E-Learning Unlocks Potential of Children with Disabilities and Girls
Embrace International
Wilbert Kihembo, a non-verbal student with cerebral palsy in rural Uganda, was living with a secret – his incredible aptitude for computer and technology.
At 17 years old, Kihembo’s potential was unlocked thanks to an innovative solution initiated by Embrace International and the Kyaninga Child Development Centre (KCDC) in Uganda. In an effort to improve learning outcomes for girls and children with disabilities, they established self-directed e-learning labs in seven schools in rural Uganda. Through the use of a RACHEL (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning) digital server with a digital library, students were connected wirelessly to a set of tablets in a classroom space without Internet connection. Access to this technology allowed Kihembo to learn in a self-directed way and overcome his limitations with speech and movement. Today, he is employed by Embrace International as an app developer, creating content that is specifically tailored to children with disabilities.
“He is drop dead brilliant. He has an incredible expertise in computers,” said Paul Carrick, Co-Founder and Chair of Embrace. “He is our paid employee and he is helping to make this project work. We are hugely grateful.”
In rural Uganda, the intersection of gender and disability creates a significant obstacle for children in school. Overcrowded classrooms, inadequate resources and poorly trained teachers result in diminished learning outcomes, especially for marginalized students. Although girls represent 50% of enrolment, their dropout rates are significantly higher than those of boys. Additionally, enrollment of children with disabilities in primary school is only 9% nationally, but in the remote rural Rwenzori Region of Western Uganda, enrolment is less than 4%.
Funded by FIT, Embrace International and KCDC set out to improve learning outcomes, increase equitable access to education and reduce dropout rates for girls, children with disabilities and other students. In addition to receiving access to e-learning labs, students also participated in inclusion, gender equality and disability awareness workshops to help dispel stigma. Education Assistants were trained to create a culture of non-violence in the labs, while promoting teamwork among children with and without disabilities.
The innovation was tested by measuring the cognitive and non-cognitive skills in 10 schools – 7 intervention schools and 3 control. Students wrote math and literacy tests and completed Chedoke McMaster Attitude towards Children with Handicaps (CATCH) questionnaires about their attitudes towards disability. Interviews were conducted with each student, including general questions about their attitude towards school, gender. and their daily life. Specific questions were asked pertaining to intrinsic motivation, self-confidence, and level of aspiration.
In the end, the results were very promising. Students in intervention schools had greater improvement in both math and literacy scores compared to control schools. Girl students in intervention schools improved their average math scores by 30% compared to those in control schools, who improved by 17%. Similarly, boys showed a higher rate of improvement in intervention schools (25%) compared to 17% in control schools for average math scores.
There was a significant improvement in the performance of students with hearing impairments in intervention schools, which is attributed to the extra content added on the RACHEL server to cater for the needs of these students. Students in intervention schools also demonstrated a greater commitment to gender equality. About 80% of eligible students attended at least 2 hrs of weekly e- Learning labs. The results indicated a lower failure rate for children with disabilities. It was noted that 6% of children with disabilities scored in the top tier in 2021, meanwhile this increased significantly to 76% in 2022. The students with hearing impairment in the intervention schools also saw a significant improvement with 6% scoring in the top tier in 2021 and 60% in 2022. Overall, there was 10% reduction in dropout rates in intervention schools compared to control schools. Enrolment rates for children with disabilities increased from 4% to 11%.
“It’s essential to foster a spirit of inclusion for special needs children within the greater Ugandan school system,” said Carrick. “In order to increase enrolment rates, students need to be welcomed by teachers and fellow students.”
