ToR - Action Research on Foundational Literacy| Scaling-up Early Reading Intervention (SERI) Project

TERMS OF REFERENCE 

Action Research on Foundational Literacy  

Scaling-up Early Reading Intervention (SERI) Project 

Position: Consultant for Action Research 

Duration:  4 months (May vary based on assignment deliverable) 

About Room to Read 

Room to Read India was established in 2003 and presently has programs in 10 states –Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. 

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, our innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools during two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations, and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. By focusing on the quality of education provided within the communities and ensuring these outcomes are measured, we have created a model that can be replicated, localized, and sustained by governments. Room to Read has globally distributed offices and staff and has so far benefited more than 39 million children across 23 countries. 

About Scaling Up Early Reading Intervention (SERI) 

Development (USAID)in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been implementing the Scaling Up Early Reading Intervention (SERI) project since September 2015. The SERI intervention started with a few hundred schools (I-Do/Demonstration schools) across two states of Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh in 2015 which later scaled-up (We-Do/Scale-up) to 1000 schools in these two states in 2016, and to 1000 more schools of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 2017. In 2019, SERI moved to You-Do/Expansion phase in which the focus was on state-wide systems strengthening initiative. In 2022, SERI further expanded to two new states of Rajasthan and Telangana. Post-launch of the National Education Policy (NEP) and NIPUN Bharat (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy), much of SERI You Do efforts have been directed towards supporting the states in the planning and implementation of the NEP and NIPUN mandates. Since the NIPUN guidelines are closely aligned with the Literacy approach demonstrated under SERI, effective implementation of NIPUN in the states would also mean institutionalization and sustainability of SERI efforts. 

SERI’s theory of change aimed to improve teaching practices through capacity building to adopt structured lesson plans and children's literature, ensure access to quality reading material and age-appropriate children's literature, build partnerships with the government and relevant partners for bringing about system reforms in FL education, and achieve learning at scale. 

Scope of work 

Under SERI project, Action research has been the initiative to build the system’s capacity to conduct action research about the challenges faced by teachers in the classroom focusing on foundational learning and adopting a reflective approach by the teachers and DIET faculties. From 2022, the SERI team has started working with the SCERT and DIETs on supporting selected teachers and DIET faculties in conducting action research through face-to-face workshops and ongoing virtual support to build the capacity of the participants in conducting action research and producing good quality research reports majorly on challenges faced in foundational learning. 

Responsibilities: The responsibility of the consultant includes, but is not limited to: 

1.  Develop a comprehensive understanding of the action research intervention within SERI (scaling up early reading intervention) states. 
2. Perform a thorough analysis of action research reports submitted by government stakeholders and offer constructive feedback to enhance their quality and effectiveness. 
3. Refining the action research report prepared by government stakeholders by improving the overall quality of the report in Hindi and English from language, research methodology, and research ethics.   
4. Need-based Interaction with the Room to Read team to get clarity about the process and research topic, etc.  
5. Contribute to the development of materials developed for the action research workshop and process documentation.   
6.  Document the entire process of refining action research reports, capturing all enhancements made. 
7. Provide a detailed report outlining improvements and challenges addressed during the refinement process. 
8. There will be two rounds of revision before we finalize any report. 

Qualification of the consultant 

• Consultant should have a master’s degree (good to have M.Phil. and Ph.D.) in education/social work/social science or any other equivalent degree with a minimum of 7-8 years of experience in writing research papers and modules.  
• A consultant with research experience in the domain of foundational literacy and education would be preferred.  
• Proficiency in speaking and writing in Hindi language is desired. 
• Consultant should have developed similar manuals/modules/documents on research. 
• Strong documentation skills to capture the entire process of refining action research reports and preparing detailed reports on improvements and challenges addressed. 
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to critically analyze action research reports and identify areas for improvement. 
• Experience facilitating workshops, meetings, or training sessions to gather insights, share best practices, and address challenges related to action research. 

Payment terms 

• 20% payment on completing the reports from Uttarakhand state.  
• 20% payment on completing the reports from Chhattisgarh state.  
• 20% payment on completing the reports from Rajasthan state.  
• 20% payment on completing the reports from Madhya Pradesh state.  
• 20% payment on submitting and approval on all the reports and final report on key challenges addressed during refinement process with satisfactory level of quality.   

Deliverables terms  

• The deliverables will involve a complete quality checked report for each state.  
• Summary of all the reports with highlights and way forward  
• Support country office team to finalize the design and content of action research compendium. 
• Deliverable timelines will be mutually agreed upon during onboarding, it will be the responsibility of the consultant to support the states to write the reports by regular feedback.  

Technical selection criteria:  

Criteria	Requirement
Educational qualification	Consultant should have a master’s degree (good to have M.Phil. and Ph.D.) in education/social work/social science or any other equivalent degree
Work experience 1	with a minimum of 7-8 years of experience in writing research papers and modules.
Work experience 2	A consultant with research experience in the domain of foundational literacy and education would be preferred.
Work experience 3	Experience facilitating workshops, meetings, or training sessions to gather insights, share best practices, and address challenges related to action research. working with govt. at block and district level
Language proficiency	Proficiency in speaking and writing in Hindi language is desired.
Assignment	Will be given
Interview	To be conducted later

Proposed Timeline 

The contract would be based on the assignment and deliverables whose details are mentioned earlier. Feedback on the document submitted shall be open for revision at least two times.  

How to Apply 

• Consultant Need to Submit CV/Resume with their Detailed CV and share relevant work experience and samples, where required. 
• CV/Resume to be submitted over procurement.india@roomtoread.org (without copying anyone from RtR)    
• Last Date for submission is 10^th April 2024 
• Subject for submission of CV/Resume– CV/Resume for Consultant–Action Research  
• Read the SOW thoroughly before applying. 
• Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted and might be called for a face-to-face interaction with the panel. 
• Any incomplete application or process deviation, the proposals will automatically be rejected. 

Proposals received after the prescribed deadline will not be considered.  

• Selected Candidate will be required to sign and abide by the Child Protection policy of Room to Read.  

Contact Person for Any Clarification: 

Name: Sumit Raghav   

Email Id: Sumit.Raghav@roomtoread.org 

 

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