81139 EDUC ATIO N RESILIE N C E A PPROAC H ES Field Notes Issue No. 3 May 2013 Mr. Mahamar Mohamed El Voices from the field: interview Moctar speaks with students as he collects their resilience questionnaires with a Ministry of Education official on the Resilience Rapid “I think that resilience Assessment process in Mali research is The Education Resilience Rapid Assessment (RES-360°) for Mali was conducted within a wider World Bank Technical Assistance fundamentally framework, Mali: Impact of the Crisis on Social Sectors. Data collection took place during May-June 2013. A locally designed important. I questionnaire was applied to almost 400 participating students, think we’ve teachers, parents and principals in public and community schools in the South. learned a lot.” What do you think of the resilience approach? Education Resilience Approaches I think that resilience research is fundamentally important. It’s important because it allows—especially during a crisis—the identification of the different elements of the crisis [that] explain the crisis and the ways it is manifested. It also helps to identify and improve the supports that are already there, to minimize the risks and transform them into opportunity to better shine, better thrive, and better progress towards The World Bank the achievement of given objectives … to enable the education sector in particular The ERA Program is a World Bank program to better appreciate its resilience and to better appreciate all these elements upon that offers a systematic process to collect which we can build, in order to make Education For All, universal education, a reality evidence that can support local efforts to improve education services in violence and in Mali. conflict affected contexts. What have you learned from the study so far? Field Notes Series The Field Notes series is produced to I think we’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned a lot, and that’s why I say that in fact, often share lessons around this process in an crises are not in every sense of the word “bad things”. In the education sector for effort to disseminate ERA’s support for the collection of global evidence on resilience example, we know that Mali experiences cyclical crisis either related to security in contexts of adversity. May 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes 1 or drought … if we had done that And that’s why with this resilience It was inclusive [also because] even [resilience] work, maybe we wouldn’t study it is extremely important that the communities that we applied today find ourselves experiencing the assets are not lost, [but are] the research to were asked whether the double edged security and reinforced … all these assets can be the [study] questions were taking institutional crisis that we have and capitalized upon, supported and can into account their concerns. And that almost resulted in the collapse of serve as entry points for development. we were able to say … “we have Mali itself. That’s extremely important. And that’s space where you can express [your why it’s important that the partners concerns] if they are not there [in the How can this approach know that the action they lead should questionnaire]. facilitate the transition stem from the communities, the between the emergency individuals ... They should not think “There is a saying for the individuals, the communities crisis response … the structures that frame policies here that goes and longer term and programs should be indigenous ‘you cannot shave reconstruction goals? and when it’s indigenous, it’s easier to Because of the crisis there has grasp and it’s better implemented. someone’s head in been a staggered enrichment of Do you have any their absence’. The the education sector, [such as] the psychosocial module [a module reflections on the students are the methodology that was added to the workplan of the beneficiaries of the Education Cluster based on what was used? learned through the ERA Program’s I found [it] to be a process of education system. RES-360° rapid assessment]. responsibilization. It’s a strongly It’s crucial that we Development should stem participatory process and, I must say, from the strengthening of the an inclusive one. First, it’s the actors hear their opinions.” capacities of communities ... to be within the education system who led There is a saying here that goes « you actors in their own development. the process. You who came here were cannot shave someone’s head in their When populations, communities only animators, facilitators, but the absence ». Children, students, are the themselves, are responsible for their real action that was taken was led by beneficiaries of the education system. development and the development is the system actors. That’s extremely It’s crucial that we hear their opinions conceived of by these communities, important. The actors embody the so they can support our responses it’s easily implemented by [them] situation, they know the situation and provide their feedback regarding and is no longer restricted by time or better and they are the ones who led [the services] they receive, how they space. the process. You were just there to receive them, and what they want to bring technical advice. receive. That’s really fundamental. Students who participated in In terms of methodology, perhaps it’s outside of my area of expertise, the resilience rapid assessment but I am a trainer/instructor, and what fascinated me was that the [Resilience RES-360°] questionnaire was designed in several sequences; sequences of enrichment after enrichment. It was an iterative process and that’s extremely important. That’s the surest way to develop a questionnaire that can be easily understood. Even the children when they read [the questionnaire] felt concerned by these questions. It came from them, and it was easily understood. That’s really important. 2 May 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes