Education

We have worked on projects focused on learning outcomes and drivers, foundational literacy and numeracy, teacher training and teaching quality, EdTech, early childhood and education systems modeling.

Our work in education

We have worked on projects across all levels of the education system: pre-primary, basic, secondary, university, and vocational. In addition to large-scale surveys and qualitative interviews, we have experience with methods such as student literacy and numeracy assessments (e.g., EGRA, EGMA), classroom observations, and observational child development assessments (e.g., MDAT). Laterite is also a learning and research partner in education-related programs funded by the Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank, among others.

Capacity statement: Laterite Education (PDF)

Examples of work

Data collection and research

We are working with Fab Inc on a FCDO-funded proof-of-concept to research whether modifications of the built environment (temperature, light intensity, and acoustics) can positively impact on the classroom experience to improve learning in Tanzanian schools.

Mixed-methods research

Laterite designed and implemented a study to understand the dynamics of dropout and repetition in Rwandan schools. The study targeted 3,600+ households, 8,000 children, 450 local community leaders and 185 head teachers. Policy brief

Student and classroom assessments

Laterite partnered with RTI to assess the reliability of the primary tools of the LEGO Play Measurement Research Study in Kenya. More about the PLAY toolkit.

Learning partnership

Leaders in Teaching

Laterite is the learning partner (with the REAL Centre) of Leaders in Teaching, a Mastercard Foundation program set up to improve teaching quality in secondary education in Rwanda. We are responsible for generating evidence about teaching quality in Rwandan secondary education with a focus on STEM subjects. This project includes a large-scale mixed-methods longitudinal study of teachers, students and education officials in 350 schools in 14 districts of Rwanda, as well as engagement with implementing partners and policy stakeholders. Laterite also leads on technical and capacity building activities with implementing partners.

Research outputs: Leaders in Teaching publications

Sector leads

Phil Leonard

Country Director, Uganda

Dr Philip Leonard leads Laterite’s Uganda office and provides expertise across our portfolio of education-related projects. He completed his PhD in Economics from McMaster University in 2012, with a focus in Econometrics, Labour and Education Economics. Prior to his doctoral work, he spent 5 ½ years working for the Canadian Government conducting program evaluations of federal education and labour market programs. Since completing his doctoral work, Phil worked in academia, teaching and publishing in a range of topics related to education, labour markets and health. His 2017 publication on junk food bans in schools won the Vanderkamp Prize for best article in Canadian Public Policy. He has multiple peer-reviewed publications in education and youth development, and is the technical lead for Laterite’s work in Rwanda on the Leaders in Teaching Program.

Bea Ani-Asamoah

Country Director Sierra Leone

Bea is country lead in Sierra Leone, where her role is to establish a fully functioning office and demand for Laterite's expertise in West Africa. She is passionate about development-education and the use of research and learning systems to strengthen program design, implementation, scale/sustainability and policy. Bea was formerly a Senior Research Associate in Laterite Rwanda where she coordinated Laterite's Learning Partnership in the Mastercard Foundation's Leaders in Teaching program. Subsequently, she joined VVOB to manage Catch Up - a national-level remedial education TaRL program in Zambia. She also previously served as the Regional (West African) Program Manager for Worldreader, then leading work around EdTech scaling and systems learning on program institutionalization. Bea has an MPhil in Education, International Development and Globalization from the University of Cambridge. Her undergraduate education is in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.

Lydie Shima

Senior Program Associate

Lydie is a Senior Program Associate for Laterite in Rwanda. She specializes in the management of a portfolio of medium and large scale data collection projects. Lydie has managed large teams of over 120 enumerators and led field operations and logistics for projects involving 12,000 interviews. She is experienced in managing studies involving the tracing of study participants over multiple years (2.5 years). Lydie specializes in the management of education projects involving early grade reading assessments, learning assessments and classroom observations. She is experienced in managing sensitive projects involving data collection with children and studies on gender based violence. Lydie also led the establishment of new logistics and management systems that strengthened operation processes and improved efficiency of field operations.