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SCALING UP LITERACY
THROUGH LOCALIZED
SOLUTIONS ACROSS ASIA
AND AFRICA
ROOM TO READ
Sincere gratitude and appreciation to Priyanka Varma, research assistant, who has been instrumental
in the production of the Room to Read case study.
We are also thankful to a wide-range of colleagues who generously shared their knowledge and
feedback on the Room to Read case study, including: Sourav Banerjee, Unmesh Brahme, Tim Carlberg,
Luis Crouch, Lauren Hadi, Cory Heyman, Tressa Johnson, Matthew Jukes, Vishnu Karki, Phong Le, Emily
Leys, Cynthia Lloyd, Lynn Murphy, Sara Peracca, and Kim Wright Violich.
SCALING UP LITERACY
THROUGH LOCALIZED
SOLUTIONS ACROSS ASIA
AND AFRICA
Lastly, we would like to extend a special thank you to the following: our copy-editor, Alfred Imhoff, our
designer, blossoming.it, and our colleagues, Kathryn Norris and Jennifer Tyre.
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
INTERVENTION OVERVIEW:
Room to Read (2000present) is an education-focused nongovernmental organization that works in collaboration
with local communities, partner organizations, and governments to improve childrens learning across Asia and subSaharan Africa. It does so through literacy and girls education programming that focuses on systemic changes
within schools during two periods that are particularly critical in a childs schooling: early primary school for literacy
acquisition and secondary school for girls education. Room to Reads Literacy Program, the focus of this case study,
is an intervention based in primary school that ensures that schools have a structured library with books in the
childrens local languages; trains teachers and librarians in scientifically based instructional methods in reading
and writing; and engages families, communities, and government leaders in the schools reform efforts. Room to
Reads Literacy Program works in conjunction with its countries existing language curricula and includes detailed
lesson plans, classroom materials, and comprehensive professional development resources for teachers. Literacy
coaches are placed in classrooms alongside teachers to provide instructional support throughout the intervention,
and library activities are integrated to create environments that promote reading. Through structured monitoring
processes, literacy coaches provide teachers with actionable feedback to improve their teaching methods and
assess their students reading improvement over time, while library management facilitators provide similar feedback
to librarians. Together, these efforts seek to develop childrens reading skills and their habit of reading so that they
become lifelong, independent readers.
Room to Read
at a glance
EDUCATION LEVEL:
Primary
COST:
Nepal
Bangladesh
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Tanzania
Zambia
Sri Lanka
India
South Africa
LOCATION:
Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam,
and Zambia
FOCUS OF INTERVENTION:
Early-grade literacy program for primary school children
Room to Reads 2014 annual budget was $52.8 million. Total expenditures for its Literacy Program in 2014
were 81 percent of programmatic expenses (including Literacy and School Infrastructure program areas). A
total of $42.9 million of its budget made up of cash donations (64 percent from individuals, 26 percent from
corporations, 6 percent from foundations, 2 percent from bilateral grants and contracts, and 2 percent from
schools or other investors) and $9.9 million was from in-kind donations.
SIZE:
Direct reachApproximately 1 million new children were affected by Room to Reads Literacy Program each
year. Since 2000, more than 10 million children have benefited from all Room to Read programs in 17,500
communities across 10 countries. Indirect reachTo date, more than 18,000 teachers and librarians have
received professional development in literacy instruction.
IMPACT:
Core literacy skillsIn Laos, grade 1 students experienced one-year gains in reading fluency 12 times greater
than in comparison schools; and in Zambia, grade 2 children experienced two-year gains in reading fluency
that were two and a half times greater than children in comparison schools. Reading habitsThe proportion of
children in India, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka who enjoy reading for pleasure at home and in school increased
by 51 percent, compared with 31 percent for children in comparison schools. National policy-level influence
Individual country programs have engaged to varying degrees with their respective governments in revising
national literacy textbooks (Cambodia and Laos), developing early grade reading and instruction materials
(Nepal and Tanzania), and shaping national library policies and practices that have a direct impact on the
reading activities and time devoted to reading of children and youth (Cambodia, Vietnam, and Zambia).
Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
Background
During the last decade and a half, the
number of out-of-school children has
fallen by almost half, and a record number
of girls and boys are now enrolled in
school. Despite this progress in access,
approximately 250 million children still fail
to read and comprehend a simple text or
perform basic mathematical calculations,
despite the fact that 130 million of these
children are in school for four years
(UNESCO 2014). The gap in access and
learning is even starker at the local level.
For example, in rural India, although 95
percent of children are enrolled in school,
fewer than half of fifth-grade students can
read at the second-grade level (ASER
Centre 2015). Research suggests that once
children miss out on learning basic skills
such as reading and writing in the early
grades, they are unlikely to ever catch up
(Pritchett 2014). The implications of this
learning crisis are bleak, not just in
terms of the status of national education
systems, but also in terms of the addition
of millions of more adults who cannot
understand, for example, instructions on a
medicine bottles label, an employment ad,
or an election ballot because they lack the
foundational skills needed to participate
in modern society (Room to Read 2013;
Sperling, Winthrop, and Kwauk 2015).
The reasons why schools are not
delivering on their promise to develop
the most basic skills in children are
multifaceted and complex. But one
underlying cause, especially in rural
areas, is that some governments face
a desperate lack of resources, which
prevents them from providing children
with access to a physical school or
to books and other quality reading
Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
2000
BfN expands its scope of work and begins its Girls Education Program.
2001
2002
Room to Read Cambodia is launched.
Room to Read begins to invest in monitoring and evaluating the
impact of its programs.
2005
Room to Read Sri Lanka is launched after the December 2005 tsunami.
