Learning What Matters in Malawi - From Policy to Holistic Skills Development for Secondary School Students

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

Learning What Matters in Malawi examines how education systems in Malawi move from policy into holistic, transferable skills development for secondary school students. The report highlights collaboration among authors and partners and outlines acknowledgements to relevant ministries, school leaders, teachers, students, parents, and community stakeholders from 18 sampled schools. It also defines key acronyms and introduces CRECCOM’s background and the overarching series framing focused on breadth of skills and meaningful learning opportunities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgements

Acronyms

About Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM)

About This Series

LEARNING WHAT MATTERS IN MALAWI FROM POLICY TO HOLISTIC SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS Linice R. Sanga, Nephitaly A. Benister, Rachel Dyl, and Modupe Olateju With: Alinafe Chibwana, Levison Lijoni, Thomas Chimwaza, David Ndala, Phillip Myaba, Chikondi Kasamba, and Paola González-Rubio ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM) extends its sincere gratitude to the Ministries of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), Labor, Youth, Tourism, Mining, Gender, Community Development, and Social Welfare for their invaluable support. We are especially grateful to the officials from these ministries who generously shared their time and insightsand provided rich data that informed this report. We also wish to thank the head teachers, teachers, students, parent-teacher associations, and community members from the 18 schools sampled for warmly welcoming us into their environments and offering essential perspectives that made this study possible. Our appreciation goes to the dedicated team of data collectors and transcribers for their commitment and excellent work. This study was also made possible with the approval and guidance of the National Committee on Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, whose feedback helped us refine and strengthen our research approach. We also acknowledge with gratitude the continued encouragement and logistical support from CRECCOM management and staff throughout this research journey. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of our peer reviewers, Madalo Samati, Echidna Global Scholar alumna of the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution, and Lydia Wilbard, Echidna Global Scholar alumna from CUE at the Brookings Institution, whose detailed feedback strengthened the conceptual clarity and methodological rigor of this report. Additionally, we extend our thanks to Emily Gustafsson-Wright, senior fellow at CUE at the Brookings Institution, for editorial guidance and support during the review process. We thank Claudia Hui and Yamira Patterson for their contributions during their tenure at CUE. Brookings gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the LEGO Foundation and recognizes that the value it provides is in its commitment to quality, independence, and impact. Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment. LEARNING WHAT MATTERS IN MALAWI 1 ACRONYMS | CDSS | Community Day Secondary School | | --- | --- | | CRECCOM | Creative Centre for Community Mobilization | | CPD | Continuing Professional Development | | CUE | Center for Universal Education | | FGD | Focus Group Discussion | | ICT | Information and Communication Technology | | KII | Key Informant Interview | | MUBAS | Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences | | MoEST | Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology | | MSCE | Malawi School Certificate of Education | | NEET | Not in education, employment, or training | | NGOs | Non-governmental organizations | | PTA | Parent-Teacher Association | | SSCAR | Secondary School Curriculum and Assessment Review | | TEVET | Technical, Entrepreneurial, and Vocational Education and Training Authority | LEARNING WHAT MATTERS IN MALAWI 2 ABOUT CREATiVE CENTRE FOR COMMUNiTY MOBiLiZATiON (CRECCOM) CRECCOM is a renowned, nationally operating Malawian non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered in Zomba City in the Southern Region of Malawi with over 30 years of experience in social empowerment and community mobilization. The organization grew out of two USAID-funded projects: the Girls Attainment in Basic Literacy and Education Social Mobilization project, which ran from 1994 to 1998, and the pilot phase of the Social Mobilization Campaign for Educational Quality (SMC EQ Project), which concluded in 1999. These projects were contracted to Creative Associates International Incorporated, a Washington D. C.-based company, but were implemented in Malawi by the sa

FAQs

What is the report’s central focus?

It examines how education systems create opportunities for children and young people to learn what matters, specifically linking policy to holistic skills development for secondary school students.

Who is Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM)?

CRECCOM is a Malawian NGO headquartered in Zomba City with more than 30 years of experience in social empowerment and community mobilization.

How does the report define the broader skills approach?

It emphasizes a “breadth of skills,” integrating academic, socioemotional, and transversal competencies that enable children and young people to thrive.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake