Amala Education - at scale and quality
“It’s not a school of copy-paste. In Amala you will prove that you learned something through your projects and presentations; and that’s what I liked about it, seeing how it’s actually improving me.”
When I first read this student's quote, I was blown away by the power of their feedback. It is proof of an essential ingredient to an Amala Education. The student agency 'muscle' is being stretched and strengthened. Metacognitive practices are the norm for an Amala learner as they reflect upon how they think, learn and then, most importantly, apply this self-knowledge to their next goal.
Behind these practices exists an exciting upper secondary curriculum, with pedagogy to support student agency and an evidence-based competency assessment model. Each aspect of an Amala Education has been developed with and for displaced youth. The Amala Changemaker courses and the comprehensive 15 month Amala High School Diploma Programme focus on 'lifeworthy learning' equipping those who have experienced a disrupted, crisis-affected education to build competencies to further their education; to join the workforce or to create and implement innovative solutions that address local issues. After spending some time with these students, it does not surprise me at all to learn that Amala alum are tackling more than one of these pathways simultaneously.
It is a priority for everyone connected to Amala to make high quality learning accessible to the increasing numbers of displaced youth. How soon can we reach 1000, 10000 or 100,000 students and still assure all concerned that the quality of the learning remains high? The solution must be flexible enough to meet the diverse contexts of urban and rural refugee camps; documented and undocumented learners; as well as fractured or entirely absent evidence of prior learning. The solution should have appropriate types of control to assure funders and students alike. In its short history Amala has established strong and sustainable partnerships with many likeminded community based organisations and other organisations. By strengthening and extending this network we hope to achieve both quality and scale.
The concept of quality assurance can be traced to the assembly lines of the industrial revolution and even further back to the European guilds of the Middle Ages. As a 21st century consumer I can be reasonably confident that the toaster I bought is the same quality as the one my neighbour bought of the same brand. Quality assurance processes in service industries vary by the nature of the service. However it is not difficult to imagine that the quality of an Uber driver is measured by their ability to get me safely to the airport on time. Education systems use quality assurance as well but deciding how and what to measure is often cause for some debate because neither inputs nor outcomes look anything like a toaster or an Uber driver.
In my experience the best systems of quality assurance in education are based on standards and criteria that are self-assessed with evidence and then peer reviewed. Are we fulfilling our mission? Are we doing what it says on the tin? Making the time to reflect, ask good questions and find evidence of progress is a healthy and purposeful approach to continuous improvement. For this reason it has been wonderful to work with the Amala team as we conducted our self-study for accreditation with the Council for International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Next week we look forward to welcoming the evaluation team to Amman, Jordan and Kakuma Camp, Kenya. The individual and collective growth that has taken place within Amala over the course of the self-study has been outstandingly good and genuinely inspiring.
With this deep understanding of what ‘good’ looks like at Amala, we are in a strong position to grow. Based on shared values, collective wisdom and research, Amala has developed a Quality Assurance (QA) Framework. It will enable us to scale the learning model through partnerships. The QA Framework is a tool for continuous improvement. It is a reflection of the responsibility we share in delivering transformational learning to refugee youth. There is no corner of this planet where humanity can afford to lose their talent, creativity and ideas just because conflict and migration have disrupted their educational journey.