At the heart of Zizi Afrique Foundation’s work lies a commitment to transformative learning outcomes for children and youth. One of the key pillars supporting this vision is the Assessment Shift, in Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE) program, an initiative designed to revolutionize how life skills and values are measured and nurtured across education systems in East Africa.
Why the Assessment Shift?
Traditional assessments often fail to capture the critical life skills and values necessary for thriving in today’s complex world. Our Assessment Shift focuses on contextualized tools that assess core competencies such as problem-solving, collaboration, self-awareness, and respect. This shift ensures that education systems go beyond academic metrics to foster well-rounded, competent individuals ready for life and work.
Key Achievements in Phase 1
In the initial phase, Action for Life Skills and Values (ALiVE) program set the foundation by:
- Developing four contextualized assessment tools for adolescents (ages 13-17) across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
- Training 47 local experts under the ALiVE Academy, equipping them with the skills to develop and conduct assessments.
- Successfully assessing 45,442 adolescents from 85 districts/counties, generating invaluable data on the state of life skills and values.
Expanding Our Reach in Phase 2
Building on the success of Phase 1, the Assessment Shift in Phase 2 expands its focus to children aged 6-12 years. Our goals include:
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- Adapting the ALiVE tools to suit younger age groups.
- Integrating these tools into school-based assessments, ensuring that life skills and values are embedded into the core educational experience.
- Growing the ALiVE Academy, continuing to train local experts and expanding the community of practitioners dedicated to life skills and values assessment.
To contribute to the growth of Life Skills and Values assessment capacities for the education sectors in East Africa, ALiVE focuses on:
- Breeding master trainers in specific skill areas from the ALiVE academy to work with them to set up and run the training.
- Developing three set of modules: Deconstruction module, Assessment Module and Nurturing Modules through the ALiVE academy that will be packaged for virtual sessions with members of the learning community.
- Equipping the assessment institutes and systems with the capacities needed to integrate life skills and values.
