Consultacy for safer schools research in Asia

Background

Plan has received funding from Sida to implement the “Strengthening Children’s Voices in Promoting Safe School” project from November 2011 to December 2013 in three Asian countries. The project’s goal is “Children in the most at-risk communities in Cambodia, China, Indonesia have access to safer education through duty bearers minimizing the impact of disasters on their right to quality education with the support of civil society”. The project’s implementation strategy focused on Plan’s Child Centered Disaster Risk Reduction approach, Plan’s partnership approach, and Plan’s contribution to the UNISDR global safe schools campaign. The project has three purposes: 1) to promote a culture of school safety in the project target countries and regionally by advocating for policies, regulations, and guidelines at all decision-making levels on structural safety, 2) to embed the participation of children in the local and national process of establishing safe schools in the target countries, and 3) to strengthen the role of civil society organizations in developing and monitoring disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures in schools through capacity building and networking both in-country and regionally.

Objective

The overall objective of the research is to examine what taking a child rights approach to School Safety means within an overall aim of ensuring children’s access to quality education. This research seeks to understand children’s rights to quality education and school safety from the perspective of children’s experiences and those of their communities, in order to inform Plan’s Child Centered Disaster Risk Reduction approach and its national level advocacy work. To support the latter, this research will conduct a School Safety policy process review at the national level in the three countries (Cambodia, China and Indonesia) investigating the government arrangements that provide opportunities for greater commitment and action on how to minimize impacts of disasters on children, particularly their education.

More specifically the research project seeks to address the following questions:

- Why School Safety is important to promote child rights to quality education? How School Safety can contribute to fulfill children’s rights to quality education in disaster prone areas?
- What are the roles of teachers, school directors and administration staff, school management committees and local government disaster management committees in Cambodia, China and Indonesia regarding school safety?
- What are the roles of CSOs in supporting School Safety? What are the advantages and disadvantages to involve CSOs in implementing School Safety? What are the relationships existing and required between CSOs and governments to support School Safety initiatives?
- Why children’s (boys and girls) engagement in School Safety is important?
- How to engage marginalized children/groups in School Safety?
- What policy processes and government arrangement at the national level can ensure that School Safety interventions are well adopted and implemented?
- How School Safety interventions can add value to Plan’s Child Centered DRR approach?
- What are the best practices and lesson learnt from School Based Disaster Risk Management interventions in the countries of Asia Region?

Methodology/tool

The research is to be conducted with key stakeholders and informants at different levels including Plan’s field locations. It will be conducted in close collaboration with Plan Country Offices in Cambodia, China and Indonesia and the communities they work with. A combination of participatory research methodologies will be used – promoting inclusion (disability) and gender equality.

Stakeholders and policy analysis will also be conducted at national, regional and global level to assess the relevant policy processes concerning School Safety and Children’s Rights to quality education.

Further methodological detail is to be established by the consultant in consultation with Plan’s regional and country offices in Cambodia, China and Indonesia.

Good practices and lesson learnt on School Safety collection, are to be collected by the consultant, who will send the case studies format to each country in the Asia region to be completed.

Consultant task and activities

- Elaboration of the work plan
- Literature review on School Safety and Children’s Right to quality education
- Conduct policy and stakeholder analysis at the national level in Cambodia, China and Indonesia linking with regional and global school safety policies, frameworks and guidelines
- Conduct field research in Cambodia, China and Indonesia
- Good practice case studies collection on school based disaster risk management in the countries in Asia
- Field reports with the gathered information
- Document findings and analyze the information
- Feedback meeting on the draft report
- Complete final report

Consultant qualifications

- The consultant must fulfill the following requirements:
- Bachelors or Masters degree in Development, Research Methods or related fields
- Experience of leading a research team, including supervising Research Assistants
- Familiarity with a range of participatory research methods – particularly gender sensitivity and child participation
- Background in Disaster Risk Reduction and/or School Safety related fields that consider school and community based vulnerabilities reduction and disaster resilience
- Knowledge of the international school safety initiatives
- Awareness/knowledge of School Based Disaster Management approaches and national Disaster Risk Reduction/School Safety strategies
- Experience of working with, or familiarity with the work of, child-centred development agencies. Ideally the consultant will have conducted research work in which children have been active participants.
- Demonstrable experience of conducting policy and practice-oriented research that has considered rights and inclusion of marginalized groups in policy processes (e.g. women and girls rights, people with disability ethnic minority rights) and development programmes.
- Familiarity with, and some experience of, rights-based approaches, human rights approaches, broad knowledge of international human rights frameworks (CRC, CEDAW), and of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in particular.