Room to Read launches its first five-year strategic plan.
Room to Read Laos is launched.
The Global Solutions Database is created in collaboration with
Salesforce.
2007
Room to Read Zambia is launched.
In India and Nepal, the first cohorts of girls graduate from Room to
Reads Girls Education Program.
The Room to Dream campaign is launched to support the organizations
goal of establishing 10,000 bilingual libraries in three years.
2009
The Reading and Writing Instruction component is piloted in Nepal
and Sri Lanka. Indias pilot continues for a second year.
Room to Reads chapter network expands to Australia,
Hong Kong, Japan, and the Middle East.
BfN officially becomes Room to Read. Erin Ganju joins the team
as cofounder and chief operating officer.
Room to Read Vietnam is launched.
2003
Room to Read India is launched, with a focus on local organization
and government partnerships.
Room to Read launches its Local-Language Publishing component to
produce childrens books in local languages.
Volunteer chapters emerge in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the
United States to help broaden Room to Reads fund-raising efforts. A
chapter strategy is formed.
2006
Room to Read expands to the African continent, launching its
programs in South Africa.
Room to Reads leadership begins the organizations global
awareness effort via media exposure.
2008
Room to Read Bangladesh is launched.
Room to Read pilots its Reading and Writing Instruction component
in India to support educators as they teach students to become
readers.
2010
Room to Reads Reading and Writing Instruction component pilots
expand to Laos and Zambia.
Room to Read launches its second five-year strategic plan, which
consolidates its program areas to Literacy and Girls Education.
Room to read establishes its 10,000th library.
2012
Room to Read Tanzania is launched.
2015
Room to Read reaches a milestone of support for 10 million children.
Room to Read approves its third five-year strategic plan.
Room to Read launches its Accelerator technical assistance unit.
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
Lessons learned
Recognizing the important role that these donors could play in bridging stronger
relationships with program country governments, Room to Read has included a
proposal to increase its engagement among bilateral and multilateral donors in
its current five-year strategic plan.
Room to Reads willingness to scale back when necessary has helped keep
organizational resources focused on high-impact activities.
Room to Read built sustainability into its programs during the establishment of
each new country program. The three-year funding requirement helped add
a layer of security, while community financial and labor donations allowed
funding to be channeled into high-impact activities that could stretch the impact
of every dollar raised a little further. Also, employing local staff members in
country program offices ensured that programs were rooted in the communitys
needs. The organizations next challenge is to strengthen its organizational
sustainability.
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Room to Read: Scaling up literacy through localized solutions across Asia and Africa
References
Endnotes
ASER Centre. 2015. Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2014. Provisional, January 13. http://img.
asercentre.org.
1.
Darwall, Christina, and Kristin Doarge. 2010. From Bahundanda to Bangladesh: The History of Room to Read.
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic725401.files/Room%20to%20Read/Room%20toRead%20
HistoryFINAL..pdf.
Knowledge@Wharton. 2008. Room to Reads John Wood: Bringing the Power of Education to Children
around the World. Interview with John Wood, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, December 23.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/room-to-reads-john-wood-bringing-the-power-of-education-tochildren-around-the-world/.
McEwan, Patrick J. 2015. Improving Learning in Primary Schools of Developing Countries: A Meta-Analysis
of Randomized Experiments. Review of Educational Research 85, no. 3: 35394.
Pritchett, Lant. 2014. The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Aint Learning. Washington: Center for Global
Development.
Room to Read. 2012. Laying a Foundation for Literate Communities. Annual Report. http://www.roomtoread.
org/AnnualReport/2012/.
. 2013. Global Monitoring Report 2013.
. 2014. Solving the Puzzle: Childrens Literacy and Girls Education, Annual Report. http://www.roomtoread.
org/AnnualReport/2014/.
Ideally, literacy coaches are college graduates and/or graduates of teacher-training programs, teachers,
or former teachers. They are recruited locally, are trained by Room to Reads staff, and are responsible
for working with approximately 5 to 10 schools, with monthly visits to targeted grade 1 and 2 teachers.
2. Room to Reads goal, as of 2014, is to reach 15 million children by 2020by partnering with 25,000
schools through its Literacy Program and by supporting more than 66,000 girls in its Girls Education
Program.
3. The Room to Read Accelerator was established to disseminate the organizations knowledge to a
wider constituency, thereby maximizing its impact. The Accelerator model seeks to offer technical
assistance and share Room to Reads expertise and resources with partner organizations by providing
training materials, workshops, periodic support, and monitoringall in efforts to maximize the quality of
implementation and, in turn, replicate its work. The Accelerator trains staff members from government
ministries and other organizations to enable them to effectively implement literacy and girls education
programming.
4. Bilateral funding has never exceeded 4 percent of Room to Reads total revenue. As a result, it would
be interesting to note if this has had an impact on Room to Reads ability to work with governments,
which often prefer to work with recipients of sizable bilateral and multilateral funding. In the future,
bilateral and multilateral donors may become more prominent sources of funding for the organization,
because Room to Reads leaders have begun to recognize the opportunities for growth in cooperation
with government partners by pursuing this kind of funding, especially vis--vis policy engagement and
systems reform. The organizations strategy for 2015 to 2019 aims to increase bilateral and multilateral
revenue to 5 to 6 percent of its annual budget.
5. According to internal evaluations, results from India in 2012 demonstrated that students participating in
the Literacy Program were reading at a fluency level far below the minimum expected rate of 45 words
per minute. Room to Read responded by supporting teachers in increasing their activities to promote
more student engagement with texts. One year later, fluency among grade 2 students had more than
doubled, to 41 words per minute.
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