Malawi

In-school sites in Lilongwe

We serve children at two government-run primary schools

We’re finding out whether children can attain reading fluency and comparable numeracy skills with 40 minutes of daily use of the tablet-based curriculum for 1-2 school years. We are working with government and implementation partners to scale this program countrywide.

Informal School and Out-of-school sites in Dzaleka

We serve children enrolled at Integrity Church School and takenoLAB

We’re learning what types of implementation and delivery will enable children to achieve significant learning gains in informal and out-of-school settings.

Home-based intervention in Lilongwe

We serve 700 low-income households with primary age children affected by school closures due to COVID-19

We’re learning about the key drivers of and barriers to the use of tablets in a home setting.

Integrity Church School

Serving 5-8 year-olds in an informal school

Location: Dzaleka Refugee Camp
Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math (in English)
Research Focus: Can young children whose first language is not English achieve significant math gains over those resulting from standard instruction when using a digital learning program in English?
Type of Study: Initial implementation study followed by a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial

takenoLAB

Serving 6-12 year-olds in a community center

Location: Dzaleka Refugee Camp
Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math and Literacy (in English)
Research Focus: What implementation model best serves out-of-school children?
Type of Study: Short-term implementation studies

GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS (Unlocking Talent)

Serving second graders in public schools

Location: Two Government Primary Schools, Lilongwe
Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math and Literacy (in Chichewa)
Research Focus: Can children attain reading fluency with comprehension and comparable numeracy skills with 40 minutes of daily use of the tablet-based learning curriculum for 1-2 school years? How much time does it take for children to attain these learning goals?
Type of Study: Long-term, randomized controlled trial

MALAWI HOME-BASED INTERVENTION

Serving 700 low-income households with primary age children affected by school closures due to COVID-19

Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Chichewa
Research Focus: To understand parent and child experiences of the program and key drivers of and barriers to use of the tablets in a home setting.
Type of Study: Rapid-cycle research involving repeated phone interviews

The Faces of Malawi

State of Education in Malawi

Malawi’s 3.5 million young children are packed into just 5,300 primary schools.

Since the introduction of free primary education in 1994, Malawi’s education system struggles with overcrowding in classrooms, lack of learning materials, shortage of trained teachers, and high student-to-teacher ratios.

Population: 18 million

Number of early grade children: 3.5 million

Official student to teacher ratio: 70:1

Primary school completion rate: 79%

Minimum reading proficiency achieved by the end of primary: 24%

Official literacy rate: 62%

Impact

Since 2018, over 1,750 children in Malawi have participated in our studies. Our 8-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed important learning impacts in literacy and math for both girls and boys. For an executive summary of these positive results, click here. For the full research report, click here. The program has served over 150,000 students since its inception in 2013.