enhancing English proficiency, digital skills and awareness of social issues. TCE carried out an in-depth literature review into the digital context of South Asia in order to inform the development of the programme going forward, and subsequently digitised face-to-face training materials for access in localised clubs.

Approaches & Outputs

TCE developed the research questions and methodology for evaluating EDGE learning materials. This included a comprehensive literature review in key programme areas such as digital connectivity and access, employability and digital skills, and gender equality. This literature review fed into context-sensitive recommendations for future materials development and delivery, and the elaboration of a digital literacies curriculum to be used in the redevelopment of face-to-face training materials for self-access delivery via computer.

Impact On

14,000+ girls, many from disadvantaged and digitally excluded contexts in the target countries; 1,200 peer leaders; 17,000 parents, community leaders and employers.

Challenges

Relative paucity of online information on the gender gap in the target countries with relation to access and use of digital devices and resources. TCE were able to reach out to NGOs and telecommunications companies operating in the target countries for more in-depth information leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges of delivering technology-mediated training to the target demographic.

British Council – ‘English and Digital for Girls’ Education (EDGE)