Instructional Technology Consultant at Consultant – Washington, District of Columbia

Overview

Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing global development firm that specializes in education, economic growth, democratic institutions, and stabilization. Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department (USAID), among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well regarded by competitors and partners alike.

The USAID All Children Succeeding Activity (ACS) is a 5-year, $25 million project to support the Government of Uzbekistan (GoU) in their strategy to transition to an inclusive education system that provides high quality education for all children, including those with disabilities. In order for schools to provide full participation and inclusive education (IE) for children with disabilities, teachers must be supported to use inclusive approaches in their classrooms, teaching and learning materials must offer sufficient flexibility to scaffold inclusive approaches, policies in the education and social protection sectors must align to support children with disabilities and their families in accessing education, and public opinion must shift to a more welcoming stance for IE.

The goal of ACS is to support the GoU to deliver inclusive, high-quality, and equitable education in foundational skills for school-aged children through three results:

• Result 1: Specialized supports and teaching and learning materials (TLM) advance inclusion and foundational skills. ACS will revise and strengthen TLM to integrate IE principles and provide assistive technology and devices for children with disabilities (CWD).
• Result 2: Education actors’ school-based practice transformed. ACS will strengthen pre- and in-service professional development for teachers, school leadership, and experts in IE, including developing individualized support plans for CWD.
• Result 3: Education systems deliver effective sustainable reform. ACS will work closely with the GoU to establish policies, procedures, and practices to continue advancing quality IE and will partner with civil society and disabled persons organizations (DPOs) to generate greater understanding and support of IE.

Led by Creative Associates, the ACS consortium brings local knowledge and experience in Uzbekistan and international expertise and best practices in inclusive education. Creative brings decades of experience partnering with governments to effect sustainable systemic change in education and improve learning outcomes. Syracuse University School of Education is a global leader in inclusive education with expertise in TLM and teacher preparation for disability-inclusive education. Nationwide Movement ‘Yuksalish’ brings strong relationships with the public sector, civil society, and communities in Uzbekistan and experience in engaging citizens in government reform. American Councils for International Education brings expertise in learning assessments and English language learning in Uzbekistan. Praxis Plus is a national DPO that leads awareness-raising, advocacy, and training for disability inclusion. Creative and its partners will engage additional DPOs and teacher and parent groups to support design, piloting, advocacy, training, and monitoring and evaluation activities for ACS.

Responsibilities

This consultancy addresses work under Result 1 of the USAID All Children Succeeding Activity to ensure that school staff and students have access to technology and instructional materials to support the full participation of all children in school activities as teachers develop skills in Universal Design for Learning and other pedagogical approaches of inclusive education. ACS has developed a series of working groups to support engagement and ownership of all deliverables, including a Working Group on Teaching and Learning Materials, which would support inclusive classrooms. ACS will work with the National Agency for Social Protection (NASP) and appropriate stakeholders in the education system to identify and recommend procure processes for assistive devices, equipment, or technology directly or through in-kind sources with other donors or the private sector. ACS will work with the NASP and Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) to develop simple instruments and guidebooks to support parents, teachers, and school administrators in assessing and adapting learning environments and utilizing appropriate assistive technology to improve access, inclusion, and learning opportunities and outcomes. Within the first year of implementation, ACS plans to provide 8-10,000 teachers with small packages of low-tech instructional technology to use in their classrooms. ACS has also selected 6 Model Schools connected to nearby kindergartens and Inson Centers for social services where teacher training, guidelines, and more complex instructional technology can be piloted.

Activity 1.2.2: Pilot instructional technology at an IE learning laboratory. ACS will pilot an IE learning lab with a higher education institution or research institute named by the Government of Uzbekistan to facilitate opportunities for faculty and students to engage with new high-tech and low-tech technologies and learn how to use them to meet a variety of student’s needs. ACS will explore opportunities to leverage programs supported by the GoU’s Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy to leverage local IE technology development. As classrooms become more inclusive environments, ACS expects that effective technology use and sustainability starts with focusing on low-tech options first, in particular materials that are readily available and easily replaceable such as highlighters, laminated picture boards, individual whiteboards. Using high-tech items like classroom tablets effectively to strengthen inclusive classrooms also requires considerations of use by multiple teachers and benefits for the whole class weighed against the risks of “tablet baby-sitting” and segregation within the classroom.

Deliverables and Expected Outputs

Creative Associates is seeking a technical expert to provide a situation analysis of the current procurement and use of instructional technology and assistive devices in primary school classrooms in Syrdaryo and Namangan regions to contribute to an Inclusive Education Mapping and Gap Analysis. In addition to reporting on the current situation, the consultant will provide recommendations for future programming based on a review of academic literature and documented best practices from gray literature. The table below provides a more detailed explanation of expected deliverables.

Stakeholder Engagement: the consultant is expected to work closely with the ACS technical lead and engage with relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, education institutions, civil society organizations, and disability rights advocates, to gather insights and perspectives on the availability and use of assistive devices in inclusive education. This consultancy will also be closely coordinated with UNICEF’s ongoing support for inclusive education and ICT for education. Engagement with the stakeholders must be done in close coordination with the ACS technical lead for Result 1, Feruza Tursunova. In order to ensure coordination across result areas and development partners, the ACS technical lead will establish a reference group to review the research described in this consultancy. The reference group will include representatives of UNICEF, Syracuse University, and others as appropriate.

Willingness and ability to travel to the two target regions to conduct fieldwork and engage with stakeholders. Flexibility and adaptability to different cultural and environmental conditions are essential. Travel expenses will be covered according to USAID policies and guidelines.

Qualifications

• Master's degree (PhD desirable) in education or related field;
• Demonstrated experience conducting qualitative research in complex institutional environments;
• Demonstrated familiarity with the use of instructional technology and procurement of assistive devices to support inclusive education in primary schools, including in concert with schools and wraparound social services;
• Demonstrated experience working with low-tech instructional technology in similar environments and school systems preferred;
• Experience advising or supporting higher education institutions providing teacher training in developing programs/curricula on instructional technology;
• Ability to provide high-quality written reports and presentations in English;
• Experience working in school systems with a legacy of the ‘defectology’ approach to providing education for children with disabilities desirable;
• Knowledge of local languages, particularly Uzbek, is desirable.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to effectively plan and conduct the mapping within the given timeline and budget.
• Cultural sensitivity and awareness to work effectively in a diverse cultural context. Understanding of the social and cultural factors that may impact inclusive education and assistive device utilization in different communities.