CIDT is leading a new four-year study in Zimbabwe that will track 3780 students to explore the factors that influence school dropouts. The study is funded by UNICEF.
Over the next four years CIDT and a research team in Zimbabwe will track a cohort of boys and girls, to understand how they progress through primary and secondary school. In particular, this longitudinal research seeks to illuminate the factors that predict and account for successful transition and survival (or dropping out) in Zimbabwean schools.
The study will review the process of dropping out of school with the aim of pinpointing the best entry points for optimal impact of policy and programme interventions. We will seek to learn from the pathways pursued of those children that drop out of school, as well as the actions at different levels that can enhance participation in the education system.
We will use mixed methods approaches to investigate a range of factors operating at the level of the learner as well as interrogate the influences of the household, school, community and institutional dimensions on education outcomes in Zimbabwe.
In total the study is targeting a nationally representative sample of 3780 students drawn from a range of school types, geographical locations, and socio-economic backgrounds.
In this project the CIDT is collaborating with two national consultancy firms based in Zimbabwe: Muthengo Development Solutions and Development Data.
The project team consists of Mary Surridge (Team leader), Lilla Oliver (Education Specialist) and Canford Chiroro (Project Manager and Qualitative Research Specialist).
For further information please do not hesitate to contact Dr Canford Chiroro.
