EdData II: Data for Education Research and Programming (derp) in Africa

efforts 
to teach reading and writing need to be coupled with efforts to provide academic 
instruction in the target languages (both L1 and L2/Lx).
Therefore, USAID can support 
countries to offer opportunities for children to learn math, social studies, science, and other 
curricular subjects. This will help them to become better readers, but also to learn those subjects 
better.
Other key ingredients for successful language plan development and implementation are 
described below: 
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Alignment across institutions and departments within the education sector with 
respect to language use planning is critical to success. 
Curriculum development units, 
teacher training institutions, departments responsible for learning assessment, and other 
agencies need to ensure that their activities are aligned with the approach for language 
use in the classroom. In addition,
 coordination is needed among the various education 
levels
(early childhood development, primary education, secondary and tertiary 
education, as well as special needs education and, potentially, nonformal education 
providers as well) to ensure that children’s learning experiences follow a rational and 
orderly progression from one level to the next.
•
Decentralized and local decision-making 
can also be a helpful ingredient to 
implementing and maintaining successful language plans for education, as evidenced in a 
number of countries currently undertaking reforms to provide L1-based, bi- or 
multilingual education. Districts and schools need to be able make decisions on which 
languages to use for instruction based on the languages currently spoken in their area. 
Ethiopia, for example, was able to roll out local language instruction in 23 languages 
because certain aspects of leadership and decision-making were decentralized (Heugh, 
Benson, Bogale, & Yohannes, 2007). Regional education bureaus along with linguists 
determine which languages meet local needs, then develop materials in appropriate 
languages based on national curriculum guidelines (Skutnabb-Kangas & Heugh, 2012). 
In Uganda, the government has provided guidelines to language communities regarding 
the criteria for considering use of a language in education. Language communities are 
now working to meet these requirements, and language use in education has become a 
shared responsibility of the community and government. In the case of Mozambique, the 

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2002 curriculum reform allows schools to choose between monolingual, semi-bilingual, 
or bilingual modes, and the voluntary nature of the change has allowed linguists and 
educators the time needed to develop appropriate materials and training strategies 
(Chimbutane, 2009). Still, strong support from a centralized ministry of education office 
may be needed, at least initially and in key areas. This may include providing a clear, 
research-based curriculum for adaptation into different languages; supporting the 
production of teaching and learning materials, as well as assessments, in the target 
languages; and coordinating technical support and donor involvement. For example, such 
centralized support has been provided by the Department of Education in the Philippines, 
which is currently implementing a multilingual approach to learning in 19 languages, 
with USAID supporting reading improvement in four major languages through the Basa 
Pilipinas project (Villaneza, 2014). 
•