CPFs: Strengthening Pre-service Teacher Education Programme in Myanmar

Objectives and Scope of Evaluation

• The Contractor will perform the tasks under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok (hereinafter called UNESCO), the direct supervision of the Head of UNESCO Antenna Office in Yangon, and in close collaboration with the STEM programme team. The evaluation will cover the implementation period July 2020 – December 2024. It shall identify key outputs that have led to the attainment of outcomes (intended and unintended), analyze the enabling factors and obstacles, and scrutinize the challenges encountered and their causes. The intended outcomes of Phase III were set to be attained by 2024, as such, the evaluation should assess the progress as well as the challenges and lessons learnt so far towards achieving the intended outcomes.
• As the implementation of STEM Phase III was affected by double crises – the COVID -19 global pandemic and the ongoing political situation – the evaluation should also consider how effectively the outcomes and outputs were reprogrammed and remained relevant towards the reform of teacher education in Myanmar. The evaluation will further assess to what extent the monitoring and evaluation tools are able to effectively identify achievements and challenges, as well as what remedial actions were taken or can possibly be taken to address challenges moving forward. This evaluation is expected to be completed virtually with potential for field visits depending on the situation in Myanmar and/or the ability to secure visas. Given the complex political situation, some key beneficiaries may be unable to be consulted as part of this evaluation and should be noted by the evaluation team as a limitation of this study.
• The STEM programme would be assessed against the following evaluation questions structured against the OECD-DAC criteria. The evaluation questions will be adapted and finalized in consultation with the ERG during the inception phase of the evaluation.
• Effectiveness:
  • How effectively did the adjusted/reprogrammed activities and outputs contribute to the achievement of outcomes considering the changed operational and implementation environment? What were the most significant results (outputs and outcomes) of the programme?
  • What constraints were encountered in implementing programme activities? How were they addressed and what was the impact on the achievement of the programme’s outcomes?
  • What impact did STEM have on the different beneficiaries or target groups, including contribution to gender equality and equity and social inclusion in teacher education?
  • How realistic was the programme’s theory of change and M&E Framework in response to the changing operational environment?
• Relevance:
  • To what extent did STEM Phase III produce results that are relevant to and resulted in benefits to beneficiaries such education administrators and educators?
  • To what extent did the programme respond to the needs of the country and as well as the objectives and priorities of the Myanmar Joint Response Framework for Education 2022-2025 (JRF) and the UN’s Socioeconomic Resilience and Response Plan (SERRP) for Myanmar?
  • How effective were the reorientation/adaptations to the programme in continuing to meet the most important needs and priorities of pre-service teacher education reform?
  • Was the program’s approach for promoting human rights, gender equality and social inclusion relevant for the implementation of the international, regional and national conventions and strategies?
• Efficiency:
  • To what extent did the management structure, financial and human resources support efficient programme implementation? Do the results justify the resources invested into the programme?
  • Was the programme implemented in a timely way? How efficiently were resources (financial and human) reallocated in response to constraints encountered in implementing programme activities?
• Impact:
  • Have interventions through STEM Phase III contributed or expected to contribute to long lasting changes at the societal, institutional and individual level?
  • To what extent did the programme contribute to the broader medium and longer-term responses to teacher education reform in Myanmar?
  • To what extent did the interventions of the programme contribute to observed changes? Did all the intended target groups, including the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, benefit from these changes?
  • What were the unintended results (positive or negative) of STEM Phase III? How did this affect beneficiaries?
• Sustainability:
  • To what extent are the benefits/impact of STEM Phase III likely to continue including results in social inclusion and gender equality? Are there already signs of results being sustained? What are the major factors that will affect continuity?
  • What evidence can be found of organizational, social and financial structures that will support sustaining the results achieved by STEM?
  • What measures have been undertaken to strengthen capacity at the individual and organizational level to sustain results?

Outcomes

• Through STEM, UNESCO’s assistance is generally executed via the following four (4) key areas. According to the approved programme document for STEM Phase III, these outcomes cover the period July 2020 to December 2023.
  • Outcome 1 – formulate a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and providing technical advice on developing teacher policies and teacher competency standards framework;
  • Outcome 2 – improve the system and operations of pre-service teacher education by restructuring and redesigning the curriculum and building networks amongst them for knowledge and experience sharing;
  • Outcome 3 – develop institutional and human resource management capacities of pre-service teacher education; and
  • Outcome 4 – mainstream inclusion and equity issues in teacher education.

Eligibility Criteria

• This evaluation should be conducted by an evaluation team (at least one team member must be a Myanmar national). Preference will be given to multicultural evaluation teams with appropriate gender balance and geographic representation. It is mandatory that the team members have no previous involvement in any of the programme activities under review.
• Organization
  • Required qualifications:
    • A minimum of 7 years of experience in project/programme evaluation;
    • A minimum of 3 evaluations and/or projects successfully implemented in support of education in developing countries, including in teacher education;
    • A minimum of 2 evaluations and/or projects successfully implemented with UNESCO and/or the UN System including World Bank Group; and
    • Demonstrated experience in evaluation methodologies and techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, and experience in evaluation of capacity development projects.
  • Desirable qualifications:
    • Experience undertaking evaluation projects in Myanmar;
    • Experience working in post-conflict and/or conflict-affected contexts;
• The personnel: Team Leader
  • Required qualifications:
    • Advanced university degrees in specialized fields of social sciences, humanities, public policy, or related fields;
    • A minimum of 7 years of experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods;
    • Experience as a Team Leader for a minimum of 5 previous project evaluations;
    • Experience as part of an evaluation team for a minimum of 2 project evaluations focused on capacity development in education;
    • Demonstrated experience with human-rights based approach, including a focus on gender equality; and
    • Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English language.
  • Desirable qualifications:
    • Experience as part of an evaluation team in evaluating projects with activities taking place in Myanmar;
    • Experience working in post-conflict and/or conflict-affected contexts;
    • Experience as part of an evaluation team evaluating projects focused on teacher education; and
    • Experience as part of an evaluation team evaluating projects implemented by UNESCO and/or the UN System including World Bank Group.
• The personnel: Team Members
  • Required qualifications:
    • The total number of team members, including the Team Leader, is at least three. It is not expected that more than four team members are required to complete the assignment;
    • University degrees in specialized fields of social sciences, humanities, public policy, or related fields;
    • Proficiency in English language (written and spoken);
    • At least one team member with a minimum of 3 years of experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, including excellent data analysis skills;
    • At least one team member with a minimum of 3 years of experience in gender equality and social inclusion programming, particularly in the area of social development;
    • At least one team member with a minimum of 5 years of experience in support of education in developing countries; and
    • At least one team member with excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of Myanmar language, with preference for multiple team members with excellent knowledge of Myanmar language.
  • Desirable qualifications:
    • At least 5 years combined experience with the education sector in Myanmar; and
    • At least one team member with a minimum of 3 years of experience working in post-conflict and/or conflict-affected contexts.

For more information, visit UNESCO.