Measuring life skills: Three things we have learned so far from the Girls’ Education Challenge

“What kind of things do you learn here?”, I asked when visiting a group of girls taking life skills classes on a recent trip to Uganda. “I love these lessons. I learn so much about myself. And by the end of term I’m going to have learned how to achieve my goals”, one of the girls replied. She seemed confident. So much more confident than I was at that age. She was 12 years old.

Increased self-confidence and goal setting are some of the many intended results of life skills programmes. The Department for International Developments flagship education fund, the Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) projects have employed a range of approaches to overcome common barriers to adolescent girls’ formal learning. These approaches range from sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), to financial literacy, to leadership. During 2018, we held a series of learning sessions with GEC projects to better understand the breadth and depth of life skills approaches across the portfolio. This is what we have learned.

1.      There are many approaches to life skills education:

Nearly all GEC projects focus on life skills in addition to academic skills in order for girls to succeed both in and out of school.Across the portfolio, there is a wide range of themes, approaches, content and delivery methods. Some are delivered through weekly girls’ clubs in the community, while others are delivered through the school as an extra-curricular activity. Some just focus on girls while others work with both boys and girls. Some incorporate drama, song and dance, while others are more academic. Sometimes they are not even called life skills. Sometimes they feature as a core part of a project’s theory of change. Other times it is a small activity that accompanies much larger systems-level interventions.

2.      The enabling environment is critical:

When programmes are designed to provide the opportunity for girls to put their newly-gained life skills into action, they are far more effective and provides opportunities for other girls to benefit. For example, projects that have both girls’ clubs and boys’ clubs learning separately about SRHR and healthy relationships, but also provide opportunities to come together to practice these skills through engaging activities, are likely to see changes in girls’ participation in the classroom.

3.   Standardising measurement across a global portfolio is tricky:

It is difficult to measure the impact of life skills because there are so many different types of interventions and approaches. In 2018, we piloted a baseline household survey which incorporated some key skills needed for girls to learn and transition to higher levels of education. The results were mixed as not all projects used the survey and some that did adapted the questions to suit their context. Therefore, we were not able to easily compare the results across multiple projects. We reached out to the sector to find out how others were tackling this challenge.

"Nearly all GEC projects focus on life skills in addition to academic skills in order for girls to succeed both in and out of school."

Consulting with the broader sector

In order to ‘stress test’ and validate some of our findings, the GEC hosted a global virtual roundtable on 15 November 2018 in collaboration with Brookings Institution and Gender & Adolescence: Global Evidence (ODI). Over 30 participants from academia, INGOs and think tanks came together to discuss life skills measurement, common approaches, global gaps and ways to collaborate in the future. 

The group noted that many life skills programmes are measured by attainment only (ie. whether girls completed a course) and do not capture what they are now able to do. They agreed it is important to triangulate data with additional peer, parent or facilitator observations so that measurement is not only relying on self-reported data from programme participants. They also highlighted the value of a mixed-methods approach to life skills measurement in order to understand not just what changed, but how.

There was agreement that a common framework for measuring life skills would be a valuable contribution to the global evidence on what works for girls’ education and that this must start with agreed definitions of core concepts. 

Measuring the impact of life skills: Our new approach

Building on what we learned through our internal learning events and the global virtual roundtable, we have simplified and clarified the GEC guidelines on measuring life skills.

• Define the specific life skills in terms of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will be prioritised so that the focus is clear.
• Design a survey with core question to capture each area: 1) knowledge, 2) skills, and 3) attitudes so that the measurement is specific to the intervention.
• Determine how to measure others’ views (ie. teachers, parents, mentors and boys) to triangulate findings with the girls’ survey.
• Consider how to capture changes to the enabling environment which will provide positive opportunities for girls to utilise acquired life skills.
• Adjust tools for each age range and life stage, recognising the difference between 10-14 and 15-19 year old girls’ development.
• Tailor tools to the social, cultural and economic context in which girls live.
• Employ a gender and social inclusion lens.

What next?

We are optimistic about our new approach and hope to be able to provide an assessment of how this goes after our baseline findings are analysed later this year.

The Brookings Institution has now set up a life skills virtual platform to facilitate continued collaboration on the topic. If you are working on life skills education and would like to join the platform please get in touch by emailing Emily Boost at emily@sddirect.org.uk.